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Chapter Twenty Seven - June 26

Three days later I was back to being a brunette. I had paid four times as much at a top of the line salon but I had gotten the exact results I wanted. The stylist I had found, Flora, had even done a trial run of my style for the wedding. I cried when she was done, but unlike my experience with Becky, they were good tears.

On the day after my return to the world of normal hair color, I woke up expecting to feel pretty content. We had defeated our dark forces, my hair felt soft, and my wedding was in six days. The cherry on top was that Brooklyn had slept eight straight hours for the very first time.

Unfortunately, I woke up feeling grumpier than I had in a long time. My body hurt like I had just run a marathon. Nick was still asleep; his arm hung loosely around Bitsy who was snoring right into his face. I headed into the bathroom and took a shower. I let the water run cold before getting out.

As I was brushing my teeth, all of a sudden I felt the metallic taste of blood invade my mouth. I quickly spit, but the water was clean. I rinsed and gargled, but the taste still lingered.

Nick was still sleeping as I got dressed for the day. I couldn’t help but think that the events of the last week must have finally hit him. I let him snore softly and went to check on Brooklyn.

She wasn’t asleep. The moment I walked through the door I heard her babbling and cooing away to herself. She “talked” more than any baby I had ever met. I walked up to the railing and leaned over. Her blue eyes met mine; she smiled.

“Hey little girl. Did you have a good night?”

She let out a shriek. Her legs kicked up and then back down. She was like a little coil of energy just waiting to be unleashed.

I scooped her up and we did our usual routine of feeding, burping, and changing. I headed down to the living room. Usually I put her in her swing while I fixed breakfast, but this morning I felt like I couldn’t eat a bite. The taste in my mouth was making me nauseous.

Trying to keep myself distracted, I laid out one of her soft pink blankets on the wooden floor and put her down on her back. I pulled out a few of her puppets. Her eyes widened as they danced in front of her face. My inner librarian couldn’t help but begin to act out a little story with the puppets, written, produced, and directed by me. I got so absorbed in the story and the happy look on Brooklyn’s face that I forgot how queasy I was.

“And Mr. Cow said ‘Moooooo-ve over chicken!’ And Mr. Chicken said ‘It’ll cost you a bawk-bawk-bawk’!”

“That was really corny.”

I looked up to see Nick at the foot of the stairs. He was standing there clad in his underwear and he was holding my camera. He was recording; I had no idea how long he had been standing there.

“Shut up,” I said with a laugh as he walked over. He knelt down next to Brooke and zoomed the camera in on her.

“Is mommy a silly lady?” Nick asked. Brooke laughed.

Then she did something unexpected.

She rolled over.

“Oh my god!” Nick said. He dropped the camera.

“Did you get that?” I asked.

“I don’t know! I hope so.”

I looked down at Brooke. A second ago she was on her back, now she was cooing happily on her stomach.

She had been rocking side to side for about a week now, but I hadn’t expected for her to just one day whip over like she had been doing it all her life. Nick picked up the camera and hit replay. I scooted close to him. Keeping one eye on the real deal and one eye on the screen I watched the footage. Nick had caught it on tape. I laughed.

“That is so cool,” I said.

“Our daughter’s brilliant,” Nick said proudly.

I laughed. Nick picked Brooke up and flipped her back over on her back. A few minutes later she rolled back over on her stomach.

“I could do this all day,” Nick said.

I was just about ready to advise him that treating his daughter like a roly poly might not be such a good idea when I heard my cell phone ring. I got up, hopped over Nick, and picked the phone up from the end table.

“Hello?”

“Liv, it’s Leighanne. Everything okay?”

“Hey Leigh. Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Brian and I saw the whole thing about Aaron on the news. We couldn’t believe it. Well, Brian could believe the part about Nick falling into the ocean, but other than that…”

I sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“Is everything still on schedule for the wedding?”

“Absolutely. No crazy ex-husbands or murderous family members are going to stand in our way.”

Leighanne laughed. “Okay, good to hear.”

“How are you doing?” I asked.

“I just got back from trying on the dress. So far so good. It’s a little tighter, but we got it with room to grow.”

I made my way into the kitchen and rummaged around for a mint. The taste in my mouth was getting stronger and I desperately needed to nibble on something before I puked.

“You guys getting excited?” I asked.

“Brian’s going nuts. He got this daddy book on how to raise a daughter. It’s like he’s been told he has to raise an alien.”

I laughed and looked over at Nick; he was blowing raspberries on Brooke’s tummy. I knew Brian was going to be just fine.

“If Nick can do it, Brian can.”

“I have no doubt,” Leigh said lightly.

As we talked, I managed to find a box of crackers. I took out a sleeve and took a bite. Instantly the salt seemed to do the trick.

“So Brian and I are going to drive down a couple days before the wedding,” Leighanne was saying. “We’re meeting up with Kevin and his new lady. And then of course there’s your bachelorette party.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I really don’t need one,” I said. “And Kevin has a new lady?”

“Listen, as your maid of honor I will promise you that we will keep it clean and boring. Rochelle should hate every minute. And yes, from what Brian tells me he’s head over heels in love with this girl named Addy. She lives in the small town where Kevin lives now. Something tells me she might have been part of the reason for the move.”

I laughed. “I can’t wait to meet her. And I put my trust in you that we will put the b in boring for my bachelorette party.”

I took another bite of cracker.

“Okay, the noise is driving me nuts. What are you chomping on?”

“What? Oh, crackers.”

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning.”

“Well, we don’t have a lot of food in the house.”

“Sure you’re not pregnant?” Leighanne teased.

I choked on the cracker; the dry flakes scratched down my throat.

“What?”

“Relax! I was just kidding. You’re not are you?”

I laughed nervously.

“Of course not.”

“Well, since I put us on the subject of babies. I’ve got to bring you some of the new Wylee designs that have just come through. We designed the cutest little sundress…”

As she began to talk about her new line of children’s clothes I have to admit I only half listened. My throat still hurt from choking on the cracker and my mind was still on her question.

Pregnant? Ha…

Finally, Leighanne came up for breath.

“Well, I’m just glad the three of you are okay. Brian just texted me to ask me to tell you to tell Nick he’s going to call about bachelor party plans in the next day or so. Can you give him the message?”

“Absolutely.”

“Excellent. Well, Miss Bride-to-Be, I will see you soon.”

I smiled. “See you soon. Give Baylee a kiss for me.”

“Will do. Give Brooke one for us.”

We hung up and I walked back into the living room. Nick looked over at me.

“How are things in Littrell land?”

“Good. Brian’s going to call you in the next day or so about your bachelor party.”

Nick grinned. “Excellent. Maybe it’s about the boatload of strippers.”

I raised an eyebrow. He laughed. “Just kidding. Hey, I’m going to go upstairs and put on some clothes. Want to take Brooklyn patrol to make sure she doesn’t roll under a couch and out the door?”

I grinned. “I think I can handle that.”

Nick pinched my bottom affectionately as he passed me. I sat down on the couch. Brooklyn was on her stomach again. She turned her head to look at me.

“Want your binkie?” I asked, picking up the pacifier from the blanket. Her little lips parted as I stuck it in her mouth. She began to suck happily.

Seeing that she was content, I grabbed my laptop that I had left lying on the couch the night before. I had been up late e-mailing Valeria with the final, final seating chart arrangements. As soon as the Internet booted, I went straight to Google.

I’m not one to be a hypochondriac, but as the salt from the crackers faded I still had that disgusting taste in my mouth. I did a search for “metallic taste in mouth and nausea” and hit ‘Search’. I quickly ruled out any medications because I wasn’t taking any medications. I got to the bottom of the first page and looked at the related searches.

Three of them included the word pregnancy.

I exhaled heavily. There wasn’t any possible way, right? We had been careful…most of the time. We hadn’t been careful for the last week, but that wouldn’t have mattered. Before then, we had been diligent. I always had a condom at the ready…

Except for the night on the stairs when I had practically ripped his clothes off with my teeth. I vaguely remember him starting to get up and saying that he needed to get…but I hadn’t let him go.

But that was just one time.

Then I remembered that Brooklyn had been the result of our first time. All of a sudden my nausea seemed to intensify. I sat on the couch staring ahead at absolutely nothing, letting the possibility sink in.

“Hey Liv? You want to go out for lunch?”

“Liv?”

I was surprised to see Nick standing beside me. He smiled.

“Hey, you were thinking awful hard. Hopefully it was about me.”

“What?”

Nick laughed. “I asked if you wanted to go out for lunch, space cadet.”

I licked my lips.

“Why don’t I go through the drive through and bring lunch back here?” I asked. “That way we won’t have to drag Brooke out. It’s so hot today.”

I don’t know where all of my words came from. In the back of my mind my only thought was that I needed to get a test and then have a good laugh when it came back negative.

“Alright. You want to go to Carl’s Jr.?”

“Sure thing.”

I closed the lid on my laptop and went around gathering my keys and purse. Nick sprawled out on the floor by Brooklyn. He flipped on the TV to Cartoon Network.

“Get me a jalapeno chicken sandwich,” Nick called out.

“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”

I got into the Pathfinder and slid on my sunglasses. As I drove into downtown I also put on my do-rag from my blue-haired caper. I felt stupid going incognito, but the paparazzi was still roaming around and the last thing I needed was them to find me buying a pregnancy test at the drugstore. I could see the headlines now – “Nick Carter’s fiancée having brother Aaron’s love child!’ or something equally ridiculous.

I pulled up to a Walgreens and walked inside. Because of the extreme heat, more people were looking at me because I was wearing the bandana. With a mild curse I took it off and stuffed it in my pocket. I did a nonchalant stroll through the store. When no one was looking I dodged into the family planning aisle.

I didn’t waste time to compare and contrast. I grabbed the first box I saw and headed towards the counter. Along the way I bought a bag of chocolate covered raisins and a pair of flip flops. That was the best way to make sure the test didn’t stand alone, right?

There was only one person in front of me in line when I made my way to the register. An extremely bored teenage boy was cashier. I quietly said a thank you prayer. A bored teenage boy would care less about someone else’s purchases.

Unfortunately, after the boy rang up the guy in front of me, there was a shift change. A little old lady took his place behind the counter. I could just tell this was going to be trouble. Little old ladies are notoriously nosy.

“Good day dear,” she said as I made my way up.

“Good afternoon,” I said. She scanned the raisins.

“Oh, I just love these. Haven’t had them in years. Diabetes, you know.”

I nodded in understanding. My foot began to tap. She grabbed the flip flops.

“I don’t know how you young ones keep these things on your feet. I’d break a hip if I tried to walk in these.”

I cracked a little smile. She grabbed the test.

“Oh, well look at you! I hope you get the answer you want sweetie,” she said, waving the box in the air. I stifled a groan and just nodded. I swiped my card before she even gave me the total. By this time the line had gotten to be several people long and I was sure that me, my flip flops, and my pregnancy test had given everyone a good show.

I took the receipt and mumbled a ‘thank you.’ By the time I got to the car I was sweating like a pig.

The power of suggestibility has an amazing effect on the human body. As I sat in the car I could almost feel my boobs start to hurt and the little tugs in my stomach.

“You’re crazy, you’re crazy,” I muttered to myself as I backed out and headed towards Carl’s Jr.

Everybody in the nearby vicinity must have had a craving for one of the six dollar burgers. I waited in the steaming car as everyone inched along. By the time I got up to the order speaker I was practically ready to scream.

“Can I take your order?”

I ordered Nick’s chicken and even though I had sworn I would never eat lettuce again, I got a cranberry apple walnut chicken salad. If Kim Kardsashian could eat it and still look amazing, why couldn’t I?

Fifteen minutes later I got my bag and pulled away from the fast food circus. I cranked the air conditioner up full blast on the way home. Finally, I reached the gate and was buzzed in. As I drove up the driveway, I stuffed the Walgreens bag in my purse.

I must have been gone longer than I realized because the minute I unlocked the front door, Nick was there like a dog that had just heard the shake of his food bag. I handed over the Carl’s Jr. bag and he looked in, inhaling the scent.

“I just put Brookey down for a nap,” he said.

“She must be going through a growth spurt if she fell asleep already. She slept eight hours.”

Nick smiled. “I know. Lucky us.”

He sat down at the table and began to unload the bag. I missed having our kitchen island. I loved sitting on a bar stool and being able to swing my feet inches off the ground. And Nick was so tall that he actually looked kind of funny sitting at a normal table.

“C’mon. Sit your butt down and eat your salad,” Nick said. “I can’t believe you’re eating lettuce. Again.”

I smiled and sat down across from him. I really wanted to just run to the bathroom and get it over with, but instead I opened the lid to my salad.

For the next few minutes the sound of fries being folded in half and eaten came from Nick’s end of the table while the crisp stabbing of lettuce came from mine. After taking a large sip of his soda, he drummed his fingers on the table.

“You okay? You don’t look so hot.”

“What?”

“You look like you don’t feel good.”

That wasn’t what I needed to hear. I forced a smile.

“I’m fine. I’m just preoccupied.”

Nick smiled knowingly. “Are you getting nervous about the wedding?” he chided.

I swallowed hard. The apple tasted like crap. “Yeah, a little.”

Liar, liar.

“Me too. Not because of the actual marriage part,” he added. “There’s just so many rules to remember. It’s going to be as bad as learning a new dance routine.”

I laughed. “It’s okay if you break the rules. I won’t tell.”

He leaned over the table and kissed me. I could taste the jalapeno on his lips; mine burned for a moment. He laughed.

“My kisses are hot, baby.”

A few minutes later I tossed the last little remnants of my salad in the trash. After wiping down the table I headed towards the bathroom.

“Where you going?” Nick asked, heading back to the couch.

“I gotta pee,” I said. I wasn’t lying.

I had just reached the bathroom door when Nick called down the hall to me.

“Well let me know if it’s positive or negative, alright?”

I turned around and headed back down the hall. Nick was sitting on the couch.

With my laptop open.

“You forgot to clear your Google search,” he said more seriously. I blanched. His face softened.

“Do you really think you are?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you want to be?”

“I…don’t know.”

“Are you going to castrate me if you are?”

I cracked a small smile. “No.”

“Okay, good. Now go pee so we can freak out together.”

I took a deep breath. I almost felt better now that he was in on the secret.

“Will do,” I said.

As I sat down on the toilet, holding the stick, I couldn’t help but think that I was minutes away from yet another possible life changing revelation.

Just days before, I had asked Nick if he thought life was ever going to slow down.

At the moment, I was pretty sure the answer was a resounding NO.