Forever Young: Blessing or Curse (Always Young Trilogy) (13 page)

“For
a sensible person, yes, but we must instruct the public about how to go about
taking them, so when they’re released for general consumption, no one suffers
ill effects and blames such misfortunes on us.”

She
frowned. “Isn’t there room for error? What if I forgot to take the pill one or
two days?”

“A
small slipup, say for a day or two, might not matter. Down the line, you’d
notice slight reversals, but not enough to make a difference. Every person’s
chemistry is different, so it’s hard to say exactly where the cutoff lies.
Generally speaking, if you miss three or more doses, you’d land in the danger
zone. Remember what I explained before. Stopping means aging naturally.

“I
wouldn’t recommend it, not for someone as lovely as you. You can’t start over
again. You’re allowed only one shot.”

“If
I got the flu or something and the pills came up, I don’t suppose that would be
a good thing.”

“You
can’t get it. You’re immune. ”

Thinking
of her touchy stomach lately, she frowned. The pill couldn’t prevent
everything. She better be more careful about what she ate, and lay off the hot
spices. It would be hell to lose her well being, not to mention her looks, for
want of precaution.

 “What
if someone took more than prescribed?”

“Depends
on your original age. After the pills take effect, you’d  be stuck
wherever you land. If a child were to take them, it would be disastrous. That’s
why I’m including adults only precautions on the bottle’s front and back
labels, in bold and large case letters. Even with poor eyesight, the warnings
will be hard to miss.”

Dorrie
shuddered. “Hopefully, parents with small children will be extra careful. It’s
scary to think an innocent child might get into mischief and suffer ill
effects. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, is the pill compatible with
other medication or vitamins?  I know you said aspirin was okay, and at
the beginning you told me to stop taking my thyroid boosting meds, but what
about other drugs?” 

“The
youth pill can be ingested with medications for blood pressure, birth control,
insulin, even vitamins. Once the young pill takes effect, conditions need
monitoring to confirm the other medications are necessary.”

Dorrie
nodded and quickly turned away, embarrassed to admit why she’d asked the 
question.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Dorrie
didn’t like reminders of her body’s abnormalities. As a teenager her irregular
periods had led her to a gynecologist who’d diagnosed her with endometriosis.

Later,
her condition had become so severe she’d not been able to conceive Larry’s
child, no matter how much she’d longed to do so and how hard they’d tried.
Larry had consoled her by saying they didn’t need anyone other than each other,
but she knew deep down he would have loved to have a baby.

Each
month she still went through the same guessing game, wondering when or if her
friend would arrive, along with its horrific pain. When it didn’t come, she
suffered through an uncomfortable tradeoff of breast tenderness and bloating.

Her
current period-less bout seemed especially trying, making her wonder if something
else was going on inside. Hopefully, it didn’t have anything to do with the
young pill.

She
hated to ask Roman such an intimate question. Since she needed her yearly
checkup anyway, she may as well set up an appointment. Maybe Dr. Lewanthal could
set her mind at ease and help her decide if the hormone pills he’d suggested
would still be a viable solution. Breast cancer warnings had scared her away
before, but perhaps improvements in the pills had made them safer.

She
had to do something. She’d already gone up a size, and the thought of wearing a
bikini made her grimace.

Dorrie
waited until her morning break the next day and dialed her gynecologist from
her cell phone. When the receptionist learned who was calling, her voice came
out in a rush. “My God, it’s really you. I just love your commercials.You look
so amazing. I’m tempted to try those pills myself. What can I do for you?”

The
woman sounded in awe. Dorrie tended to forget her celebrity status, unless
someone reminded her. She certainly didn’t feel any different than anyone else.
To put the woman at ease, she mentioned her own surprise at the transformation,
then asked for an appointment.

“We’re
booked solid. The earliest Dr. Lewanthal can see you is three weeks from now,
unless it’s an emergency or you’re pregnant.” 

Thank
goodness neither applied. Dorrie wrote the appointment details in her pocket
calendar and already felt better. The doctor could figure out what to do when
he saw her. Until then she’d live with the problem.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The
days flew by, with Dorrie busily answering phones, typing madly and taping
indoor commercials, without bikinis, thank goodness. Before long, September had
arrived and she sat in her gynecologist’s examining room staring at the anatomy
pictures on the wall, and waiting for Dr. Lewanthal to arrive.

Along
with the lack of her menses, she felt extra draggy lately. Had her
endometriosis gotten worse? Or, maybe she need to go back on her thyroid meds.
Hopefully nothing serious was happening, brought on by the young pill.

The
door creaked open. The doctor entered and held out his hand. “Dorrie, it’s good
to see you. Since we last met, I hear you’ve had some great adventures. They
seem to agree with you. I can’t believe how young you look.”

“Thanks,
doctor. It’s still hard to take it all in.”

They
went on to talk about the young pill and its possible repercussions on
civilization.

“All
right now. Let’s get down to why you’re here.

The
doctor began a thorough examination. He listened to her heartbeat, tapped her
knees, checked her throat, examined her breasts for lumps, then made her
skootch down into the stirrups. She tried not to cringe as he inserted the
instrument and performed the uncomfortable pelvic examination, which she never
enjoyed.

“You
can get dressed now. When you’re through, come down the hall to my office and
we’ll talk.”

He
usually concluded the examination in the same room, not his office. Had he
discovered something horrible, like a tumor?  

Dorrie’s
fingers trembled as she fastened the hooks of her bra and slipped into her
slacks and top. Fully clothed, she had no excuse to delay the consultation. She
tread slowly down the hall to his office. Swallowing hard, she stepped inside.

“Have
a seat, my dear,” the middle-aged doctor said gently, glancing up from his
gold-rimmed bifocals.

Her
heart skipped a beat at the sympathetic tone of his voice. Something seemed
wrong, but his expression didn’t give anything away.

Dr.
Lewanthal cleared his throat. “Given your present circumstances, I’m not sure
if what I have to say will be good or bad news. We’ll run some blood tests to
be positive, but from every indication, Dorrie, I believe you’re about three
months pregnant.”

She
gasped. The room spun crazily. “I can’t be.”

He
gave her a searching look, as if to confirm she knew the mechanics of making
babies. He cleared his throat again. “Birth control methods are not foolproof,
my dear.”

“I
know that, but it still seems impossible.”

“Not
so. From my examination, it appears your endometriosis has remarkably cleared,
making it possible for sperm to fertilize your eggs. Apparently, the youth pill
has blessed you with fertility.”

Maybe
scientifically it was possible, but he had to be mistaken. How could she be
with child if she’d not gone all the way since Larry?

As
she opened her mouth to refute what the doctor had said, an erotic dream
flashed through her mind. Her jaw dropped. Oh, my God, it had happened. She and
Roman had devoured each other like animals. That’s why the details still
remained vivid. She flushed hot, then cold, trying to avoid the doctor’s eyes.

He
flashed a sympathetic look. “It’s best to face facts. You’re definitely in the
family way. Would you like to carry the child to term?”

“Yes,
of course,” she said, feeling an age-old maternal instinct well up. It didn’t
matter how or why she’d conceived. The baby was hers and she’d protect it.
She’d make sure it knew the love of its mother, as she had.  

“Well,
then, you’ll need to be extra careful. I’d advise you to inform Mr. Remington
of your condition so he can assess the pill’s effects on your unborn child.
I’ll prescribe vitamins and check your blood test results, but I’m sure they’ll
be positive.”

“Thank
you, doctor.” 

 Her
knees buckled as she got up. Roman had some explaining to do.

***

Dorrie’s
mind whirled so much she didn’t know how she made it home alive. Being pregnant
 was too much to take in. She needed help to get through this.

Her
fingers shook as she called Jeanne. No one answered. Hopefully, nothing more
had happened to Mike. He’d suffered enough. She hung up without leaving a
message.

She
had to get away and forget, at least for a few hours. Hopefully, Kelly would be
around. Fingers still shaking, she called her. “Are you available for a movie?”

“Only
too much so. Doug’s gone until after midnight. When do you want to go?”

“As
soon as possible. I need to get away and not think.”

“Okay,
let me check the paper. Let’s see, there’s a promising flick over at the
Condor. I can drive this time, if you want.”

“You’re
on. I’ll be ready.”

After
trying to laugh through what was supposed to be a comedy, Dorrie headed across
the street again with her friend to the ice cream shop. Who’d guess Kelly’s
jest had been dead-on?  Several times she started to tell her about the
situation, but stopped and licked her cone instead. She badly needed help. She
had to get the words out, but how?

Finally,
Kelly gave her a strange look, and said gently, “Do you want to tell me what’s
wrong? You make a last minute emergency call to see a show, and you’ve had this
panicked expression in your eyes all night. I’m a good listener.”

Dorrie
glanced shyly at her friend. This was more difficult than she’d imagined. How
could she explain something she didn’t understand, yet who else could she turn
to?

She
took a deep breath then plunged in. “You are not going to believe this. I can’t
even believe it myself. I still don’t know how it’s possible, but you were so
right about my condition. I’m pregnant.”

Kelly’s
eyes widened. “You’re what?”

“You
heard me. I’m pregnant.”

“I
see.”

She
knew Kelly wouldn’t press, but once Dorrie had begun, she had to finish. “I
believe it’s Roman’s child.”

”You
and Roman…?”

Dorrie’s
face heated. “It’s not what you think. I kind of know what happened, but don’t
remember it all.”

“What
do you mean?”

“Remember
when I went to Hollywood to do those commercials?”

Kelly
nodded.

“We
got through early one day and had a few hours to kill. We both went swimming at
the hotel pool and agreed to meet later for a drink at the bar.

“I’m
not much of a drinker and planned to stop at one, but even that must have gone
to my head. All I know is later I had what I’d describe as a particularly
erotic dream. I won’t gross you out with the details. Let’s just say, they were
exceedingly hot. I did stuff I’d never imagined, even with Larry. Not only
that, I’ve been getting these weird flashbacks. I thought it was my imagination
or some kind of strange side effect from the pill.

“Apparently,
it wasn’t a dream. It really happened. I feel terrible because I’d never have
done any of that sober, especially with Larry still in my heart. It’s so
strange I could have gotten so drunk, because I swear I only had one drink.

“If
it were any other guy, I’d think he’d slipped me a Mickey, but Roman wouldn’t
have to do that. He could get almost any woman with a flick of his finger.
Anyway, it happened and I’m struggling to deal with it.”

Kelly
frowned in thought. “Maybe that young pill, coupled with the fact you’re not
much of a drinker, threw off your system. Also, understandably you’ve been
lonely without your husband and our boss is not exactly a cur. I can see how it
might have happened.”

Dorrie
bit her lip. “There’s another problem. I have no idea how the pills will affect
the baby. A normal child exposed to the pills would die in three months, if not
earlier, and I can’t bear the thought of that happening to my baby.

“I’ve
wanted a child for so long, but this is a strange time to have one. I’m so
mixed up. I don’t know if it would be best to stay on the pill or go off of it.
If I go off, I’ll revert to my actual age, and could die during childbirth.