“In your truck?” Finn asked, revulsion washing over his face.
“No, in the restaurant.”
Grady fought the mad urge to laugh. “So, let me see if I understand this, you dropped two hundred bucks on dinner, watched your girlfriend puke in the restaurant, and then you took her to urgent care?”
“Pretty much.”
“Wow, what a fun evening.”
“Why aren’t you sick?” Finn asked.
“I had a steak,” James replied. “It’s the seafood making her sick.”
“Well, that’s what she gets for ordering the most expensive thing on the menu,” Grady teased. “It’s karma.”
James moved away from him tiredly. “Open that bag and read the instructions on the box.”
“What is it?”
“Something the doctor gave me,” James said. “It’s supposed to make her feel better.”
James disappeared into his bedroom, returning a minute later with two pillows and the comforter from his bed. He dropped the comforter and pillows on the floor in the bathroom and then returned to his bedroom. He was gone longer this time, and when he finally came back into view, he’d changed out of his suit and was wearing a pair of knit shorts and a T-shirt. He had a pair of his boxer shorts and another T-shirt in his hand.
“Finn, go down to my office and get the fan off my desk,” James ordered before reentering the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
Grady shrugged at Finn’s unanswered question, so the youngest Hardy brother did as he was told. Hardy Brothers Security was housed in an office building in Sterling Heights, a city located about twenty miles north of Detroit. James had turned the second floor of the building into his own private apartment.
When Finn returned from his errand, the electric fan in hand, the door to the bathroom was still shut. “What are they doing in there?”
“Well, I don’t think they’re doing anything fun,” Grady said. “I heard her puke again.”
“God, this sucks. She must be miserable.”
“You think?”
The door to the bathroom swung open, and this time James strode out with the black dress Mandy had been wearing for their date draped over his arm. For her part, Mandy was back on the floor, dressed in James’ boxer shorts and oversized shirt, and worshipping the porcelain throne again.
Grady leaned against the pool table as he watched the show. James was back in his bedroom, and Grady could hear hangers moving across a metal rod – which meant James was actually putting the dress away correctly. It was like he was watching one of those weird cleaning shows or something.
James popped back into the living room, motioning for Finn to bring him the fan.
“What’s this for?” Finn asked.
“She likes to sleep with a fan,” James replied. “The one in the bedroom is a pedestal fan. It won’t be able to hit her with any air when she’s on the floor.”
James retreated into the bathroom again, placing the fan on the floor next to the bathtub and plugging the chord into the outlet on top of the counter. He flicked the power button and then adjusted the fan so it was blowing air directly on Mandy’s face. James then opened one of the side drawers in the vanity and rummaged around before moving toward her stooped frame, this time with a hair brush and Scrunchee in his hand. He knelt down next to her, rubbing her tight shoulders for a second, and then brushing her hair back so he could secure it away from her pale face with the Scrunchee.
He left her in the bathroom and returned to his dumbfounded brothers. “What did that box say?”
“Where did you learn to do that?” Finn asked.
James ignored him, keeping his eyes trained on Grady.
“It says that it will help her sleep,” Grady said.
“Well, that’s something at least.”
“It also says she can’t take it until she’s gone at least four hours without throwing up,” Grady said, suddenly nervous his brother was going to take out his frustration on him.
James frowned. “How is that supposed to help? So she has to be miserable all night?”
“It’s food poisoning, man,” Grady said. “I think you’re miserable regardless. You have to just let it run its course.”
James growled angrily and then strode over to the refrigerator – opening the door and returning with two bottles of water. He glanced back up at his brothers. “You guys need to go.”
“Just shut the door,” Grady said. “She won’t even notice we’re here. You can play the winner.” He could hear Mandy gearing up for another round in the other room. “Trust me. She doesn’t care what we’re doing out here.”