Chapter 5
"Oh mum!" You really are a dark horse! Dancing the belly dance on the table being drunk, jeez, I never expected that from you", Maddie said with a grin.
Kate held up her hands, "It was not my intention. I blame Mike for that".
"So Dad stayed in your house. But you let him sleep on the couch! You naughty!".
"Hey hey, I collapsed. It was his idea. I had a bed for two".
"And the next morning? What happened next?", Maddie asked impatiently.
Kate winced, "It was not what you would expect! First of all, headache and then…."
Flashback
Gradually, Kate woke up to the daylight filtering into the room. She noticed it behind her closed eyelids.
A throbbing pain in her head made her wince.
She opened her eyes, saw the bright light from outside and immediately closed them again, moaning slightly.
The curtains were not closed.
My head, oh my God, my head.
She slowly straightened herself on her elbows, folded the blanket back and slowly swung her legs out of bed, her eyes still closed.
The movement caused another peak of pain in her head that made her moan again.
She rubbed her face.
Oh my God, what is it? I have hundreds jackhammers working in my head, I feel dizzy and hyena breath and my stomach is playing roller coaster.
Huh? I'm still dressed.
What happened?
Yesterday…
Paperwork…
The drink…
Mike…
No food…
What else?
Music…
Pfft….
I don't remember.
Oh yes…. Dylan..
Didn't he say something about staying here for the night?...
She didn't realise that he heard her wake up and he went to her. Now he was standing at the bed leg.
"Good morning Kate", he said gently.
A sharp pain crossed her head.
"Oooh, don't yell, please!", she mumbled.
"I was whispering", he replied.
"Oooh, you're doing it again", she moaned.
She opened her eyes and groaned. "I'm still dressed", she noticed.
"Well uh, you fell asleep immediately. I didn't get a chance to help you undress. I could only tuck you in", he said gently.
"Uh-hu. Thank you", she replied, still sitting on the edge of the bed.
"How are you feeling?"
Kate sighed, "You have no idea".
"A shower! That might help", she whispered.
She stood up, but a wave of nausea welled up inside her and felt the acid reflux rise in her throat.
"Mmmm", she mumbled, covering her mouth with her hand and rushing to the bathroom to vomit helplessly in the toilet bowl.
He followed her.
She flushed the toilet flush and leaned against the wall with her eyes closed.
"Better?", he asked, but Kate didn't answer.
"I'll prepare a good brew and a good breakfast with bacon and eggs. You'll be up and about in no time", he said.
Her eyes widened at the smell of bacon and eggs and she vomited into toilet bowl again.
"I'm dying…..", Kate murmured, wiping her mouth with toilet paper.
"Dear, start with a good, long shower and then we'll see. Okay?"
She nodded and he helped her up.
Kate stumbled to the sink as he headed for the kitchen to make her a brew.
Twenty minutes later, Kate shuffled into her kitchen in slippers and dressed in an Asian-print silk dressing gown. She sat down wearily on a chair and crossed her legs.
"Do you feel better?", asked Dylan.
She shrugged her shoulders slightly, "I can't say I feel happy. My head is throbbing, I'm cold and my stomach is far from good. I was only able to put on underwear because I didn't even have the courage to choose clothes", she said.
"This might help", he said, handing her a box of painkillers.
"I really hope so. Usually I hate pills, but now…", she said, opening the box to take two.
"Do you want a good cup of coffee?", he asked, watching her swallow the pills.
Kate looked at him and again he saw sparks in her eyes.
"Well, I think it's a good start. But if it's food, then I'm not so sure yet".
"That's good. Here you go", he answered, pouring her a cup of coffee.
She took the cup, held it with both hands, and took sips.
"It feels good", she said softly.
"Thank you, Dylan,".
"With pleasure".
"And thank you for staying", she added
"No worries".
"Do you mind if I eat something?", he asked. I'll eat in moderation", he added.
"Huh? How did you get food? There was nothing left in the cupboard", she replied, frowning.
He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, "I've been to the store. I bought some stuff".
"Oh? Thank you", she said.
"Uh, do you mind if I…?"
"Not at all! Go ahead".
"But where did you sleep?", she asked.
"On the couch", he replied softly, putting a slice of bread in the toaster.
"Why for God's sake? I have a double bed. That couch is way too small for you. It must have been torture.", Kate said.
"I know, but I thought it would be totally inappropriate", he answered.
I wouldn't have said no, but the circumstances weren't ideal!
"Oh you silly!", she replied with a rapid nod of her head causing pain, "Ouch, my head".
What a pity! A missed opportunity Kate.
He took the slice of bread out of the toaster and looked at her, "Do you want to try a toast?"
She waved her hand, "No, not now. Maybe at lunchtime".
"How do I look?", Kate asked him.
He looked at her between bites, "You look good".
Kate made a face, "Dylan, you're nice, but you're a terrible liar. If I look like I'm feeling, then it's disastrous!"
"Nah, it's not that bad you know", he tried to sooth her.
She smiled back at him as she sipped her coffee.
"What happened yesterday? I've never seen you like that", Dylan asked her.
Kate rolled her eyes, "It had gotten out of hand. I knew it was going to happen, but I couldn't avoid it. Mike had burdened me with all the paperwork to do. He had done nothing. It screwed up my plan. I was thinking about shopping, having a shower and eating something before I went to the pub. Nothing happened as planned. There wasn't even a leftover food in the galley and in the pub, just a bag of crisps. I had a glass of wine. Pretty soon I got a second one and it went awry when we had to give a toast Mike with shots", Kate told sadly.
He nodded, "Now I understand. That's the bad side of Mike, hmm".
"But Kate, you surprised me".
She raised her eyebrows, "Huh? Why?".
"Well, how calm you are after last night".
Now she frowned, "What do you mean?", she asked worriedly.
"What do you remember?"
She closed her eyes, sighed and thought.
"Hmm, guava mojo. I think that's what killed me. I was already half drunk by then. So…uh…. fresh air… you…a sausage…that you said something about staying here….and that's about it."
Then she looked at him frightened, "Dylan, tell me. What happened?"
He took a deep breath, "Well, they started the karaoke event and 2Dads gave one of his worst performances with a Frank Sinatra song. You commented on it and he challenged you. You accepted his challenge and you gave a great performance of 'Wake me up before you go go', he said as Kate stared at him with wide eyes.
"Next you continued with 'Getting to Know You' and another song", Dylan said, watching her and gauging her mood.
"No! Did I really do that?", she said in disbelief.
"Kate, I have to say it was wonderful. You have a golden voice", he said in awe.
She closed her eyes, "Oh my God! No! I made a fool of myself".
"No, certainly not. You're as good as the lady who sings at the Sydney Opera House, Lisa McCune, you know", he added.
"Should I take it as a compliment then?", Kate concluded hesitantly.
"Absolutely".
Kate looked at him suspiciously, "Dylan, something is not quite right here. You wonder why I am so calm. I don't remember anything and you told me about an event that doesn't seem too awkward. But you expected me to be much more nervous. So spit it out. What happened next?", Kate asked.
"Uhm…The bartender had a duo of Arab dancers on the program and they showed a us a belly dance performance. Charge then made a silly comment about our women not being able to do the same", he told.
Kate shrugged, "What next?"
He sighed, "You wanted to show Charge that our women could do it too. You pulled up your blouse and tied it under your chest then you folded down the waistband of your skirt. You climbed on a table and swung your hips to the beat of the music", he said ill-at-ease, looking at Kate who was staring at him in complete disbelief.
"Mike was laughing and I couldn't bear it anymore, so I helped you off the table. When I put you down on the ground you said you loved me", he said.
"Oh nooooooo!", moaned Kate, resting her head on her folded arms on the table and she began to sob.
"I made a fool of myself. I lost my dignity!"
"Katie, they were all too drunk to remember. Forget it", he said rubbing her back, but she wasn't listening.
At that moment the doorbell rang.
"I'm going", he said and stood up.
He opened the door and found himself in front of Mike.
To be continued