Chapter 12: The Anomaly

I woke up on the nanny's bed in the nursery with a cold cloth on my forehead.

Penny was holding my wrist and counting under her breath.

Ambrose was kneeling on the floor beside the bed, his head on his shoulders, gripping my other hand so tight it hurt.

The cook stood in the doorway with her spatula.

"Hey," Penny said. "There she is. How many fingers?"

"I'm minus nine, Penny. Give me my glasses."

"She's fine," Penny said to Ambrose. "She's sassy. Sassy's fine."

Ambrose didn't let go of my hand.

"You fell," he said. "She caught you. You didn't hit the floor."

I looked past him at the cook.

"Thank you."

The cook nodded once and backed out into the hall.

Penny let go of my wrist and sat down on the edge of the bed.

She had her nurse face on. Calm and flat.

"Couple of questions. Have you been nauseous?"

"The bacon smelled weird."

"The bacon always smells amazing. You said so every morning." She tilted her head. "Dizzy? Tired? Boobs sore?"

"Penny."

"I'm a nurse. Answer the question."

I thought about it.

"Kind of. Yes. All of it. Since yesterday."

"When was your last period?"

I opened my mouth and closed it again.

I counted backward. The church daycare. The glitter. The black card.

"About four weeks before I got here," I said slowly. "I'd have been due right around now."

Penny looked at Ambrose.

Then she looked back at me.

"Have you two..." She waved her hand in a circle. "You know."

Ambrose made a sound like a man stepping on a rake.

"Once," I said. "Night nine."

"Okay. That's four days. No test on earth could tell you anything on day four. It's too early. It's way, way too early."

"So I'm fine."

"I didn't say that."

"You just said..."

"I said no test on earth." She looked up at the ceiling, at the painted roses. "This house isn't earth."

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