Chapter 5
The feeling of bile rose in her throat, waking her up suddenly. Kate shot upright and wretched into the rubbish bin next to her bed.
"Ugg. What is wrong with me? I can't still be airsick," Kate moaned.
She gulped the glass of water from her nightstand and did her best to rinse the foul taste out of her mouth. She trudged out of bed and brought the bin with her to clean out. The movement and sounds woke up Russell.
"Are you okay darling? That didn't sound very good," Russell murmured sleepily as he rolled over.
"Blah, I must have eaten something that doesn't agree with me," Kate moaned from the bathroom.
"I'll make you some tea and toast. Come back to bed," suggested Russell.
"II aaaahhhh wwwooo in a few miiiinnnuuus." Kate was brushing her teeth to get the taste of vomit from her mouth. She rinsed her mouth. " I feel okay now, just tired and very hungry. I want more than just toast I think."
"Righto, I'll fix you up something special as a celebratory breakfast then. Go back to bed and rest. You've done a lot in the last few days. Defending your thesis, graduating, secretly flying out to Fisher, landing your dream job and flying back all within a week. You need to rest, Darling. You're getting breakfast in bed, missy, don't try to stop it," insisted Russell.
"Thanks honey."
Kate laid back in bed and grabbed her Macbook. She started searching on real estate sites for available cattle properties in Gungellan. Bingo! The property formerly known as Kinsella's was listed for sale! It was too early in the morning to call the number yet, but she was satisfied with what she had seen. Her return to Gungellan would be triumphant and happen within a few months.
"Here you go, Babe," said Russell as he walked into the bedroom holding a tray loaded with breakfast. He had a steaming cup of tea, scrambled eggs, bacon, and a bagel with cream cheese and smoked lox on it.
Kate took one sniff of the smoked salmon and had to make a break to the toilet again. She nearly knocked Russell and the tray over in the process.
"Babe? Are you okay in there?" Russell inquired lovingly.
Kate didn't hear him. She was too busy dry heaving into the dunny.
This is so weird, she thought. I love lox. It's my favorite breakfast food. Why is it making me so sick? Kate stopped and thought for a moment. Oh my God? Am I pregnant? Okay, think back, when was your last period? The last few months had been so busy with completing my thesis, I didn't even notice until right now that I'd skipped last month. Could I really be pregnant? That would be amazing, Kate hoped.
"Baby, I think I need some fresh air. I'm going to take a little walk. Thank you for breakfast, but apparently, I don't want it. I'll put the tea in a travel mug and take it with me though. Feel free to eat this while I'm gone. It would be a shame for it to go to waste. It looked really delicious. Thank you for making it."
Kate quickly got dressed and headed out the door. She walked to the nearest pharmacy. She needed a test. Parenthood was something she and Russell had really wanted, but they had been trying the last three years to no success. They had both sort of accepted it might not happen for them. Kate wanted a test to confirm her suspicions of the pregnancy before she told Russell anything about what was happening. She didn't want to get his hopes up for nothing.
With the test package safely hidden in her purse, Kate was thankful she had drunk all of the tea on her walk. She went directly to the toilet when she got back to the flat. She took the test and proceeded to wait for what felt like the longest two minutes of her life.
"One line to confirm the test worked, two lines if you're pregnant." Those were the directions Kate read as she stared at the stick, waiting for the results. One line appeared. Then, immediately after that, a second line appeared, even bolder than the first. Kate felt a rush of emotion flood over her. she knew right then: I'm pregnant! I'm going to be a mother!
"Russell! Come in here, I need you!" She could barely get the words out; she was overcome with joy.
"Babe, are you sick again?" Russell asked, as he opened the door.
Kate was sobbing with happiness. She couldn't get the words out, but she pointed to the test stick laying on the vanity. Russell knew immediately what it was. He scooped her up into his arms and held her close.
"I love you Kate Manfredi. You're going to be the most wonderful mother," he said.
They held each other and cried for several minutes. They had started to let go of that hope after three years of trying for children and failing. They had begun looking into adoption because they both desperately wanted to be parents. This was the best news they could have asked for.