Mom studied the pad for half an hour. "It looks somewhat standard," she said. "Just accelerated. You've got morning sickness. Orions are vegetarian, so you might have an aversion to meat for the duration; possibly until the baby's off the spout."
"Noted," I replied.
"You might get cravings anytime now. For the most part, just give in to them; if it's something you really shouldn't be eating, we'll find some way of working around the craving."
"Sounds good."
"In a couple of weeks, your breasts will become swollen and tender. Orion women generally go topless when they're pregnant, but that's not going to happen on this planet. We'll just get you some comfortable bras.
"At the end of your first month, you'll be sporting a baby bump. At the point when other Earth women are just finding out that they're pregnant, you'll feel the baby kicking. And, of course, after week 13, you'll be giving birth. Orion women go through it all the time, but we're not really built for such rapid pregnancies; that's why it'll be so painful for you."
"Anything else?" Dad asked.
Mom checked the pad. "It seems that Orion women figure out whether they're having a boy or a girl before they run conventional tests. Apparently, if she becomes protective of her family in the face of perceived danger, it means she's having a boy; if she's more inclined to take the fight to the enemy, then it means she's having a girl."
"That sounds dangerous," I said, reaching for a rose from the vase. I sniffed it, smiling at the scent. Then, I brought the rose to my mouth, and bit off the flower. It tasted exquisite as I chewed it. I swallowed it, then ate the stem. I reached for another, and I was halfway through eating the flower when it hit me: What in the world am I doing?
"I think we've found one of your cravings," Mom said.
I swallowed. "I guess we'd better figure out how to tell my friends about this. After all, if my alien pregnancy doesn't tip them off, my newfound tendency to eat flowers will get their attention."
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