Perfect Contradiction Read Free Page A

so sick, the funeral, Beth coming home, her engagement, and the wedding. I frowned to myself as I thought. When was the last time I had my period? Then a flash of something lit in my brain. I hadn’t had a period since right after the funeral. As a matter of fact, I was pretty sure my period had begun the day after the funeral, and that had been a little over eight weeks ago. I glanced up at the doctor.
    “I’m not sure, but I think it had to have been right after my momma’s funeral,” I answered in a quavering voice. I wondered if I had stressed so much that I’d thrown my cycle off, or maybe something was wrong with me after all. My head felt fuzzy all of a sudden. I reached up to place a hand on my forehead.
    “Whoa there, you okay?” the doctor asked as he sat his clipboard down. I nodded, but he was already kneeling in front of me and handing me a small cup of water the nurse had procured.
    “This could be bad, right?” I asked after taking a sip. I glanced up into the doctor’s eyes. He smiled.
    “Well, that depends on your definition of bad , I guess,” he answered after a slight pause. I looked over at the nurse, and she was smiling as well.
    “What does that mean?” I asked softly.
    “Jen, we’ll need to send off for a blood test to confirm it, but according to the hormone levels in your urine, it is safe to say… you’re pregnant.” The doctor stood slowly, the smile never leaving his face. I blinked at him and then shook my head.
    “I’m sorry, did you say…?”
    “Pregnant. Yes, I did. Probably six weeks or so along, I’d wager. Congratulations.” I smiled at him and sat there while he went through all the things I should do next. He gave me a list of obstetricians he recommended, told me to take it easy, he’d call with the blood test results, and to try out the prenatal vitamin samples he gave me, and so on. I just listened like I was actually paying attention, like my whole world hadn’t been turned upside down.
    I recall walking out to my car with a list of instructions and recommendations in my hand. When I sat in my car and put my seatbelt on, I knew my world had just been tilted on its axis. Still, I just drove home, in shock and disbelief. Pregnant? How could I be pregnant? I’d only been with one guy in the last two years and that was the two times I’d been with Hunter. Two times and we’d used protection. Hunter . What were the odds? My head started thrumming as I drove, and I had a full-blown headache by the time I pulled up to my house.
    When I got inside, I headed straight upstairs to my momma’s bedroom and curled up in her bed, covering my head with the handmade quilt my granny had made. Still, I didn’t cry. I knew I was probably in shock. It would have probably been better if I had cried. Instead, I laid there for the rest of the day until night fell. And when night finally came, I took a shower and then crawled back into bed and… slept .

    The phone was ringing again. I wondered idly how many times it had rang since that morning. Sighing, I rolled out of my bed. It was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and really think about what I was going to do. I hadn’t eaten in a while, and now I had… a life inside of me to worry about. I placed a hand flat on my stomach. For the first time since I came home the day before… tears threatened. A hot shower and food were in order. As I washed my hair, the only thing I could think was how I didn’t even know if coffee was bad for a pregnant woman. After that, the tears started flowing and I was powerless to stop them. I would’ve given anything for my momma’s reassuring embrace right about then. Twenty minutes later, I wrapped myself in a large towel and trudged back into my bedroom. I pulled my most worn and comfortable maxi dress and cardigan out of my closet and slipped it on. After I combed all the tangles out of my hair, I walked slowly down the stairs to my kitchen.
    I made myself a plate of leftover food