The wind softly blew into the open window and unto my face. The warm summer, turning into fall smell, played on my senses and I cracked open my eyes to remember where I was. The sun was starting to set in the west and I glanced at the clock, 4:15. Eve and Fulton should be back in a half an hour; I should get up to make dinner. The thought fell out of my mind as soon as it placed itself there and the idea of another half an hours worth of sleep was more appealing. I rubbed my cheek against the soft pillow, trying to remember what I had been dreaming about and suddenly realized I was feeling a little better than I had been before. Maybe I just needed some sleep, I thought, falling back into the beginnings of sleep. The reassuring pitter-patter of feet outside my door let me know Dean and Madison were still here to take care of things. Good, I thought, wetting my lips with my tongue and moving more into the pillow. The noise got louder and evidently they were in a hurry to get somewhere because it sounded like running up and down the stairs. The pounding of feet of the hardwood floor keeping me from falling back asleep and I groaned, turning my face into the pillow. Finally deciding I wasn't getting back to sleep I rolled over and looked at the ceiling, glancing down at the ginger cat curled up in-between my out stretched arm. He yawned lazily,
"We have to give you a better name than Fluffy." I said smiling a little. The pitter-patter stopped and I rested my head back against the pillow, maybe they went back downstairs and would leave me alone for a few more minutes. No such luck as the noise now seemed to be outside my door. I covered my face with a pillow and tried to drift back into the deep sleep I'd been enjoying earlier. The sudden movement outside my door prevented it and the squeak of the door on its hinges signaled someone was standing in the doorway. I rolled away from the noise, not that I could; considering the bed was facing the door.
"Tammy? Are you feeling better?" She asked meekly, the idea of waking me up wasn't her own. I silently shook the pillow on my face to signal no. The ginger cat that had been occupying the space to my right side had now leaped off the bed and bounded out the door in search of something to do. I didn't have the energy to catch him and Madison didn't move a muscle to do anything about it.
"Maddie, aren't you worried Eve will get worse, you know, smelling him." I asked through the pillow that still lay on my face. She stared un-phased at me and lifted a bottle of pills in her right hand, letting them shake a little. I didn't even have to look to know what she was holding.
"Not really considering she's not allergic, at least not as badly as she'd like us to believe." She said. I peeked out from under the pillow and glared at her, a look of intrigue plaguing my face.
"Madison, I thought we were done with the war with Eve. I can't even think straight right now to argue with you." I said as she stepped into the room and sat on the edge of the bed away from me. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down at the pill bottle again.
"She tricked us Tammy." She whispered. I sighed, throwing the pillow from my face. I tried to sit up to see what she was talking about.
"I doubt that, you can't fake hives on your face." I said taking the bottle, "What's this?"
"Pills, I'm doubting they're for her allergies considering they were hidden under her bed along with a rare flower that it just so happens that you're allergic to." Madison said.
"Wait, how do you know all this? How do we know that they're not for something else?" I asked,
"But the flowers too!" Madison exclaimed trying to get her point across. I sighed, leaning back into the pillow.
"I only have allergies to one specific kind of plant that grows in humid areas. It's impossible to find here and I only ran in to it once in California." I said, trying to wrap my mind around such a confusing moment.
"Look, we don't even know what those are for!" I held my head in my hands, bringing my knees up to my chest to rest my elbows on.
"We don't but I've got something you might like to read." She said unfolding a piece of paper from her pocket and handing it to me. I glanced at it seeing it was addressed to Eve,
"What are we snooping in her mail now? Are we really getting that low?" I asked, looking back at Madison,
"Portman found it, look, just read it!" She said pushing it back into my line of sight. I sighed deeply glancing over the letter.
"How are you? I miss you and I was wondering when you were coming home? By the way, are you taking your prescriptions separately? You know if you mix those two together you'll break out in hives and could have trouble breathing, remember last time. Anyway, please give my love to Fulton and his girlfriend and let me know when you're coming home. I hope Tammy liked those flowers that you asked my to send, they were really hard to find. Phil." I mouthed the words to myself but they didn't really sink in until I saw the name. Phil was Eve's husband; I had heard Fulton say it in the hospital. They weren't getting a divorce. Worse than that, she was having an allergic reaction to her pills not to my cat or to me. Who did she think she was to do that? I've waited on her hand and foot for the past three days. My blood started to boil as I glanced at the clock,
"Can you get rid of those flowers for me and put everything back where you found it?" I said standing up from the bed and quickly finding something to wear for dinner that night. Madison looked at me as she went to exit the room,
"Are you alright? I mean, maybe you should talk to Fulton."
"I'm not going to talk to Fulton; I'm going to talk to Eve." I whispered almost to myself.
The house was lit up with the lights of the kitchen and living room as Fulton and Eve pulled back into the driveway. I glanced out the front window and looked back at Madison and Portman who were waiting to see what we would do next.
"Okay remember, don't eat the cookies!" I said looking from one to the other.
"I wouldn't touch your cookies anyways; they're all burn and stuff." Madison commented as we all headed for the kitchen. The dinner I was making actually wasn't that bad considering Madison helped me. The front door creaked open and Fulton's voice rang out,
"We're home."
"We're in here, honey! I made dinner." I could hear Eve groan a little at the thought of one of my dinners and a smile lit my face. This was going to be fun. Fulton whispered something back about being nice to me about my cooking. They entered the kitchen and I smiled brightly as Fulton, locking eyes with Eve over his shoulder. I embraced his around the middle and kissed his cheek.
"Are you feeling better?" He asked, pulling away to sit at the table.
"Yeah, It was like I just had to get away from everything for a away. I feel so much better."
"Good," He smiled as I began to serve dinner.
The dinner went smoothly; everyone not really saying much about my cooking, I only burnt it a little, okay? So anyways the table was quiet and I thought I'd bring up my topic of conversation.
"So, Fulton I was thinking. Eve's getting better, why don't we start planning the wedding and then by the time it happens, she'll be fully recovered." I said. He looked up from his plate,
"If you're ready, it was your idea to postpone." He reminded me. I laughed a little, a fake one at that, turning to Eve to see her reaction. She sneered at me with a hatred that was untamable. I smiled to myself and turned back to the conversation.
"Yes, I'm really ready. I want to get married." We both glanced at Eve at the same time and she shrugged.
"That sounds like a fine idea." She really couldn't say anything else anyways, I suppose without letting the cat out of the bag that she was playing along.
"Good, then it's settled." I said smiling to get up and clear the dishes. Everyone went to get up to leave,
"Wait, you guys have to have dessert." I said bringing out a tray of really burnt cookies. Everyone looked away except Portman. I think he forgot I told him not to eat one.
"Someone, come on. Fulton?" I asked as he rubbed his stomach a little,
"Jeez, honey. You should have told me before dinner, I'm really full." He said as I turned to Eve.
"Eve, please try one. I promise they're good." I said leaning down to place the tray in front of her. She smiled up at me and I smiled back.
"Just one." I pleaded a little. She finally gave in and took one, grimacing as she eat it before I took the platter away from her and set it back on the counter.
"Really good, huh?" I asked as Fulton encouraged his Mother to play along. She smiled a little,
"Very good, Tammy." She said as everyone left the room, Portman trying to grab a cookie as he left but Madison swatting him.
"You idiot." She whispered as they left the room and I tossed the rest of the cookies into the waste basket. I smiled to myself and began to wash the dishes.
I glanced at the clock as Eve's footsteps could be heard heading to the bathroom for the 6th time that night and it was only 1:30. I smiled to myself, moving closer into Fulton's arms as he slept. She was getting what was coming to her. The thought of her face once she realized I knew what she was up to, flashed in my mind and I smiled to myself. Maybe I'll go talk to her now, why prolong what I wanted to do so bad. I rose from the bed and wrapped my bathrobe around my shoulders, heading into the hall to wait for Eve. 5 minutes later she emerged from the bathroom and stared at me,
"Moving pretty good for a woman who was bed ridden yesterday." I smirked a little as she scowled at me.
"You did this didn't you?" She asked, pointing an accusing finger in my direction. I smiled a little and I pulled a box of Exlax from my pocket,
"Guilty, but not nearly as guilty as you are." I said pulling the letter from the other pocket.
"Where did you get that, were you snooping around my room?" She asked seeming completely mortified,
"No, someone else gave this to me." I said setting it on the table in the hall. "How did you know that specific flower I was allergic to?" I asked, a confused, yet curious expression on my face.
"Now Eve we can do this two ways. I can either tell Fulton everything and I mean everything from the hair to the fake hospital trip or you can simply decide that you'd rather go home and leave us to plan the wedding." I said leaning on the table myself. She sneered at me,
"How dare you." She said exasperated. She truly looked insulted to be given those two choices.
"I'm just playing the same game you've been playing right under my nose." I said with a nod. She was silent for a few seconds before huffing back into her room and closing the door.
"I guess I'll let you think about it." I smiled a little again. I walked slowly over to her room and glanced in the door, She looked up at me, searching under the bed.
"Those flowers aren't there anymore, if you think you'll get out of this by making me sick again. You still didn't answer my question."
"They weren't meant to kill you, just take your mind off other things, you stupid little drama queen. It did doesn't matter how I found out your allergies." She said huffing again and slamming the door in my face.
"Guess you really need time to think about it." I laughed a little returning to mine and Fulton's room across the hall and opening the door. Fulton still lay motionless. His arms outstretched for me to climb into and I did, falling into the first good sleep in weeks.