SATURDAY - JULY 3, 1976

Pete woke up from a deep sleep, Sarah's thrashing beside him was the reason. He touched her arm, then whispered her name.

She moaned as she turned towards him and opened her eyes. She curled up next to him with a confused face, then jumped out of bed, holding her hand to her mouth. She barely made it to the bathroom, before she threw up. Holding onto the rim of the cold toilet bowl, she heaved until she thought she would collapse.

Pete rushed in, holding her hair back and rubbing her shoulders. Finally the heaves stopped and Sarah held her head in her hands. Pete grabbed a washcloth, rinsed it in cold water, and handed it to her.

"Are you alright, now?" He knelt beside her, smoothing her hair down.

"Yeah, I think so." Sarah rasped, her throat felt raw. "Can I have a sip of water?"

Pete looked around for a cup, but the bathroom wasn't completely unpacked yet. They had been in the apartment for two days, but Pete had to work part of the time and Sarah didn't get much of the unpacking done by herself. He ran into the kitchen and found one, filling it with cold water and bringing it to her.

"You were having a bad dream." Pete said softly. This was two nights in a row that Sarah had been restless in her sleep.

Sarah sat back on the floor, running the cool cloth over her face. "I'm feeling better now."

Pete helped her up, steadying her as she wobbled. "You sure you feel ok?"

"Yeah, I think I'll just go back to bed."

Pete watched her crawl back in bed and draw the covers up around her chin. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

He stared at her for awhile, then shook his head and went to make coffee. He had just poured a cup and was going out on the balcony, when he heard Sarah get up and run to the bathroom again.

He went in to repeat this morning, holding her hair as she dry heaved into the toilet.

"Get that coffee out of here!" She moaned. "It smells terrible."

He looked at the cup that he had set on the vanity, "Sarah, it's just coffee."

"I know but it is really bothering me. I don't know why."

He took the cup into the kitchen and set it on the counter.

Sarah walked into the living room and curled up in a corner of the couch. "I don't know what's wrong. I just feel so....icky."

"Icky?" Pete asked. "What is icky?"

"It's almost like I have the flu but without the body aches. My stomach just feels queasy." She held her hand over her nose. "And the smell of that coffee is really bothering me."

She jumped up from the couch and went out on the balcony, pulling the sliding door part way closed.

Pete turned and dumped his cup and the whole pot of coffee down the drain. "It's gone, Sarah."

He went over to the sliding door and put his face through the opening. "It's gone, baby. If we leave this door open the smell will go out."

Sarah nodded her head, stepping to the very end of the railing. "I'll stay here for a few minutes."

Pete stood by her, looking out over the pool. It was after just after 10:00 and the chairs were filling up fast. "Well, now we know, if we want to go swimming on the weekend, we gotta get there early."

He turned to lean back on the railing and looked over at Sarah. "You didn't eat dinner last night. And if I remember right, you hardly touched your cheeseburger from lunch. Were you sick yesterday?"

"I didn't feel good, but not like this. I just thought it was a hangover." Sarah shuddered.

"Do you want something to eat? Maybe some toast?" Pete asked, helpfully.

Sarah held her stomach, shaking her head. "Don't mention food."

Pete felt helpless, he knew Midgie was at work, so he couldn't call her.

"How about if I call your mom? She might know what to give you for an upset stomach. Pepto Bismol! That's what it is, do we have any?"

Sarah shook her head, "No, we don't have any. Call my mom, she can tell us what to do."

Pete called Jane and explained Sarah's symptoms to her, asking what she could take to calm her stomach.

Jane's heart leaped into her throat. She knew immediately what was wrong and she was floored. Sarah had told her that she was on the pill!

She sat down in the chair by the phone and reached for her cigarettes, lighting one with shaking hands. She listened as Pete asked her again what to do.

"Mrs. Winston, are you still there?"

"Yes, Pete." Jane's voice was strained. "Give her some saltine crackers. Make her eat them, they will calm her stomach. I'll be over in a few minutes."

She hung up the phone on his goodbye, then held her face in her hands and cried. She was certain that Sarah was pregnant, the symptoms were all there. Jane remembered her bouts of morning sickness when she was pregnant with Sarah. She also remembered the panic she had felt when she first found out that she was pregnant.

She wasn't married either, but she had Jim, the father of the baby, beside her. He had immediately told her that they were getting married. He had been there for her.

Jane knew Pete wasn't the father and she felt a rage towards Sam for deserting Sarah. She dragged herself off the chair and went in to wash her face before she went to visit her daughter.

Sarah was still on the balcony when Pete opened the door and let Jane in. He had pulled on a pair of jeans, but was still shirtless.

"I'm glad you're here. Is she going to be ok?" Pete worried.

"Yes, did she eat some crackers?"

Pete nodded his head, "I took them out there to her. She said she could still smell the coffee in here. This is so weird, coffee never bothered her before. She drinks it every morning!"

"Pete, don't you have to work today?" Jane watched her daughter as she asked. Sarah was staring out over the railing, unaware that her mother was there.

"Yeah, I have to be there at noon, but I can call off, my dad won't care."

"No, in fact, maybe you should go now." Jane looked over and saw Pete's bewildered expression. "I need to talk to Sarah. I think it's best if you go, so I can."

Jane walked out on the balcony and put her arm around Sarah's shoulders.

"Sarah, honey, come on in now. The smell is gone." She led her into the living room and Sarah folded herself into the chair, leaning her head on the side.

"Is Pete going to work?" She asked.

"Yes, I told him that we had to talk." Jane said, quietly.

Pete came out of the bedroom, dressed in jeans and a button down shirt. He walked over to Sarah and knelt in front of the chair. "Are you sure you'll be ok?"

Jane watched as Sarah and Pete shared a tender kiss. She had suspected something was going on yesterday, when she had come over to help Sarah unpack the kitchen things.

Pete had come home for lunch, bringing them all fast food burgers, and she thought they looked a little friendlier than usual. But neither one of them would ever admit to their mothers if there was something going on. And Jane hadn't wanted to pry, so she hadn't said anything.

Sarah pulled up her knees, circling them with her arms, and laid her forehead on them. She waited until she heard the door close, then she said. "I figured it out."

"How late are you?" Jane asked.

"One week." Sarah answered.

"Then we'd better make you a doctors appointment, just to be sure." Even as she said this, Jane knew that they were right.

"I'm pretty sure." Sarah said numbly.

"How did this happen? You told me you were on the pill!" Jane questioned.

"I was. I am. But there were some days last month that I forgot....." Sarah trailed off. She was notorious for forgetting to take her pills, even before she met Sam. But this last month she was with Sam, there were a lot of mornings that she was too hung over or too busy packing to leave, and she just didn't take it.

Her mother shook her head, "That is just plain irresponsible, Sarah! There is no reason to get pregnant nowadays unless you want to. And I'm pretty damn sure, you didn't want to."

"No." Sarah buried her face in her hands and started crying. "I didn't plan for this to happen!"

Jane went over and sat on the side of the chair, holding her daughter against her. "Honey, we'll get through this."

"I can't be having Sam's baby! Gisette, his wife, is having his baby!" Sarah sobbed.

"Sarah," Jane said, weighing out the words, as she spoke them. "You don't have to tell him."

Sarah started to calm down as the words sunk in. Jane waited, patiently, as Sarah thought about it.

"I don't, now that I think about it. I have my rights in this," She said continued, sadly. "Sam lost his when he went back to Gisette."

"Just think it over, honey. You'll make the right decision." Her mom patted her shoulder. "Now we have to figure out how to tell your father that his baby girl is having a baby."

"Oh, shit!" Sarah had just realized that everyone would know. The town gossips would love this. She covered her mouth as she looked at her mother with wide eyes. "Everyone will think it's Pete's! Oh my god! What will I tell Pete?"

"You have a lot of time until he gets off work. You can think of something, I'm sure."

***

Pete sat at his desk in the manager's office. He couldn't stop worrying about Sarah.

For two nights in a row, she'd had nightmares. She would thrash around and moan; once he thought she had murmured Sam's name. And she wouldn't talk about them with him, avoiding the question, when he asked.

Her appetite had gone way down and now she's throwing up. There was definitely something wrong. He hoped she wasn't making herself sick over that motherfucker.

Sighing loudly, he picked up the phone, he had to call her and see how she was.

Jane answered the phone and assured him that Sarah was doing good. Which was the truth, since Sarah had eaten a few crackers and sipped some water, she was feeling better. The queasiness still crept in, but her mother had assured her that she could keep it down a notch if she had a cracker and some water every once in awhile.

When Sarah heard her mom talking to Pete, she held out her hand.

"I'm doing good, now." Sarah said, she knew that's why he called. She put a little brightness in her voice. "In fact, why don't we meet at the tent tonight when you get off? You pick up the pizza and I'll have beer waiting for you." Sarah hoped it wouldn't make her sick.

"That sounds nice. Only this time, let's remember to put the white ribbon out!" Pete laughed. He felt better now that he heard her voice.

Whatever was bothering her, he knew she would tell him tonight. He tried to put a positive spin on it when he thought about it, pushing away any worries that she was going back to Sam.

***

Sarah's mother had left after spending about an hour with her. They had found a doctor in another town for Sarah to go to on Monday. She didn't want anyone in Breezewood to know yet, and most likely, the word would be out if Sarah visited a gynecologist in town.

She had convinced her mother that she was going alone, she wanted to be by herself. She had a lot of thinking to do, the seriousness of it was sinking in. She realized her life would never be the same.

Sarah leaned back in the chair, stretching out her legs. She pulled up her tee shirt and ran her hand over her concave belly. She had lost so much weight, her hip bones were clearly protruding. 'I have a baby growing in there.' She thought in awe.

She was in love with it already, there was no denying that.

Now, she had to think of a way to tell Pete. She wasn't sure how he would react to the news.

Would he break up with her, too hurt by the fact that she was having Sam's baby? Or would he do the complete opposite and want to get married, and claim the baby as his?

That thought made her examine her relationship with him. Did she really want Pete to take responsibility for this baby? Did she love him enough to marry him?

She ran her fingertips over her belly, making light circles, as she talked. "When it all comes down, sweetheart, no matter what, it's you and me. We're a team."