Page 43 of Reuniting with Lucy

After electing Kate paint-picker, Kate and Emma went back to work, and Daisy left to finish her Christmas shopping. As soon as they were gone, Lizzie narrowed her eyes and began drumming her fingernails on the table.

“What’s up with you?” Lizzie asked.

“What do you mean?” Lucy said, licking ranch dressing off her finger. She’d moved on to Kate’s leftover fries.

“Something’s different. Twin intuition thing. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“Couldn’t tell you,” Lucy said.

“Why didn’t you eat breakfast this morning? And why have you been late coming into the shop so often lately?”

“I don’t know. I just didn’t feel like eating. My stomach’s been iffy on and off ever since I had the flu. And I’m still exhausted in the mornings.”

Lizzie was quiet for a long moment before finally blurting out what she’d clearly been wanting to say all along. “I think you might be pregnant.”

Whatever Lucy thought her sister was going to pop off with, that was nowhere near the top of her radar. Usually, they were on the same page about everything, but Lizzie was way off on this one.

“You know that’s not possible,” Lucy bit out, thinking it was actually a mean thing for her to say.

“I know some rando college doctor told you that ages ago,” Lizzie said. “But how do we know for sure he was right?”

“Beats me. He’s the doctor!”

“I think you should get a second opinion. And a pregnancy test.”

Lucy’s eyes got wide. A pregnancy? Though the thought had never crossed her mind, it would explain a lot. The moodiness, the morning-only nauseousness, being so tired and sooo hungry. She put a hand on her stomach. “You really think…”

“Let’s go find out. Right now.” Lizzie stood and dragged Lucy from the booth. “I’m driving.”

She drove straight to a drugstore, told Lucy to wait in the car, and ran in.

“Why’d you buy bean dip and an air freshener?” Lucy asked, peering into the bag Lizzie had dropped into her lap.

“So they wouldn’t think I was only there for the test.”

“Oh, yes,” Lucy said. “I’m sure you fooled them.”

“Shut up.”

“This is making me really nervous. What if I am pregnant?”

“Do you know whose it would be?” Lizzie stopped at a red light and turned to her sister. “Any chance it could be Curtis’s?”

“No. It would be Jack’s.”

“How can you be certain?”

“I never had sex with Curtis.”

“What? You were engaged to him!”

“I know.” Lucy sighed. “I liked him. I just wasn’t all that attracted to him. When he wanted to do it, I told him I was saving myself for marriage. That’s probably why he proposed so early. Looking back, that may have been a mistake.”

“Ya think?” Lizzie said. “Why would you agree to marry someone you don’t want to sleep with?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. You’re a people pleaser. You hate being alone. And you want to be married. You gotta wait for the right person though, dingbat.”

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