alittlesouvenir2

CHAPTER 2: What Was Seen

Morning brought the end of a long night for Rick and Evelyn. Their nine year old son had spent most of the night kneeling by the toilet, vomiting until there was nothing left in his stomach. Outside of his bedroom, both of the tired parents waited for the doctor to finish looking over Alex. Rick stood holding Evelyn against his chest, gently swaying. �Doc will give him something to help his stomach,� he said, trying to reassure both himself and Evie.

Before she could say anything, Alex�s door opened and Dr. Stanley walked out of the room followed by his nurse. �I gave him some tonic, which should help settle his stomach. It is important that you get him to drink plenty of fluid to keep him from getting dehydrated. If his condition worsens bring him to the hospital,� Dr. Stanley said as he shut his black medical bag. While Rick walked with them, to let them out of the house, Evelyn walked into Alex�s room, over to his bed. His eyes were shut, though he opened them when he sensed she was there. �Shh, you need to get some sleep,� Evie said as she sat down on the edge of his bed, stroking her fingers through his sandy blond hair.

�I feel awful.�

�If you get some sleep you should start to feel better,� Evie reassured as she continued to stroke her fingers through his hair. She stood up as his eyes closed, and turned toward the door as Rick came with a glass of water.

�Should we wait?� he asked coming up behind her to look at their little boy.

�We�ll let him sleep for an hour, then see if he can hold down some of that water.� Evelyn waited while Rick put the glass on his bedside table, then took his hand as they walked out of their sick child�s room.

Downstairs Marie had tea and biscuits waiting for them in the Parlor. �Should I prepare anything for Alex?� she asked as they sat down on the couch in front of the coffee table the food was on.

�Perhaps some warm chicken broth,� Evie said, though doubted he would be able to hold that down, at least for today. When she left, Evelyn leaned her head against Rick�s left shoulder. �I hate this for him,� she said.

�Yeah I know, I do too. Do you have any sort of tea you can give him, that might help him feel better, though I thought the Syrup you gave him last night would do the trick,� Rick said, surprised that it had not. Most anything Evelyn had imported from Egypt for medicinal purposes worked better than anything a Doctor could prescribe.

�I know, most of the time it does work. Are you going in to work today?� she asked as she picked up her teacup and saucer. She lifted the small china cup from the saucer with her left hand and took a sip letting it soothe her own churning stomach, something she hadn�t really noticed until now.

Rick began to eat some of the fresh baked biscuits, Marie had prepared for them, considering this. �I thought maybe for a few hours, if you think you will be all right here by yourself,� he said, noticing that she didn�t look so good herself. When she got up from the couch and ran toward the stairs, Rick put his food down and hurried behind her to the bathroom just past the staircase. There he wrapped his arm around her as she began getting sick, and for a few minutes he stood trying to soothe her, as they had done with Alex earlier that morning.

�I�m better now,� Evelyn said, slumping back against Rick�s strong form. She took in a breath and let it out when he picked her up, and began to carry her upstairs.

In their room, Rick put his wife in their bed and started over to the phone when she called out to him to wait. �Evie your sick, what should I do?� he asked as he came back to their bed.

�This isn�t the same. When I was carrying Alex I had terrible morning sickness, I�m fairly certain that it will be the same with this one,� she said as she shut her eyes. �Go check on our son,� she added, turning on her left side to get some sleep.

For a moment Rick stayed by his wife�s side, then left to go be with Alex.

~*~

By lunch time Alex was able to sit up and drink a little bit of water at time. Evelyn was still feeling poorly, but insisted it was due to her being pregnant. She too was staying in bed hoping that this time, if she didn�t over do it, her morning sickness wouldn�t last as long.

Another sip of water was the last Alex could take, and as his dad helped him lie down, he remembered last night. �Dad, will you be mad at me if I ask you something?�

Rick was almost out the door, but turned around when he heard his son�s question, and had an idea what this was about. �I won�t be angry,� he agreed as he walked over to Alex�s desk. He lifted the chair up, and carried it to the side of his bed then sat down, ready to try and explain the questions he knew Alex had about last night.

�When I came into your and mum�s room, what was it you were doing?�

Rick ran his right hand through his hair and for a moment avoided Alex�s gaze, then he looked at Alex. �Well um, we were making love,� he said honestly, ready to see what Alex would ask next. He didn�t have long to wait.

�You mean you were having sex. Max told me that his brother Patrick does. He said there is lots of kissing, and the guy likes to put his tongue in the girls mouth. He also said that the guy likes to um lick and bite her neck, but he never said anything about wrestling,� Alex said, watching his dad try not to laugh.

�Well making love involves most of what you were saying, but not the wrestling part,� he said, wishing to god Evelyn would come to the rescue.

�So what was that?� he asked, still wanting to know.

Rick drew in a breath then let it out. He did his best to explain to Alex about what it was he had seen, and when he finished the look of disgust on Alex�s face was evident.

�I wont ever do anymore than kiss a girl and I doubt I�ll even do that,� he said as he yawned, having heard more than he ever wanted to know. �Dad why do you and mum do that?�

Rick had explained about a physical love, but not the reason behind it. He thought of the baby Evelyn might be carrying, and wished he could tell Alex that, but had agreed that until they knew for sure, it was better to keep quiet. Instead he explained about how he felt about Evelyn, and talked about when they had met and even before. �When I saw your mum in that prison I knew that I wanted to be a part of her life forever, and I�ve never felt that way about anyone.�

Hearing about that part of his parents love made Alex smile. �That�s not so bad, but I don�t know, girls can be winey sometimes, but don�t ever tell Megan I said that or she will punch me a good one.� Both of them laughed at that, then someone clearing their throat caught their attention. �Hi mum,� Alex said as Evelyn walked in.

�I see the two of you were having fun without me,� Evelyn said as she walked over to the bed, then laughed as Rick pulled her into his arms. They kissed then parted when Alex told them he was going to be sick again if they didn�t stop. �I�m sorry darling, sometimes we forget,� Evelyn said as she stood up and walked closer to Alex. She leaned in and gave him a kiss. �How are you feeling?�

Alex sighed. �I still feel a little funny,� he admitted.

After giving him another kiss, Evelyn told him to get some sleep, then took Rick�s hand and led him out of Alex�s room, and down the hall to their room. �Did you explain to him about last night?�

Once in their room, Rick shut the door, then followed Evelyn over to their bed. �Yeah, but I don�t think this will be the last of the questions. I tried to explain physical love to him, and I think I told him more than he wanted to know. He asked why we do that, and I thought about telling him that sometimes it�s to create a baby, but figured until we are sure, I should just leave that part out,� Rick said as he sat down on the bed beside her. �How do you feel?� He was surprised when she began to cry and pulled her into his arms. �Shhh,� he whispered, starting to dread her reason for crying.

�When I woke up just a few minutes before I came into Alex�s room I found I was bleeding. I�ve started my cycle Rick, which means no baby for us this time.� She had let her defenses down, and had begun to believe they were going to have a baby. Evelyn was not prepared that this time like the last almost three years ago, she would loose another child, and even though there were no tests to prove she had been pregnant, she knew in her heart that she was, until today. Evie let Rick�s strong arms around her comfort her, and after a few minutes she was able to stop crying. �I�m so sorry Rick. I know how much you want to have another child, and I know how much I wanted to share that with you,� she said as she lifted her cheek from his chest to look at him. Tears were streaming down his face, and Evelyn stood up then leaned in kissing them away, as he had done for her several times before.

Rick drew in a breath, also saddened by the loss of this child. �We can always try again,� he said, though when she shook her head he wasn�t surprised.

�I�m not ready to have hope for a new life, just to have it lost,� she admitted as he pulled her back against him. After a few minutes both of them got up, and while Rick went downstairs to make some of Evelyn�s favorite tea, Evie went back to bed, rubbing her hand over her stomach, trying not to let any more tears fall. She knew both of them were lucky just to have Alex, but a part of her still wished they were having a baby, so that both of her special guys could have that experience; Alex as a big brother, and Rick as a new father. Resigned to the fact that it would be just the three of them Evelyn shut her eyes to try and rest, hoping to put the saddness she still felt behind her and move on with her life as a wife and a mum.