Authors: V.S. Tice
“Victoria,” she answered shyly.
“Welcome, Victoria.” They shook hands just before the woman walked out to the small raised platform and began to address the crowd.
”Strand Bookstore is honored to present the reading of “Finn: A Mermaids Journey,” by Sophia Ashwood.” Caleb nudged me to take my place in front of everyone. I stepped out to a growing roar of applause.
The applause continued in earnest when I provided a small wave, then calmed as I sat. I noticed the fidgeting children in the far back.
“Thank you so much for such a warm welcome. I’m hoping the children in back would please come up and sit around me?” I looked out over the wide eyes of the crowd. “Actually, could all the children come up and sit around here on the floor? Then, those who are standing may have a place to sit.”
A commotion filled the space as bodies moved, shifted, and children congregated around me. It was comforting to have the small faces looking at me from up close. Victoria slowly made her way out from the side of the small stage and sat off to the side of me. I caught a glimpse of Mrs. Bass-Wyden and Caleb during my shake-up of the room. They were both beaming.
After two hours of reading, I spent another hour and a half talking to the children and answering questions. Most wanted to know if Fiona, or Finn, was imagining she was a mermaid or if she really was one. It was fun to talk with them and keep them guessing at the same time.
When we were finished, Caleb escorted us to a black car that had been retained by Fine Print Publishing for my transportation needs. We said good evening to Caleb and decided to do some more sightseeing before going to dinner.
The rest of our day felt exhausting so by the time we had dinner, I was ready for a good rest. Victoria pouted about going back to the hotel already, but I convinced her she needed to work on her homework. She did her math while I relaxed in the large tub with the jets on high.
Having dozed off for a few, I felt a little invigorated when I stepped from the bathroom. I assisted Victoria with a couple of multiplication problems and then we ordered ice cream sundaes and popcorn from room service before settling in to watch a movie.
The next morning I awoke to the sound of my cell phone. Grabbing it and looking at the screen, Collin’s name flashed across. A groan escaped my mouth before I answered.
“Hello?”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he barked.
I flinched. “Wha—”
“Do you think you can just take off with her without telling me?”
“I told you I would just take her with me,” I argued back loudly. Victoria stirred so I climbed out of bed and walked out to the living room area. My stomach did a flip. I quickly sat on the couch, taking a deep breath.
“Damn it, Sophia, she isn’t your daughter!” His words cut like a knife. “You can’t just decide to fly her across the country because of your hobby.” The seething words burned like fire in my ear. The knots in my stomach got worse.
“I can’t believe you just said that.” I choked on the hurt. Bile rose into my throat.
“I—” he sighed heavily.
“Go to hell, Collin!” I ended the call.
My feet couldn’t move fast enough and I ended up vomiting into the wastebasket. The sobs mixed with the heaving made my stomach hurt worse. The moment it ended, I felt horrible for the cleaning person.
I was dumping out the mess when my phone rang again. Collin’s name flashed on the screen. I sent him to voicemail and went back to the bathroom to finish cleaning the basket and myself.
I still felt nauseated when we arrived back at the bookstore, and I had a small throb at the back of my head. The Pepto and Advil hadn’t done much to alleviate the crappy feeling. I knew Collin had really screwed me for the day. My mood and my nerves were shot. Victoria seemed to sense my discontent and stayed quiet.
I couldn’t focus on much of anything. My mind kept traveling back to his words and to the rift between us.
Could we really get married with this issue hanging over our heads?
Doubt flooded me.
Caleb pulled me out of my musings when it was time for me to take my place in front of the audience again. This time Strand had set up the area around me with large mats and blankets for the kids to sit on. The children were already there, waiting for me, so I poured myself into reading the book for them. It was a break from real life for a couple of hours.
Regardless of the relief the reading provided, real life returned with a vengeance at the end of the reading. Stepping down from the raised platform, my sight blurred and my chest felt as if it had grown humming bird wings. Warmth spread over my face and the tilt of the bookstore shelves began to worry me. I soon realized that I was tilting, not the shelves. Just as I figured that out, everything went black.
Low beeps and soft voices called out to me. I tried to open my eyes, but the harsh white light prevented me. Trying to move my body, I groaned. My limbs felt like they had been through an extreme workout.
“Miss Ashwood?” I got one eye to open as the other twitched in protest. “There you are. You had us worried about you for a moment. How do you feel?” The bed began to rise up.
“Wh-what happened?” I breathed out and started to regain command of my body’s movements. Opening both eyes, I saw Victoria balled up on a lounge chair asleep. “Is she okay?” I panicked. She had to have been scared to death.
“She’s fine, a real trooper. The nurses have been fawning over her.” The doctor began to check my pulse. “You need to calm down. Everything is okay. You were just a little dehydrated and slightly anemic.”
I blew out a puff of air and relaxed back into the lumpy pillow behind me.
“I meant to make an appointment with my doctor before I left Seattle, but I guess I got distracted,” I laughed lightly.
“So you already knew?” He smiled but turned his head as a nurse entered the room.
I nodded. “I suspected it. A friend of mine mentioned it after we talked about how I was feeling.”
It was his turn to nod. “So you‘ve had some ongoing symptoms then?” I shrugged with a small nod. “Can you please tell me what they have been?”
The nurse wrapped a black cuff around my arm and began checking my blood pressure. The doctor slipped a plastic clip onto my finger and looked at a screen.
“Um, yeah, sure. I’ve been really tired and feeling run down. No matter how much sleep I get, it doesn’t seem to help, you know?”
“Yes, it’s very common. Tell me how you felt before you fainted.”
“Dizzy, warm, and my sight blurred for a moment.” He was diligently writing on a clipboard as I spoke.
“No headache? No nausea?”
“I had the beginning of a headache this morning, but it was most likely stress related.” He eyed me closely until I continued. “I had an unexpected argument with my fiancé early this morning.” I grimaced remembering what Collin had said.
“Okay.” He took down some more notes. “How about morning sickness?” My eyes grew three sizes. “Miss Ashwood?”
“M-morning sickness?” I choked out.
His brow furrowed. “You said you already knew.”
“I knew that I might be anemic,” I shot out at him. “I got a birth control shot. There is no way I could be…you know.” My eyes flitted to Victoria, who was still asleep.
“Miss Ashwood, it will take a couple of days for the blood test results, but we are positive that you’re pregnant.” His expression changed to a mixture of pity and concern “While the shot is a very effective method, it isn’t one hundred percent. Nothing is. How long ago was it that you received the shot?”
“Um, September,” I whispered.
The doctor was droning on about statistics and the one percent chance of pregnancy, but I couldn’t focus on his words.
I’m pregnant. Oh god, I am pregnant. Collin. I need to tell…But he’s such an asshole and I... How pregnant am I?
“How far along am I?” I interrupted his speech.
He flipped through some pages on his clipboard. “A little over a month…basically a month and a half, give or take a couple of days.” He smiled warmly with his response. I groaned and his grin faltered.
“When can I leave?” I closed my eyes and took a breath, bracing myself for his answer.
“If there are no signs of stress when this IV is finished, you can leave. However you really need to limit the stress you’re under – for both of you.” He pointed to my stomach and my hands reflexively went there too. I nodded.
“Mommy?” Victoria peeked around the doctor. “Are you okay?” she sniffed.
“Of course, honey, come here.” Tears stung my eyes. She climbed up onto the bed and lay down next to me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, baby, I was just dehydrated.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.
“Dehidreded?” she mispronounced.
“It means I’m not drinking enough water.” I kissed the top of her head.
“Can you do me a favor, Victoria?” The doctor broke up our sniffling session.
“Uh-huh?” She wiped her nose on the back of her hand.
“I need you to make sure your mommy doesn’t get stressed out okay? Can you do that?”
“Definitely,” she nodded confidently and squeezed me tight. I squeezed her back.
Four hours later, I was finally released. During that time, Caleb arrived with flowers and to check on me. He also brought with him some Strand gift cards. They were all nice gestures, but I just wanted to be free of the hospital bed. I needed some time to process everything.
When we arrived back to the hotel, Victoria was hungry so we sat in the restaurant and ate. She talked about Nurse Nancy and Nurse Margaret and how they had shown her how to listen to hearts, take a person’s temperature, and weigh people. It seemed the hospital staff had been very kind to her and for that I was thankful.
As I was slipping the key card into the door, it flew open. I stood shocked, staring into Collin’s intense face. His glacial eyes bore into me like knives.
“I’ve been trying to find you for hours.” He took Victoria’s hand and pulled her into the room, but his hard eyes didn’t leave my face. A familiar chill ran up my spine.
“Daddy,” Victoria’s shaky voice whispered to him.
“Get your things, I’m taking you home,” he ordered Victoria. Her head snapped to me with sad, watery eyes.
I turned my glare from him and forced a smile as I looked at her. “Daddy missed you. He wants you to go home to keep him company.” I took a step toward her, but Collin stepped between us. Glaring at him I stopped short.
“Victoria, get your things,” he ordered. She peeked around him at me again.
“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay with Mommy,” she protested and ran toward me.
“Damn it, Victoria,” he yelled.
“Daddy,” she cried, “I want to stay with Mommy!”
“She’s not your mother. Grace is your mother,” he spat.
Anger wasn’t a strong enough word for what went blazing through my veins. My stomach clenched and my teeth ground together. I stepped between him and Victoria.
“Don’t you dare!” I growled at him. “What is wrong with you?” Calming my voice I turned to her. “Victoria, please go to the bedroom.”
“I don’t want to leave,” she whined. “I promised the doctor I would watch you.”
“You aren’t leaving me, honey. Please go to the bedroom.” I spoke calmly, but my icy glare never left his face.
Victoria left hesitantly. I could feel her eyes on us until she shut the door.
“Did she say doctor?” His face morphed to concern.
“Don’t you dare,” I growled. “You don’t get to care or be concerned. You’re a cold bastard, you know that? How dare you build her, and me for that matter, up – calling me mommy – only to rip it from her now? Grace hasn’t called or bothered with her since her stomach has garnered her the attention she desires so much. Yet you’ll try to tear Victoria from me, the one who has been there?!”