Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (12 page)

“
I’m not sure. I—I
have
n’t had a period in
at least
two months
, maybe three
. I need to lo
ok
at a calendar and try to figure out when—when
—
”

“I
just thought of something. Is
it true the father of the baby ha
s a right to know? Or does he? I’m not sure
. Do you have to tell Steve?”

“I don
’t even want to think about him.
”
Danni
began to
cr
y
, wringing her hands.

“
Okay
,
okay
. Don’t get upset.
Y
ou
can’t
cry
if we’re going back to my house. Y
our face
’ll be
all red and puffy
and my mom
will
want to know why
.
Let’s go home and
look on the computer
. My mom
said she
was going
to
the mall. Maybe she’ll be gone when we get back.”

Together, the
y
returned
to Monica’s house.
Danni
wrote down the number of
an
abortion clinic in Seat
tle.

“I can’t do it around here.
The farther away
from home I am, the less likely
anyone
her
e
will
find out
.”

“
Okay
. Let me know. I’ll
drive down there
with you—if you want me to.
”

Maybe that’s the answer. An abortion.
But she di
dn’t feel comfortable about the thought
. That night she rubbed her belly, trying to feel what she couldn’t see. Except for those times when she’d thrown up and been so sleepy, she felt fine. Maybe the pregnancy test was wrong. Except she still hadn’t had a period. She rolled over and tried not to think about it. Maybe it was all just her imagination playing tricks on her.
Or
a really bad dream.

Chapter
5

Through the rest of the week,
Dannilynn
worked
at the clinic
,
taking
the boarders
on extra-long walk
s
in order to think through what to do and when. Each day that passed, she imagined more people being able to tell what she herself could not
feel
—that a tiny baby was growing inside her, a miniature of Steve, the man she now hated with an intensity that took her breath away.
But making a decision seemed beyond her.
When in the office and around the other staff members, she was
quieter than usual
, not
j
ok
ing
with
Ben or Joel
as she
often
did. If
any
one
noticed, they said nothing
. She
was gathering her things together at the end of the day when
Joe
l
opened his door and beckoned to her
.

“Before you leave,
Danni
, could you come into my office?”

She grabbed her sweater and backpack
from the closet near the kitchen
and entered
his office
. “What’s up?”

“Have a seat.” T
he veterinarian
looked
up
after
signing the bills Bronnie
had
left on his desk
.  “I’ve bee
n wondering how you’ve been
. What
you’re
planning to do—after this summer?”

“Go back to school,
o
f course.
You know that.
”

After closing his office door, h
e placed the outer packaging of the pregnancy test on his desk.

She bit her lip and sucked in her breath
when she saw the
little
box.

“I found this
in the
lab
the other day
. S
ince it wasn’t mine
or Ben’s, Bronnie’
s too old for it to be hers,
and I know it’s not Kate
’s
or
Pia
’s,
that
means
it must be yours.” He
leaned forward on his elbows and
peer
ed
over his glass
es
at her.
“Is it?”

Ben called out,
“You need me for anything else,
Joe
l
?”

Joe
l
slid
the box
out of sight
when Ben opened the door.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were in a meeting.”

Joel
looked
over his shoulder at the tall extern.
“
No,
you’re free to go
. Are you going to
school
the Dobie again tonight?”

“
That’s the plan
.”

“W
hen you bring him back,
I’d like you to look
in on that
beagle we worked on today.
”

“Sure thing.
Bye,
Joe
l
.
Bye, S
hortie.
”
The door closed.

Joel
swiveled his chair
around
and placed the box on the desk in front of her
.
“I asked you a question
,
Danni
.”

Her chin quivering,
Dannilynn
bowed her head. “My dad is going to kill me.”

“
So
the test
was positive.
”

She
sniffed and
reached for a tissue.

He wrote a phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to her. “Here. You’re going to ne
ed this.
The name and phone number of a
people doctor
.
You met her
at Ben’s birthday party.
Go see
her,
the sooner the better.”

“S
he works h
ere on the island.
I can’t—I won’t
.” S
he
pushed
the paper
in his direction
.

Joel
gritted his teeth, trying to
remain
calm.
Danni
wasn’t making this eas
y
.
“Why is that?”

“Because people will find out and my dad will kill me.”

“I’m sure
this doctor
maintains
pat
ient
privacy
.
” He waited a long minute
before speaking, more firmly this time
.
“
Danni
,
look
at me.
”

She
lift
ed
her head
, sadness infusing her face
.

“At the risk of giving people reason to think I’m the father, I will take you there my
self if that’s the only way you’
ll go.
You
have to
see a doctor,
to find out how
far along
you are
and get the care you need
,
or an
abortion
, or whatever you’re going to do about this
.
How pregnant are you
?”

“
I think,
maybe two months.
I’m not
really
sure.”

He
threw the box into the
trash can under his desk
. “Do you know
,
have you decided
how
, er,
what you’re going to do
?” He waited for a response. “Y
ou
have to see
a doctor. I
ca
n’t
have
you working here if you aren’t going
to
do that,
no
matt
er
what
else
you decide.”

She
looked
up at him
, a look of desperation on her face
.
“If you fire me, my mom is going to want to know
why
and my dad—he’ll be mad. He expects me to help pay for school.”

Unable to keep the surprise out of his voice,
“
You’re
go
ing
back to school
?”

She was bunching the tissues in her hand so tightly her knuckles were white.
“I—I don’t know
, I was hoping,
oh, I don’t know
. T
his is such a mess.”
Danni
looked
down
at the floor
.

Joel’s chair
squeaked
as he rocked back.
“
Danni
.
”

“What?”
Her voice sounded bereft.

“
Do you think of me as
a
friend?”
he asked
,
recalling
his
late
aunt
, dead
many years earlier
after a botched abortion
, before they’d been legalized
.

She nodded.

“
Are you going to see the doctor
tomorrow
?”

“I don’t have
an appointment. I’m sure I ca
n’t get one that soon.”

“You
will if I call
.
”
He
pulled the phone closer.

She sighed.
“No. I guess I should
do it.
”

“Good
girl
.” H
e pushed the phone to her side of the desk. “You have the number.
Do it
now
.”

“But it’s after hours.
”

Joe
l
glanc
ed
at the clock
on the wall behind
Dannilynn
’s left shoulder
. “K
nowing her,
she’
s
probably
in the o
ffice
past seven
most nights. I
t’s
only a little after
five
. Give her a call.
”

Danni
picked up the phone and dialed.

After a moment, she said,
“I—I was wondering if I could make an ap
pointment to see the doctor.
” She
looked
at Joel. “
Two weeks from tomorrow? Uh
—
”

Joe
l
took
the phone from
her
. “Phoebe, honey
, how’s my favorite
Irish
nurse?
It’s
Joe
l
.
”

Phoebe laughed. “Why
,
hello to you, too
, Joel
. You never call, you never write. Why is that
, you handsome dog
?”

“I’ve been busy. Listen, is there a
ny chance your beauteous boss
has
time
tomorrow
to see a new
pat
ient
? This person is a friend of mine and time is of the essence.
I know Angie has lots of things going—meetings at the hospital and all.
”
He
smil
ed at
Danni
, wishing she would relax
.