Page 23 of Raiding Halloween
“Ash?” she mumbles, her voice drowsy.
“Shh, go back to sleep. Esther ordered me to come and take a nap,” I whisper.
She giggles then grabs my hand and laces our fingers together. “Okay. I sleep better with you here anyhow.”
“Good to know, sweetheart.”
It doesn’t take long for her breathing to even out again while I’m mentally writing my to-do list concerning the businesses, the brothers, and Marnie. If I have to come home every day and lie down with her for a couple of hours so she sleeps peacefully, that’s what I’m going to do. I nearly lost my whole world not that long ago, and I need to make sure she’s okay. I should’ve known she’d try and push through how she’s been feeling; it’s what she does at work as well.
With my lists made, at least in my head, I find myself joining my woman in her slumber, knowing that tomorrow’s going to be the first day of a hectic few weeks until Rebel’s back in action.
Neither Marnie nor I woke up until the next morning, and it was almost a race to see who would get to the bathroom first. “I can’t believe nobody woke us up!” she exclaims as she comes back into the bedroom.
“We both needed the rest,” I reply as I head into the bathroom. Once I’m done and have washed my hands and face, then brushed my teeth, I join her to see she’s straightening up the bed. “I’d be willing to bet that Esther checked in on us, saw we were both in a sound sleep and decided that we needed the rest more than we needed to eat. And that’s another thing we need to talk about, Marnie.”
She looks at me, then asks, “What do we need to discuss?”
Looking her in the eye so she sees how unhappy I am, I state, “The fact that you’re hardly using your pain meds.”
“I don’t want to become dependent on them, Ash,” she admits.
“Baby, didn’t you hear the doctor when he said that what he gave you wasn’t a prescription that usually caused a person to become addicted? You need to take them so your body can properly heal. Oh, and Esther gave me a suggestion that’ll hopefully help you get comfortable so you’re not tossing and turning all night long.”
“I’m sorry if I’m keeping you awake,” she says.
“No, that’s not what I said, baby. I only know you do this because you break away from me and I have to find you again.”
“It’s hard because both sides hurt,” she replies.
“Well, these pillows are made to help people who have pain issues,” I tell her. “Now, I need about a gallon of coffee, and you need to work on the pigskin that Prophet dropped off.”
She looks excited as she grabs her sketchpad and pencils. “I have an idea for a tattoo that I want to sketch first,” she says as we head toward the kitchen.
“Marnie! We’re helping Grammy make French toast,” Mina exclaims as we make our way into the bright, sunshine-filled room.
“That sounds delicious,” Marnie replies.
“Mina, can you get Marnie one of her drinks out of the refrigerator?” Esther asks.
“Yes, Grammy. Guess what, Marnie? The baby burped really loud last night,” Mina states, cupping her hands over her mouth while giggling. “It was really funny, and Papa told him that he had an impressive burp for a baby!”
Oh, she’s going to run Rebel off his legs when she’s old enough to date, that’s for damn sure. I set my coffee cup on the table where a plate of steaming French toast, as well as sausage links is waiting for me. Sitting down, I hand Marnie two of her pain pills. At her questioning look, I say, “Take them. No arguing.”
I see Esther’s grin out of the corner of my eye and shake my head. She’s a generous and loving woman, but I suspect she was a drill sergeant in her former life. Because she damn sure got my attention last night with a few well-chosen words. As my ol’ lady,Marnie’s my responsibility and if she’s not taking care of herself, it’s up to me to make sure she does.
“Fine,” Marnie grumbles. “Not sure how I’m supposed to practice if I’m taking these things every eight hours or so. They knock me out.”
“Just means your body needs it,” I retort cutting up my toast before I pour some syrup on my plate.
“Whatever.”
“Marnie, I’ll be sitting on the back porch. You can always sit in the swing so if you get drowsy, you can nap out there,” Esther says as she and Mina join us at the table.
“I hate feeling like I’m a burden,” Marnie whispers, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Okay, young lady, gonna give you some hard truths,” Esther says once she’s fixed Mina’s plate. I have no clue where Ruby currently is, but she’s probably with Paul or even helping Rebel with the baby. “First of all, family is never a burden and you’re family, plain and simple. Secondly, as hard as you work, there’s no way you don’t deserve some downtime every once in a while, especially given the circumstances. And last but not least, you’ve been extremely helpful since you got here. There’s no way I would’ve been able to get everything canned that I did if you hadn’t been here to help me. So what if you can’t bustle around like you do when you’re waitressing? Your contributions have been just as valuable as everyone else’s. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I see a small smile cross Marnie’s face as she nods. Then, before Esther can say anything else, Marnie states, “I think I’ve been so used to doing everything on my own and always going ninetyto nothing that I feel lazy. Which is stupid when I think about it because life should be more than just existing. I’ve learned about chickens, canning, and even how to take care of the basics when it comes to babies. Not only that, but I’ve been able to draw to my heart’s contentandI’m learning how to tattoo.”
