Imperfect Love (27 page)

Breathing deeply again, she opened her eyes, and taking another to clear her mind the spinning turned into a soft buzz. As this was the best she was going to feel at that moment, she decided to make her way back to the table before Jake called it a night.

Unfortunately, the two women were still in the bathroom so she figured she would ignore them, wash her hands and exit. She wouldn’t look up or say a word, just do what needed to be done and leave. As she opened the door, the dizziness and hot flushes came rushing back. Her vision blurred and the buzzing in her ears got louder. Before she could stabilize herself, the room spun out of control. One of the women shrieked as she fell to the floor, and then everything went black.

“HOLLY.” SHE COULD HEAR A FAINT VOICE CALLING her name, and felt a soft pats against her cheek. “Sweetheart, wake up.”

“Here is the ice, Jake. What is wrong with her?”

Holly heard an Italian accent, which obviously belonged to Maro.

“I don’t know. She complained about not feeling well,” he said, shrugging. “I’m quite worried now.”

“Oh, fuck,” Holly croaked. “What happened?”

“Shh, don’t lift your head yet. I think you fainted. Just give it a couple more minutes,” Jake requested.

She could feel his hands at the back of her neck. Her head was still twirling like crazy, and every time she tried to open her eyes she was forced to close them again.

“Do you feel any other pain? Did you hit your head?” Jake asked.

The bathroom door opened. “Will she be okay?” It was a voice that belonged to one of the girls who she’d heard a couple of minutes ago, the one with her list of things to do with Jake.

“I think so, but I’ll take her to the hospital just in case.”

“You don’t have to, we’ve called for an ambulance and it should be here shortly.”

“Thank you, but I do have to. She’s with me and I have to make sure she is okay,” Jake replied, in a not so impressed tone.

If Holly could’ve, she would have loved to see the look on the woman’s face that accompanied the “Oh, I see” following Jake’s comment.

Holly finally managed to open her eyes, which soon brought on a nauseated feeling she’d never felt before, one that rose up her throat. She winced.

Clearly, Jake noticed it, because he immediately asked, “What is it? Just tell me where it hurts.”

“I’m feeling sick, like I’m going to barf my lungs out,” she mumbled, barely able to get those words out.

“I’ve never seen you faint like this before. Damn it! We really need to get you to the hospital.”

“No, I’ll be fine. I hate hospitals, Jake. Just help me get up, please,” she begged.

Jake complied and lifted her up onto her feet.

She took another deep breath and opened her eyes again. The bile felt as if it was retreating back down her throat and it became slightly more bearable. She gave Jake a look and hoped that he was able to read how sorry she was for feeling so crappy on their date.

Jake, however, had made up his mind. “Hospital, now. I will never be able to sleep tonight if I don’t know you are all right.”

“Fine, a checkup only. But no needles, promise?”

Jake’s eyebrows furrowed sympathetically. “All I can promise is that I’ll hold your hand if there are.”

Although it was sweet, it wasn’t quite the answer Holly wanted. Nonetheless, Holly could see that Jake was really worried. The crappy way she felt and his sense of concern were enough to overrule her fear of needles this time.

“Deal.”

He smiled, making sure he had a firm grip around her waist. He then turned to Maro and apologized before making their way out.

The drive to the hospital felt like it had taken forever. Holly laid down on the backseat, which didn’t make her feel any better in the confined space, and the slight rocking motion of the car was playing havoc with her dizziness again.

Eventually, she felt the car stop, heard Jake get out, and then felt the cold air when he opened her door. He helped her out, and once she was stable on her feet, placed his hand on her forehead. His hand felt like ice against her skin.

“You’re warm,” he said, concern evident in his voice.

Holly felt too weak to do anything but grunt, resting her head on his chest.

They made their way inside the hospital and the first thing she heard was one of the staff members sounding really pleased to see Jake.

“Oh, my! Let’s get your friend to a bed,” the woman exclaimed on having noticed Holly.

“I just need a checkup here. I’m taking her to bed 6,” Jake replied quickly.

“We’ll call for a doctor, Jake,” an older woman’s voice stated.

“Thanks, Aggie.”

The next thing Holly felt was Jake placing her down gently onto a bed. Her body began to shake with cold.

“Is there anything I can help with?” The eager woman from before offered her assistance.

“Yes,” Jake answered. “Can you get me a monitor? I’d like to get a blood pressure reading. I’ll need an IV kit and a glucose stick as well.” The nurse nodded and disappeared.

“What have we here?” a male voice asked. “Jake?”

“My girlfriend, Holly. She’s 24. She passed out at the restaurant. She feels nauseous, but no vomiting. I think she might have a low grade fever. She’s never had anything like this before.” Jake shot out her symptoms to the man in quick succession like he was presenting a case.

“How much did you have to drink at dinner, Holly? Do you think that might be why you feel sick?” asked the doctor.

Holly shook her head definitively and then stopped because it made her dizzy. “No, I’ve been feeling bad for a couple of days. I only managed to keep a couple sips of wine down at dinner.”

“Are you taking any medication?” The doctor continued with his checklist.

“Nothing. Well…” she paused and then whispered, “…does birth control count?”

“It does. I’ll make a note of it. I’ll get a nurse to insert that IV, and then I’ll request blood work to be done.”

The nursing aide returned, wheeling a monitor to the side of the bed.

“Great, thanks,” said Jake as he began untangling the cords. He freed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around Holly’s upper arm. While the cuff inflated, he untangled four more cords for an EKG, and another that he clipped to her fingertip.

Jake and the doctor both watched the blinking monitor in suspense. The display beeped cheerily when it arrived at its answer: 165/100.

Jake shook his head. “That can’t be right. That’s absurd!”

“Take it again.” The doctor seemed to agree.

Jake pressed the read button and the cuff inflated, but its answer was the same.

“Where’s the pharmacist? She needs a beta blocker before she has a stroke or something.”

“Jake, wait. You have to do the lab work first. You know that.” The doctor carefully reeled Jake back into reality.

A nurse tied a rubber strip tightly around Holly’s arm.

Jake looked at Holly sympathetically, “Sorry, Bee Puke. We’ve got to get blood before we treat you, okay?”

Holly’s heart beat fast in her chest; she felt trapped. She looked back at Jake with panic in her eyes.

He took hold of her hand.

Holly felt a prick on the inside of her arm, and then a nurse untied the rubber strip. She didn’t want to open her eyes, because she knew that all she’d see was a needle poking out of her arm, filling a syringe with her blood.

“All done,” said the nurse.

Holly made the mistake of turning her head in time to see the nurse putting labels on the tubes. Nausea rose in her stomach as she registered the size of the tubes.

All of that is my blood? Did they leave me any?
She knew the thought was irrational, but she couldn’t help it.

The nurse handed Holly a gown and a plastic cup with a sticker that said ‘sterile’ covering the seal of the orange lid.

“Here’s a gown for you to wear, and I need you to go to the bathroom and pee in this cup.”

Awkward but dutiful, Holly took the cup to the bathroom. She poked her head out of the bathroom a minute later and saw to her dismay that the ER was teaming with people.

She tugged at her gown, which was too short and didn’t seem to be properly closed. She didn’t think she was wearing it right. Feeling a moment of triumph, she realized the gown had a pocket. She slipped the warm cup of liquid into it before emerging.

Casually, she walked up to the nurses’ station, but her cover was blown by the nurse who asked loudly, “Holly, where’s your urine?” Holly blushed.

“It’s in my pocket,” she replied.

The nurse looked alarmed and confused until Holly produced the orange, capped cylinder and set it on the counter.

“Oh,” said the nurse. “Thanks. I’ll send it to the lab. You can go lie down.”

Holly returned in time to overhear the doctor talking to Jake.

“It’s good you brought her in immediately and didn’t try to sort it out yourself. You did the right thing.”

“I hope so,” Jake mumbled.

The doctor disappeared into another room.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“We’ll find out soon, okay? Just stay tuned,” Jake said with a fake-looking smile.

Even though she felt awful, his tough guy act made her giggle, or at least it was something that resembled a giggle.

“Try to rest, it is sometimes the best.”

Holly tried to do what he’d asked as she listened to people rushing in and out around her. Eventually, she dozed off for a while. Slowly coming to, the first voice she heard was Bernie’s. Her friend was freaking out, and true to Jake’s character, she heard he was trying to calm her down.

“Jake! What is wrong with her?”

“I don’t know, Bern.”

“Jake.” Holly heard another familiar voice. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Dad.”

“I got a call out from Dr. Augustus.”

“Dr. Augustus?”

Just then, the doctor who’d seen to Holly earlier cut in. “A minute, Jake.”

“Why did you call my father?”

Holly froze.

“You called me for Holly?”

“Jake, you know your father is a specialist on this condition. It’s his area of research. Give us a minute, Jake. Gus, please.”

Holly opened her eyes.

What condition? He’s an obstetrician.
Please, God. No. Not that. I can’t be….

She couldn’t think about or even say the word, but she knew that God would know what she meant.

I can’t be. I’m on the damn pill, which is supposed to be 99 percent foolproof. I will sue the company… I... Stop it, Holly! You are not, you are not.

“Holly?” Gus’ voice was close to her ear. “Can you sit up for me, please?”

She did as he asked, but tears threatened. When he examined her glands, she looked up into his eyes. “Please, tell me it’s not what I think it is,” she begged.

Gus looked surprised. “And what do you think it is?”

It was Holly’s turn to look surprised.
Why’s he asking me? He’s the doctor, and that’s supposed to be my question.
In response, she merely shrugged feebly.

“We are still waiting for the blood work results,” he said softly. “When was your last cycle?”

Great, now I have to share with my boyfriend’s father when my last cycle was.

She tried to think, but really couldn’t remember.
Why can’t I remember?

“I was taking the pill and then I kind of stopped getting it. I thought it was just a side effect.”

“You don’t remember your last period? Even just a spot?”

Holly shook her head, while a tear ran down her cheek.

“It’s not necessarily the end of the world, you know.”

“Excuse me, doctor. The blood work results are back,” said an eager girl’s voice that Holly didn’t even want to look at. She handed Gus a piece of paper and left.

Where the hell is Jake?

Gus scanned the results. Something caught his eye and the lines on his face relaxed. He had found the diagnosis in the blood work. His expression told Holly right away what the cause of her sickness was.

No two ways about it; she was pregnant.