Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 27
It felt like he had hardly closed his lids when he was woken by the sound of Carmen loudly relinquishing her stomach's content into the toilet.
Morning sickness, of course.
Rubbing sleep away from his eyes, he hurried to Carmen's side and held her by the shoulder as her body heaved.
"Get out! Leave me alone, you freak bastard..." Carmen protested in a hoarse voice.
Edward had the presence of mind not to take the attack personally.
"Shh, it's ok. It'll pass; I'm here," he said soothingly.
He held her hair away from her face and rubbed her back while she purged. He helped her up and cleaned her face when she was done. He got her his bottle of Listerine to rinse her mouth, then gently carried her back to bed.
She was pale as a sheet and looked like she would be sick again.
He tucked her in and sat next to her on the bed when something occurred to him.
"I'll be right back."
He dashed to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge until he found what he was looking for; a tiny plastic bag that held a few blades of lemon leaves. Riley's girlfriend, Meghan, came over to cook Thai food a few nights ago. The leftover ingredients were stowed away in the fridge. The leaves were wilting, but they might do the trick.
He grabbed a few leaves and returned to Carmen's side. He crushed a leaf with his fingers, then held it under her nose.
Carmen tried to cringe away. "What the fuck are you doing? Get your hand off my face," she grumbled unhappily.
"It's lemon leaves. Supposed to help suppress nausea. I took a Holistic Therapy and Eastern Medicine seminar in second year of school," Edward explained. "Just breathe it in. It won't hurt."
Carmen relaxed and began inhaling the lemon aroma which appeared to ease her queasiness.
"They teach that quark-shit in med school?" she asked after a while.
"It was optional." He smiled.
Carmen smiled too. She was feeling better and that helped her mood.
"I hate throwing up," she complained in a little girl voice.
"It will go away soon, I promise. You'll get your appetite back by the second trimester. Most women do," Edward said gently.
"You better be right. I'm so sick and tired of being sick and tired," Carmen said dejectedly.
Edward brushed away some stray hair from her forehead in response. The gesture of affection brought a smile to Carmen's face.
"You're a good guy, Edward," she said suddenly. Then she sat up and climbed into Edward's lap and pressed herself to him in a surprisingly tender manner.
Edward was rightfully taken aback. He realized that it was an incredibly strong statement of endorsement coming from Carmen. He raised his arms to cradle her to his chest. It seemed like the right thing to do.
She kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear. "Of all the boys I could've ended up in this mess with, I'm glad it's you."
He was left speechless. He wished the sentiment was mutual.
"Me too," he lied.
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.
The lovely A is for Angel made me smile today and got me thinking how we all could use a little picker-upper like that. So, here's my PSA to you all: Have you made someone smile today? :)
*Hugs*