Hold Me Now

Chapter 26: Fools Rush In

Oh dear God, her head hurts. It's pounding like crazy. She tried to open her eyes but found them glued shut, denying her request. Prying and willing them to open, she squinted. The sun! It's so bright. To make matters worse her stomach is roiling. Her throat is dry, so incredibly dry. To be honest, she feels like that little frog in Frogger (when it gets hit by oncoming traffic).

But wait! Something doesn't feel right. A lot of some things don't feel right, but this is different. Putting her arm over her head, she realized what it is. Raising the sheet she looked and discovered her worst nightmare come true. She's naked! 

Now she REALLY feels ill. Her heart sped up and there's a buzzing in her ears. Where the hell is she? Looking around the room, she recognizes she's not at home but in a hotel room. Trying not to freak out, her arm stretched and hit a wall of solid mass. Johnny! 

Lifting the sheet again, she looked and found him unclothed too. Oh dear God! That can only mean one thing! Now she's well and truly going to be sick. Getting up carefully, so as to not wake him, she slowly got out of the bed. Her head is spinning just standing. It's as if there's a giant hot air balloon under her skull slowly being filled, to lift off the ground. The pressure mounting the whole time.

Taking the comforter off, and wrapping herself in it, she put her shoes on (which the stupid boots didn't want to cooperate) and went to the bathroom. Glancing around the room, as she went, helped her see they're in some kind of a suite. At least they had sense enough to get a nice room.

In the bathroom, she closed the door and sequestered herself. One glance in the mirror told her, she looks like she feels. Her eyes are puffy and her hair truly is criminal, as her idiot brother described it. Why is it SO stinking huge? It never looks this big in the mornings. It's usually straight and flat, with maybe a little wave (if she leaves curlers in overnight).

After washing her face and grabbing a toothbrush from the holder, she put toothpaste on it and brushed her teeth. Brushing her teeth always makes her feel better, especially when she feels ill (like today). It was when she was rinsing her mouth out, that she noticed something. It's a small thing, really, but big enough to change her life forever.

Gasping for breath, she's seriously begun to think she's going to faint! No, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening! Maybe if she closes her eyes it will be gone. Her eyes snapped shut. Counting to three, she opened them one eye at a time. Taking a deep breath and looking down again, her eyes filled with tears. Nope! It's still there, shining for all the world to see. A golden ring on her ring finger. Oh, God! This is like a backward version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. She does not want a golden ring!

Then she barfed into the toilet. After vomiting all of yesterday's meals, she got up and brushed her teeth again. Closing the toilet lid and sitting on top of it, with her head in her hands, she thought and thought. She came to the conclusion that maybe this can be salvaged. Maybe they're not really married. It's just a joke. That's what this is, a terrible horrible joke. Sneaking into the bedroom, she grabbed her underwear, Johnny's white T-shirt, and put them on. Then she searched for a marriage license. To be married you have to have a marriage license.

If she were a marriage license, where would she be? First she searched her purse. No luck. Then his bag. Nope, nothing but clothes and toiletries in there. OK it has to be around here somewhere, right? Or maybe not because this is a joke. 

She searched every drawer on the desk, the table in the room's foyer, the coffee table in front of the sofa, the nightstand, even the refrigerator, and found nothing. But then she searched his pants pockets and found... one crisp, folded, marriage license.