“You got it mom. Thanks for answering so late.”
“Anything I can do to help you.”
He hung up and immediately set a reminder to the middle of the night so he could wake up and call Ariana’s favorite restaurant and set up some food for delivery. Some of the anxiety lessened now that he had a plan of action and could help her cope with the added stress of a difficult client.
Ariana opened her eyes and groaned. She felt like shit. Working long hours and stressing over this latest campaign was making her sick. Her head hurt, and her stomach rolled. Shit, she probably had an ulcer at this point. She laid there, thinking of Nick and the many calls, text, emails, and video conferences and couldn’t help but smile. He’d been trying so hard to stay in touch with her that it was hard for her to find any flaws with his being gone for so long. Her stomach rolled again, and the urge to vomit became overwhelming. She ran to the bathroom and heaved. She’d skipped dinner, feeling stressed, so there was nothing to dump.
“Ari?” Tricia’s voice sounded from inside her house.
“In the bathroom,” she answered, her throat feeling raw.
Her best friend, who also happened to be her neighbor, came and went every morning with the extra key Ari had given her. Ari sighed in the crouching position in front of the toilet. Struggling past the urge to gag again, she got in the shower. She needed to buy some antacid pills.
She dressed in sweats. It was a Friday, and she was working from home, taking care of the design for her difficult client before, hopefully, cleaning up around the house and doing some food shopping.
“Hey, I made coffee,” Tricia said the moment Ari stepped into the kitchen.
She scrunched her nose at the scent. Her stomach was still making waves. “Thanks, but I think I’ll have tea.”
Tricia frowned. “What’s wrong? You look kind of pale. And sick.”
She sat down, placed her arms on the kitchen table and cupped her cheek with her hand. “I’m exhausted. This client is sucking the life out of me. I swear I’ve never wanted to sleep more than I do right now.”
“So go take a nap.” Tricia glared at her as if she’d committed a crime by not getting enough sleep. She opened cupboards and put on the kettle. After that, she grabbed a bag of bread and set it to toast.
Gratitude filled Ari to have such a great friend. “I can’t. I have to work, and I need to clean this place up, and go buy some food. I have—”
A knock sounded at her front door. Tricia shook her head. “I’ll go get it. You sit there and relax for a minute while I make your tea.”
Moments later, Tricia sauntered back into the kitchen with a big smile and a delivery person behind her.
“You can put the groceries on the counter here.” She pointed to the kitchen island.
“I’ll need to get the cooked food. I’ll be right back,” the delivery guy said.
Ariana frowned at the bags of food on her counter. “What’s all this? Did you get me groceries?”
Tricia grinned. “Nope, but he said he’s got a note for you.”
Three trips to his van and the delivery guy handed her a note that went with her food.
“Read it!” Tricia squealed.
“Alright already. Jeez. ‘I hope this helps you relax and not stress over food. Nick.’”
She glanced up at Tricia’s smiling face and struggled with the feelings and emotions rushing through her. He was on the other side of the world, and he’d arranged for her to have food and groceries. She swallowed at the knot in her throat. His thoughtfulness was astounding. Nick had always been sweet, but this was more than he’d ever done before, more than even she had ever expected of him.
“I think he really wants to get back together.” Tears clogged her throat. She blinked back the moisture gathering in her eyes. Emotions were overwhelming her with the need to see him. She was turning into a wimp. Throughout their marriage, Nick had always been thoughtful and caring, but like all men, he’d slowly given a lot of it up in favor of believing she knew how he felt.
It wasn’t a problem until things started going downhill with their trying to have a baby and then her miscarriage. The previously open and communicative relationship had shut down. Neither had been willing to let the other in. And now, here he was, going further in his attempt at reaching out to her than he’d ever had before, even before their relationship had hit the downward spiral.
“I don’t know about all this.”
“What don’t you know?” Tricia exclaimed. “He’s doing this to show you he cares. Even from the other side of the world, he’s thinking about you.”