Page 79 of Moving to Love
A light knock at the door signaled his mom’s arrival. He squeezed Joci’s hand. “Mom’s here. I’ll be right back.”
He opened the door to see his mom, her hair a bit mussed, shorts and shirt slightly wrinkled, but a smile on her face.
He stood back for her to walk into the house. He motioned to the bedroom, and they began walking to Joci.
“So glad to see you. I’ve never been good with sickness, and I guess I just wanted some reassurance.” He said a bit sheepishly as they stepped through the door.
“How are you doing, dear?” Emily asked Joci softly.
She opened her eyes and smiled at Emily. “I’m sorry you felt you had to come over. I just think I have the flu.”
“How long have you felt bad, Joci?” Emily asked solicitously.
She shrugged. “Off and on, a couple of weeks. Today was the worst.”
Emily looked at Jeremiah with her brows raised. He shook his head. She had never said anything to him. While they had been at the rally in Milwaukee, she had been tired and didn’t eat much, but that could have been the bullshit with LuAnn.
“Baby, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?”
“I didn’t want to worry you. Just when I thought I should go to the doctor, I started feeling better, so I didn’t go. Today is the worst. Before this, I’ve just been tired and a little warm. I thought it had to do with him switching my birth control.”
Emily walked over and touched Joci’s forehead. “You’re not very warm now. Are you starting to feel better?”
Joci nodded and took a deep breath. “A little. Still a little queasy.”
Emily looked at Joci and then at Jeremiah.
“Joci, could you be pregnant?”
Her eyes flew open. She shook her head slowly.
“Are you sure, honey?”
“When I switched birth control, they did a pregnancy test.”
“How long ago was that?” Emily asked.
Joci slowly opened her eyes. “About five weeks or so.”
Emily cocked her head to the side and watched Joci’s eyes. She smiled softly at Joci, “Get some rest, dear.” Emily kissed Joci’s forehead, took her empty teacup, and walked out of the bedroom.
Jeremiah followed her to the kitchen. He watched his mom refill the pan with water and set it on the stove. She pulled tea bags from the pantry and added some ginger to the water. He sat at the breakfast bar, not saying anything.
Emily turned and glanced at him. She smiled as she mixed her tea. When she had a moment, she looked at him and sighed.
“Any other symptoms?”
He shook his head. “She’s been emotional. I thought she was just working too hard.”
Emily smiled and nodded.
“You think she’s pregnant, don’t you, Mom?”
“Well, I’m not a doctor, but I do think it’s a possibility. She needs to go to the doctor and make sure one way or the other. If she isn’t pregnant, there’s something going on for her to be so tired and now sick. Typically, the flu only lasts a day or two at most. The change in her birth control could be messing with her.”
Jeremiah locked eyes with his mom. They stared at each other for a few moments, and then a broad smile spread across his face.
“I want her to be pregnant, Mom. I want it bad. Since I first met her, I just knew she was the one for me.”
