Chapter 22
Pandora was lying in the hospital bed, where she had been hooked up to an IV for over an hour. She still hadn’t wrapped her head around the truth that she had two babies in her belly, not one. Dr. Parks explained that they were lying back to back and were identical, sharing one placenta. He also said that was why he had missed seeing one of the two babies on the first scan.
“Have some lunch, Pandora,” Emily said, walking in with a tray. She placed it down on the table and then wheeled it over to her.
“Do you want me to call your father?” she carried on as she poured out some steaming water over a tea bag..
“No, I will do it,” she answered, her voice sounding far away.
“Just press the buzzer if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay, Pandora replied as she walked out of the room.
“Come on, Pandora, pull yourself together,” she said harshly to herself. She moved from the bed, and got her cell phone out of her bag, before sitting back down. “Shit,” she hiss seeing that she had over ten missed calls from Kiera.
She tapped Kiera’s name, calling her back. The phone connected before the first ring could finish. “Pandora!” she heard a yell from the other side.
“Keira,” she hissed as she rubbed her ear.
“Don’t scold me. I got back to hear that you called my office sounding wretched. So, I called you back immediately but you didn’t respond for over an hour. I was so worried that I was just about to call your father and put people out to search for you,” Keira ranted, but Pandora knew she was just worried.
“Sorry, I wasn’t near my cellphone. I got admitted to the hospital because I passed out at my doctor’s office,” Pandora told her friend as she took a tentative sip on the tea that Emily had made her.
There was rustling on the other side as if Kiera was moving around. “What? Are you okay, what about the baby?” she asked, breathing hard.
“The babies are okay.” Pandora smiled and shook her head. She gave her friend a moment to let that information sink in.
“Thank the lord. I am on my way already. Just headed to the parking lot. Do you need me to bring you some clothes?” There was a stunned pause before Kiera spoke again. “WAIT A MINUTE. What do you mean ‘babies‘?”
Pandora chuckled at the fact that it took her a few seconds to process the most important part of her sentence.
“I’m having twins,” she said. She couldn’t control the happy sob that made her voice shake. “I don’t know what to do. How do I cope? For so long I couldn’t even have one and now I’ll have two. What the hell am I going to do? How is this possible?”
Keira let out a soft sigh. “Aren’t you the best at looking or deals at the market? You got yourself a buy–one–get–one–free deal this time around. I told you to read everything in the small print, didn’t I?” she clucked her tongue and broke out into giggles.
Pandora followed into the laughter. “Thanks for the laugh. I really needed it,” she said once she calmed down.
“That’s my job… making my precious Pandora smile.” She paused. “Okay, I am on my way. I will stop by your place and pack you a bag. I’ll see you in a few, sweets.”
Pandora hit the end call button and hesitated as her finger hovered over her father’s phone number. She didn’t want him worrying about her when she would be just fine. But she also wanted him to know… he was her father. She bit the bullet and pressed dial.
“You’ve called Walter Leonard,” Nina said cheerfully. She had obviously not seen the caller ID before picking up.
“Hi, Nina. Is Dad around?” Pandora asked.
“He went out with a couple of friends today and forgot his phone at home.”
Pandora looked up and smiled, silently thanking whatever power was looking over her for the favor. “I’ve been put into the hospital by my doctor. He thinks I am dehydrated,” she explained quickly.
“Oh honey, is the morning sickness that bad?” Nina asked, sounding worried but still calm.
Yes, but the doctor said it was common to have this level of sickness because I am having twins.”
Nina was quicker to catch onto the new information. “Twins? You’re having twins?” she yelled excitedly through the phone.
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“Yes,” Pandora smiled.
“This is amazing news, dear. I am so excited. I will call your dad’s friends to let him know. This news cannot wait until he comes home. You should expect
him tomorrow.”
Pandora whispered, knowing that Nina knew she didn’t like being coddled and hovered over. “Thank you, Nina.” She sighed. “I’ll try to keep some food down
now.”
“Okay, sweetie. Try to get as much rest as you can. You know what I say, sleeping makes everything better!”
Pandora disconnected the call and brought a small spoonful of soup to her mouth. She could only keep the soup down for twenty minutes before it came back up. “Little ones, why don’t you like this food?” she asked, rubbing her now aching stomach.
“No good?” Emily asked and Pandora shook her head. “The soreness you feel is from throwing up and heaving. Dr. Parks asked me to give you a toothbrush and paste, it should help you feel a little better. I brought you a clean gown, too,” she said with a wink.
Pandora chuckled, taking the things gratefully. She was happier about brushing her teeth than wearing a hospital gown. She moved to the bathroom and took a shower. She sat in the shower on a chair Emily put in there.
Once she was done, she wrapped her hair in a towel and brushed her teeth. She held back a groan as she put on the new hospital gown. She was only wearing it because she didn’t have a nightgown of her own yet. Plus, the IV in her hand need to be dealt with.
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