Chapter 2: Good Morning

Christian followed the sounds coming from the kitchen to find it and Kimber in it, "those for me?" He pointed to the table with two cups of steamy liquid in them and morning rolls.

"Sure, if you want them. Herbal tea. Made it for your hangover. You better?" She watched him with the love and concern evident on her face. She was endearing like that.

Christian almost gobbled the whole roll standing as he was before her question made him remember what he was supposed to do, "um," he put the remaining bits of the roll down, "a little...I like your apartment," he was trying to make small talk to deter her from the fact he looked more hungry than sick and sipped some of his tea obediently, "it's so you."

"Thanks. I think."

"Really.I like being here, the colours are happy. You haven't seen how I changed the decoration in my condo. Only later I realised that all the black, it's so depressing. I'll have to change it all again now," he

leaned onto the cupboard with his arm heavily, then sat down slowly, swallowing and trying his best to look ill.

"Hangover?" Kimber's face turned to worried again. She stepped closer to him to be able to take a better look, "I've got Tylenol 3 if you..."

"No," Christian cut her off, "I think I was eatin too fast," he put his hand befor his mouth before disappearing into the bathroom. Thankfully, there was a door there if he was entering from the kitchen and he could operate in privacy. He hesitated a moment before putting his fingers down his throat, but then he decided it was worth it and this was the way to go about it. It wasn't hard at all. He had done it before when he was at school and wanted to miss some classes. So much so the school nurse once sent him to the hospital to get checked out. His old medical files have been stacked away somewhere, but he knew it stood in them that he had chronic stomach problems as a teenager (well, yes, he had, any time he felt like it), something he could build on later on if it was necessary. He sat down on the floor afterwards holding his stomach and waited knowing that at the moment he didn't look all that good from the effort it actually took to make himself sick. And he did have a tiny hangover after all.

It didn't take long till Kimber came after him, "what's wrong with you?"

"I'll be all right," he said standing up and flushing the toilet, sounding half hearted.

"Are you sure?"

"I just need to call Sean and tell him I'm not going in today and then crash at home."

"You know...just because I need to go to work? Can you manage?"

"You? You work?"

"At a fitness centre. I run self esteem classes for women. I guess church will have to wait till tomorrow then."

He was surprised, but then her declaration came in handy. He needed to pop into the practice, pick up some prescription papers and then he had about twentyfour hours to make himself believably sick. If he was missing work for that long Sean would surely want to check him over and that meant he had to put some more effort into the pretending ill scenario. "I guess." Probably forever, sweatheart. "You could come over tomorrow to pick me up. I dunno where it is."

"Okay. Sorry, I have to go now," she hugged him tightly, but brielfly. She turned back for a second from the door, pained herself by the state he seemed to be in, "take care, all right?"

tbc