Page 12 of Calamity Rayne Over the Moon

Five days and my clothes were snugger than ever, but I had absolutely no regrets. “I think we should stay here.”

Hale laughed. “I knew you’d love Italy. And this is only the Amalfi Coast. Wait until we come back and visit Tuscany. You’ll love the North. It’s a much more leisurely pace up there.

The man did know me well. I lived for the slow stuff. “Is there any of the zeppole left?”

He tossed me a small bag filled with the sugary fried dough. I opened it up and frowned. “What’s this? What’s gravidanza?”

“Don’t eat it.” He teased, taking the package out of my hand and opening the box. “You pee on it. It’s a test.”

“Hale.” I rolled my eyes. “I told you, it’s too soon.”

“It’s been five and a half weeks, Rayne. And we’ve had sex nearly every day without interruption.”

“But these things take—oh shit.” I did quick-period math. We left New York on April eleventh and I hadn’t had my period since two weeks before the wedding.

It had been a lot longer than five weeks.

“Give me the test.”

He handed the applicator over and followed me into the bathroom.

I looked up at him expectantly. “Are you waiting for something?”

“Does this bother you?”

I did very little things gracefully. The vision of me aiming my pee at a tiny stick might be hard to shake. “Yes. A little privacy please.”

“As you wish.” He shut the door.

I was not good at directing my stream and very grateful I hadn’t let him stick around to watch. After washing my hands I brought the stick out to the kitchen where Hale waited at the table.

Together, we stared at it.

“What are the rules?” I asked. “Is it still plus and minus in Italy?”

“Have you taken a lot of pregnancy tests before?”

“No, but I watch television. I know how these things work. In America at least.”

He read the tiny words. “Two lines if it’s positive, one line for negative.”

I chewed on my thumb nail as the first line appeared. “How long does it take?”

“We should know in a few minutes.”

“And where did you say the zeppole was?”

He slid another paper bag in front of me. This one actually filled with sugary dough. I took a large bite and chewed anxiously.

It had to be done by now.

“It’s negative,” he said, snatching it off the table and tossing it in the trash.

“Are you mad?”

“Not mad, just disappointed.”

“Hale, we just started trying. You have to be patient.”

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