Carter was sitting on the couch watching TV when Grace walked past and entered the kitchen. "Are you feeling better?" She asked from the sink.
The morning after the pool, Carter awoke to intense stomach pain. She felt like her lower intestines had been mutilated and torn apart, she hardly felt like she could stand.
She still felt a great deal of discomfort today but it wasn't nearly as dramatic.
Mark had gone out with Jonah earlier, and Jonah told Carter he'd bring her a gift later. "Yeah," she replied, "I'll go back to school tomorrow."
"You've missed two days," Grace said, "next time you have cramps you'll have to take ibuprofen like the rest of us."
Carter got up and walked to her mother. "Vee'll help me with school work. And it wasn't just 'cramps'." She insisted. She had experienced bleeding but it went away quickly- whatever hurt so much wasn't her period. But at least it was going away.
Grace opened the oven, about to set a tray of cookie dough inside when she noticed her daughter intently staring.
"One." Grace permitted, smiling lightly.
Carter grinned as she swiped a ball and bit into it eagerly, "Mmm!"
Grace wrapped her daughter in a gentle hug and kissed the top of her head. Carter tensed slightly, and found herself unsure of whether or not she's supposed to hug her mother back. Or even how to, from this awkward angle. Do her arms go over her neck? Around her waist?
While Grace had been far more affectionate in the recent past, it was still something Carter was getting used to. Since Mason left, Grace had almost completely stopped hugging and being cuddlesome with her daughter. And, admittedly, it initially stressed Carter out.
But with a combination of isolation at school, and Mark's fits of anger at home, Carter was quick to grow accustomed to her mother's sudden distance. She even found comfort in it.
Touching is gross, she came to realize. Skin on sweaty skin. A potential to spread disease. Oily, open pores. That rush of feverish warmth of body heat. Body heat makes body odor. Body odor sticks on clothes.
Carter refused to even hug her best friend. It always made her feel awkward. It's unnecessary.
Carter felt tempted to ask to go to Vee's now, but there was still a gnawing pain in her stomach. Grace, with her second wind in maternal instincts, would likely not let Carter leave the house. And even if she did, Carter was apprehensive that the walk would upset her insides even more. The bleeding had stopped and she wanted it to stay that way.
So instead, Carter laid back down on the couch with a heating pad on her midsection. She switched through the channels, and only stopped when she found something old and familiar. "Hug me brotha!"
An hour past.
Then two.
Carter had been nodding off by the time Mark and Jonah came home, and she only sat upright when she heard the door close shut. She stretched her arms above her head as Jonah put his forearms on the back of the couch and leaned forward. Mark made way into his bedroom.
"You feeling better?" Jonah asked.
"Yeah." Carter almost yawned as she laid back down.
"I'm glad to hear it, kid. Any idea why you hurt so much?" He asked, with a guarded interest.
"No, I just woke up and hurt. I must've ate something- or swallowed water at the pool." Carter answered, then with a smile, "Did you bring me something?"
"I sure did, girlie." Jonah grinned. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a Payday, handing it to the girl who was quick to unwrap the candy.
"Mm, thank you Jonah." Carter said. She had such a weakness for salty snacks.
"When will you be home?" Grace asked to Mark as he returned to the living room.
Mark took a final swig of his beer before crushing the can and setting it down on the table he stood by. The table had sheets of paper, keys, wallets, and a vase of dead flowers on it. Now, it was littered with aluminum.
"When would y' say, Joe?" Mark asked, turning to his friend. Then, before Jonah answered, Mark went on to Grace, "'For midnight. I want that promotion, I won't be out late."
Grace nodded as Mark pulled her into a tight hug. It was easy for Carter to forget how small Grace is when she was normally so focused on Mark. Grace was slender and gentle. Mark being so tall and broad, it only dwarfed her.
Carter was rather skinny as well, though she always thought she looked more lanky than she did slender. And she never was sure where she got her height from- being told her father was actually shorter than her mom. Grandparents, maybe? She hasn't seen much of them.
She wasn't necessarily tall, but Carter already was almost as tall as her mom, even at this young age.
"I'll see you later, dear." Mark said after kissing Grace's forehead and heading outside.
"Bye, kid." Jonah smiled as he shook Carter's shoulder lightly.
After the men left, Carter asked, "What was Mark talking about?"
"What?" Grace asked from the entrance of the hall, her arms folded lightly.
"The promotion."
"Oh, they're giving a promotion at your father's job. He and a few co-workers are being considered, so Mark's been keeping up his best appearance." Grace smiled fondly.
That would explain why Mark had been going to bed early and drinking less. This promotion must be good. Even still, Carter held her breath and counted. She couldn't stand it when Mark was referred to as, "her father". He's a better person now, but the last thing she needed was to be confused for his offspring.
