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“Gemma? Are you okay?”
Still retching, I couldn’t answer Jason.
“Gemma?” He dropped down on his knees next to me, holding my hair back. When my stomach finally settled, I rested my arms on the seat, and he stroked my head. “How do you feel?”
I breathed deeply, in my nose and out my mouth, eyes closed. “Terrible.”
He handed me a cold washcloth, and I swiped it over my face and neck. “Maybe it was the beer?” he suggested.
“I only had one glass.” I stood on wobbly legs to brush my teeth and swallow a few sips of water the faucet.
He rubbed my back in soothing circles. “Do you feel better?”
“I guess. What time is it?”
“A little after four.”
I slunk back to bed, and he tucked me into his side, kissing my temple, and I quickly fell back to sleep.
A few hours later, Jason shook me awake again. He sat on the edge of the bed, fully dressed for work. “I’m leaving. Are you planning on getting up anytime soon?”
I pulled the covers higher.
“Are you still feeling sick?” he asked, pressing his palm to my forehead.
“I’m so tired.”
“Guess we can’t go out on weeknights anymore, old lady.”
I didn’t even have the energy to throw a barb at him.
“I’ll check in with you later.” He kissed my head through the covers. “Love you.”
A few minutes later, I forced myself out of bed and into the shower. Feeling much better after getting dressed and eating a little cereal, I fired off a text to Laney on my way to work.
Do you feel okay today? I puked this morning, maybe from the food?
Laney
I’m fine. Hope you feel better!
Being the day before Thanksgiving, customers were few and far between at Bare Necessities, but Alex kept me busy by ordering me to go through all the advertisements for Black Friday in exchange for buying lunch. I was in the middle of a vegetable burrito when Jason called.
I dabbed a napkin at the corner of my mouth. “Hey, you.”
“Hey. What are you up to?”
“I’m being forced to scour every sale paper in the state. Alex wants a new toaster for his kitchen and a vacuum for his mother-in-law.”
“Sounds awful. Want to trade jobs?”
I snorted. “If I had your job, I’d be making houses out of mud and tires.”
Jason’s deep laughter on the other end of the phone coaxed a smile out of me. “Did you eat lunch?”
I picked up a few beans that had fallen out of the burrito and popped them in my mouth. “In the middle of it. Alex bought Mexican.”
“I’m starving. I’ve been in meetings all day. But I’m glad you’re better.”
