Normally, she'd be singing right about now but Deborah was feeling a bit nauseous at the moment. She had every right to be happy Jack had gotten a positive review by the dean council at the academy, those idiots that tried to set up Alex had been arrested and were being sent up for life, her dad's theme park was doing better than ever with his favorite roller coaster opened back up, and her restaurant had been picking up business ever since the policeman's ball. But this morning she didn't feel like celebrating anything, she felt like crouching in front of a trash can or a toilet.
"Maybe I should take the day off…" she thought, "Wait 'til Abe gets here and let him know I'm takin' off 'cause I'm not feeling well."
This morning Tabitha came in early, Debbie noticed the older woman.
"Tabitha. I need help, I feel sick to my stomach and it looks like Abe's running late. I don't think it'd be a good idea for me to stay if I feel like I'm gonna' toss my breakfast. Can you let everyone know I'm gonna' be taking today off for my health?" she asked.
"Of course. You work so hard to maintain our restaurant and the only time you've ever taken a day off is well… That week you took to spend with your family and your brother's in-laws," Tabitha replied warmly.
"Thank you, Tab… By the way, what did you and Frank think of that?" she asked, "I didn't see you two at the event, did you enjoy yourselves?"
"We declined to go. It was generous of your father to invite us and we relayed our gratitude that he saw fit to invite us but we went back to his home for a family reunion that week," she explained.
By this point, Tabitha sat Debbie down at one of the restaurant's bench seats as the two ladies talked. Tabitha being an experienced mother, and by this point grandmother, knew that the best way to help Deborah through this with a lack of any medicine was to keep her mind off that queasy feeling. The most effective way to accomplish this was with casual conversation.
"I'm sorry I missed that whole amusement park thing, how was it?" she asked.
"It was a lot of fun… Until my husband locked me in a ferris wheel gondola with my oldest brother…" Deborah recounted.
"Uh oh, that sounds like trouble… Wasn't that the one that caused all that trouble…?" Tabitha asked.
"Yes, he was. But we managed to talk things out like adults. Funny, considering that Daniel and I bickered constantly as children. Sometimes I think that our arguing is what might've drove my father to start drinking…" the young vixen stated.
"Don't start thinking that way, dear… I may not know your father that well, but I can guarantee you that you and Daniel are not the cause of his drinking problems," Tabitha consoled, "Anyway, I'm sure you had fun with your other two brothers…"
"Oh yes… Nicholas is still a goofball, I think that's one reason his wife-to-be loves him so much," the vixen continued, "The more he teased her, the more she seemed to smile and laugh."
"If they can laugh, smile, and joke with each other they'll have a long and happy marriage," the boar sighed.
"Then what about me and Jack? He's been distant lately…" the fox asked.
"If that's the case, then you need to give it some time. It might not be anything or it could be something major. Y'never know…" Tabitha stated contemplatively.
Deborah hated the idea of there being problems between her and Jack. They'd been happy together for a while, now he wasn't acting himself. He'd come home tired and barely talk to her at all, just eat and go to bed. At that point, Abe came in and headed to the kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee as was his norm but he noticed Debbie sitting in the stall instead of hard at work as was her norm.
"Debbie? What's wrong?" he asked.
"I'm not feeling well today, Abe. So I'm gonna' head home and get some rest," she explained.
"That so, huh? Well alright, I'll take over for ya' 'til ya' get better," he replied.
"Do you need me to drive you home?" Tabitha asked.
"I think I'll be fine," she answered.
The Howlings' apartment didn't feel like home at present. She still felt sick but it wasn't as bad as when she was at the restaurant. She still wondered if maybe there was something off about her marriage. She picked up her cellphone and argued with herself about whether or not to call Jack. Then she tossed it down carelessly with a sigh. She tried to calm herself and silence the brewing storm of thoughts but inevitably they began to turn dark. Maybe it was her mind playing tricks on her but she could swear she smelt a new fragrance in the air, definitely a perfume. The sound of water running in the pipes in the walls could be heard.
Upon investigating, she found the bathroom in their apartment empty. No surprise, it was still somewhat early on a Monday. Jack wouldn't be home from his job until around 3 in the afternoon.
"Calm down, Deb, you're gonna' drive yourself crazy with all this overthinking," she griped at herself.
There was a knock at the door, she looked through the peephole. Ted, the coyote from across the hall. He didn't work and cheated on his girlfriend all the time and had flirted with her shamelessly a few times. She didn't find the philanderous creep attractive at all but he fancied himself a ladies man. She decided to pretend she wasn't home. Unfortunately for her, Ted was also the perceptive type, he knew the kind of car she drove and had heard the apartment door across the hall from his open and shut. After a bit of arguing with herself, she opened the door.
"Hi Ted," she greeted with a forced politeness.
"Heya Deb, you doin' ok?" he asked.
"Just a bit under the weather, I'll be fine," she replied, keeping up the act.
"Well, maybe I can help ya' out today. I'm sure Jackieboy won't notice…" he stated in that flirtatious tone.
"No, sorry… I kinda' wanna' be alone right now. Y'know, might be contagious and all," she replied, barring him from entering.
"Really? That's too bad, I might make for good company," he insisted.
Deciding she needed to be a bit more aggressive but not totally dismiss him, she changed her tactics.
"Oh, that reminds me. My little brother is a police officer now, fancy that, huh?" she stated, hoping her implication would sink in.
"That so huh? Well, I guess I'll see ya' later then…" he chuckled nervously and went back to his apartment.
"Ass," she muttered.
As the day went on, she began to feel better but became fidgety. She couldn't sit still and began to busy herself at tidying her apartment. A half-day for the academy though and she would see her husband sooner than anticipated. As he walked in, he seemed distracted and hardly noticed her at first.
"Deb? You're home early," he stated in surprise.
"So are you," she added.
"I had a half-day today," he replied.
"I didn't feel well this morning, so I took the day off," she explained.
"Maybe you should be lying down then, not scrambling about cleaning the apartment," he stated.
"I'm fine… I was just feeling a bit nauseous this morning is all. Do you want some lunch or did you eat out before coming home?" she asked.
"Hmm? Oh yes, I'd love something to eat, if it's not too much trouble," he answered.
She raised an eyebrow at that. He seemed distracted for a few brief moments.
"Honey, I'm gonna' have a shower," he told her before heading off to the bathroom.
"Alright, lunch should be done by the time you get out," she replied.
She couldn't be certain but she could swear some new aroma had followed him in. There was that feeling again, a paranoid feeling about what her husband might be up to. She slipped quietly into their bedroom and helped herself to his phone. That paranoid feeling abated as nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, it rang out, she nearly dropped it in surprise but managed to suppress the urge to bark in surprise and fumbled to catch it. Thankfully, after fumbling with it a bit she managed to avoid letting it hit the deck. She examined the screen. Deborah didn't recognize the number that had texted him but it appeared on his phone with a name attached; "Oleksandra Ivashko". She'd heard some things about a Ukrainian wildcat having transferred to Crystal Springs but how well did Jack get along with her.
She went back to cooking but she couldn't shake the suspicion, she wanted to trust him, but it seemed difficult to right now. Maybe she could ask him discreetly. The sounds of the shower turned off and Jack came into the room, lightly dressed. She resisted the urge to think of her husband as "her handsome wolf" upon seeing him in little more than his boxers. He came up behind her and held her gently in his arms, her response was to nuzzle into his grip.
"I got a text from a coworker, I have to go back to work later tonight," he explained.
"You have to…?" she asked, trying to hide the whine in her voice.
"Yeah, sorry hon," he replied, "Listen, I know I haven't made much time for you lately but we'll spend some time together this weekend."
She didn't say anything in response but wiggled out of his grip and went about cooking. They ate lunch together in silence before he left. She didn't know what to make of all of this. Deborah Howlings now sat alone in her apartment, just thinking. She wondered if him avoiding her was her fault, his fault, or if it really was work-related. Her paranoid thoughts began to re-emerge, he had been coming home tired and even their weekly dinner and a movie nights had been cancelled. She'd lost count of how many nights she'd stayed up waiting for her husband to come home only for him to mumble an apology and head straight for bed after eating.
"Is my husband even mine anymore? Does he still love me or has he moved on to some younger woman? I thought we were happy together…" she thought aloud.
She went to bed that night, alone. Her mind a mess, still thinking those thoughts and becoming more and more distraught over them.
AN: Apologies for the short chapter, this one was a pain in the rear-end to write...
