Unbreakable (Unrestrained 4)

When I said it, I burst into tears again. Drake immediately pulled me into his arms and cradled me, letting me cry.

“Shhh,” he said, his lips at my ear, kissing my chin and cheek and then mouth. “Are you sure you want to do thi

s?”

I nodded, wiping my cheeks. “I can’t get any work done. It’s like my brain is in a fog.”

“It’s okay,” Drake said and embraced me again. We remained like that for a while, our arms around each other, and I listened to him breathe, letting his warmth infuse me.

“Guess what I’m doing,” he said and pulled away, looking in my eyes. “I’m withdrawing from the fellowship tomorrow.”

“What?” I said and wiped my eyes. “Why? Is Lisa threatening you again?”

He nodded and all of a sudden, a leave of absence didn’t seem so bad. Drake had to withdraw from the fellowship because of her. She could ruin him if she wanted.

“She could still hurt you,” I said, angry at the bitch. “If you withdraw, she’ll be angry that she won’t have access to you any longer.”

“She wants to go out for lunch, Kate. She mentioned dinner. I think that’s just the start of her evil plan to seduce me.”

I wiped my eyes, smiling at his attempt to be funny and diffuse the situation.

“Will she succeed?” I asked, only joking.

“No,” he said and frowned, taking me seriously. “Of course not. I despise her at this point.” He shook his head vehemently and took my chin in his hand. “I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole even if she was the last woman on earth. Of that, you can be certain.”

“Phew,” I said and smiled, threading my arms around his neck and smiling up at him. “That’s pretty harsh… I mean, even I’d understand if she was the last woman on earth…”

“Seriously, I hate her,” Drake said. “I hate that she has power over me. I’d rather use my hand or a watermelon, for that matter.”

“A watermelon?” I said and laughed at the image that created.

Drake smiled. “I read this case once about a man who had intimate relations with a watermelon and got a seed jammed up his urethra. That always struck me as a true absolute last resort.” He laughed and looked at me, shaking his head. “The human sexual response is a mystery sometimes. I hate the bitch so much at this point, I can’t imagine it.”

“I know,” I said and leaned my head against his shoulder. “I hate her, too. Don’t let her force you out of the fellowship. You’ll be done soon and it would be a crime to stop now. You’re only a few months away and if you can stick it out, you can say goodbye to her.”

“You think so?” he said, doubtfully. “I have my resignation email all typed up and ready to send.”

“Don’t send it. Appease her. Go out for lunch with her. Think of watermelons.”

Drake laughed at that and we wrapped our arms around each other once more, snuggling into the soft couch and listening to the music on the satellite radio station.

Since I couldn’t make the deadlines for my thesis, I’d spend those few hours each night that I did feel somewhat conscious working on a few paintings that I’d started in Nairobi. I became more of a night owl than I had ever been before. Drake and my schedules conflicted as a consequence with him getting up early and me staying in bed most of the morning with my blankets thrown over my head to block out the light. I’d get up around noon, try to hold down something light – tea and a shot of apple-ginger juice I made freshly each morning and then if it worked, chicken rice soup and a few crackers. When my lingering nausea faded towards dusk, I’d have a healthy meal with Drake, and then when he went to bed at ten o’clock, I’d stay up and sit at my computer, read over research and data for my thesis, eat another meal of soup and crackers, and then I’d head to bed around two in the morning.

We had to delay our trip to Africa again because I was still far too sick, and that was the hardest decision to make. Once the baby was born, it would be all the harder to go so we sat down and decided to go once I was free of my nausea but before I was six months pregnant. I didn’t want to miss the anniversary of Liam’s death, but Drake was adamant and so we cancelled plans, deciding to go once my morning sickness had ended. Since I had no idea how long my morning sickness would last, we decided to wait and book at the last minute. Loisaba Lodge would have to wait for some future date.

It was time for my next ultrasound and it was the only thing keeping my spirits up for my morning sickness persisted despite the medication. We went back to NYP and this time, I had an abdominal ultrasound to check on the baby’s nuchal folds to make sure there was no sign of Down’s Syndrome. We also asked to know the baby’s sex, and so while the technician scanned my belly, Drake held my hand and stood beside me on the other side of the bed.

“There you go,” the tech said and turned the screen. “See that?” she said and pointed to a structure that looked like a vee. “That is a set of female genitalia. You have a baby girl.”

Drake leaned down and kissed me when he heard the news, and I was surprised. For some reason, I thought I’d have a boy but I was happy to have a girl. I’d never had a sister, and so it would be fun.

“I’m so glad,” Drake said, kissing me over and over again. “A little Katie.”

“Sophia,” I said, correcting him. It was my mother’s middle name and the name of my great aunt, who died in the camps in Poland.

“Sophia,” Drake said. “But I hope she looks like you.” He brushed the hair off my cheek and smiled.

“I hope she has your blue eyes,” I countered. “And dark hair. I don’t want her to look like me.”