Page 9 of Summer With You

“I’m going to need to stop soon, Ace,” Celine whispered, looking out the window, her face now almost completely white.

“Just tell me when, baby.” We drove along for another thirty minutes. Both kids had fallen asleep, and Celine dozed off a few times, her face going from pale to green as the minutes ticked by.

“Next stop,” she mumbled eventually, voice shaking as she slowly swallowed a sip of water.

At the next stop, I peeled into a parking spot as quickly as I could, and Celine rushed out of the car straight into the service plaza, just about running. The two kids groggily sat up and looked at me through bleary eyes.

“Are we there yet?” Charlie mumbled rubbing his eyes with a small fist. I sighed, leaning my head back against my seat, hating that I couldn’t be there for her as she threw up.

“Where’s Mom?” Summer yawned, looking at the empty seat and then back at me.

“Just a quick pitstop for the bathrooms for Momma, and then, we’ll be at the house soon, I promise.” I leaned over to ruffle Charlie’s hair, earning a small smile before he curled back up on the small chair and fell back asleep.

“Is Mom okay?” Summer persisted, concern flashing in her eyes.

Celine opened the car door and slid back into her seat. She had color back in her cheeks, relaxing me some. She glanced at me before turning to the kids, smiling at our daughter.

“Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a good nap?” Summer nodded but continued to look at her mother with concern. “I’m okay. Don’t you worry, baby.”

She was such a good mom.

“We’ll be there soon,” I assured Summer, but assured my wife as well, knowing how bad her morning sickness was. “Do you want some of those saltine crackers?” I asked Celine, reaching for the food bag, but she shook her head.

“No, I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit. Wake me when we get there.”

I frowned. “Celine, maybe you should eat something,” I coaxed.

“Really, Ace, I’m not hungry. Just let me sleep.” She closed her eyes and tilted her head against the window.

Pulling out of the parking lot, I merged back onto the highway and followed the GPS directions to the tucked-away lake house, far away from all the tourist traffic. Besides the soft notes playing from the radio, the silence was my company as everyone slept. My worry continued to grow for my humble wife, who didn’t like to complain. I knew she still wasn’t feeling one hundred percent, proven by the fact that she was napping. Celine wasn’t really a napper.

Something was wrong, and she was hiding it from me. I didn’t like secrets, especially secrets about her health and our baby.

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