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He looked at my bedside clock and with a quick “oh shit” grabbed me. Minutes later, we were out of the shower, rushing to dress to make our dinner reservation. Rhys left me standing in the very spot I was in half an hour earlier at the bathroom mirror with a promise of a long night filled with more of what we’d just shared. He loved me, and in truth, I had known well before he said the words. I felt it every time he looked at me, in his smile, his touch, his embrace. I stood in a daze in the bathroom, praying and praising like I was accepting another Oscar.
Instead of the long night of lovemaking, we managed to get a quickie in at three a.m. Bryce had been a total adorable monster and stayed up well past his bedtime. We lay in our dress clothes, exhausted as we watched him run in circles until finally passing out.
“Oh my GOD!” I screamed, studying my face. I had run to the restroom half an hour ago, sensing an oncoming attack. And at the moment, I looked like the deformed Sloth from that movie The Goonies. I was a cauliflower ear short of being his double. My eyes were swollen shut and I couldn’t stop sneezing.
This was not good.
Rhys knocked on the door and I stuck my foot in front of it to keep him from coming in, shut it quickly and locked it. I turned back to the mirror in the bathroom at his parents’ house, watching my face explode
from an allergic reaction.
“Rhys, get me a Benadryl!” I said, searching the cabinets desperately for an antihistamine.
“What the hell is going on? Everyone is waiting downstairs,” he said impatiently.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to muffle my voice. My swelling tongue would impair my speech for a while.
“You’re full of shit, babe. Now open this door!” he demanded, his voice filled with worry.
“Can’t a girl have some privacy?” I asked, every single word coming out strangled.
“Violet, please open the door.”
I splashed cold water over my face, as if that would help, and stood to my full height. I warned him about my allergies, but it just so happened my first attack of the season occurred the very night his parents planned a dinner party so the family and I could get better acquainted. I couldn’t stay in the bathroom. They were waiting. This was going to be bad.
I opened the door and saw the horror cross Rhys’s face.
“Oh my GOD!” he exclaimed, mortified as he gripped my shoulders.
Yeah, it’s just as bad as I thought it would be. I’d never seen him so horrified. I began crying immediately as he raced out of the room.
Man, that was fast. All it took was one look at my Shrek face.
Vain bastard.
I sat on the edge of the bed sobbing as Rhys rushed back in the room with four Benadryl in his hand and shut the bedroom door, clearly not wanting anyone to see me.
“This is just allergies?” he asked, wiping my tears away.
“Yeah, for years the doctors said it was a food allergy and then they said it was something in the air. There’s no way of stopping it. It happens at least three or four times a year. I’m sorry but I can’t face your family. You can take me home.”
He pulled me to him as he whispered in my ear, “I wouldn’t leave you, even though you look like the elephant man on steroids.” He chuckled as I elbowed him in the chest. “I’ll be right back.”
I sat at the edge of the bed, feeling terrible about ruining the dinner party I knew his mother had worked so hard on. She’d been planning this for weeks, and though I had been out with Heidi a few times and we quickly became close, I was excited to get to know the rest of his family.
The last few months with Rhys had been the exact opposite of our first months. I’d refused to peek around the corner, dreading the next disaster, and because of that they’d been the best months of my life. I was certain with my new love there would always be something there that threatened to shake us, but I was more certain I would refuse to let it get in the way. I heard Bryce calling for me from downstairs and my heart squeezed. I knew my appearance would only frighten him.
It’s just an allergy attack, Vi.
Rhys walked in a few minutes later, carefully balancing two plates of food, two plastic glasses, and a hand full of movies as his arm cradled a bottle of wine.
“They are going to watch Bryce and you and I get another picnic in bed,” he said, setting the plates on the nightstand next to me and sliding off his shoes. He walked over to me, stripped my dress off, and gasped at the rash on my back. “Oh, man, this is...bad.” I nodded, embarrassed, then quickly got under the covers. He pulled me to him and kissed me gently.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. I nodded again, still a bit emotional from him seeing me this way. But he loved me and it showed now more than ever. I felt sick and took two of the Benadryl he offered. He quickly handed me the movies to choose from.
I sifted through them. “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, Steel Magnolias, Cider House Rules...Rhys, these are all chick movies.”
His smile was devastating. “I know. I told them to hand me the cheesy love ones,” he said, putting our plates on pillows and setting mine in front of me.
