And if that weren’t bad enough she’d suddenly been attacked by a stomach virus. Two days in a row she'd woken up to a bout of nausea and had had to rush to the bathroom where she’d emptied the contents of her stomach. When the third day turned out to be more of the same Erin knew she had to make the sacrifice and dip into her meager savings to get the money to visit a doctor. Her college health insurance coverage had expired so all medical costs were now her responsibility.
At the medical clinic she grudgingly handed over the eighty-dollar fee then went to sit in the waiting lounge. She picked up the latest copy of Cosmopolitan then put it down again, unable to concentrate. There was just too much on her mind. There were so many things she needed to do. She needed to start pounding the pavement, she had to find a job. Dear God, how was she going to survive?
She glanced at her watch for the fifth time. Why hadn’t the doctor called her yet? She couldn’t afford to waste all this time just sitting around. She had to get back to her job hunting. Unable to sit still any longer she got up and went over to stare at the goldfish swimming serenely in their colorfully decorated house of glass. She envied them.
“Ms. Samuels?”
At the sound of her name Erin turned to see the medical assistant standing in the doorway, smiling at her. She gave a sigh of relief. Finally.
Dr. Saunders greeted Erin warmly and listened attentively as she described her ailment. After a quick check of her blood pressure, heart and lungs he gave a nod. “Everything seems to be in order. Will you have a seat, please?”
She slid off the examination table and went back to sit in the chair across from the doctor’s desk.
“Ms. Samuels,” he said with a gentle smile, “is there any possibility that you are pregnant?”
“Preg…pregnant?” The words came out in a shocked whisper.
“Yes, pregnant,” the doctor said patiently. “Are you sexually active?”
“N…no. I mean, yes. I…” she could not go on. Pregnant? The thought hadn’t even crossed her mind.
“So which is it?” the doctor chuckled but there was no sign of judgment on his face. “I need you to do a pregnancy test today. If it’s negative we’ll run some other tests but let's start there.”
In a daze Erin took the lab requisition from the doctor then with a nod of thanks she turned toward the door. Could she really be pregnant?
As she sat in the waiting room she relived the night she’d spent in Dare’s arms. Three times they’d made love and all three times he’d used a condom. They’d been careful. Pregnancy could not be the cause of her problems. She began to breathe a little easier at the thought. Then she thought back to the last few months since she’d left the island. She hadn’t had a period since her return but that was normal for her. She was one of the lucky souls who only had a period three or four times a year. Her gynecologist had told her it would in no way affect her ability to have children so she hadn’t been concerned. Until now.
The gravity of the situation was like a slap to the face. If she were really pregnant how in heaven’s name was she going to manage? She could barely feed herself let alone a baby. And where would they live?
She covered her face with her hands, trying to control her emotions. It would not do to burst into tears right there in the middle of the waiting room. But, dear God, what was she going to do?
It took only thirty minutes for Erin to receive the verdict. She was indeed pregnant. And she was expected to give birth in twenty-four weeks. With that news her world crumbled around her.
Erin spent the rest of the afternoon feeling sorry for herself. Then, as she always did when facing a crisis, she began to plan her course of action.
First, she had to find a way to start earning money immediately. Looking for jobs in her field of study was not working and it didn’t make sense to continue down that path. She would set her sights lower, take anything she could get, just as long as it was available now and provided a steady income. Next, she would move to a smaller place, probably somewhere farther away from the college since apartments in that area tended to be more expensive due to the high demand. She would probably even have to seek a roommate. She wasn’t thrilled at the idea but under the circumstances she had no choice.
Then she would start checking out the thrift stores. As much as she hated the idea of dressing her baby in recycled clothing it was better than no clothes at all. She sighed and sat down to write her list. A crib, bedding, clothes and a stroller. At minimum she would have to have those. Oh, and a baby car seat. She’d need that the day she took him…or her…from the hospital. Even if she told them she’d be taking a taxi home the hospital staff would never let her leave without a car seat for the baby.
Her plan in place, Erin began to pound the pavement. Literally. Next day she was up with the sun. She’d dressed carefully, applied a little make-up, and with her resume adjusted to suit the marketplace she took the bus to the heart of the city and began to walk. She’d printed one hundred copies of her resume and before the week was out she planned to have dropped off every one of them.
By the end of the first day Erin had submitted applications at twenty-one establishments including Subway, Mc Donald's, Whole Foods and Tim Horton’s, the most popular coffee shop chain in the country. She knew that if she was lucky enough to get a call from one of them the pay would be small, probably little more than minimum wage, but at least most of the restaurants offered employees free meals. Food was one thing she wouldn’t have to worry about.
Next day Erin was out again by seven in the morning. She didn’t get back home until the sun had already set. Still, she was satisfied she’d beat the previous day’s record, submitting twenty-five applications that day. By the end of the third day she’d reached sixty-six in total. Completely exhausted, she only had the energy to shower and climb into bed with a prayer that her hard work would soon bear fruit.
The fourth day dawned and despite the feeling of nausea that attacked her Erin pulled on her walking shoes and headed out to begin her daily trek. She didn’t feel as energetic and her spirit had begun to flag. Still, she pressed on, knocking on every door where she felt there was any possibility of her finding work.