A Dance of Life

12

"I hope you've cleared up your day, Ms. Allard, the first prenatal test takes over an hour," the nurse says.

"Wow, okay. Thank you for the heads up, and my schedule is clear."

I hang up and turn to Pat, "I guess we're doing this!"

She laughs and beckons me towards her bed, "Come see this picture, look at how you're glowing, Ellie."

I smile lightly and pull her off the bed, "You do know Nathan's still around right?"

"Of course you'd be the one to remember him, let's go before he runs away."

Nathan must have been a different kind of tired because when we get to the sitting room he's fallen asleep on the couch.

"Should we wake him up?" Pat dramatically whispers to me.

"No, I don't think so." I slant my head and study him; he looks so young and peaceful.

"Hey, Annelise," Patricia says, snapping her fingers in front of my face, "Stop drooling and come and eat your food."

I roll my eyes but I put my fingers to my lips just in case; you never know with these pregnancy symptoms. The smell of the rice hits me and my mouth waters for real. "Did I actually make this?"

"Haha, no need to boast; we both know that you're the chef in this house," she groans.

Nathan's phone starts to ring as I blow her a kiss. We both stare at each other for a second before rushing to see who's calling.

"Ugh, Logan."

"Who's Logan?" Pat asks, taking the now fully charged phone back to the dining table.

"Fitness trainer, gym owner, busybody. Pick and choose the one you like." I take a spoon of the rice and sigh as I relish the taste, "I swear it didn't taste this good on the first day."

"How is he a busybody?" she asks with a frown on her face.

"He's trying to convince Nathan to get with his ex, even though she did him dirty."

"What did she do?"

I glance back at the couch where Nathan has turned over and is facing the back of the chair. "It's not my secret to tell, Pat," I sigh, "But I'm sure you'll find out in due time."

"Alright," she replies, raising her hands with the palms up. "So what's up with you and ballet?"

"Ms. Bernanrd doesn't think I'm healthy enough because I passed out during the auditions. She wants a hospital report that I'm fine unless I wouldn't be able to dance."

"Why didn't you just tell her what happened? There are some people who still dance when pregnant, aren't there?"

"Yeah but it's not really something I want to go announcing to the masses, Pat. I'll just get the report and-"

"And do what? You're already showing, how long do you think it would take before people notice?" She gives me a sad look and shakes her head, "I'm not saying you have to tell everyone or even anyone, but you have to figure something out."

"I could just let them think what they want..." I say under my breath but she pretends not to hear me.

I finish my food but before I can clear the dish Pat takes it away. "Am I also a guest?"

"No, but you're pregnant and I want to pamper you, got it?"

"Patricia, I don't need to be pampered," I groan.

"I completely agree but unless I can find a job with better hours, I'm not going to see a lot of you and I really want to be part of this with you. So please let me do this for you." Her eyes are begging me but not in a comical way, so I nod my head in agreement.