There Was You

Pushing her fork around her plate, Riley wrinkled her nose, feeling her stomach turn for the umpteenth time in a matter of days. She had assumed that it would pass quickly, when Sabrina had been off ill the previous week, she had only been gone for a couple of days before she had returned, looking as good as ever, and Riley had assumed it would be the same for her, but it hadn’t been. The nausea hadn’t passed, despite having it for almost a week, she still felt sick on occasion, and the scent of the food around her wasn’t helping. Closing her eyes, she tried to stifle the familiar lurch in her stomach before the sound of her fork clattering out of her hand reached her ears, causing her eyes to flash open.

“Are you falling asleep?” Eva, who was sat across the table, chirped “I mean, I didn’t realize that hearing about your neice and nephew was so boring, Riley” she added impishly.

Riley shook her head, taking a sip from her glass of water. “I’m sorry” she mumbled.

“It’s OK” Mia quipped “I mean, it’s no worse than Garrett falling asleep at my wedding” she added, sparing a playful look towards Eva.

Eva shook her head. “That’s not fair” she retorted playfully “We had a three week old newborn who refused to sleep and Garrett was up all night. I highly doubt that Riley’s been up all night” she added.

Mia grinned suggestively. “I don’t know” she quipped “She and Iker are still in that ‘can’t keep their hands off each other’ phase” she added.

Riley, who’d shut her eyes again, wrinkled her nose. “I am not talking about that” she noted.

“You’re no fun” Mia joked.

Riley flashed her sister a small smirk before another smell reached her, causing her stomach to lurch again. Leaning backwards in her chair, she took in a couple of deep breaths before she tipped her head forwards, her eyes meeting the concerned looks of both Mia and Eva who watched her, small frowns on their faces. “You look horrible” Mia quipped.

Riley let out a weak laugh. “Nice, Mia” she noted.

“You really don’t look well” Eva contributed gently “Are you feeling OK?” she asked.

Riley shrugged, taking yet another sip of her glass of water in attempt to settle her stomach. “It’s just some stomach bug that’s been doing the rounds” she mumbled “I thought that I would be over it in a couple of days, but it’s started to drag on a bit. Everything seems to make my stomach turn” she added.

Eva tilted her head. “What do you mean ‘everything’?” she asked.

“Well, for a start, whatever you two ordered smells awful” Riley replied “But it’s all sorts of things. Why do you ask?” she prodded.

Eva was quiet for a second, sharing a brief look with Mia who’s face had lit up, before she turned back to Riley, a little smile on her face. “I just remember feeling a similar way a while ago” she quipped.

“Yeah?” Riley prodded curiously.

Eva’s smiled widened a little before she nodded. “It was a few months ago” she continued “Just before I found out that I was pregnant with Theo” she added, offering Riley a meaningful look.

Riley caught the look, frowning for a couple of seconds, before it hit her, causing her to let out an audible squeak in surprise. “Eva...” she trailed off, not quite sure what else to say.

“Is it possible?” Mia poked gently.

Riley opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, thinking over the question, before she shrugged her shoulders gently, her eyes fixed shyly on the table. “We’re pretty careful” she murmured “But...but maybe it is not impossible?” she added, her cheeks flushing a soft shade of pink.

Eva nodded her head gently before she reached her hand across the table, offering Riley’s a soft squeeze. “Is he going to be at home?” she asked gently.

Riley, who’d been staring with wide eyes down at the table, shifted her stare, checking the time on her watch before she nodded her head gently. “He should be” she noted “I should...I should go, shouldn’t I? I mean, I should go to the pharmacy and get a test or two and then I should go home and do them with him, shouldn’t I?” she pressed, looking between Mia and Eva for some kind of support.

Eva smiled, offering Riley’s hand another comforting squeeze. “Absolutely” she enthused.

Riley hesitated for a long second before she shuffled back to her feet, pulling her bag over her shoulder. Taking in a breath, she attempted to settle her stomach before she offered Mia and Eva a shaky smile, trying her hardest to wrap her head around the possibility as she slowly walked towards the restaurant’s door.

~#~
“You are back a lot earlier than I thought you’d be”

Riley, who’d been pushing the front door closed, jumped a little at the sound of Iker’s voice before she turned around, watching as he padded down the stairs, a warm smile on his face. “I am?” she asked, shifting her grip on her handbag.

Iker nodded. “I didn’t expect you back until late this afternoon” he quipped “Everything Ok?” he asked.

Riley blinked a couple of times, trying to think of a way to answer his question, before she let out a soft sigh, something which caused Iker to tilt his head, his expression clouding with a hint of concern. “Riley?” he pressed “Everything is alright, isn’t it? I mean, you kind of look like you’re about to pass out” he added, letting out a halfhearted laugh.

Riley shifted her feet slightly before she swung her handbag off of her shoulder, allowing her to pull out the pharmacy bag that she had tucked inside before she stepped forwards, pressing it into Iker’s hands.

Iker frowned as he watched her before he glanced downwards, his expression softening as he spotted the contents of the bag. “What?” he breathed out softly.

Riley offered him a shaky smile. “Sabrina was sick for two days” she noted “Everyone else was too, but me...I’ve felt sick for almost a week. I’ve not looked at the calendar, but I am pretty sure that if I do, I am going to see that my...my time of the month is overdue too. I think we have to at least make sure, even if it is just a false alarm, which it absolutely could be, I still think we have to...I think I need to do those and I thought...I don’t know, I guess I kind of thought that that was something you’d want to be around for. I mean, if I am, then you...we could be...” she trailed off, not quite able to get the words out of her mouth.

Iker, who’d kept his stare on the bag, nodded his head slowly before he held it out towards her, offering her a faint smile. “Let’s do them, then” he noted.

Riley couldn’t stop herself from smiling a little at the expression on his face before she gingerly took the bag back out of his hands. “Ok” she replied before she padded towards the bathroom, Iker following eagerly after her.