The Three of Us

6. Ambiguity

(All right, now we're to the point where the chapters are new.)

Marilla noticed that once they began keeping Anne at home so she would be away from Billy, Anne's ongoing nausea seemed to disappear. She felt such relief, attributing the nausea to the stress of having to face him every day.

And now Anne was back in school, and Billy was the one being kept at home, as it should be, and things were going well.

But her relief disappeared when the nausea returned.

It came back with a vengeance. First in the morning on a Saturday, then again just before noon.

Marilla hoped Anne just had a touch of something and whatever bug she had would get better in the next couple of days.

Sunday was the same as Saturday, and on Monday morning, Marilla said, "You'll have to stay home and let this pass."

Anne was disappointed; she'd only just begun to go to school again. But Monday afternoon, she felt fine and asked to go back. Marilla was noncommittal: "We'll see how you are in the morning."

On Tuesday morning, she threw up twice before breakfast. On Tuesday afternoon, Matthew drove her to school, because she was no longer sick, and Anne couldn't understand why Marilla was making her stay home when she felt so much better.

Wednesday through Friday, Marilla let Anne go to school, but only in the afternoons. Marilla did not tell Matthew her worry, but it began to affect her own health, too. Marilla's stress was causing her to lose sleep, to have her hips lock up and ache, and to feel her heart flutter. She tried to relax, and prayed for the Lord to grant her peace. She did not tell Anne about her worry, but she did not know that Anne was worrying, too.

While Anne remembered Mrs. Hammond's morning sickness, she wanted desperately to put that from her mind, and tried to convince herself that surely that this was not the same thing. She could go back to school, and she had friends now, and she and Gilbert had made up, and...nothing could happen now to spoil everything.

By the following Monday, Marilla could no longer pretend it might just be illness. Anne was perfectly fine the rest of the time, and had it been a stomach bug she would have been sick throughout the day. She hated to mention what that likely meant, and she didn't know how to.

She found Anne crying on Tuesday afternoon as she lay on the sofa, her math book tucked under her arm.

"What is it, Anne?" Marilla asked worriedly, coming over to sit by her.

"I know what it means. Vomiting. At school I just kept telling myself it was because I had to see Billy every day and I was so distraught. But then it got better. And now..." She started to cry again.

Marilla did not know that Anne knew about morning sickness.

But now she knew they were both on the same page, and that made it easier to address.

She said calmly, "It doesn't necessarily mean that. There could be another cause. Let's go to Dr. Carter and we'll see what he thinks."

Marilla did not know what Dr. Carter could do that would verify it, but perhaps he somehow could.

"I don't want it to be true," Anne said, wiping at her eyes.

Marilla squeezed her close. "Don't panic yet, let's wait and see."

"But Marilla," Anne said, feeling ashamed, "I've felt...tender. Where Mrs. Lynde said expecting ladies do- in my bosom."

Marilla felt fear strike her heart, but she pushed it down, resolving to take things slowly. ...At the same time, she felt that pretending would not do Anne any good.