Despite her protests, Gavin called in his mother and his aunt for help. He told them Liz was under the weather and the last thing she needed was to be surrounded by food. They both showed up within an hour and Gavin, his mom, and his aunt basically took over her kitchen. Under normal circumstances, she’d have vehemently objected, but after throwing up all morning, she was more than happy to surrender her kitchen to all of them while she headed upstairs to lie down.

After a two-hour nap she felt a lot better, and when she got up, the nausea was gone. She came downstairs and inhaled some wonderful scents emanating from her kitchen.

“It smells so good in here,” she said.

Her mother-in-law smiled at her. “Oh, you’re awake. And there’s some color in your cheeks now. How are you feeling?”

“Much better, thank you. Where’s Gavin?”

“He’s over at my house picking up Dad. No sense in us having two cars.”

“Thank you both for helping out. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to handle this.”

“It’s tough when you’re in your first trimester. The smell of food is an awful trigger,” Gavin’s aunt said.

Liz didn’t know what to say. “Did Gavin tell you?”

Kathleen laughed. “He didn’t have to. You’ve been pale and nauseated for weeks.”

“Plus, you just have a pregnant look about you,” Cara said.

“I do?”

Kathleen nodded. “You definitely do. And congratulations, honey.”

Liz took a seat at the bar. “Thank you. We just found out this morning. Apparently I wasn’t as adept at recognizing the signals.”

“Well, you’ve had a lot on your mind lately, so I’m not surprised. We women are the worst at reading our own bodies sometimes.”

She nodded at her mother-in-law.

“So how far along are you?” Gavin’s aunt asked.

“I’m not sure. I had a period last month, but it was only a little spotting at best. I thought I might be pregnant then, but the test was negative.”

“Best you go see your doctor. He’ll do an exam and tell you for sure.”

“My dress at the wedding was tight. And when I looked at myself this morning, it’s like there’s this little belly that wasn’t there before.” She put her hand on her stomach. “I thought I was just putting on weight. How could I not have noticed that?”

“Like I said, we’re not good at recognizing our own body’s signals,” Kathleen said.

Cara nodded. “But now you’re going to notice everything. Like how fast your clothes are not going to fit.”

“And how nauseated you’ll get. And how your tastes in food will change.”