Chapter11
Cindy had felt it coming on all day Friday as she cut hair and tried to make conversation with customers while fighting the nausea that always accompanied a migraine. By the time she shut the door behind the last customer and flipped the Open sign to Closed, she was about to pass out from the pain.
Though she took a daily preventive medication, the migraines still struck out of nowhere, although not as frequently as they had before the daily meds. She forced herself to sweep the floor, turn off the computer, lock the door and walk home as carefully as she could, trying not to jostle her throbbing head. Thank God for sunglasses, she thought as the afternoon sun lit up the downtown area.
As she got closer to home, she feared she might vomit on the public sidewalk, so she picked up the pace. That made everything hurt more than it already did. Her preference when in the throes of a migraine was to move as little as possible. She’d made it to her front yard when she lost her lunch in the bushes outside.
The act of vomiting was akin to a knife to the skull, and for a second, she feared she might faint. That’d happened before.
Above her, the front door opened, and then Jace was there, holding her hair back as she vomited.
“No, you don’t have to…”
“Shhh, it’s fine. What can I do?”
“Nothing,” she whispered because anything louder might’ve killed her.
“Let me help you inside.”
She wanted to tell him she could get herself inside, but his strong arms around her felt too good as she rested her splitting head on his chest.
He lifted her gently, seeming to get that she needed that.
Cindy closed her eyes, only for a second, and startled awake when he lowered her onto her bed. Then he closed the blinds, which was just what she needed. She wanted to ask him how he knew to do that but posing the question would take energy she didn’t have.
Jace left the room and returned a minute later with a tall glass of water, the cold compress she kept in the freezer for when the headaches struck, a plastic bowl/puke bucket and a throw blanket from the living room that he put over her. “What else do you need?” he asked in a whisper.
“Meds in the bathroom cabinet.” She told him the brand name of the drug, and he got the bottle for her.
“How many?”
“Two, please.”
He put the tablets in her palm and held the water for her to drink.
“Anything else?”
“There’s a Coke in the fridge. Would you mind getting that for me? Sometimes a little caffeine helps.
“Coming right up.” He returned a minute later with the mini-can of Coke and a straw that he held for her while she took a few sips.
“Thank you so much, Jace. I really appreciate this.”
“No problem. Can I get you anything else?
“No, thanks.”
“I have to go to work. Is there someone I should call?”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Will you be all right alone?”
“I’m fine as long as I don’t move.”
“Text if you want me to bring some food home.”
“I will. Thanks.”