The dawn was already bleeding through the window when she woke up and rolled out of bed. It was her brother's house, so she knew what to expect when 6am rolled around. By the time, she heard his footsteps in the hallway heading for her door, she was already dressed and ready for a morning run with him and Beth.
She just wished the queasy feeling in her stomach would go away.
Downstairs in the front hall, Faith spun on her roller blades while trying hard to balance a bright orange hockey ball on the curved end of her stick. When she heard the others come down the stairs, she grinned as she looked up, letting the ball fall to the floor.
"Hey, can we take the road instead of the beach?" she asked as she leaned down to pick up her ball. "The sand really sucks for roller blades." She looked up at her uncle for a moment with big, pleading eyes, like a puppy's.
Her expression dropped when she looked at Syl. "Are you okay, Ma? You don't look so good."
Her mother waved off her concern, putting on her best smile. "I'll be okay, love. If I start feeling sick again, I'll just slow down and take it easy. I'll be fine," she told Faith, reassuringly.
Wild Horses (Aniela)
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Sighing, Aniela leaned into Goliath, resting her chin on her folded arms as
she lay them against the crest of his neck. His ears twitched as he
detected he...
14 years ago
Beth emerged from Neil’s bedroom, wearing her work out shorts, a double layered singlet top, clean white runners and her long hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Max on her hip, he gurgled happily as she walked him out to front hall to say good morning to everyone.
ReplyDelete‘Luckily Rita… is totally in love with this little guy!’ she joked as Faith showered Max in kisses.
Beth looked at Sylvia for a moment. ‘Are you feeling okay? You look sort of pale…’ she looked curiously at Sylvia, letting Max go to Rita’s awaiting arms.
Neil emerged from the kitchen with a grin and a clap of his hands as he rallied his troops, Beth stepped forward and touched his arm. ‘Maybe we should wait, Syl looks a bit green..’
He drained the last of his coffee, leaning in and giving Max a high five. He glances at Faith, thinking about it for a second, "If I get a kiss." he laughs as she gives him a kiss on the cheek and he grabs his shoes, "fair enough, we can hit the road." He winks at her.
ReplyDeleteHe glances over at Syl, "Too much partying at the Dome no doubt." he laughs, "If you can't hack it Sis, you can stay home." he smirks, scooping up the ball off the floor and opening the door. "Come on kiddo, let's roll."
"'Can't hack it'? What's that supposed to mean?" she called indignantly after Cowboy, ignoring the queasy feeling as she followed the others out the door. "I'll have you know I was running regularly during the tour. I can keep up just fine. Thank you very much!" She very much wanted to prove her brother wrong and wipe that smug look off his face.
ReplyDeleteAs they started running, Neil tossed the hockey ball on the road and with a laugh, Faith chased after it, skating circles around the grown-ups as they ran.
Syl pushed herself, and managed to keep pace for most the run, throwing back a proud smirk at Neil when they were more than halfway done.
Suddenly, she stumbled and the sudden movement unsettled her stomach. She stopped, her arm cradling her stomach while her other hand was clenched over her mouth. Closing her eyes, she tried to keep herself from throwing up, as she heard Faith's blades approach.
"Ma? Are you okay?"
Beth trailed behind the siblings, shaking her head and cracking up as they nudged each other and Sylvia shot a proud smile at Neil as they continued to run. When Sylvia stumbled and stopped, Beth quickened her pace to catch up. Faith was already by her side.
ReplyDelete‘Syl, you okay?’ Beth asked, reaching out and rubbing her back. There was something going on here, but Beth just couldn’t put her finger as to what. ‘Did you even eat anything this morning to settle your stomach?’ Beth handed Faith a $5 dollar note and gestured to the corner store. ‘Why don’t you go and get your Mom some water or something and we take a small break…’
He was enjoying the run, enjoying teasing Syl and then letting her sprint ahead for a bit so he could watch Beth jog. He just liked watching her move. He ran up ahead, kicking the ball of Faith and letting her chase it as he ran past Syl, hoping to piss her off again.
ReplyDeleteWhen he turns to check on her, he notices everyone has stopped and he slowly walks back towards them, watching as Faith runs off to the store.
"What's up?" he asked, stopping just in front of Syl, looking back and forth between the two ladies.
Syl shook her head, her hand still over her mouth, not daring to speak as she fought the urge to throw up.
ReplyDeleteSuddenly, she made a choking sound and couldn't keep the contents of her stomach down anymore.
Faith exited the store with the bottle of water in time to hear a sickly-wet gagging sound, followed suddenly by a string of curses from her uncle. When she returned to the grown-ups, she found her uncle sitting on the curb, removing a pair of vomit-drenched socks from his feet. Beside him, Syl was barfing by the side of the road, while Beth held her hair back and out of the way.
As her mother finished throwing up, Faith twisted off the cap and handed her the bottle, then sat herself on the curb next to Cowboy. "Are you okay now, Ma? If you hadn't been sick since we left Toronto, I would have sworn Uncle Neil kissed you again."
Beth rubbed Sylvia’s back as she took sips of the water, leading her away from Faith and Cowboy, she whispered so only Sylvia could hear, ‘Seriously now, how long have you felt like this?’ Her eyes darted to Cowboy, who looked unimpressed sitting on the curb.
ReplyDeleteIt was like Beth’s mom instincts kicked in, when Sylvia felt unwell. She looked at Sylvia’s clammy forehead, Beth took the bottle of water from her and poured a portion on her hand, she drizzled it on the back of Sylvia’s neck to try and cool her down some more. ‘It’s okay Syl… we all get sick… but I am just wondering what you could possibly have that would make you feel this terrible so… suddenly…’ her words drifted of at the last sentence.
Suddenly the pieces were fitting into place, she just didn’t want to be the one to ask the question.
"For fuck's sake!" he cursed, shaking his head, "Syl?" he laughed walking over to the curb and taking a seat. He peeled off his socks and shoes, debating it for a second, before tossing them both into the bushes by the edge of the road.
ReplyDelete"I needed a new pair of shoes anyway." He then used his water bottle to wash his feet and legs.
"I am walking back along the beach." he told Faith, watching the other two. "Ya know, if we head back now Ryan is probably heading out to catch some waves?"
"Aww, okay," she frowned in disappointment and looked worriedly at her mother. "Are you going to be okay, Ma?"
ReplyDeleteSyl nodded as she finished a sip of water. "I will. Why don't you go ahead with your uncle? We'll catch up."
Nodding, Faith sighed and reluctantly unlaced her roller blades. Taking them off, she tied the laces together and draped them over her shoulder. After retrieving her ball and stick, she walked ahead with Neil along the beach, trying to balance the ball on the curved end of her stick as they went.
"Man, I haven't been on a surf board since the family dog died. That was always our thing, you know? Me and Charlie would ride while Ma steered the board. She was going teach me to surf now that her tour is over," the girl looked behind them, and watched her mother with concern as Beth helped her up from the curb. "But I might have to wait 'til she's better before she can teach me."
Syl thanked Beth for her help, but frowned as she leaned on her friend for support as she got up. "Damnit, I shouldn't have pushed myself. I should've just ignored my stubborn pride, given Cowboy a good punch in the gut and stayed home." She let herself chuckle, "Serves him right that I threw up on his shoes."
She thought a moment as she and Beth began walking along the beach to catch up with the others. "It's been like this for a couple of days now. It's usually the worst in the mornings. I think it started shortly after your birthday party actually." She shook her head and took another sip of water, "Just my luck I'd get sick while on my first real break."
Beth shook her head and continued to walk slowly, matching her pace with Sylvia’s. ‘I think you should head to the doctors Syl…’ Beth said biting her lip, she couldn’t say what she suspected was going on. ‘At least that way, you can just rest up and we can take care of you at the Beach House.’ Beth smiled at her friend.
ReplyDelete‘Look, leave Faith with Neil and I’ll drive you. You can curl up in the front seat and don’t have to lift a finger. Don’t worry about anything we’ll handle it.’ Beth grinned and linked her arm through Syl’s. ‘We need to get you better before our tour begins!’
Beth looked at Neil and Faith chasing each other up ahead. She shook her head with a chuckle and gave Syl’s arm a reassuring squeeze. ‘It’ll be fine. I know it.’ She said positively.