I anguished over whether or not I should tell Mom what I'd learned. As Alan/Albrecht Jr.'s daughter, of course she had the right to know his secret, but should I burden her with that knowledge? She would undoubtedly be devastated, likely even more so than I was myself. Did I have the right to bring that on her, in addition to everything else she'd been through over the past several years?

Of course I didn't.

My two-month obstetrical visit was a welcome respite from the situation. After the nurse weighed me and took a urine sample, I waited in the exam room for Dr. Friedman.

"Hello, Rose," he said as he entered. "How have you been?"

"I've been all right," I told him.

"How's the morning sickness?"

"I'm managing OK. I just can't eat meat - except for baked chicken. I can eat that OK."

He laughed. "Well, at least you have a good source of protein. Other than that, how do you feel? Any mood swings?"

I sighed. "It's been kind of a rough month for me. I lost my Granny two weeks ago."

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry!"

"Thanks."

"Losing someone is hard, especially when you're already going through so many changes as it is."

"I know."

He gave me a brief checkup.

"Everything seems to be progressing normally so far," he told me. "Keep eating that baked chicken, and any other healthy foods you can tolerate, and get plenty of rest. I'll see you again in one month." He smiled and patted my knee.

With Thanksgiving approaching, a new dilemma was upon us.

"Should we spend Thanksgiving with your family or with mine?" I asked Dimitri the weekend before the holiday.

"I'll spend it with mine, and you can spend it with yours."

I gasped. "Dimitri!"

He laughed and swatted my butt. "Just kidding. Whatever you want to do, love. I'll leave it up to you."

"Well, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings," I said.

"So we'll switch mid meal."

I burst out giggling, and he joined in.

"How about we visit your parents this year and mine next year," he suggested.

"Sounds good to me," I replied.

"What would you ever do without me?" he teased.

"I hope I never have to find out."

"Of course you won't."

On Thanksgiving Day, Dimitri drove us to my parents' house. The delicious aroma of the turkey and vegetables assaulted my nostrils as soon as I stepped inside.

Mom brought the final steaming bowl to the table and set it on a trivet. Dad said the blessing, and then we all dug in.

"You seem awfully quiet," Dimitri remarked as we were on our way home. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing in particular." I yawned. "I'm just so sleepy! I guess it's a combination of pigging out because it's Thanksgiving and being pregnant."

He laughed. "I'm glad you got your appetite back."

The following day, I received a telephone call from Lissa.

"How was your Thanksgiving?" she asked.

"It was nice," I told her. "How was yours?"

"It was great! Christian charmed my entire family."

"I'm glad you had a good day."

"Thanks. Hey, I was wondering if you'd like to go shopping with me on one of your days off next week. I have to work all day long on Saturday, of course - everyone does - but I'm off on Monday. Want to go then?"

"Yeah!" Shopping with a friend always cheered me up, and I needed cheering up right then.

All weekend long I looked forward to the excursion. I already knew what I wanted to get some of my family members and friends, but for some of them, I was clueless.