Chapter Six

[New York City, early July]

The sounds of cars honking, people laughing and talking, and the usual hustle and bustle of New York surrounded Annalia as she walked down Broadway, heading for her magazine office. She looked at her scheduler again and made changes here and there as she hummed softly while striding confidently through the congested sidewalks that lined the busy downtown streets of her home town. She adjusted swiftly for any jostling that occurred to her while she strolled past one of her favorite bookstores, took a left, and went straight into the café next door to it. She looked up and smiled at the cashier. “Hey Kellie! How are you?” she asked with a smile as she sauntered up to the register after putting away her scheduler.

“Chéri? Oh it is goot to see ‘ou again, ma amie! How vas ‘our trip to England?” The young woman named Kellie rushed around the counter and hugged her friend tightly. She was about five foot six and had soft brown hair that was cut to her chin in a bob that framed her pale round face and sparkling blue eyes. She had come to America for schooling and was currently going to Berkley University for her Fashion Marketing and Accounting bachelor’s degree. She would be returning to her homeland of France for her Masters. They had met at this café one day and, through a mixed up chocolate raspberry mocha latté and iced cappuccino, had become fast friends.

Smiling warmly, Annalia returned the hug before leaning back slightly. “It was wonderful, Kellie. I got to learn so much on my family’s history and the land! I feel like I’m going to burst with all I’ve learned!” She grinned as Kellie laughed lightly before leading her to a corner.

“’ou must tell me everysing! I vill get ‘our order, oui? Stay ‘ere, ma amie!” Kellie ordered before bustling off to make up Annalia’s usual latté.

Chuckling as she shook her head, Annalia closed her eyes and sighed as she rested her cheek on her fist. It had been a week since she had returned from England with her family. But she had been so mysteriously ill that she had been unable to even think about going into work. But, today she had woken up feeling about one hundred percent better than she had been and eagerly got ready for work. She had been able to finish her report’s rough draft and had decided to put it in two installments, since it was so long.

Frowning as she thought on some of what had happened to her in England, or rather what had supposedly happened to her, Annalia rubbed her stomach, feeling it twitch slightly with nausea. She was going to see the doctor that day for her annual physical after she had finished meeting up with her boss. Luckily she had left early enough because of her dear friend’s penchant for chatter and gossip, so she wasn’t going to be behind in schedule.

“’ou frown as though ‘ou have just tasted somesing bad, ma amie! Zere is nosing around ‘ere that can cause such a reaction!”

Kellie’s teasing voice brought Annalia back to where she was and she smiled ruefully at her friend. “I’m sorry, Kellie. I was just thinking back on my trip. And I’ve been sick, so I was worried that my stomach was going to react again,” she admitted as she glanced down at her stomach, firmly telling it mentally to cooperate.

“Really? Mmm ‘ou do look a leettle pale, ma amie. Zis sickness has been keeping ‘ou from seeing ‘our old friend, oui? Such a bad sickness. Ve shall ‘ave to tame eet zen, oui?” Kellie smiled sweetly as she sat down across from Annalia, earning a laugh from the New Yorker as she offered the latté. “Now…’ou must tell me everysing!” she cried excitedly as she bounced, earning another laugh from her friend.

Settling back as she gripped her Styrofoam cup, Annalia relaxed into the tale of her trip. She hesitated though as her memories arrived at the dream of Avalon and Taliesin, but she kept moving, skipping over it. She simply had to admit that it wasn’t real and that she should just move on. There had never been a man as wonderful as Taliesin, there was no place called Avalon, and there was certainly no child on the way.

Finishing with her tale, Annalia sipped her latté once more and sighed as the flavor burst of chocolate and raspberry filled her mouth before sliding down her throat to warm her. Her mind drifted once more to the visions and the astounding activities that had filled her life with joy for a brief time in Avalon or rather the dream world that was Avalon. Kellie watched her intently, an intense shine within the soft blue eyes. “Chéri…zere ees more to zis tale zan ‘ou are telling me, eesn’t zere?” she asked quietly as she stirred her own tea.

Blinking in surprise as she was once again roused from her musings, Annalia flushed. “I…what do you mean?” she blurted out, shaken at having been read so easily. She wasn’t normally that well read.

Sitting back as she chuckled, Kellie shook her head and her short brown hair swished across her face in a graceful caress before settling once more to frame her petite round face. “’ou ‘esitated for a brief zecond, ma amie, just as ‘ou vere telling me of Glastonbury. Zomething else ‘appened…didn’t eet?” she questioned slyly as she grinned and arched her eyebrows as she sipped her drink while watching Annalia expectedly.

Shifting as she flushed and cleared her throat, Annalia looked away nervously. “Well…I think I had a bout with some marsh gas or something,” she admitted and looked down as Kellie immediately sat up in concern and leaned forward.

“Marsh gas?! But zat ees dangerous! Vat ‘appened?” she demanded in worry as she put her hands over Annalia’s fidgeting hands.

“Well, nothing much except a really elaborate dream. I dreamed that I was on Avalon and met this guy there and he asked me to become the mother of his child, who would be King Arthur reborn.” Annalia’s explanation came out in a rush as she kept her gaze down so that she wouldn’t have to see her friend’s disbelief or shock.

Whistling softly in amazement, Kellie grinned as Annalia looked up at her in surprise. “Chéri…ven ‘ou dream…’ou dream razer large, oui?” she asked teasingly and her grin grew as Annalia blinked in shock before her jaw dropped and they both giggled. “My, my! Vat a dream! Vas zis man ‘andsome? And vas ‘e goot?” she questioned eagerly while leaning forward as Annalia giggled in embarrassment.

“Kellie! You are such a snoop!” Annalia protested as she waved her hands before her. “He was handsome yes and, in the dream, he was very good. Oh why am I telling you this?!” she cried, which caused Kellie to laugh in glee.

“Because eet ‘as been bugging ‘ou, oui? Now, ve must get togezer again zo zat ‘ou may tell me more of ‘our sexy dream man and ve vill hafe more time! My place for movies and pizza?” Kellie suggested as she winked.

“Ooo you have a deal!” Annalia exclaimed in acceptance before finishing her drink. She stood up and stretched, sighing. “Ok, so how about this Saturday? Does that work for you?” she asked as she followed Kellie to the counter while pulling out her billfold so she could pay.

“Oui, zat vorks. I vill be getting off of my shift at zree, zo my place at four, oui?” Kellie recommended as she rang up the bill.

“Sounds good. I’ll bring pictures too, ok?” Annalia offered as she took her receipt.

“Oui! I vant to zee zat vorld of zilly English people!” Kellie proclaimed with a laugh and giggled even more as Annalia laughed as well while shaking her head. “D’adieu, ma amie! Until zis Zaturday!” she called out as Annalia headed out with a wave.

“Bye! See you on Saturday!” Annalia replied as she left while waving over her shoulder to her friend before stepping out of the café and heading towards her office. Talking to her friend was always a delight since she usually brought such joy to whatever was discussed, but was also serious and a good listener when needed. Feeling more relaxed as she walked up the large stone steps that led to her work, Annalia nodded decisively. No matter what happened in her life, she had to keep positive. Though, deep inside of her, she ached for Taliesin’s warm smile and comforting presence to have been real.

She waved cheerfully to her co-workers as she walked in and headed for her boss’ office. Smiling, she knocked on the doorjamb and beamed as her boss stood. “Hey Rich…I’m back!” she declared cheerfully and giggled as he laughed and came over to her to embrace her.

“And you were missed! Come and sit! Tell me all about it! Oh and give me that rough draft. I want to see this baby…” he replied as he grabbed the rough draft when she pulled it from her handbag. He sat down and was already opening up the folder to look at its contents as he ran a hand through his short black hair. He was a tall, slender black man that had made his way through hard times to become the editor and owner of Annalia’s magazine. He was also one of the kindest men that she knew who was married and could still make her feel welcome and loved.

Giggling as she sat down, Annalia shook her head before brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, that’ll be pretty explicit on what all happened, so do you really want my impressions?” she asked sweetly and giggled again as he rolled his brown eyes at her.

“Now you are being a brat. So come on girl! What was it like being in jolly old England?” Rich asked as he sat forward and laced his fingers before him.

Smiling as she began to tell of her trip, Annalia found herself becoming immersed in her memories once more. She was glad that he didn’t notice her hitch at the Glastonbury part again since he was too involved with what being around that area had been like. He nodded as he listened while comparing her story to her rough draft as she talked, his attention on both her and the writing. When she had finished, he sighed happily. “Ah now THAT is something I wouldn’t mind getting to see myself! So, you will have pictures, right?” he asked, all business now as he closed the folder.

Nodding as she sipped the water he had offered her about half an hour ago, Annalia sighed inwardly when her stomach was soothed by the liquid. “They are going to be dropped off today to be developed after my doctor’s appointment, so I will have them by Wednesday,” she replied as she smiled slightly.

“Going to see what had you so sick?” Rich asked in sympathy and concern as he became her friend at that moment instead of her boss.

“Yea, plus it’s my annual physical, so it just all works out. I was lucky today that I could come in,” Annalia replied with a small sigh.

“Jetlag must be hitting you for a lot longer. Oh well…that’s England for you I guess,” Rich commented flippantly and earned a small laugh from her as he waved his slender hand. “Then I won’t keep you. When you drop off the photos, we’ll talk about what can be fixed in here, ok? Still thinking a two part print?” he inquired as he stood up and walked her to the door.

“Yea…it’s just too long otherwise!” Annalia pointed out with a wave of her hand as she shouldered her bag. “So Thursday then same time?” she confirmed with a grin.

“Sounds good. Take care of yourself now, ok? I want to hear about that appointment tonight, you hear?” Rich ordered with a smile and a wag of his finger, which got a chuckle from her as she nodded and sauntered off, waving here and there at her co-workers.

Feeling much more relaxed as she hurried down the stairs of her office, Annalia headed for the doctor’s office, once more immersing herself in her scheduler while she walked as she added in the new appointments that she had just made. She put away her scheduler just as she came up to the clinic that she had her appointment scheduled at and nodded to the receptionist as she sat down to wait. She grabbed a magazine and flipped through it half heartedly as she waited to be called, sighing inwardly in half boredom and half nervousness. She looked up as she heard her name and smiled at the nurse before putting aside the magazine and following the older woman to the weight machine.

Humming quietly as she weighed in, Annalia cocked an eyebrow as she saw what she was at. ‘Ohoh…I’m going to hear about this…’ she thought in dismay as she followed the nurse into the examination room. She sat down on the paper covered table and swung her legs in boredom as she glanced around. Wrinkling her nose at the chart of the human body that was on the door, she sighed inwardly as the elevator music floated around her.

Smiling in relief as the door finally opened, she straightened up as her doctor stepped into the room. The woman that entered was petite at five foot three with long sandy brown hair streaked with grey that was currently up in a stylish bun, which utilized the grey into a stripe surrounding the edge of the hairstyle. She had twinkling grey eyes and a dimpled smile that always put Annalia at ease when it creased the slightly lined face with joviality while showing a vitality that was undimmed for her age of forty three. “Hello Doctor Ferris!” Annalia said cheerfully and grinned as the woman doctor cocked an eyebrow at her.

“Come on…you know you hate coming here, so you can quit being sweet,” Dr. Ferris replied as she wagged her finger at Annalia, which elicited a chuckle from the younger woman. “So, physical today as well as checking in on why you’ve been under the weather since returning from your trip, hmm?” she asked as she grabbed some latex gloves and put them on with a snap.

Nodding, Annalia shifted uncomfortably on the paper covered bed. Doctor Ferris hadn’t lied in saying that Annalia hated her physicals, but she willingly endured it. Nothing would be worse than finding out something was wrong too late. “I’ve been nauseous since I came home…actually since about three days before I came home. And I’ve been dizzy and just exhausted. I don’t think it is jetlag,” she supplied quietly and watched as her doctor wrote down the information attentively.

“And according to this, you’ve lost some weight. No surprise if you’ve been sick.” Dr. Ferris clucked in concern as she came over after putting her pen down. She began to feel along Annalia’s neck and jaw before grabbing a penlight and checking Annalia’s pupils. She then checked out her patient’s ears, writing down her findings with each check as she went along. She frowned somewhat and tapped her chin then. “Well, I can't find anything swollen gland wise which would indicate sinus drainage. No congestion that I can see. You said nausea and dizziness, right?” She frowned more as Annalia nodded. “Lack of appetite? Sleeping all the time? Emotional shifts of your moods?”

Staring at her doctor uneasily, Annalia nodded as she flushed at the emotional changes being mentioned. “What are you getting at?” she asked finally, tensely.

“Tell me, Annalia. Have you been sexually active recently?” Dr. Ferris asked in amusement as she wrote down her findings on her clipboard.

Blushing in embarrassment, Annalia squirmed as flashes of her time with Taliesin crossed her mind. “I-I well um…I…” she stalled, unsure how to answer. That had been a dream…right?

Cocking an eyebrow in interest, Dr. Ferris straightened up and faced her patient. “Usually it is a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, Annalia. Did you have sex recently?” she asked again quietly as she watched her patient fidget again.

“Um…y-yes m-maybe I did…” Annalia replied uncertainly as she looked down at her hands while she twisted her fingers together.

“Maybe? I know you were sexually active a while back, so it can’t be absentmindedness,” the petite doctor commented softly as she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head in concern as her patient bit her lip. “Why don’t you tell me what happened?” she coaxed gently as she sat down on the bed next to Annalia.

Looking at her doctor from the corner of her eye, Annalia blinked back sudden tears. “I-I don’t know if what happened was even real, Dr. Ferris! It was like some fantastic dream that ended up with me waking up in the marshes along the bay at Glastonbury! But…” she trailed off as she looked down. “Oh it felt so real! I can remember everything! Even how he would smile at me when I did something to please him and-” Annalia stopped and flushed as an eyebrow went up on her doctor’s face. “S-Sorry…tmi,” she murmured in embarrassment.

“Not really, since I’ve heard worse. So you met some guy near Glastonbury and you two had sex? You don’t go for one night stands if I remember,” Dr. Ferris pointed out as she watched her patient while Annalia wiped away a couple of tears.

“Well he wasn’t there when I woke up and I didn’t feel like I’d just had a night of passionate love making,” Annalia retorted bitterly, sniffling as she covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry…but do you see my dilemma?” she whimpered as she trembled.

“Well there’s one way to confirm this or rather two. I’ll need to take a urine sample and we can do an ultrasound,” Dr. Ferris said matter of factly as she stood up, clapping her hands on her thighs as she bounced off the table. “So, let’s do the urine test first so I can get that sent off and we’ll also get the ultrasound room set up.” She looked over and smiled warmly at Annalia. “Come on…follow me.”

Nodding as she swallowed hard over her suddenly closed throat, Annalia followed her doctor. Embarrassed, she took the sample cup and did as she was told, returning with the half full cup and offering it while her cheeks flamed in mortification. She then meekly went down the hall to another room and lay out as instructed, baring her flat stomach before turning her face away. She shivered as cold Vaseline gel was put on her stomach followed by a patch before a wand was rolled over the patch.

She looked over immediately as Dr. Ferris chuckled and her eyes widened as she saw the almost miniscule bump that was nestled in her uterus. “That’s…”

“Yeup! That’s certainly something to confirm if you are pregnant or not, dear heart!” Dr. Ferris replied cheerfully as she watched the image on the screen.

Annalia held her breath with tears in her eyes as she watched the image in front of her before looking at her doctor. “H-How long until you can confirm?” she asked huskily and trembled as Dr. Ferris wiped her stomach off so she could sit up. She watched as Dr. Ferris wheeled the ultrasound back to its corner and wrote things down on her chart.

“A couple of hours, so I want you to go home, rest, drink lots of fluids, and try eating some crackers. I’ll call with the results, all right?” Dr. Ferris ordered firmly as she came back over after putting away the machine. She smiled gently as Annalia nodded shakily and took the young woman’s hands. “Looks like that dream was very real, Annalia. Go on now…I’ll call you,” she urged her patient before helping Annalia to stand and escorted Annalia out to the reception.

“Ok, doc. I’ll hear from you later then,” Annalia said after she cleared her throat and paid the fee. She waved half heartedly before leaving, her mind reeling with the revelations of the day so far. ‘I’m…pregnant. Oh my God I’m pregnant! It was real!’

Suddenly, she felt joy and delight rush through her and she laughed as she skipped down the steps and almost ran home. She hummed as she unlocked her apartment door and went inside just in time to hear the phone ringing. Feeling nervousness well up within her as she saw the number, she answered quietly. She listened and silence fell over the room as she paled, then answered affirmatively albeit dazedly before hanging up.

She looked slowly over at a painting that she had gotten from England. It was a painting of the making of Avalon supposedly. She went towards it and touched the figure in the center, a young man who was touching one of the stones with his head bowed. As she looked at it through her daze, she thought for a few seconds that the image was of Taliesin. She laughed suddenly and then whooped in joy. “Oh Taliesin! We’re going to be parents! We did it!” she exclaimed as she twirled around the room, laughing and crying at the same time. She sat down with a whoosh onto her couch and wiped her face as she beamed. ‘Dreams do come true!’ she thought in joy as she leaned her head back and looked out her window towards the semi-cloudy sky. Now the only thing she needed…was Taliesin.