Just a little day-in-the-life-of fluffy fic. One shot for now. Shout out to Parisian-nicole on Tumblr!
Take Care
Sally Ann sat in the passenger seat of Frida's car. "Thanks for goin' shoppin' with me."
Frida laughed. "The thanks belongs to you. I been needin' a good reason to get outta my place for days. Plus, what kinda woman doesn't enjoy a lil bargain' huntin'?"
"True." Sally Ann unbuckled her seatbelt as Frida put the car in park outside of her and Hasil's new apartment.
"Your man's done good earnin' y'all some cash."
Sally Ann nodded as she started gathering shopping bags into her arms. She was proud of Hasil, but his new method of earning income left her nerves on edge. "Yeah. He's done good. Just can't wait until I can find somethin' and contribute too."
"Hey now." Frida wagged her finger at her new friend. "You're busy growin' his baby and makin' your home a home. Take a little credit for what you're doin' now. You'll find somethin' else soon enough."
"I know. I just…"
"You're worried 'bout him." Frida gave her a sweet smile. "I don't need my psychic powers to tell that much." She pulled a plastic shopping bag from the backseat and held it up. "I mean, this whole damn thing is filled with first aid stuff." Frida continued when Sally Ann gave no response. "Look sweetie, I know the feelin'. Butch's line of work ain't the sorta thing that leaves me restin' easy at night either. You just gotta hope it's temporary you know. I play my numbers every week and one day Butch and I are gonna hit it big. Then we'll be livin' up in a mansion somewhere far from here… and we'll adopt 'bout ten babies."
This made Sally Ann laugh.
"Seriously though. Keep prayin', support him, and work hard… and when that ain't enough, you find somethin' to keep your mind busy… like gettin' that nasty ass apartment of y'alls clean. Come on."
The girls spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening scrubbing the apartment from top to bottom. Sally Ann couldn't remember ever feeling more exhausted. She leaned against the kitchen counter and guzzled a glass of water.
"Well." Frida stood in the middle of the living room with her hands on her hips. "It still looks like shit in here, but at least it smells better. I'd say it was a productive day." She checked her phone. "Butch texted. He says Hasil is with him."
"Good. I was wonderin' why he wasn't home yet." Sally Ann smiled at her first reference to their home. She hadn't seen Hasil since they got the keys to their place early that morning. He'd taken on another day job, but made sure to pack his own food and water this time.
"They'll be back soon. Butch asked me to order some Chinese for dinner."
Sally Ann's stomach did a back flip at the mere mention of food. "That sounds good."
"Well what d'y'all want? Dinner is on me. I can practically hear that poor fetus begging for nourishment from here."
"Oh I couldn't. You've already done so—"
"Hush now and take what's offered to ya. I'll have it delivered here and just take our stuff on home. What d'ya want?"
Sally Ann set up a little dinner picnic on the floor since the only furniture she and Hasil had at the moment was the mattress lying in the center of the living room. She lit some candles and transferred the food from the to-go cartons to the dishes she picked up at the thrift store. The apartment didn't look so bad in the soft light. She'd just finished pouring them a couple of glasses of water when she heard Hasil unlocking the front door.
"Sally Ann?" he called out before even looking up. "Oh, there ya are. Hey." He placed his hand on the small of her back as he leaned in for a quick kiss. "How was your day?" His eyes drifted around the small apartment. "You been busy. It looks nice in here." His eyes landed on the food. "Smells good too."
Sally Ann laughed. "You hungry?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Frida bought us dinner. We've got some fried rice, beef and broccoli, General Tso's chicken—"
"Whose chicken?"
She snorted out a laugh. "Don't worry about it. Go wash your hands."
Sally Ann turned on the old little radio she and Frida found at a yard sale that morning. It helped to drown out the sound of their noisy neighbors. She passed Hasil his plate once he sat down and watched as he began to devour the food. "You weren't lyin' when you said you were hungry."
He nodded, mouth full of broccoli.
"You'll have to pack a bigger lunch next time you go out."
Hasil finished chewing what was in his mouth and set down his plate. "Honestly, Sally Ann, goin' out there feels like such a waste of time and energy. One night fightin' I can make what I'd get off a week layin' bricks and spreadin' tar… prob'ly more'n that. I was wantin' to talk to ya 'bout it because tomorrow night—"
"Tomorrow night?"
"Now wait a minute, hear me out. There's a fight tomorrow night and Butch says I could take this guy easy. He—"
"Hasil no. Your face isn't even healed from your last fight yet."
He used his fork to push his rice into a little mountain on his plate and chuckled. "Well I won't let 'im hit me in the face."
"Hasil this isn't funny."
He put his fork down and took her hand. "I know. I know. But we need the paper, right? You said yourself you oughta be goin' to the doctor every month and you ain't been yet. Let me do this fight, and we'll use that cash to get ya to the doctor, alrigh'?"
She knew he was right, but she didn't want to agree to it. Not yet. Instead she pouted and picked up her plate.
Hasil grinned, knowing that she had silently conceded. "Everythin' will be okay." He studied her as she began to eat her food and quickly traded his smile for a frown. "Oh c'mon Sally Ann, now you're jus' bein' dramatic. We ain't that bad off. You ain't gotta eat your dinner with sticks. Here." He picked up a spare fork and held it out to her.
She nearly choked on her food with laughter and spent the next few minutes showing Hasil how to use chopsticks. The mood was instantly lightened and they were able to finish their meal in peace.
Hasil patted his belly. "That was good. I'm full."
"Wait, you gotta make room for dessert." Sally Ann got up and dug around the bottom of the brown paper sack that everything came in. "Fortune cookies."
Hasil raised an eyebrow. "Fortune cookies?"
She passed Hasil one of the small packaged treats. "Yeah. Inside there is a paper with your fortune on it. Break open the cookie and I'll read it. It's just for fun."
"Alrigh'." He took off the wrapper and broke open the cookie.
"See? There it is." Sally Ann watched Hasil pull out the thin white strip of paper. "You know how to make it more fun?" she asked.
He laughed and handed her the paper. "No."
"Say 'in bed' right after I read your fortune."
Hasil looked a little confused, but nodded.
"Okay. Ready? 'An unexpected relationship will become permanent…'"
"In bed," Hasil added quickly.
Sally Ann rolled on the floor laughing.
Hasil scratched his head, more humored by Sally Ann's reaction than the actual fortune. "Well we did make a baby in bed and tha's pretty damn permanent." He ran his hand over his mustache. "Open yours."
She composed herself and cracked open her cookie. "'Tell them what you really think. Otherwise nothing will change… '"
"In bed." He chuckled. "These cookies are pretty smart." He leaned over onto all fours to give her a kiss. "Thanks for dinner. Thanks for makin' our place nice and clean too." He kissed her again. Longer this time. Her eyes stayed closed a few seconds after he pulled away. "Tell me what ya really think," he said with a small grin.
"I think… I like that. And I'd like some more… after you shower."
He tapped the side of her jaw. "Sounds good to me." He got up and took a few steps toward the bathroom before pausing. "Hey we gotta pay for that shower water?"
Sally Ann gathered up their dishes and put them in the sink. "Yeah. We gotta pay for everything."
He shrugged. "Then what do you say we knock out two showers in one?"
She rolled her eyes at his suggestive tone, but couldn't deny that he had a good point. "Okay, but no funny business or we'll end up usin' more than we would separately."
Hasil shrugged. "There ain't nothin' funny 'bout what I was thinkin'."
Sally Ann could feel heat rush her cheeks as she smiled and shook her head at her guy. "You know what I mean Hasil. I'll be in there in a second." She cleaned up the remains of their dinner and went to meet him in the bathroom. His dirty clothes were in a neat little pile on the floor and she could see his handsome silhouette through the shower curtain.
"C'mon in," he called. "This thing here is 'bout one of the best inventions y'all got. This and Chinese food."
"I don't know if you can really call Chinese food an invention exactly. Maybe the fortune cookies."
"That don't make no sense."
Sally Ann laughed. "Yeah it does." She climbed in the shower behind him and gasped when the water touched her skin. Chill bumps quickly spread over her entire body. "Hasil this water is freezing! Do you not know you can make it warm?" She reached over and turned the dial toward hot.
"What ya talkin' 'bout? I did make it warm. And holy—"
She watched as Hasil squirmed and bounced around to get from beneath what he registered as very, very hot water.
"Holy hell woman. How are ya' standin' in that?"
"It's not even that hot." She laughed at the way he reached his arm around and tried to adjust the temperature without letting the water touch him. They fought back and forth until they both realized a compromise would never be found. There was nothing sexy about the way they quickly scrubbed down and got out.
Sally Ann collapsed onto the mattress and watched Hasil gather up the trash to take out. She'd forgotten to pick up a waste bin while she was shopping earlier.
"Be right back," he said before disappearing out the front door. He returned just a couple of minutes later. "Kinda thought you'd be asleep before I got back." He locked the door and stepped out of his boots.
Sally Ann snuggled into the clean sheets. "No. I'm beat, but not super sleepy yet."
"Yeah, well you did a lot today."
"So did you."
He nodded and pulled his tank top over his head. "It's 'bout to rain."
"Good. I like rainy nights." She reached an arm out toward him. "Come get in bed."
He smirked at her and did as he was told. She was resting on her side and he matched his body behind hers like a puzzle piece. They lay in silence for several minutes until thunder rolled and the sky broke open.
"There's the rain," Sally Ann said.
"There's the rain."
She pulled on his arm a little so he'd wrap it tighter around her. "Hasil?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad you're here with me. I know how hard it was to leave your family."
"It was hard..." He paused. "It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it was also one of the easiest. If tha' makes any sense."
Sally Ann hoped he'd elaborate, and after a few moments, he did.
"Ya see, my family is up on tha' mountain…But it's also here." He shifted his arm so that his hand rested over her lower belly. "And here." He gently kissed the back of her neck. "And it's here." He moved his mouth to her exposed shoulder and pressed his lips to her skin again. "And here." He continued to plant kisses on every bit of her skin that he could reach, his tickly mustache forcing giggles out of her as he did. "I'll take care of ya," he whispered in her ear as she settled down.
"I'll take care of you, too."
Hasil woke up in the middle of the night sprawled across the middle of the mattress. He sat up and looked around in the darkness. "Sally Ann?"
She didn't answer, but he could see that the light was on in the bathroom. He stood and parted the blinds to look outside. The rain was coming down in sheets. He watched it as he waited for Sally Ann to come out. When she didn't show after a few minutes, he went and gently knocked on the door. "Sally Ann? You okay?"
"Yeah…"
"You don't sound okay." He tried turning the door knob, but it was locked. "Sally Ann open the door."
"Hasil go back to sleep. You don't—" Her words were exchanged for forceful heaving.
He knocked on the door again. "Sally Ann come on. Don't be hard headed. Let me in."
The only response was the sound of her puking into the toilet bowl and it made Hasil wish he were home up the mountain. Not because he wanted to be away from her, but because it'd be so much easier to help. She wouldn't be able to lock herself away from him and he'd be able to dig up some fresh ginger root and make some tea to settle her stomach. He walked to the kitchen to get her a glass of water instead.
"Sally Ann open the door," he said when he returned.
"Hasil I'm fine really." He'd never seen her sick before. They'd been dealing with so much hard reality. She just wanted to preserve a little bit of the fairytale.
He stared at the thin wooden door thinking about how easy it'd be to just bust it open, but he couldn't do that because fixing it would cost money they didn't have. He drummed on the door frame as he thought about what he could say to get her to let him in. He knocked yet again when the words came to him. "I know you didn't forget that quick, Sally Ann."
The toilet flushed. "Forget what?"
"The las' thing we said ta one another before we fell asleep."
There was a pause, some rustling, and the sound of the door unlocking. She stood there looking sweaty and miserable.
"You gon let me take care of ya?"
She nodded and returned to her spot on the floor near the toilet. Hasil dampened a clean washcloth with cool water and sat on the edge of the tub. She leaned back against his knees and let him place the cloth on her forehead. "How long you been in here like this?"
She closed her eyes and tried to breathe through the queasy feeling in her stomach. "I dunno. Maybe an hour?"
"What's got ya sick? The Chinese food or the baby?"
"Pretty sure it's the baby."
"Well that ain't very nice of him."
She cracked a small smile.
"We're gonna have t' work on his manners. Here, drink some water." He watched her take a few small sips and then encouraged her to take a few more.
"Do you think it's a boy?" she asked.
He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess that's what I've been imaginin', but I think I'd be pretty taken by a little baby girl that looks just like you."
Sally Ann leaned over the toilet and hurled again.
"I mean maybe not like ya in this exact momen'..."
She reached behind herself to slap at him as she continued to be sick.
"I'm just teasin'," he chuckled as he rubbed her back.
It was another hour before the nausea faded. Sally Ann fell asleep with her head in his lap. He sat there on the bathroom floor for a while. He looked at the peeling paint on the walls, listened to the sound of the rain, felt the rise and fall of Sally Ann's chest against his legs and was content. Soon his own eyes grew heavy, so he carefully lifted Sally Ann from the ground and carried her back to bed with him. "We'll be alrigh'," he said aloud before falling back asleep.