Page 33 of Shadowed Obsession

Scar

Are we crybabies or just in tune with our emotions?

Speaking of crying, you’ve got surprises waiting.

If you took the day off from irritating me, I’d cry tears of joy.

Scar

You’d miss me if I took a day off. But you’ll see!

We shall see. You didn’t have to get me anything.

Scar

I’m not arguing with you, Deirdre.

Go brush your teeth. We’ll talk when you get out of bed.

*huffs hot breath through the phone*

Scar

You might as well speak at my funeral.

Bye, Scar.

I roll out of bed and start my morning routine of showering, skincare, and styling my hair. Even though I don’t plan to leave the house for anything other than redeeming my hoard of birthday coupons from restaurants and local stores, it doesn’t mean that I can’t do that while also looking cute.

They say when you look good, you feel good, and I’d like to see if there’s any truth to that since I haven’t been feeling too great lately. My back has been aching terribly for the past few days. I’ve been disinterested in reading, cooking, Pilates, and even self-care, which are usually things I look forward to.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to convince myself to leave the bed if it weren’t for work. So when I checked my period tracker app the other day, sure enough I was predicted to start my menstrual cycle within the next few days.

Unfortunately, my period being on the horizon makes my PMDD—otherwise known as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder—rear its ugly head, making my life hell on earth while I wait for the dreaded cycle to begin.

I have the absolute pleasure of being diagnosed with both PCOS and PMDD. Meaning on top of having excessive hair growth, infertility struggles, and irregular bleeding, my periods last longer than normal.

Oftentimes, I should be out of commission for the first few days, but I refuse to sit at home and would hate for my family to do one of their unannounced drop ins during a time where I’ve called out. So, I power on thanks to over-the-counter pain relievers, comfort food, and lunch break naps.

I know it’s ridiculous, especially since I fought against my relatives on the board for all Divin employees who menstruate to have paid menstrual leave and won. All for this to be an employee benefit that I don’t even allow myself to indulge in simply because I feel guilty for taking time away from work. As if a day or two off would set me too far back on my dreams for the company’s future.

After my shower, I throw on some comfy lounge clothes and plop back into bed while I snap screenshots of all the special birthday discounts I need to use today. On the menu are free coffee, ice cream, donuts, desserts, and other sweets. I’d really love a cake, but I don’t see the point in picking one up without having anyone to share it with.

Armed with an organized list of businesses who offer birthday freebies, I gather my things and head out.

While I’m running around, my phone is bombarded with texts and voice messages from my family and friends, wishing me a happy birthday. That’s something I actually love about this day. No matter how unseen I feel at times, this is a day I can always count on to be reminded of who’s thinking of me.

I return home, needing to make multiple trips to ensure I don’t drop anything on the way to the front door. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I deserve to indulge in my craving, so I grabbed a small marble cake. What’s the point of all this free ice cream I got if there’s no cake to pair it with?

I sit at the island with a fork to dig into it and reach for my phone to dial my brother. And in true twin fashion, his name pops up on my screen with an incoming FaceTime call. I swipe to answer, prop my phone against the empty cake lid, and wait for the call to connect.

He appears on the screen with a lazy smile and red-rimmed eyes barely open.High indeed.A definite perk of working around our marijuana farms upstate.

“Happy birthday, Sis.”

“Happy birthday, punk,” I say with a chuckle, pointing at him with my fork. “I see you’ve already been celebrating.”

“Damn right. Did you get the package I sent the other day? Wanted you to try some new hybrid strains we’ve been working on.”

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