Meant To Be (32 page)

The question hit Emily like a bolt of lightning. She felt what little blood was remaining in her face drain. She blinked at him in disbelief. She tried to speak; opened her mouth a few times, but when no words came out, closed it again.

Could I?
The words echoed in her head. She tried to think, but the sharp tick of the wall clock and a new gurgling sound in her ears made it impossible.

‘When was your last period?' the doctor continued.

Emily frowned and tried desperately to rack her brain. Ages actually. She was on the pill, but often started the next month without taking the little white sugar tablets that filled in the days of the period.

‘Well, um.'

Slowly the fog in her mind started to clear. Now she thought about it, she had meant to get another prescription a while ago. Right around the time the whole cottage project had started to
take shape. And then she'd been flat out busy. She must have clean forgotten.
Oh God.

It became even clearer. She'd put her foil of pills, which she usually left out on the bathroom vanity top as a reminder, in the drawer when the guys had come to stay to do the stonework.
Shit, that was around two months ago.

Emily felt her face go bright red.

‘Er. I can't remember,' she said quietly. ‘I suppose I could be pregnant.'

‘Well, the blood test will tell us for sure,' the doctor said, smiling kindly. ‘We'll know next week.'

God, that'll be an excruciating wait.
But the thought of standing at the chemist's counter with a pregnancy test kit for the world to see was even more excruciating. How was she meant to go on business-as-usual for a whole week? Damn living out in the sticks. She wouldn't mind betting results came back the next day in the city.

‘Meanwhile,' the doctor continued, opening another of his desk drawers, ‘take one of these.' Emily looked at the box in his hand – labelled Home Pregnancy Test – and almost leapt up and hugged him.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
This way she'd find out in a few minutes and wouldn't have to suffer the embarrassment of purchasing one.

‘Thanks very much,' she said.

‘I'm sure it can be a bit daunting to buy one of these in a small country town. Not to mention carrying a little jar of pee across the waiting room for me to test,' the doctor said, smiling warmly at her. ‘But this will do the same.'

Emily nodded.

‘Come back in a week and we'll see where things stand then,' he said, getting up and clearly signalling the consult was over.

Emily stuffed the small oblong box into her handbag and left the room. She walked past the desk where a few people were being attended to. She knew she should wait and book in to get her results, but found herself walking out of the building in a daze. She'd have to phone them at another time, when she felt less like a rabbit caught in headlights. She had a strange out-of-kilter feeling – as if her whole world had tilted on its axis.

She sat in the car for a few minutes, wondering what to do next and trying to figure out if she was pleased or not pleased – or just terrified – at the prospect of being pregnant. All of the above, she decided. She thought about going back into the medical centre to use the loos to pee on the little strip. No, she'd wait until she got home. What difference would a few more hours make? Was it something she and Jake should do together? Like a ceremony? She'd seen that in movies but had always thought couples leaping about clutching a stick someone had just peed on quite disgusting. What would he want?

Despite the shock, Emily decided to carry on with her original plan to visit her parents before she left town. She wasn't sure she had the necessary tolerance to deal with her mother, but she wanted to see her dad. A warm hug was just what she needed. And she really should show them the ring before everyone else saw it. Enid would have a fit if someone told her they'd seen it first.

Emily took a deep, fortifying breath and got out of the car, dragging her handbag from the passenger seat as she went. She rang the doorbell and waited, choosing to ignore the usual custom of just entering. She no longer wanted her mother doing it to her, and wanted to set a reasonable example at her parents' home.

The door opened and Des stood there in front of her. Suddenly she felt like she was twelve again; helpless and innocent after a day of being bullied at school and needing a hug and kind word from a loving parent. She almost burst into tears.

‘Hi Dad,' she said, struggling to compose herself.

‘Em, what a wonderful surprise,' Des Oliphant said, drawing her into a warm, welcoming embrace.

Emily breathed in his scents – Imperial Leather soap, Old Spice aftershave, and wool with just the slightest hint of eucalyptus clinging to it – before pulling away. If she stayed like that too long, she might crumble.

‘Enid, Em's here,' Des called as he led his daughter into the open-plan kitchen–dining area.

‘We weren't expecting you, were we?' Enid said, looking up from the sink. Her mother had pink rubber gloves on and was scrubbing the stainless steel with white cream cleanser.

‘No, I was just in town and thought I'd pop by for a quick visit,' she said.

‘Oh,' Enid said. Her hands stilled but remained in the sink. ‘What are you doing in Hope Springs that you can't do in Wattle Creek?' she enquired, eyeing Emily.

‘Just this and that.'

‘Like what?' Enid persisted.

She racked her brain for a plausible excuse. Seeing the doctor wouldn't cut the mustard because she didn't look sick – no sniffling nose, croaky voice, or other symptom.

She looked down at her hands for inspiration and spied her diamond blinking up at her.

‘Isn't it enough that she's dropped in, Enid?' Des said. ‘Well,
I'm
pleased to see you, pet,' he added, looking pointedly at Enid and draping a protective arm around his daughter.

Enid let out a quiet harrumph and resumed her scrubbing in the sink.

‘I thought you might like to see my engagement ring,' Emily said, putting her left hand out and wiggling her fingers.

‘Ooh, yes please,' Des said, grasping her hand mid wiggle. ‘Oh what a beauty! It's lovely. Look Enid.'

Enid made a show of leaning across, still with gloved hands in the sink, and trying not to be impressed. But Emily noticed her eyebrows lift and her eyes grow just that bit wider. ‘Yes, lovely,' she said primly, and then turned on the tap.

‘Right, well, who's for a cuppa?' Des asked.

‘Do you have anything herbal, like peppermint, or something?' Emily asked.

‘But you always have regular tea, coffee, or Milo,' Enid said, looking at her suspiciously.

Emily was half expecting her to add, ‘What, too good for your usual now you're sporting a large diamond, eh?'

‘Come on, Enid, give the girl a break. She wants something different. It's a free country. Now let me check. I do vaguely remember seeing some peppermint in there. It came as part of a Christmas hamper from the Greens last year,' Des said, and made his way across the kitchen.

Emily stood at the end of the bench while her mother continued to give the stainless steel sink all her attention. At her hip was her handbag, where the pregnancy test kit was practically burning a hole through the leather. As the silence went on, punctuated only by the sound of her father fossicking in the large pantry cupboard, Emily grew more and more restless.

‘Ah, found it,' Des said, and reappeared clutching a small cellophane packet with tightly packed green envelopes inside it. ‘Will this do the trick?'

‘Perfect, thanks Dad,' she said, offering him a warm smile. Well, that was what she was going for. It might have come out more as a grimace.

‘Excuse me, Enid,' Des said, as he held the kettle near the sink and swivelled the spout of the tap around to fill it. Enid reluctantly stepped aside and he turned on the water.

‘Do you mind if I just use the loo?' Emily said.

‘Of course not, pet. You don't need to ask. Go right ahead,' Des said. ‘Are sure you're you okay? You look a little green around the gills.'

‘I'm fine,' Emily said. She rushed past her mother, who was now using the dishcloth to wipe away imaginary drips from the bench top. She shut the toilet door behind her and sat down while letting out a huge breath.

Why does it have to be so hard?

Was Enid still angry with her about not wanting a wedding? Well, she'd have to damn well get over it, because Emily was not
giving in. Not this time. Anyway, would Enid still want to parade her daughter around if she was sporting a prominent baby bump? The thought of her quickly backpedalling from organising the wedding almost made Emily giggle.

With shaking hands she drew the long box out of her handbag. She read the instructions, pulled out one of the two foil sealed packets and opened it. Holding the test stick, she reread the instructions and tried to commit to memory if one line or two pink lines meant she was pregnant. But her brain was failing her.

She undid her jeans, pulled everything down, and tried to position herself over the white stick just inside the toilet bowl.
Please don't get pee everywhere,
she begged, as she tried to let out just a small amount.

Ew, yuck. Gross!
Rather than just a nice little targeted dribble on the stick, she'd managed to wee all over her hand. A few wayward drops fell on the seat as she brought it up to eye level. Apparently she had to wait five minutes for the reading. How was she going to get away with being in here for that long without another inquisition?

‘Are you all right in there?'

Emily cringed at hearing her mother's voice. She rolled her eyes.
She's like a bloody heat-seeking missile!

‘Yes, fine, coming,' she called back, looking around desperately. She yanked a few tissues from the floral plastic-covered tissue box matching the soap dispenser and toilet brush holder and quickly wrapped the stick in them.
As if it could it get any grosser,
she thought, holding the wad with the tips of her fingers. With her nose turned up in distaste, she pushed it into her handbag along with the remaining stick in the box and did up the zip. She carefully wiped the seat, rearranged her clothing, flushed the loo, and washed her hands. Drying her hands on the coordinating hand towel, she composed herself in the mirror.

Emily opened the door to find her mother standing on the threshold, and got such a fright she leapt back slightly and almost dropped her handbag.

‘God, Mum,' she said, bringing a hand to her chest. ‘All yours,' she said brightly, and quickly made her way back to the kitchen where a steaming mug of peppermint tea awaited her on a coaster on the table.

‘Everything all right, pet?' Des asked, looking up from his own mug.

‘Yes, thanks, fine.'

‘It really is the most beautiful engagement ring,' he said, nodding at Emily's hand. ‘Congratulations again. He's very lucky to have you.'

‘Thanks, Dad. I think I'm pretty lucky too. I can't believe he actually asked you.'

‘Shows a lot of respect, in my book. I did feel bad about keeping it from your mother – and I'm not entirely off the hook yet – but I couldn't have her… Well, she can be so…' He gave up with a shake of his head and picked up his mug.

‘I know,' Emily said, following suit.

As she sipped her tea, Emily couldn't decide if she was hoping the little white stick would turn out to be positive or negative. She wasn't afraid of what Jake would say if she was pregnant. He definitely wanted kids. And they were engaged, so it wasn't as if they weren't committed. But she did feel very jittery about the reality of being pregnant – all the awful medical things she'd heard about. And, oh God, if Barbara lost her baby after such a battle only to find Emily had accidentally got pregnant and all was well…

‘You haven't been overdoing it, have you?' Des quizzed her again. ‘You're looking awfully pale.'

‘Just a little washed out. You're probably right – just been doing too much.'

‘I'm not surprised. You had a lot of work taking care of all those men. And the project certainly has come along quickly.'

‘It has. We're already starting to put the guest list together for the opening party. Oh, and Jake's sister Simone has agreed to be my first artist,' Emily said proudly.

‘I didn't know Simone was an artist,' Enid said, returning to the room with her handbag. ‘Not that I know
anything
about her,' she added.

Emily ignored the pointed comment. ‘Well, she dabbles. Mainly in acrylic at the moment. She's got some gorgeous large, bold floral pieces in her home, but this will be her first ever exhibition.'

‘Sounds very modern. I'm not sure I like the sound of them. And do you think that's wise, Emily, if she's completely unknown?' Enid said.

‘She's very talented, just chose a different career path. All the famous artists had to start somewhere, Mum. And I like the idea of helping her.'

‘How wonderful that you can give her the opportunity to shine in public. I look forward to seeing her work,' Des said enthusiastically.

‘Thanks Dad.'

‘Well, it sounds like an awfully big risk to me. I hope you know what you're doing,' Enid warned. Emily tried hard to not roll her eyes.

‘Oh, I forgot the biscuits,' Des added, getting up.

‘No, don't bother. I'd better get going anyway,' Emily said. She drained her mug and stood up. ‘Jake started up at David's today.' Emily had no idea how this was meant to explain her need to get going. It had just slipped out. She couldn't exactly say that she needed to rush off to check if she was pregnant or not. ‘Thanks for the cuppa,' she said, putting her mug in the sink.

‘I have to head off to a Lions Ladies meeting,' Enid announced, and offered Des and then Emily air kisses from about six inches away.