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“Thanks, Marjorie. You too.” I end the call.
I finish my tea and head to the bathroom to shower and get dressed before heading out. The market shouldn’t be that busy today, and I need to pick up a few things from the store. Ice cream sounds amazing, and it shouldn’t since it’s breakfast time. I hurry through my routine and mentally make a list of everything I need to pick up.
I feed Nala and make sure that I know what I need, and head out.
The morning is beautiful, not too hot but not cool either. I put on my sunglasses and walk to the market. It’s bustling with people, but everyone seems to be in a good mood. Once I have everything, I head back toward the apartment and stop at the bakery on the way home. Death by Chocolate cupcakes sound good.
The cupcake place isn’t too busy, so I’m able to look around and think about what I want to get besides the Death by Chocolate. After fifteen minutes, I get a Red Velvet cupcake too. There is a pet bakery on the way, and I pick up Nala a little something too.
I make it back to the apartment and put everything away, and it’s not even noon yet. The cleaning can wait. I text Ice to see how his morning is going and Octavia to see how she’s doing. I’m going to snuggle on the couch with a cup of tea and Nala and enjoy the rest of my morning.
* * *
My alarm goes off, and I roll over. I feel like I’ve been run over by a semi-truck. The headaches are coming in hot, and I’m riddled with fatigue. I’m worried I’ve caught the flu that has been going around at work. There is no way I can work around the children feeling like this. I need to call Marjorie to let her know.
I reach for my phone on the nightstand, and it’s a struggle to even do that. I search for Marjorie’s work number and hit send.
“Hello, this is Marjorie. How can I help you?”
“Hey, it’s Sunny. I think I caught the flu that was going around our unit.”
“Oh, no! I don’t want you coming in with that. Let me look at the schedule to see if I can find someone to cover, and I’ll call you back.”
“Thank you.” My head hits the pillow, and I hope she hung up because I didn’t.
A few minutes later, she calls back.
“Hey, I was able to get someone to cover for you, and you’ll be taking their shift in a couple days.”
“Thank you so much for finding someone for me.”
“No worries. Get to feeling better, and I’ll see you in a few days.”
I get up and go to the kitchen for something to drink. Hot tea should help make me feel better, I hope. I fill the kettle full of water and turn it on. While that is warming up, I grab a tea bag out of the cabinet and a cup to put it in. Honey and lemon would help too.
Once it’s ready, I pour the water into the cup, and I go to the couch and turn on the TV. Nala comforts me, knowing that I’m not feeling well. I text Ice to let him know that I’m not feeling well, so he doesn’t come over in case I’m contagious, and I don’t even wait for a reply before I turn my phone off and snuggle with Nala and fall asleep.
I wake up to a knock at the door. At first, I think I’m dreaming, but whoever it is knocks again. I get to the door and open it. It’s Ice.
“Hey, baby. I brought you some fresh croissants, some herbal tea, and some fresh fruit.” He holds up a couple of bags.
“Come in. Thank you for doing this for me. I’m shocked you did this for me.”
He laughs. “I told you I’m a changed man now that I’m sober. I don’t want to fuck up again because I want to show you how thankful I am for you helping me to get the help I needed.”
“You’ve already thanked me.”
“I don’t think I’ve thanked you enough. So, let’s get you something to eat and into bed where you can rest.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to be here. I don’t want to make you sick.”
“Nonsense. I’m going to take care of you. So, let’s get you into bed, and I’ll bring you some hot tea and a croissant.”
“Okay.” I don’t have the energy to argue with him, and I go into the bedroom and get into bed.
A few moments later, Ice comes into the room with a cup of tea and a croissant with fresh fruit. The food looks good, but the sight of it makes my stomach roll. I take a bite of the croissant in an attempt to settle my stomach down. I take a sip of the tea and taste the ginger, and it soothes my stomach. Maybe more sleep will help me feel better.
I place the plate and cup on the nightstand and get up and go to the bathroom to take my temperature. I don’t have much of a fever, so hopefully, I don’t make Ice sick if I have a stomach bug. The bed is calling my name, and I grab a washcloth and wet it with cool water. I go back to the bedroom and lay down, placing the washcloth on my head. I’m sure Ice will get on me for not asking him to help me.
