I came home to see Jazmine laying on the couch watching "Say Yes to the Dress"; it was her guilty pleasure. As I walked closer to her I noticed she wasn't actually watching the show, she was staring at her wedding ring. I let my footsteps fall harder than normal on the wood flooring of the foyer so I didn't startle her. She looked over the couch and smiled at me, turning the T.V. off.
"Hey." She stood up and walked around the couch to embrace me. I responded with a hello of my own and pulled her close to me, kissing her softly.
"How's X?" I asked.
"Still sick. His fever broke today thank goodness; he almost cried when I told him we might have to cancel his birthday party." X had been sick for a week but we can't tell if it's the flu or just a cold.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, the fever was the worst of it. Now we just have to get rid of the stuffed and runny nose."
"Yeah, so how was work?" She pushed me into the couch and curled up next to me. I draped my arm over her shoulder and pulled her close.
"Work was work. How's the nursery coming?" Her eyes lit up at the possibility to talk about Cindy's nursery.
"It's absolutely beautiful! She's going to love it. Riley's done such a good job with the furniture and with keeping it a secret, that it'll be a great surprise when it's finished."
"How much longer will it take?"
"Not much. We're applying the finishing touches now so it should be ready as her baby shower present." I nodded. We still needed to go get her present. Little footsteps came trotting into the living room followed by a very scratchy voice.
"Mommy, Daddy, my head hurts." Jazmine made a sympathetic sound and picked him up. He crawled onto my chest and laid down, listening to my heart beat. I shuffled a little to let Jazmine up to go get the baby Tylenol while I rubbed X's back. A series of sneezes sounded from the kitchen causing me to smile.
"Looks like someone's getting sick." Jazmine shot me a dirty glare but I could tell her eyes were a little red and puffy.
"I am completely fine. I just hope you don't get sick; one sick baby is all I can cater to."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I shifted over so Jazmine could crawl back into my side. X sat up and drank the baby Tylenol before crawling back in between us.
"It means that you are the biggest baby ever when you're sick." I raised an eyebrow at her. I am not a baby when I'm sick; I just enjoy my wife fussing over me.
"Am not."
"Oh really? Huey when you get sick it's like I need to call a priest to give you your last rights. You are completely and utterly helpless." I fought the pout pursing at my lips while she stared smugly at me. I rolled my eyes as she peppered me with kisses.
"I don't want to catch your disease." I pretended to push her off me. X seemed content to watch Jazmine and I tease each other; something we hadn't done in what felt like years. Soon light snoring over took him. I picked him up and Jazmine and I walked up stairs to put him to bed. I tucked him in while Jazmine refilled his water cup and made sure he had a few boxes of tissues. X curled into his sheets and slept soundly. While we walked out the door, Jazmine practically had to wrestle Avenger out of the way to keep him from disturbing X; the poor dog had been whining nonstop since we wouldn't let him in the room until X was feeling better. I was about to walk to our room when she stopped me by grabbing my hand. I looked back at her questioningly.
"I need to go through this year's scholarship applicants. I could use your help." I had completely forgotten about the annual scholarship Jazmine and I funded. After graduating college, Jazmine was determined to help those less fortunate with a $1,000 scholarship to new budding artists. The scholarship was open to any media of art, for example theatre and music as well as creative writing and drawing. I usually help read the short stories, poetry, and plays, while Jazmine handled the artsy pieces and music; we watched the dramatic pieces together. The scholarship was awarded to the five most promising artists who Jazmine and I felt moved us.
She picked up the enormous stack of mail directed towards the scholarship and set them on the table while settling back into the couch. We began opening envelopes and separating them into piles. Though I am not someone who prides myself on my prestige in the arts, I noticed this year's candidates were some of the best we'd ever seen, but one stood above the rest to both Jazmine and I. It was an acting piece that I could tell gripped Jazmine the instant the actress began her monologue. It wasn't clear in the scene whether the couple was married or simply dating but it was obvious that the man had another woman. The actress addressed the other woman, told her to be careful because a heart so used to wandering finds it hard to settle down. The actress also thanked the mistress for giving her the freedom to find herself again without obligations to the man. I shifted, slightly uncomfortable, and wondered if the nausea would ever subside when I heard or talked about anything involving someone who cheated. The technical skill of her acting was commendable, but it was her ability to make the audience feel her pain that made her our top choice; if that was how she performed on camera, there's no telling how powerful she is on stage. Silence dragged between us after the video ended.
"She's good." I try to break the tension, unsure of how Jazmine would react to me.
"She's very good." Jazmine stood up and took the video out of the DVD player before setting it on the counter. "She's the first winner." I nodded to her.
Jazmine began walking up the stairs, untying her messy ponytail as she went. She stopped and her nose scrunched up while she debated ideas in her head. There was something she wanted to ask me, but she was hesitant.
"I'm going to take a shower." I was uncertain at first the mood she was in until her eyes twinkled a seductive hint. "Wanna come with me?"
Quickly following her, we dashed into the bathroom like horny teenagers. We let the water heat up before I slowly began to let her clothes drop to the floor. I threw off my clothes then grasped her hand and led her into the spray. Jazmine tilted her head back, letting the steaming water cascade down her beautiful hair. I lifted her and pressed her back against the cool tile. She shivered and moaned while wrapping her arms and legs around me like a second skin. I kissed her under the spray of the shower. I made love to her as the steam rose and swirled around us.
I was startled awake as Jazmine threw off my arm and ran to the bathroom. I sighed and rolled over to look at the clock. 3:30 a.m. I pushed myself out of the bed despite my body groaning for the abandoned warmth. I walked over to the dresser and grabbed a hair tie before proceeding into the bathroom. Despite her over-confidence in her immune system, Jazmine had caught X's cold; but something was different about hers. X's cold was more a head cold than a stomach virus, but Jazmine has been throwing up consistently for 2 weeks now and I'm starting to get worried. Her fever broke early on and the sneezing and sore throat were wearing down, but the nausea and dizziness were persistent.
I knelt beside her and gathered her hair into a ponytail. Her hands were shaking and her body was covered in sweat. I wiped the tears from her face and wet a wash cloth to cool her forehead.
"I'm sorry." She sounded miserable and I wished there was something more I could do to help her.
"It's not your fault, honey." Another round of nausea prevented her from responding. I noticed a reddish tint on the toilet seat and began to panic.
"Huey, it's blood." Jazmine's voice was terrified and I immediately ran into our room and threw on a pair of sweatpants. I grabbed a sweat suit for Jazmine and brought it to her.
"Get dressed, I'm going to go wake X." On the outside I was calm as I walked into my son's bedroom; on the inside I was terrified, but I had to stay calm for X. I pulled out a jacket and packed a few books and toys for him before waking him up.
"What's wrong Daddy?" X wiped the sleep out of his eyes.
"Mommy needs to go to the hospital, so I need you to get dressed."
"Is Mommy ok?" Fear crept into his voice and worry claimed his eyes.
"I don't know buddy, but we can't be afraid. Mommy needs us to be strong ok?"
"Ok." X nodded and I wiped the tears from his face. I gave him a hug and told him to put his jacket on and grab the backpack I had just packed. I grabbed two blankets and pillows and walked down into the garage to start the car. I helped Jazmine down the stairs and into the car before strapping X into his booster seat. Several times during the 20 minute drive I forced my grip on the steering wheel to relax. 'Jazmine was going to be fine,' I repeated to myself over and over.
We waited in the emergency room for what seemed like forever, until we were ushered into a room with two beds. Jazmine settled into one bed and I tucked X into the other. He was wary about going to sleep, but once Jazmine assured him she would be fine he dosed off. I sat in the chair next to Jazmine's bed and held almost a death grip on her hand. We didn't say anything when the nurse came in to check Jazmine's vitals, just listened to the incessant beeping of the monitors. It felt like another eternity before the doctor came in to ask Jazmine the exact same questions the nurse did.
"Ok Mrs. Freeman, we're going to run some blood tests and we'll need a urine sample to send to the lab. The nurse will take your blood after you've used the restroom and I'll come back when the results are back." The quiet of the room damn near strangled me. Jazmine shifted over on the bed and gestured for me to join her. I settled uncomfortably on the edge of the bed and held her while trying to calm her fears.
"What do you think is wrong?" I didn't answer, unsure if my voice would work. I kissed her hair and rubbed small circles into her arm. The results took a half hour to come in.
"Well it's a good thing you came in, but there's nothing too serious, Mrs. Freeman."
"So what's going on?"
"You're suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum; it sounds serious, I know, but it's a fancy way of saying that you have an aggressive form of morning sickness which is causing some slight damage to your esophagus, hence the bleeding." The doctor smiled and Jazmine's face lit up.
"Morning sickness?" Her eyes darted to mine and I could hardly breathe. I blame the speed of my recognition to the ungodly hour; it took me a little longer than it should to realize what the doctor was saying. Jazmine was pregnant.
"Babe—" I didn't know how to finish my sentence. I immediately remembered when we found out Jazmine was pregnant for the first time; you're never quite prepared to hear you're bring another life into the world. I pulled Jazmine into my side and kissed her; she was giving me another gift.
"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Freeman."
"Thank you." We both replied.
"About how far along?" Jazmine's voice was filled with wonder and tears.
"I'd say about 2-3 weeks; it's hard to pin point these things. Now we need to talk about what brought you in tonight. You are pretty low on potassium and electrolytes and dehydrated because of all the vomiting. Once you get started on your prenatal vitamins the potassium should correct itself however I am going to advice you start mixing Pedialyte into your drinks to help get your electorlytes back to normal. Pedialyte should also help with the dehydration but don't rely on that; drink plenty of water and no Gatorade. The sugars will actually dehydrate you more. Any questions?"
"When should we schedule my next appointment?"
"As soon as you're able to. We want to get you started as soon as we can and get started running the screenings. With the hyperemesis gravidarum, your OBGYN will want to monitor you closely until you're out of the first trimester." The doctor congratulated us one more time before leaving so the nurse could give us the discharge paper.
Jazmine could barely contain her excitement as we drove home. She couldn't wait to tell Cindy and design another nursery. I tucked X back in and Jazmine practically bounced up the stairs. Before we went back to bed I sent my Tasha and Erin an email saying neither Jazmine nor I would be in this morning. I made a memo to call X's school tomorrow and let them know what had happened tonight to excuse his absence. The second burst of energy hadn't worn off as I walked up the stairs. I climbed on top of Jazmine and pulled her skimpy panties down.
"Thank you, Mrs. Freeman." I whispered in her ear.
"You're welcome, Daddy." She moaned in mine. We couldn't get enough of each other. The early morning sun shone brilliantly off of her beautifully smooth latte colored skin and danced patterns across our bedroom walls.
"Huey!" She cried my name as if it were one of the wonders of the Earth. I cried hers because she was my wonder of the Earth.
"Good job, Kovu." I shuddered at my sister-in-law's nickname for me but couldn't wipe the proud smirk from my face. Riley shook my hand congratulated me before rubbing Jazmine's stomach. She playfully slapped his hand away and took the present he was hold. I helped Cindy sit down and placed a stool under her feet.
Children's laughter rang through the backyard, drowning out the kid friendly pirate themed music. Balloons and paper cut-outs of pirate ships decorated the fencing. Some pretended to sword fight with foam swords and "walked the plank" before cannonballing into a kiddie pool. Others tossed rings onto pirate hooks and dug in a treasure chest for "buried treasure". Jazmine had done an amazing job planning X's birthday party.
"So when's the baby shower?" I overheard some woman ask Cindy.
"In two months."
"I can't believe the time flew by so fast! It was just yesterday you were a stick and now you're as ripe as a watermelon." Huey and Riley cringed. Cindy was very defensive about her "ripeness". Luckily Jazmine was there to defuse the tension between neighbors. Riley sent a grateful look to Jazmine and went back to his slice of cake.
"So you ready?" I asked him.
"Hell no. Sometimes it still hits me that I'm going to be a father but these Mommy-and-me classes are helping a little." Cindy had made Riley accompany her to every single class. To his horror, more than one woman gave him "the look" for coming with his wife. Riley was convinced "the look" was going to be the death of him; if Cindy ever saw one of them eying her husband, it would be.
"I feel your pain." Many of the other husbands nodded.
"Oh shit." Riley murmured. My eyes followed his to the gate to our backyard where Jazmine was walking. Dane stood there with a brightly wrapped package and a grin that made me want to punch him. Cindy and Riley's eyes widened like a deer in the headlights at my expression. All three of us wondered what he was doing here. As I walked to the gate I reminded myself that this was my son's birthday party and that it would suck to have it end with the police taking me to jail.
"Dane what are you doing here?" Jazmine sounded anxious and surprised. So if she didn't invite him, who did?
"Erin might have accidently emailed me her invite." Jazmine really paid her too much.
"Oh wow…well umm..." Before Jazmine could stutter on I rested my arm on her shoulder. Dane's eyes narrowed slightly before he extended his hand.
"Representative."
"Andrews." I firmly shook his hand, adding a little more to my grip than necessary.
"I just came to drop off my present for X, then I'll be on my way." I nodded stiffly as he handed the box to Jazmine.
"Thank you, X definitely will love it."
"I heard congratulations were in order, so congratulations." I barely resisted the urge to puff my chest out. Good, Andrews knew.
"Yeah, we're expecting baby number two." Jazmine's smile lit up her face.
"You look beautiful Jazmine. The Representative is a lucky man." My fist clenched. It was time for him to go and my wife and I to get back to the party.
"Mr. Dane!" X can running across the grass dripping wet from the pool.
"Hey there champ! Happy birthday." He lent down and gave X a hug.
"X honey, Mr. Dane brought you a present." Jazmine prompted.
"Thank you Mr. Dane! I bet it's awesome!" X was eying the package like he was trying to guess it by its size.
"It is, but make sure your mom or dad is with you when you use it."
"I will! Are you going to stay for cake and ice cream? We're about to do it now so I can open my presents." X looked hopeful. Jazmine's eyes widened while mine narrowed.
"Sorry X, I wish I could but I've got to get going."
"Oh ok, well thank you for coming by." X gave Andrews another hug before running over to his friends.
"Thank you again, Dane." Jazmine smiled at him and turned to follow X.
"See you around, Representative." He waved and tossed a smile over his shoulder before walking down the driveway to his car.
"I sincerely hope not." I muttered and turned to rejoin the party.