All of a sudden, the bell above the front door jingled, and I looked up to see Julianna carrying a bag of take-out, grinning from ear to ear. But when she took one look at me, she rushed over. “Crystal, are you alright?”
Julianna bent down over her big belly and helped me to my feet. “I think I’m just overdoing it, Julianna. When I started working extra hours for Annie, I knew it would be hard, but I wanted to help. I decided I would just power through it. But there’s so much more to do than teaching classes. It’s the paperwork. I’m not familiar with it. Annie has gone over it with me twice now. But still…”
She put her arm around me as we made our way to the front desk. The receptionist had left for lunch, and the studio would be empty until one o’clock.
“Yeah, Annie is worried about you. That’s one reason I decided to stop. Really, though, this looks like more than just exhaustion, Crystal. Are you eating enough?”
I knew she was right but didn’t want to admit that I wasn’t taking good care of myself. “You know me. I’m fine with protein bars.”
“I’m sure that Annie’s protein bars are better than fried food every day, but you need whole foods, Crystal. I’m talking about chicken, fruit, and vegetables. Not all of that baked into a candy bar.”
I sat down on the stool and gave her the side-eye. “They are not candy bars, Julianna. They’re protein bars. Not only are they delicious, but they’re so easy to carry around with you. I never have to worry about what I’m going to do for a meal.”
She put her hands on her hips. “I think that’s part of the problem here. You’re not getting enough nutrients in these things, but lucky for you, I brought you some lunch that consists of real food.”
Julianna put a bag in front of me. “Thank you, but you know that I can’t eat fast food.”
She rolled her eyes. “Look, I respect that you and my sister are health food nuts, and there is nothing wrong with eating food supplements every now and then, but you can’t make that your steady diet.” Julianna pulled out a salad with grilled chicken from the deli down the street. “You need real food. This isn’t fast food, Crystal, so dig in.”
The thought of eating wasn’t appealing, but I didn’t want to be rude. “Maybe you’re right. Even though I’ve felt nauseous all morning, my stomach is growling. I’ll have to admit. The salad looks yummy?”
She smiled at me as I stuck the plastic fork in and took a bite. “I’ve actually had this very same talk with my sister this morning.”
“What did she--”
As soon as I took my second bite of salad, I got up and ran for the ladies’ room, burst through the doors, and pushed my head into the very first toilet. Food that would usually cause my mouth to water had made me violently puke into the porcelain bowl. With every hurl from my stomach, I knew that whatever was wrong with me was not from exhaustion or a lack of real food.
I came out a few minutes later, feeling and looking like death itself. “I’m sorry, Julianna. I think I caught a stomach bug. As soon as I woke up this morning, I had the worst stomach and headache. Maybe I just need some more water and to lay down in bed. I’m going to call one of the instructors who’s off today, see if she can cover for me.”
Julianna stopped eating her salad, squinted her eyes and looked closely at me. “Something is definitely wrong with you, Crystal. Have you eaten or drank anything else lately?”
I racked my brain. “I’m drinking more coffee than usual, and I did just start taking energy shots. That wouldn’t make me sick, though. I’m telling you, something else is going on.”
Julianna chuckled. “Or maybe you’re pregnant.”
I felt my face go pale. “What did you just say?”
“I’m just saying; it seems like everyone around the Truman family is catching that bug. One of Jake and Richard’s cousins just announced she is having a girl. It was a surprise since we didn’t even know she was expecting.”
I felt my eyes widen. “Oh my God, Julianna. Now that I think about it, I’m late!”
She dropped her fork and came running over to me. “Are you sure, Crystal? I honestly just said it as a joke, I assumed you were on the pill or using some other form of birth control.”
I put my arms on her shoulders. “I am on the pill, which is why this can’t be happening right now! Either way, I’m definitely late.” I put my hands over my face and shook my head. “Oh, God, no. Pregnancy can’t be the reason that I'm sick. I can’t be pregnant, right? I just can’t; it’s not the right time! If this is how I’m going to feel throughout my pregnancy, there’s no way in hell that I can continue running this yoga studio. And Annie hasn’t even had her baby yet! Plus, I don’t know how Gavin is going to feel. Everything’s going great with us, and now I have to tell him that we’re having a baby!”
Julianna gripped my shoulders. “Relax, Crystal. Everything is going to be fine, and we don’t even know if that’s the case. You probably just picked up a stomach bug from one of your students, and because you’re working all of the time, your immune system is weakened.”
She did have a good point. “That’s true, and I’ve heard that stress can cause your period to be late.”
“Exactly. Why don’t you lie down in your office, and I’ll run down to the store to get you a pregnancy test, alright? I’m also going to get you some more water because your eyes are sunken, and that’s not like you at all.”
All I could do was nod as Julianna headed out to the store.
I laid on my back the entire time, looking up at the ceiling. It was all starting to make sense to me—the exhaustion, nausea, and headache. I must have forgotten about my period in the midst of working non-stop. No wonder I didn’t think of it at first. I would have immediately run out to get a test.
On the other hand, though, I might not be pregnant. All of this could be stress, and I had picked up a stomach bug, in which case I’d have to find a way to work less. All of my life, I had been healthy, so having a compromised immune system was pretty unusual.
My hand instinctively brushed over my belly. If I were pregnant, though, I’d deal with it as I dealt with everything else in life. It’s how my mother taught me to live. You can plan your life away, but whatever is meant to be will happen. There’s no use in fighting change. I just hoped that Gavin would feel the same way, especially since things between us had been going so well lately.
