Page 199 of This Life of Mine

I drop what I’m doing and bolt for the back door, pushing it open in time to make it outside. The air barely hits my face before everything I’ve eaten today comes up. Violently. Painfully.

I brace my hands on my knees, coughing, eyes watering, my body emptying itself like it’s had enough of me pretending everything is fine.

“Oh god,” I mutter when it stops.

A stomach bug? That has to be it.

Panic kicks in—not about me, but about the bakery. If this is viral, I can’t be here.

I start running through a mental checklist. Contagious symptoms. Cross-contamination. Dough I was working on will need to be thrown out. Surfaces sanitized. Hands washed. Gloves changed. I’ll need to leave—now—before customers get sick.

I straighten, wiping my mouth with the back of my sleeve, already planning damage control when the door creaks open behind me.

“Hey,” Val says gently. “You okay?”

I instinctively step back. “Don’t come closer. Just in case it’s a virus.”

Her old RN nurse brain switches on instantly. I can see it happen.

“Okay,” she says calmly. “Talk to me. Do you have body aches?”

I gesture my head no.

“Chills?”

“No.”

“Feverish? Sweaty?”

“I don’t think so.” I pause, assessing. “Honestly…I feel a little better now that I threw up. Still queasy, but not as bad.”

Her eyes narrow slightly—focused.

“And when was your last period?”

The question lands like a brick to my face.

I stare at her. “Val.”

She holds my gaze. Doesn’t flinch.

“I need to ask,” she says softly.

Realization creeps in, unwelcome and almost absurd. My stomach twists again—not with nausea this time, but disbelief.

“No,” I say quickly. “No way. I’m on the shot. You know that. And I have endometriosis.” A humorless laugh escapes me. “There’s absolutely no way you’re asking what I think you’re asking.”

She doesn’t argue. Doesn’t push.

Val watches me a little too closely as I straighten up.

“Okay,” she says. “Let me ask you something else.”

I already don’t like the tone. “What?”

“When was your last Depo shot?”

I open my mouth to answer—and then stop.