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“Glenda.” I forced myself to look at her, to make my voice as gentle as possible despite the very real pain in my head. “It's not your fault.”

She stopped pacing and stared at me. “What?”

“This isn't your fault. You love me. I know you would never do anything to hurt me on purpose.” God, I deserved an Oscar for saying that with a straight face. “You're just trying to take care of me.”

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. “I am. I love you so much, Joy. I just wanted us to have time together without all the distractions. Without him pulling you away from me.”

“I know.” I let my eyelids flutter closed, like I was struggling to stay conscious. “But I think I need something for my stomach. Maybe some ginger ale? Or crackers?”

“I don't have any ginger ale.” Glenda's voice was thick with tears. “I should have thought of that. I should have prepared better.”

“What about Sprite? Seven-Up? Anything with bubbles might help.”

“No, I don't have anything like that. Just water and some lemonade I made. How about scones?” She was wringing her hands again.

“God no!”

I forced myself to dry heave again, my whole body convulsing with the effort. It wasn't entirely fake. The combination of whatever drug she'd given me and the stress of the situation had my stomach in knots.

Glenda was pacing again, her movements becoming more agitated. “This is a disaster. I planned everything so carefully, and now I'm poisoning you.”

“You're not poisoning me.” I made my voice as weak and reassuring as possible. “This happened to me once before, when I had my wisdom teeth out. The anesthesia made me really sick for hours. But I was fine the next day.”

It was a lie, but it seemed to calm her down a little. She stopped pacing and looked at me with desperate hope.

“Really? You think it's just a reaction to the medication?”

“I'm sure of it.” I let my head fall back against the pillow again. “You know me, Glenda. You know I wouldn't lie to you. This isn't your fault.”

The absolute conviction in my voice seemed to be exactly what she needed to hear. Her shoulders sagged with relief, and she wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“You're so good to me,” she whispered. “Even when you're sick, you're trying to make me feel better. That's why I love you so much. You have such a pure heart.”

I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming. Instead, I forced myself to smile weakly at her.

“I just need to rest for a little while.” I let my eyelids drift closed. “Maybe if I sleep it off, I'll feel better when I wake up.”

“Yes, that's a good idea. Sleep is probably exactly what you need.” Glenda pulled the afghan up to my chin, her touch gentle despite everything. “I'll just sit right here and watch over you. Make sure you're okay.”

That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I needed her to leave me alone, at least for a few minutes. I lay still for several minutes, trying to even out my breathing and make it look like I was falling asleep. But I could feel her eyes on me, watching my every breath.

This wasn't going to work. I needed a different approach.

I let out a small whimper and shifted restlessly on the couch. “I think I'm going to be sick again.”

“Oh no.” Glenda's voice was immediately full of concern. “Do you need me to help you sit up?”

Instead of answering, I let my body go completely limp. My breathing became shallow and rapid, and I made sure my face was turned away from her so she couldn't see that my eyes were slightly open.

“Joy? Joy, can you hear me?”

I didn't respond. I let my body stay slack and unresponsive, like I'd passed out.

“Oh God, this is bad. This is really, really bad.” I could hear her getting up from her chair, her footsteps moving around the room. “Joy, wake up. Please wake up.”

She knelt beside the couch and shook my shoulder gently. I let my head loll to the side but didn't react otherwise.

“This is not normal. People don't just pass out from nausea.” I could hear her moving away from me, and then the sound of a laptop being opened. “Okay, WebMD. Please help me figure out what's wrong with her.”