Chapter 75
Alex woke in the middle of the night feeling something weird and a faint cramping in her abdomen. She went over to the bathroom and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw traces of blood in her urine. "Seriously?" She whispered frustrated and really not in the mood to be dealing with her monthly cycle right now. She got the things she needed and to some painkillers before going back to bed, first checking to see if here were anything on the sheets, but grateful to mother nature that at least that was spared.
She woke up again when Ryan shook her awake when she didn't get up when her alarm went off. "Leave me alone. I'm busy dying." She croaked laying on her side with her legs curled up towards her holding a hand across her abdomen. Laying their daughter down in the middle of the bed next to her mother he got back under the covers. "You're still talking to me, so I'm assuming death is not an option right now." He laughed not sure why she is acting like this. He laid down next to her taking strands of her hair twirling it around his finger, which he got bored of doing after a while then he tickled her nose and ear with it leaving her groaning in response. "Ryan. I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You." Alex answered slowly still refusing to open her eyes.
"Well tell me what's wrong then." Ryan said laying on his side watching her while tickling Phoebe's feet at the same time.
"I woke up in the middle of the night in a pool of my own blood, and right now there are ninjas doing flip flops in my uterus and you're not helping either." She breathed opening her eyes to see the look of horror on his face, that almost made her burst out laughing. "I did not know that part. I'm sorry let's start over. What can I do to help?" He asked hoping there was something he could do that would make her feel better.
"Bring me all the junk food this world has to offer would be a start. And wine some wine would also do. And pizza." She answered not sure if he took note of everything she had said. "Can I just skip work today and not go. I still have sick days left." She assured him, more trying to assure herself that it's okay to take a day out and be human and dwell on the things Mother Nature destined for women. "Yeah it's okay I guess." He stood up and got into the shower leaving her and Phoebe on the bed to watch some cartoons.
"You wanna stay in and have a lazy day with Mommy?" Alex asked Phoebe who had the new fascination with her hands and kept looking at them trying to get them into her mouth but not being quite successful in her actions. "See how tiny your hands are. And there's five fingers on each of them." Alex smiled touching each of her daughters fingers individually while counting up to five.
Ryan got out of the shower and dressed in a black sweatpants and a white t shirt. "Uhhmm aren't you going to work?" Alex asked when she saw his attire. "I have a wife who wants all the junk food in the world and wine and pizza so I'll head out and get them. And then come back and stay in bed with her the whole day." He answered walking over to the bed seeing the smile on her face grow. "You hear that Phoebe? Daddy's also gonna stay home with us." She told her grinning daughter. "You're awesome." She said getting up and walking over to the dresser hugging him.
She went through the bathroom cabinets and saw that the bottle of pain killers she used earlier was empty. Looking through the bathroom cabinets she could only find one sanitary towel, although she thought she bought enough last month. Out of options she texted her husband asking him for the painkillers and the sanitary towels. Uncertain that he'll bring the right ones or that he'll even be willing to buy them at all, but she took a chance anyway.
Ryan drove down to the grocery store and his phone buzzed as he parked. The requests his wife had for painkillers was something he could manage and he'd pick some up at the pharmacy on the way home but the second one was a bit much. He walked into the store and went to the aisle and it felt as if he was thrown into the deep end of the pool and somehow forgot how to swim. There were so may to choose from and everything in different colors and packaging.
And also, he was the only guy in the aisle surrounded by two older women who looked like they might have teenage daughters of their own. There were things written on the front that he had no idea what any of them meant. One of the women probably saw how lost he was and came over to him.
"Excuse me, but you're looking quite lost right now. Can I help you with that?" She asked smiling friendly, reminding him of his mother. "Uuhm hi, it's for my wife. I've never done any of this before and this all seems technical. And if I come home with the wrong things she'll kill me." He explained holding a bright pink packet in his hands. "Yeah, if you go home with those ones she'll have your head on the table. Always chose the ones with wings." The woman advised taking another packet from the shelf and handing it to him. Smiling and patting his shoulder as she walked away. "Thank you." He replied, taking another packet just in case and because he didn't want to make this trip down again.
In the luxury aisle he piled up as many chocolates and chips he could think of that Alex would like, and a bottle of red wine before heading towards the check out. The cashier smiled at him when she saw the things he unpacked. This lady didn't even know him but that smile she had on her face and the way she nodded was a non verbal message that she understood what all this junk food was for. "Your wife is a lucky lady." She said as he handed over his card. "No, I'm the lucky one." Ryan smiled grabbing the bags and heading back towards the car. Making the final stop for pizza and painkillers before heading back home.
Alex was still in bed feeding Phoebe when she heard the front door open. "Daddy's back. Let's see what's on the TV to watch." She said positioning the remote towards the TV against the wall and started looking through the TV guide for something worth watching. Ryan came through the door with a glass of water and put the water and the brown paper bag he was carrying down on her bedside table. "Thank you." She smiled positioning Phoebe so she can take the tablets out of the bag and was surprised to see a pack of heating pads were in the bag as well, since she didn't mention for him to buy those.
"Did you eat yet?" He asked from the doorway seeing her opening the tablets. "No I'm not really hungry." She dismissed throwing two out onto the palm of her hand, as she laid Phoebe back down since her bottle was empty. "You can't take those on an empty stomach." He reprimanded and she stopped in her tracks. "I'll be right back." He said disappearing and returning to bed with the pizza and the sanitary towels.
"Throw me one pack real quick." She asked just to check if he bought the right ones, her smile broadens as she looked at the familiar packet. "How did you know which ones to buy?" She was amused, thought he'd come back home with the wrong ones. "Some lady helped me when she saw how lost I was." He laughed extending his hand so he can put it away in the bathroom cabinet while she started eating the pizza.
She put a reminder on for Titanic and Ryan sighed heavily when he came back into the room and saw what she was watching. "Hey, no judging, Phoebe hasn't seen this yet." She defended her choice of movie right now. Phoebe oblivious to the television as she is more concerned with her hands and the lines on them. Halfway through the movie Alex dosed off since she took the tablets after she ate four pizza slices and applied the heating pad to her abdomen, curling up next to her daughter and husband.
This chapter has no real significance in the plot but I just started typing hoping I'd get new inspiration on how to proceed which I didn't. Enjoy
