Page 18 of His Forever

“I am showing them that it is okay for brief public displays of affection.”

“Ah, I see.”

When the lights dimmed further, they stopped talking but she was conscious of his hand around her shoulder and how his fingers played with the curls in her hair. She snuggled closer, somewhat unsure of where to put her right hand. He finally grabbed it with his left hand and intertwined their fingers. She couldn’t honestly remember what the movie was about, but knew that she laughed quite a few times at the antics the hero took to claim his heroine. She was too focused on the man who had managed to capture her attention, wondering how they would be in the future and when she would have to tell him the truth.

Chapter Seven

As she threw up for the umpteenth time, she thought over the rest of the date, grateful that whatever had hit her had waited until she was home alone. After the movie, he had taken her for some ice cream before bringing her home. A sweet kiss that held a lot of promise and had her breathless once again and then he was gone after reminding her to lock up.Ugh, I hope whatever this is isn’t contagiousshe thought as she made her way into the kitchen to make some peppermint tea. She glanced out her window and saw the lights on at María-Luisa’s but didn’t think much of that fact. The older woman had said her sleep patterns were off since her husband died and not to worry if she saw lights on at different times of the night. When it hit again, she barely had time to make it to the bathroom and figured that Saturday was going to be a wash work-wise.

***

He was leaving the next morning when he noticed both his mother’s and Marleigh’s cars were still there.That’s strange. They’re both normally gone when I leave. Deciding to check it out, he went into his mother’s house, calling out, “Mamá? Are you here? Are you okay? You’re normally gone by now.”

“Jesús? Is that you?”

“Si, Mamá. Why are you still here?”

“I think…I think the Chinese food we had yesterday for lunch gave me food poisoning. I hope none of the other girls got hit with it. I want to die.”

“Mamá? Did everyone eat the same thing?”

“Si, Mijo. We put the leftovers in the fridge for today.”

He was already dialing his phone and when his sister answered, he said, “Lena, I need you to come to Mamá’s and help me. She has food poisoning and I bet Marleigh has it as well. I am running to Marleigh’s and we will take them both to the hospital.”

His sister readily agreed and said she would be there in a few minutes. “Mamá? I am going up to see if Marleigh is sick as well. You stay here, Lena is on her way and I will take you both to the hospital, si?”

María-Luisa, once again bent over the toilet throwing up, merely waved her hand at her son. After hours of unrelenting vomiting, she knew that she was likely pushing dehydration. “Si, Jesús, go check on Mija.”

He ran through the breezeway and into the garage, knowing that Marleigh didn’t lock the door that went from her apartment down to the garage. While he wished that she would, right now, he was glad she hadn’t because he wasn’t sure where the keys to the apartment were located. Running in the door, he heard the unmistakable sounds of vomiting and followed them into her bathroom. “Mi siempre hermosa? Mamá is also sick and thinks it is food poisoning. I need to get you both to the hospital, okay?” he asked while he looked for a washcloth. Wetting it in cool water, he laid it against the back of her neck and rubbed her back. “Do you have a small trashcan mi siempre hermosa?”

Kill me now.Really? Is this your idea of funny, God? How can I ever face him again after he has seen me like this, puke breath and all?Nodding her head without looking at him, she pointed in the general direction where she thought the trashcan was at, grateful she had taken the trash out the day before.No need for him to see used tampons, even if they were wrapped up. “Do you need me to help you, Marleigh?”

“No,” she finally croaked out. Her throat was on fire from throwing up most of the night. He helped her stand up and she went to the sink and brushed her teeth, again, before she grabbed the trashcan and headed into the bedroom to find her shoes. Seeing her slip-on sandals, she put them on, not caring that she was in a camisole and capri yoga pants. He grabbed a T-shirt for her and said, “Marleigh? Here mi siempre hermosa, put this on, I don’t think you want everyone seeing you in your pajamas.”

She looked down and blushed. The camisole was a beige lacy one and showed everything. Right now, she didn’t care that Zeus could see, she felt too awful. But she knew she would be embarrassed at the hospital and was grateful that he had grabbed a shirt for her to put over the camisole. “Thank you, Zeus. How…how did you know something was wrong?” she finally asked him as he helped her out and down to his truck, where Lena was helping María-Luisa into the back.

“Neither of your cars were gone and you and Mamá are normally gone before me, at least on Saturdays,” he told her, getting her in the back next to María-Luisa and helping her buckle up before he handed her the trashcan.

María-Luisa suddenly said, “We need to put a sign at the shop. And find out about the other girls, Jesús.”

“Already on it, Mamá. I have called Chandra and her husband said they are already there, as are Sasha, Caroline and Joy.”

“Ay yi yi,” María-Luisa cried. “This is all my fault. I wanted Chinese!”

“Mamá, you couldn’t have known,” Marleigh said, reaching her hand across to grasp the older woman’s hand.

Zeus, conscious of the two in the back and their delicate stomachs, drove quickly and carefully to the emergency room. Once inside, he signed them both in and was shocked when the nurse told him that they were not the first ones there with apparent food poisoning. The problem was, they didn’t know what they were dealing with as far as the bacteria. Zeus, looking at the nurse, said, “My Mamá said they had put the leftovers in the fridge at the salon, would me getting those to you help?”

“Yes, yes it would. Let me notify our lab so they can be ready. How long before you’re back?”

“Maybe ten or fifteen minutes,” he told her.

“Thank you. I think you are the first one who had any leftovers. This will help us tremendously. Your mother, she is with the salon ladies?”

“Si, as is my girlfriend.”

“We have four other ladies from the salon in an area, let me see if I can get your mother and girlfriend in there now, okay?”