Page 89 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Casey***

Ugh… I’m dying. I’m sure of it. I’m dying. This isn’t cute

anymore. Throwing up all day is not cute. I’m still not that big. I

thought people would have figured it out by now, but a few baggy T-shirts and

empire-waist tops, and no one seems to notice. They probably just think I’ve

gained a little weight. My boobs do look awesome, though, so score for the

girls.

“Casey?” Clara knocks on my door.

“Come in.”

She closes the door behind her, sitting on the edge of the

bed. With a stern look that doesn’t match the soft stroking of my hair, she

scolds me.

“Why haven’t you told Ethan yet?”

Fuck. “Told him what?”

“Honey, I have six of my own. I know the signs.”

With a groan, I stare into her eyes. “You can’t tell anyone,”

I plead.

“That’s not my place, but you need to tell him. He must

know.”

“Maybe I’ll tell him if I can stop throwing up long enough.”

“Your morning sickness does seem excessive. Have you had an

ultrasound yet?”

“In two weeks. Why?”

“Nothing to worry about. In the meantime, I have some herbal

tea that can help.”

“Ugh… I’ll try anything. I have to go to work soon.”

“I’ll fill the thermos, and you can take it with you.”

“Thanks.”

“You should at least tell your father. He’s worried about

you.”

I take her hand with a solemn stare. I don’t know what I

would have done without her these last couple of months.

“I want to thank you, Clara. In the short time I’ve known

you, I’ve really come to care about you. What you’ve done with Daddy is… miraculous.

You’ve… you’ve been like a mother to me. With my own mom gone, you don’t know

how much that means to me.”

She swipes a tear from her cheek and pats my cheek lovingly.

“I feel the same way, dear.”

Before I can say anything else, I have to rush off to the

bathroom to do that not-so-cute thing for the umpteenth time today.

By the time I leave for work, I’ve had three cups of Clara’s

tea, and I feel much better. That is until the smokers arrive. I’m pregnant—I

can’t be around all this smoke! But I can’t exactly make it a non-smoking bar,

either. I know! Maybe I could have an outdoor smoking area. Put up a few

tables, some speakers for the music, maybe a pool table. I’ll have to run it by

Rusty, see what he thinks. I can’t have anything affecting little EJ or Katy.

He/she is the only thing keeping me going right now.