Thomas carried Mindy into the house with everyone following him. He laid her on the couch and took her hand, hoping she'd wake up. He was so scared now. Why was Mindy getting so sick now?

"Tommy", Luda Mae said.

Thomas looked at her and whimpered. Did she know what was wrong with Mindy? Luda Mae put her hand on his shoulder.

"I need you to go down to the basement", she said. "See if you can find any rats or mice."

He looked at her confused. What could she possibly need a rat for?

"Thomas Brown Hewitt, do as I tell you!"

Thomas jumped up as he started walking to the basement. Henrietta came into the room with a bowl of water and a rag. Luda Mae dipped the rag in the water and started dabbing Mindy's forehead with it. The men watched unsure of what to do.

"Mama, what do ya need a rat for?" Charlie asked.

"It's important", Luda Mae answered. "The way Mindy's been getting sick for the past month, I'm curious."

"Curious about what?" Drayton asked.

"Mindy's showing signs", Mama Sawyer said. "We need a rat to see if it's true."

"Huh?" Chop Top asked. "What kind of signs? Huh? Huh?"

"She might be expecting", the tea lady said.

"Expecting what?" Alfredo asked with a dumb look on his face.

"She might be expecting a baby", Luda Mae said. "If we're right, Mindy's pregnant."

"WHAT?" everyone yelled.

Everyone heard footsteps stop behind them. Thomas stopped as soon as he heard the word baby and almost dropped the live mouse he was holding. Luda Mae got up and took the mouse from him.

"Charlie", she said. "Take Tommy and the others outside. He needs a serious talk about this."

Thomas looked at everyone confused. He had no idea what was going on. What did Mama mean when she said Mindy was expecting a baby? Where did it come from? No one ever told him where babies came from. It wasn't like he asked anyway. Charlie patted his back.

"Come on, Tommy", he said. "We's gotta have a little talk."

Thomas looked at him and the rest of the men nervous. What were they going to be talking about? He looked at Mindy worried. Was she going to be okay? Thomas followed the men outside.

"Mindy", Luda Mae said gently shaking her. "Mindy, wake up."

Mindy stirred as she opened her eyes. Luda Mae, Mama Sawyer, the tea lady and Henrietta sat around her, watching her.

"Mama, what happened?" she asked.

"You got sick and fainted."

Mindy frowned and covered her face with her hands.

"I ruined the wedding, didn't I?"

"Here", Henrietta said handing her a cup of tea.

"No, you didn't", Luda Mae said. "Now, drink up. We need you to take a test."

"Test?" Mindy asked confused. "What kind of test?"

She heard something squeaking. Mindy looked down at Mama Sawyer's lap to see a mouse in a cage.

"W-what are you going to do with that?"

"We need it for the test", Mama Sawyer answered.

"Test? What kind of test are you talking about?"

"A pregnancy test", the tea lady answered.

"P-p-pregnancy? You mean...I might be...pregnant?"

"You are showing signs", Luda Mae said. "You been vomitting for the past month. Have you been bleeding at all?"

Mindy was silent for a moment.

"I can't remember."

for those of you interested, i did some research on pregnancy tests. this is the kind of thing they did back in the 50s and 60s, by using animals like mice, rabbits and frogs and injecting them or dipping them in female urine