Reunited After 25 Years 49: Dream Come True

She opened her eyes to find herself lying on the sofa with a very worried Anton looking down on her. "What happened?" she asked weakly.

"You lost consciousness and fell off the ladder," he told her.

"For how long was I out?"

"Only about one or two seconds, but it scared me, Andrea. Are you sure you feel all right?"

"I feel fine now." She sat up.

"Even so, I think you had better rest," Anton told her. "No more climbing on ladders."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't..."

Anton was still looking at her with a very concerned expression on his face. "You look a little bit pale to me, Andrea. Have you been eating all right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so..."

"You better take it easy for the rest of the day, Andrea. I will fix dinner."

When he started preparing the meal several hours later, the aroma of the cooking meat made her feel nauseous, and when he placed the meal before her, she hungrily gobbled the baked potato up but felt queasy every time she even thought about taking a bite of the meat.

"Is it not good?" Anton asked her.

"I'm sure it's fine, Anton," she told him. "It's just that...I just can't eat it. That's all."

"All right. I will save it for you in case you get hungry later."

"Thanks, Anton."

The following morning Anton made pancakes for breakfast, and Andrea hungrily ate every bite but still wasn't satisfied. "I know this sounds crazy, but all I can think about is how good a banana milkshake would taste right now," she told her husband.

Anton laughed. "You want a banana milkshake? I will get you a banana milkshake." There was only one fast food franchise in town that sold banana milkshakes, and they wouldn't open for another hour, so Andrea watched TV to try to take her mind off it until it was time to leave.

For lunch Anton had a hamburger and fries and Andrea had chili cheese fries and the banana milkshake. It was all she felt like eating.

That night Anton was caressing her breasts when she suddenly let out a yelp of pain. "What is wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know...for some reason, they're just unusually sore and tender..."

"Andrea, I think you need to see a doctor."

"I will, if I'm not back to normal in a few days."

The symptoms persisted for the next couple of weeks, and on the third week Andrea finally gave in and made an appointment to see Dr. Lloyd. After she explained the symptoms to the doctor, he asked her for the date of her last period.

"Why, I suppose it's a bit late," she said. "But that's only to be expected at my age, isn't it? I mean, they're just going to get fewer and further between until they stop altogether, aren't they?"

Dr. Lloyd smiled. "What makes you so sure there isn't another explanation for your symptoms?"

"Such as what? Dr. Smith at the fertility clinic told me that it's too late for me to get pregnant because I'm already in menopause."

Dr. Lloyd frowned. "You aren't considered completely menopausal until you've gone a year without having a period. I'm going to go ahead and do a pregnancy test."

He asked Andrea for a urine sample, and then she sat in the examining room for what seemed like ages while she awaited the results. At last Dr. Lloyd's nurse, Peggy, entered the examining room and smiled warmly at her. "Congratulations, mama."

Andrea almost fell off the table. "You mean I am? I really am?"

Peggy nodded. "According to the date of your last period, you're about two months along. Dr. Lloyd's referring you to an obstetrician, Dr. Keller. She specializes in high-risk pregnancies, and because of your age, you'll have to be closely watched."

Andrea felt as if she were walking on clouds as she drove back to work. She resisted the urge to call Anton right away, as she wanted to give him the news in person.

She was preparing dinner that evening when she heard him enter the house, and a moment later, she felt his arms around her as he hugged her from behind. "Hello, Andrea." He kissed her cheek.

"I've got a surprise for you!" she sang merrily.

"A surprise?" He looked at her expectantly.

"I'm pregnant!"