Baby Makes Three (Spicy Office Secrets) by Lydia Hall

Author:Lydia Hall [Hall, Lydia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

15

SILVIE

I pulled the thermometer out of my mouth at the beeping tone’s indication that it was done registering my temperature. I was not surprised to see it read normal—I wasn’t feeling cold or feverish. It was just my stomach. I hadn’t been able to keep anything down in two days. And with Mother Bethany following me around her house this last week, I had a constant reminder that my real mother was not there. She was in Chicago, probably settling into her new place with Steven.

He hadn’t called or responded to any of my texts, and I had left plenty. Mom’s phone had been shut off, almost as if Steven were cutting me off. It sure felt like it. My decision to stay in Springfield was due largely in part to my life being here, my job, my friends. But I was sure Steven only saw it as a means for me to stay closer to Jared. He didn’t even try to understand why I couldn’t go to Chicago with them.

My reflection in the mirror revealed dark circles beneath my eyes. This entire week I’d been covering them with makeup, but I knew Jared could still tell I wasn’t sleeping well. On Wednesday I fell asleep on the sofa in his office during lunch. I wasn’t hungry, and I closed my eyes for only a second. The next thing I knew, Jared was shaking me awake saying it was time for our department meeting.

Vicki had made me feel like a kindergartner having a bad day, mocking me for sleep lines on the side of my face when Jared left the meeting to take an urgent call from his lawyer. It was all I could do to not cry.

“Knock knock…” Bethany poked her head into the bathroom and offered sympathy. “You threw up again?”

I nodded. “I can’t seem to hold anything down. Mom always had a recipe for this sort of thing. She always took care of me, you know?”

I set the thermometer on the counter and followed Bethany as she retreated from the bathroom and headed down the hall to the kitchen. The scent of bacon and eggs usually made my mouth water. This time it sent me running to the trash can where I spent a few minutes dry heaving, my stomach too empty to offer even stomach acids.

Bethany held my hair back and clicked her tongue in sympathy. “Did you have a fever?”

I was never more glad for a friend who was not a germ-a-phoebe. I shook my head, hovering over the bin as she snagged a hair tie and bundled my loose locks into a bun. She walked away, and when she returned, she shoved paper towels into my hand.

“Here…”

Thankful to not have to taste the acrid flavor of stomach bile again, I dabbed at my face and tossed the paper towels. Then I sank down onto a barstool and draped myself over the bar, resting my forehead on my folded arms.

“God, this is the worst flu I’ve ever seen you have, Sil.

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