She gave him a sad, watery smile. “You’re right. Thanks.” Rosie pressed herself into him again in a big hug and he wrapped his arms tight around her. It was so hard to let her go. Why did she have to leave, again?
“Would you like to stay a while?”
“No, no, that’s okay. I need a shower, and I need to do some cleaning. I’ll see you tomorrow at eight-thirty though, right?”
He stole another quick kiss as she slipped through the door. “Absolutely.”
Matt: Sis, we need to chat.
Olivia: Can it wait? I have a long day today, and then Jake and I are going to Gramps' house for dinner.
Matt: Okay, but not too long.
Olivia: Are you coming over?
Rosie: This is so embarrassing. I wasn’t thinking.
Olivia: What?
Rosie: I ended up at your old apartment.
Olivia: I bet Matt was thrilled. :sarcasm emoji:
Rosie: He didn’t seem to mind. I feel better now. But I’m exhausted.
Olivia: Okay, I’ll talk to you later.
Rosie fell asleep feeling like she was floating, her rotten night a distant memory. Matt’s confession had pushed it to the recesses of her mind, and so did his kisses. She’d been kissed exactly once before, a sloppy, awkward thing in high school, only to find out that it had all been a cruel dare.
Matt’s kiss disarmed her, intoxicated her, and made her feel like they were the only two people in the universe. It was magical.
What wasnotmagical, was the cramping in her uterus that evening when she woke up. She groaned out loud to an otherwise silent apartment and forced herself from the bed. Rosie knew what those cramps meant.
She focused on getting herself ready for work, threw extra tampons in her purse, and popped some Midol to get her through the next twelve hours on her feet. The bottle went into her bag as well. Sometimes it was bad the first day, other months it waited until day two to really beat her down.
Rosie only had to get through one shift, then she had four days off. She’d be through her period then.
When she got to the hospital, the Midol had kicked in. Pain-free but fatigued, she was grateful when she saw she had the easy babies again today. Her heart twisted when she realized Jayden’s room was empty. Before she shoved her pain back in its box, she remembered what Matt had said; that Jayden had deserved to live and allowed herself a moment to grieve. Then, she promised she would give her charges the best version of herself she could and went to work.
Twelve hours, sixteen diaper changes, and as many feedings later, Rosie was on her way home when the Midol stopped working. She struggled with the last leg of her drive, but she’d done it before, and she’d probably do it every month until menopause. Checking her phone in the parking lot, she bit her lip when she saw Matt had texted about their brunch date before he went to bed. He was so excited. Well, she’d get some more medicine, and prayed a hot shower would help.
But, by the time she got out of the shower and dried her hair, she was still doubled over in pain. Midol wasn’t going to cut it. She decided to forget the cute outfit she’d planned on, threw a sloppy sweatshirt over her black leggings, and plugged in the heating pad just as the knock sounded against her door.
Opening it, she stared apologetically up at a bewildered Matt.
“Rosie, are you okay?”
She waved him inside. No sense in having this conversation where the whole floor could hear them. “Hey, Matt. This issoembarrassing. But my … my period started last night and it kinda kicks me around the first day or two. I hate to ask, but can we postpone our date?” He’d worn a collared shirt for her, and she hated that she couldn’t go out with him.
His blue eyes stared down with concern. “I have an idea.” Pulling out his phone, Matt pulled up the website for the restaurant where they’d been planning to go. “What if you tell me what you want to eat, and I put in a take-out order, then bring it back here? Unless you don’t want company at all …” He shifted nervously but hearing Aunt Flo was in town didn’t seem to be what was making him nervous. The idea she was trying to get out of their date seemed to be on his mind.
“That would be wonderful. I didn’t know they did take-out.” She took the phone and scrolled through the options.
“Maybe you should sit down, you’re awfully pale.”
Rosie chuckled. “I’m always pale, you know that.”
“I mean more so than usual.”
