Then the hot liquid hit her stomach. She ran for the bathroom and reached the toilet just in time. She vomited until she was weak and felt just as sick as she’d been with the virus. After getting everything up, which wasn’t much, she managed to shower and get ready for work. As she drove into town and parked behind the Menagerie, she felt woozy, and that didn’t subside as she entered the building. Was it possible for a person to catch the same thing twice?

By ten o’clock, Julie still felt awful. Last time she’d just gone home, thinking she’d get better. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice. She decided to see the same guy who’d taken care of her at the emergency clinic. She knew he had only been volunteering when he’d seen her at the clinic, so she called his office on North Huckleberry Lane. She managed to land an appointment for eleven, which gave her only a few minutes to get there. It was a short drive. Even as dizzy as she was, she believed she could stay on the road. After locking up, she hurried out to her car and pushed the speed limit all the way.

Richard Andrew Blake was a nice-looking man with a warm smile. After examining Julie, he sat on a roll-around stool and frowned up at her. “You’re not running a fever,” he said, “and didn’t you say this hit you suddenly this morning when you drank coffee?”

Julie nodded.

“From what I understood, you were nauseated for several hours last time before you began vomiting. I honestly don’t think this is the same virus. Is there any possibility you could be pregnant?”

“Absolutely none. I’m on birth control.” Julie held up a hand. “And I even took my pills while I was sick.”

His frown deepened. “You couldn’t keep anything down, Julie. Not even water, as I recall. You were dangerously dehydrated.”

“Yes, but—” Julie broke off and stared at him. “I still got the pills down. I took them with 7-Up. I didn’t forget, and even if I vomited one of them up, I can’t see how missing my dose once could result in pregnancy.”

The doctor asked, “Have you engaged in unprotected sex over the last few weeks?”

“Only once.”

He looked at her matter-of-factly. “Once is enough. I think we should do a pregnancy test.”

* * *

Julie had entered the Mystic Creek Internal Medicine building with a virus and walked out pregnant. Still feeling as sick as a dog, she sat in her car with her forehead resting on the steering wheel. Pregnant. She didn’t want a baby, not now, not when she’d fallen in love with a man who didn’t want children. And how would she ever tell Blackie? He’d be so upset, and she couldn’t blame him. He was fifty-three years old and had bypassed the time in his life for starting a family.

Julie leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. She had friends who had found themselves in this situation and had considered all of the options, even ending their pregnancies. She placed a hand over her abdomen and felt a sudden rush of maternal protectiveness. Whether she’d planned on this baby or not, she couldn’t contemplate getting rid of it. Not for Blackie. Not even for herself. Only, with a business demanding so much of her time, how on earth would she manage? And if Blackie bailed on her, she’d have to raise the child alone. That wouldn’t be a walk in the park, for sure. But she would do it. Her baby would never grow up thinking that he or she was unwanted.