A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Chapter XXIX: Back In Business

Angus stared at me, unsure if he heard me correctly. "Wh-what?" he asked.

"It's late," I said as calmly as I could. It should have been here and over with by now and it wasn't. It just never showed up. I was sick and miserable all day every day with no relief. And this had never happened before. I waited for him to say something. 

"Uh...okay," he said staring at the foot of the bed. I could almost see his mind racing. "Okay, how long?"

"Two weeks," I admitted. "This is the start of the third." Angus merely nodded and went back to staring at nothing. "I think that's why I've been so sick lately."

"Wh-what do ya' mean, if they're late ya' feel....sick?" 

"Well, it's prolonged PMS," I explained. "My body is acting like it should come any day but it's not showing up. So I'm going through my usual symptoms like...I've been sick, and I've been crying a lot, and I ate a good amount of Scottish chocolate." I tried to smile but Angus wasn't in the right state of mind to smile. "And a few days makes no difference here or there but...it's never been two weeks late before."

I thought Angus was in some kind of trance. He just stared in front of him like something was going to happen and he didn't want to miss it. He started counting on his fingers. "How long ago was our holiday?"

I started counting myself when I realised what he was asking. "I'm not pregnant," I said hugging him. 

"An' how do you know that?" he asked. I brushed away some hair that had fallen in his face. 

"I just...do somehow," I said. I wasn't a doctor by any means. Some women could easily tell when they were pregnant before symptoms even started. Aside from a late cycle I hadn't had any odd or out of place symptoms, just my normal ones going on longer than usual. And I had this gut feeling that it was something else. 

Angus gently squeezed my hand. "I think..." He swallowed. "I think I'd feel a lot better if you took a test or somethin'..." he said. "Jus'...makin' sure, ya' know?"

I smiled. "Alright."

**********

The next morning I hauled myself out of bed and went to the store. There were hardly any people there and for that I was grateful. I grabbed a small box and looked it over. 

Two hours?

Another box said one hour. What I wouldn't give for a test to take three minutes. The two hour test was a bit cheaper so I bought that one, hoping "cheaper" didn't mean "shitty". But it was a popular brand so they must be doing something right.

When I got home Angus was waiting on the couch and stood up as soon as he saw me. "Find one?" he asked. I held the little box up. He put his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight from foot to foot. "You uh...I...I can stay here," he said. "You can...if ya' want..."

His skin looked a bit whiter than normal. He smiled anyway. His fidgeting started making me nervous so after a quick kiss on the cheek I headed for the bathroom.

**********

We sat there on the couch together holding hands. If, after two hours the colour changed, it was positive. If it stayed the same, negative. Angus had gotten up to check a few times. "It hasn't been two hours yet," I reminded him. 

"I know, I know...." he said coming back. "But it's gotta be close, right?" With steaming cups of tea we waited in silence. Angus would wring his hands together and stare at the floor before taking my hand again and squeezing it. I knew I couldn't be pregnant. I just couldn't be. Not with all these PMS symptoms, it had to be late for a different reason. Still, a part of me began to worry.