Yellowstone: Love and Cowboys

This Day Today

Travis had opened the drapes and put the clock where she could see it. She wanted to get up, but she couldn't, every time she moved her stomach started churning.

It was the damn morning sickness. Every morning she woke up nauseous, every morning, no matter how hard she fought it, she ran into the bathroom and threw up.

She'd tried all the recommendations that people had given her. She was resting well, she made sure she ate nutritious food, she got out in the fresh air and walked. Still, it was the same every morning, until about ten o'clock she was sick, throwing up sick, no one told her that it would be as bad as this.

Travis came into the room, dressed for the day, his wet hair slicked back. He sat down next to her and stroked her hair, "Is it bad today?"

She felt guilty, she knew he wanted to get an early start. Tomorrow afternoon, after the nausea had gone away, they were having the ultrasound appointment that would let them the sex of their baby.

Travis was excited, he was sure that it would be a boy while she was equally sure that they were having a girl. Tomorrow they would find out, then they would buy some baby stuff, then order things like cribs and dressers and have them shipped to the ranch.

She nodded, "It's medium bad, hopefully, it will be gone in a few hours." She felt guilty, they no longer could make love in the morning because of her. She didn't go down to the barn with him in the morning because she was too sick. The pregnancy had ruined everything.

He leaned over and kissed her. "I'll bring you some hot milk with honey and some toast. After you eat you try and get a little more sleep, then we'll get ready and go. I love you, honey, I know how frustrated you are, but it will get better."

"Promise?" she asked, a woeful look her face, and he smiled.

By eleven the morning sickness had disappeared, and they were on the road to Fort Worth. She couldn't figure it out. How could she be so sick in the morning, only to have it (mostly) disappear after a few hours? She had researched everything she could about morning sickness on the internet and had found nothing helpful. All she came away with was the knowledge that she was lucky not to have it throughout the day and that some women had it so bad they wound up in the hospital, like Kate Middleton.

"There's a Cracker Barrel at the next exit," said Travis, "Let's get something to eat, all you've had is some toast and hot milk, you need to eat."

"I can wait," she objected, "I don't want to be one of those women who get grossly obese while they're pregnant and then don't lose the weight. The doctor said except for the morning sickness I'm healthy."

"You need to eat," he repeated, "If you don't eat enough both you and the baby will suffer. I know you like Cracker Barrel, we'll eat there."

And she was hungry, as hungry as she had been as a teenager. She saw someone eating fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and ordered it because it looked good. She ate all of her portions but skipped dessert, though she probably could have eaten that, too. Tonight, she and Travis were going to have dinner at Fort Worth's best steak house, and she couldn't wait. Maybe she'd have their cheesecake for dessert.

She didn't mind the three hours it took to get to Fort Worth, once she was no longer sick she didn't mind the drive. She was beginning to wonder if they should get a small apartment before she was due to give birth. She didn't want to have her baby at the ranch, she had considered it, but they were too far away from any hospital if something went wrong. The hospital in Fort Worth had an excellent maternal care program, and the NICU was good.

They checked into their hotel and then went out and wandered around Fort Worth. She was still getting used to Texas, and Texans, but Fort Worth she enjoyed. She preferred life on the ranch to living in a city, but it was fun to come and shop and eat at nice restaurants. She had spent enough time staying in hotels to enjoy them for what they were, a way to take a break from the real world.