Chapter Nineteen
“Hey daddy?”
“Yeah?” Came the distracted response. JC’s brows were furrowed in confusion as he attempted to scrape the remaining tomato paste out of the can, getting more on himself and the stovetop than he was in the pot.
“You think we can leave the cooking to mommy from now on?”
Looking over at his youngest daughter, he pouted at her. Jen had not been feeling well, becoming violently ill at various points in the day. Having successfully worried JC, she was sent up to bed at once, leaving her family to fend for themselves. Julie, having experienced her father’s uhh… “masterpieces” more than once had decided to bow out and fix herself a lunch meat sandwich. She was the smart one!
“I think we’re doing okay, huh?” He asked, looking down at the mess in the pot. He’d watched Jen make spaghetti more times than he could count. She always made it look so easy!
“Daddy… It’s lumpy…”
“It’s supposed to be lumpy, Abs.”
“You haven’t even put the meat in yet,” she reminded him, eyeing the sauce warily. “Can’t we just order a pizza?”
“You have absolutely no faith in me! I can fix this!”
“Well, you think I can have a ham sandwich instead?” He glared over at her, though playfully.
“Fine. Eat your ham sandwich. I’ll have the spaghetti for myself,” he told her, sticking her tongue out at her playfully.
“Kay!” She slid down off of the stood she’d been sitting on and ran to the fridge. Looking into the pot, JC saw the sauce bubble and he couldn’t help but feel sick at the thought of eating THAT.
“Hey Abs? Be a doll and grab the package of turkey out of there while you’re at it…”
~*~
“Hey you,” JC greeted as he stepped into the bedroom, a smile forming on his face when he noticed that his wife was awake. The color had returned to her cheeks and she looked much more comfortable than she had when he left her hours earlier. “How are you feeling hon?”
“Sick,” she replied weakly, stretching out in the bed. “Better, but still sick,” she said, looking over at him as she rolled onto her side. Moving over to the bed, JC kicked off his shoes and climbed onto it, scooting over to the center. He touched her cheek gently with his hand, rubbing her face gently.
“I’m sorry you’re sick. Do you think maybe you ate something that didn’t agree with you, or”“
“I don’t know,” she interrupted, tears filling her eyes.
“Oh hey now… don’t cry on me baby. What’s the matter?”
“I just feel so bad, Josh! I don’t even want to get out of bed and after all the trouble we had with Abbi all those years ago… I’m worried.”
“Honey”“
“I know, I know. Doctor Monroe has assured us time and again that everything’s fine, but I know my body Josh. I know when something isn’t right, and this definitely isn’t right!” Hearing her frantic admission, JC felt his heart in his throat. Jen wasn’t one to overreact. If she felt something was wrong, she truly felt it, wasn’t just saying so in an attempt to gain sympathy.
“Tell me what to do, honey. What can I do to make you feel better?” He asked, reaching down to rub her stomach gently. After the struggle with Abbi, he was terrified that something was going to happen to her. He couldn’t bear the thought.
“I don’t know,” she cried, her breaths coming out in short spurts, trying to calm herself down.
“You’re really scaring me,” he confessed, reaching up to brush the tears from her cheek.
“I-I’m sorry,” she sniffled. He gave her a weak smile as he leaned down and kissed her gently.
“Don’t apologize to me baby. I know you can’t help it,” he told her. “But I’ll tell you what, angel. You told me just seconds ago that you’re feeling a little better. So I’ll make you a deal. I want you to try and get some sleep. If the pain doesn’t go away, or if it gets worse, I’m taking your little behind into the emergency room. But you’ve got to calm down, because I’m sure your sobbing is not doing anything to help it,” he told her knowingly. He reached over to kiss her forehead gently. She nodded, sucking in another breathe before closing her eyes, trying to sleep. With a soft sigh, JC rubbed her back gently, trying to lull her into a sleep, praying that when she opened her beautiful little eyes again, she’d feel all better.
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