Divining Destiny

Chapter One

Katherine woke up feeling nauseous and hurried from her bed, rushing to the bathroom, making it just in time before her stomach heaved and she threw up in the toilet bowl. Sitting back on her haunches she tore some toilet paper from the roll and wiped her mouth, flushing the toilet and standing up, washing her mouth. After six children she knew the tell-tale signs of pregnancy, but she thought it was impossible, for she was sure that her husband, Peter, had used protection for they didn't want any more children. Six children was enough, thank you kindly. But the signs were there: she noticed as she mentally crossed things off in her mind. Nausea, check. Sensitive breasts, check. Bloated feeling, double check. She heard Peter groan in the next room, and she slowly padded softly back into their bedroom, trying to make as little noise as possible so as to not wake the children in the next room.

"I'll buy a test on the way home from work, or do you want me to make a doctor's appointment?" He asked gruffly. Katherine sat on the bed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I don't mind. The signs all point that way though. But I thought we were being careful the last few times." She said softly, climbing under the covers and into Peter's outstretched arm. He pulled her close and sighed.

"I thought we were too. But it might be the boy we both have wanted. I need a boy in this household besides me." Peter said, and Katherine smiled, looking up at him.

"One can only hope, love." She replied. The alarm on her side table went off and she stretched again, reaching over and turning it off.

"Ugh. I don't want to go to work." Peter said, sitting up slowly and running a hand through his tousled hair. Katherine laughed softly and stood up, hearing water running in the bathroom down the hall.

"Sierra is up early...or is it Susan?" Katherine speculated, moving to her side of the closet and opening it, pulling out her pants and top, planning on taking the three younger children to daycare whilst she worked for a few hours. Peter walked into their ensuite and plugged his razor in.

"I'd say Sierra. She's usually the first one up. I don't know where she gets that from." Peter replied, turning on the razor and starting to shave. Katherine changed, tying her ebony-black hair back in a simple ponytail, then headed into the kitchen to start on breakfast.

As the morning progressed she managed to get the older girls off to school as Peter left early for work, but decided to keep Anna with her, thinking that if she really was pregnant she wouldn't have much time to spend with her current youngest. Once at home she got to tidying up in between napping with Anna, playing with her, and getting online to do some transcribing. 

The months passed in their haze, and nothing of importance happened until Katherine was in her seventh month. She was driving home from shopping, grateful for some alone time, the older girls were in school and Anna was at home with Peter on a rare day off, when on her way home she had stopped at a red light, sitting there waiting for the lights to change. The light turned green for her but when she put her foot down on the accelerator the car didn't move, but made a funny revving sound. Glancing down in confusion she saw that the gear stick had shifted into neutral. Just as she put it back into gear a car came barreling down the street to her right and sped right through the intersection at top speed, two police cars chasing at equally high speed with their sirens blaring. She gasped and clutched at her chest in shock. If she had've entered the intersection when the lights had changed, she would've been in the perfect position to be hit directly by the crazy driver. She couldn't move for a full ten seconds until horns blaring behind her reminded her that she couldn't sit at the lights for the rest of the day. She slowly crawled through the intersection and made her way home, her hands shaking. For some reason though she decided against telling Peter about the incident, feeling she would only worry him.