Valentines Day (finished)

February 9th

Matt woke up at 11:35. It took a few minutes, but he remembered earlier that night. Them cuddling up and watching Pride and Prejudice. By the position of his head when he woke up, they fell asleep during a makeout session. Matt laid her flat on the floor, propping her head with a pillow. Matthew made the bed, set the alarm clock back five minutes, unfurled the sheets, and tucked her into the bed. He pet her and planted a kiss on her forehead before heading out. This was all on February 8th.

*

Now, on February 9th, Stephanie awoke. She smiled, realizing what must've transpired the last night. "Thanks Matthew," she murmured, to no one in particular. Steph glanced at the alarm clock. There was enough time to get a shower in this morning. She groggily trudged into the bathroom and turned on the water.

When she'd finished with the shower, she was a bit more awake. The woman entered back into the bedroom. She slipped on some clothes and went out into the dining room. She smiled seeing breakfast sandwich on the table next to a brown paper lunch bag. On the bag was a little sticky note that told her "Have a lovely day at work Hon."

Stephanie ate the sandwich and headed out to the car, ready for the day.

*

Matt rubbed his eyes, fighting off sleep deprivation. He grabbed two breakfast sandwiches and a small little box of fries off of the heated rack. Matt grabbed off out a deli sandwich, a cup of peaches, and began rummaging through the desert section to find a final thing to add to his wife's lunch.

Matthew had set the alarm clock early so Steph could get a shower, he put the clothes he knew she found most comfortable on the top of her drawers so it'd be first thing she grabbed, and, and was getting her lunch for her. Matthew couldn't go that far away, so everything he was picking up things from the 24/7 corner store down the road. "Wait, seriously?" he said to himself. "They have this?"

He picked up the item and put it into his basket. He knew that it would make Stephanie's day if she found this in her lunch bag. He chatted to the, probably high, cashier about his spectacular find. "Did you know that they had these?"

"Well man," the man dazedly droned, "they're, um, giving a trying thing all around the state."

"You mean a trial run."

"Yeah, heh, that sounds right."

Matt secretly hoped that the business went bust. Not in bad way, the people probably had a very solid product and deserved a bit of more recognition. Simultaneously, he wanted this to be a tiny special thing. Something for him and Stephanie alone. It was a bit greedy, but he loved his wife too much. He sometimes craved something that they alone could have without anyone else.

*

Stephanie unpacked her lunch. A deli sandwich. She really liked those. She added a tiny spritz of mayo from a packet that came with the sandwich. She continued to unpack. A small box of fries. She smiled. Matthew knew her weakness too well. A cup of peaches. Steph let out a small groan. He always insisted on packing these gross syrup covered fruits in hopes of "keeping her in good health." Even as Steph set it down in disgust and began scraping the bottom of the bag, she knew she'd eat it anyway; namely because it didn't taste that bad.

Her hand bumped into something. "What the-" she began, pulling out the small round item. It had a rounded out top and a smaller bottom. The top was about eight centimeters, and the bottom was about five centimeters. To keep fresh, it was wrapped in a clear cling wrap. On top was a note. "Happy 9th Day of Valentines." It was, well, put most simply: [figured it out yet?] a pie.

It wasn't a lot, but it made Stephanie happy. After finishing her meal, she unwrapped and dug into the pie. It was just what she needed for an extra boost of energy. Once the meal was finished, she took a long swig of water to clear out her mouth, and headed back to work.

*

"Hi honey," bounced Matthew, when his wife came in. "How was your work?"

"It was good," she responded quietly. "How was yours?"

"Mine was-" Matt stopped his peppy attitude. "Stephanie what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she responded, her voice having very little inflection. "I'm just a bit exhausted, that's all."

Matt gave her a large hug. "How did you like your Valentine's Day gift?"

"It was a bit sugary," she admitted.

*

It was at three o'clock when the first sign came. A small bit of discomfort in her stomach. She didn't think much of it. There was a bit more unrest later and she burped. Again, nothing abnormal. Another burp, and another.

A few minutes she felt a small tickle in the back of her throat, and she knew exactly where her stomach was going. Stephanie fled from her workspace and zoomed into the bathroom. She only had enough time to slip her hair behind her neck before she emptied her stomach into the toilet.

The next hour could've been thought of as an exercise in predicting the future. After throwing up for about the fifteenth time, Steph finally made her way out to talk to her boss. She only had enough time to request a sick day for the rest of the day before rudely sprinting out to puke again.

Many people asked if she needed a ride, but Steph vehemently denied it. All that she had to do was puke it out of her system a bit, and head home. However, this process was easier said than done. She worked on the twelfth floor, so when she finally got hold of her stomach, she finally got hold of her stomach, she packed up her stuff and headed for the machine.

Stephanie fled from the elevator the first time it stopped. She had to throw up again. This was on the tenth floor. So, on random increments, Stephanie slowly made her way down to the bottom floor. She had to puke once more on the bottom floor, but when she made it to the bathroom, she found that her stomach was out of things to throw up.

On the drive home, Stephanie couldn't figure out what had made her so sick. Everything she at was the exact same as normal, except- the pie. Steph felt bad, because it was Matt's present, and she hated to think that such a thoughtful gift had poisoned her.

*

"It was a bit too sugary," she lied.

Matt's shoulders slumped. He'd been hoping for a better reaction."Well," he sighed, "did you enjoy it?"

"Yes," she agreed. "It was a wonderful Valentine's Day Gift.