Page 49 of Make Me Whole

She accepted our invitation and took the seat I vacated. I clapped my friend on the shoulder once and left the bar happy that he seemed to have found a woman he liked. Maybe if he was happy in his sex life, he’d find it in his heart to forgive me for being happy with his daughter once I gathered enough courage to come clean. It was a long shot, but a guy can always hope, right?

20

SKY

On Saturday morning, a violent bout of nausea woke me up. Clasping my mouth, I ran to the bathroom and barely made it before expelling the entire contents of my stomach into the toilet. Once the heaving stopped, I sat on the floor, back resting against the wall, and flushed the nastiness away.

“That’s what I get for being the cool mom who shares a pint of ice cream with her kid before bed,” I groaned as I got up and walked to the sink.

I splashed some cold water on my face and brushed my teeth. The toothpaste made me gag again, but luckily, my stomach was empty enough that I could finish brushing without throwing up. I prayed that this nasty feeling was just my lack of self-control and not sickness. The kids were so excited for Halloween, and it would be rotten luck for me to get ill two days before the big day.

When I returned to my room and saw the time, I cursed again. I’d been feeling extra tired and was really looking forward to sleeping in, but violently puking had stolen the last precious half-hour, leaving me with only eleven minutes before the alarm went off. The sun had barely gotten up in the sky, and this was already not my day.

Instead of trying to go back to sleep, I put on some jeans and a sweater and went downstairs to start breakfast. This was the first weekend the kitchen was fully functional, so I went all out with homemade pancakes, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and even freshly baked cookies—ill-advised in my condition, but the kids would enjoy it.

When the food was ready, I put on a pot of coffee and some water to boil for a ginger tea and went back upstairs to wake up Ella.

“Is it a lovely morning, Mommy?” she asked groggily.

My first instinct was to say that it was a terrible morning, but the sky was blue, the temperature was nice, and the leaves had finally changed colors. I couldn’t let my personal bias ruin the possibility of a perfect fall day for Ella. So instead, I kissed the top of her head and said, “It’s the perfect fall morning, peanut.”

Her smile cut her face in two, and she swung her legs off the bed and stretched. “I love fall.”

Noise came from downstairs, announcing that Max and Aiden had arrived. Laughing, I told her to dress warmly and left the room. When I arrived at the kitchen, Aiden had his little hand on the cookie platter.

I cocked a brow and folded my arms. “Are you stealing a cookie, Aiden?”

Hunched over the table, the boy stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. His cheeks flushed, and the chocolate on the corner of his lips told me he was stealing more than one cookie.

“Stealing is such a bad word, Aunther Sky. I prefer sampling.”

I shook my head and laughed. What else could I do?

“Well, don’t sample more than one. It’ll make you sick and ruin your breakfast.”

“Okay,” he said, showing me one cookie, and sat down. “Dad asked if you could go help him with something in the car.”

I considered giving him grief about weaseling that second cookie, but I was too curious to know what Max needed help with to waste time arguing with his son. As I made my way around the island to leave the kitchen, my daughter entered. Her eyes instantly focused on her friendcoubling and she made a disgusted face.

“Jeez, Aid. How many cookies have you eaten? Your mouth is all dirty like the cookie monster.”

I raised a brow and looked at the blushing boy who quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve. It took effort not to laugh, but he looked sorry, and I didn’t want to embarrass him further.

Pointing at both children, I warned, “You guys stay here and wait for Max and me so we can eat together, okay? I’ll know if you try to be sneaky.”

Both kids promised not to eat until we returned, and I left to see what Max wanted from me.

Chilly air hit me as I stepped out of the house. Max’s truck was parked in the driveway with him still inside. I walked over and opened the passenger door.

“Hi!” My smile was ridiculous as it always was around him.

“Get in and close the door.”

I obeyed, alarmed by his urgent tone. I sat sideways on the passenger side, with my left leg bent toward the back of the seat and my foot tucked underneath my right knee. My hands rested on my thighs, and my shoulder pressed against the soft leather for support. It wasn’t a comfortable position, but it was the only one that allowed me to face him.

“Everything okay?”

“No,” Max whispered as he interlaced his fingers with mine. “I’m starting to really hate Saturdays. And Sundays.”

---