Our Love Story (rolivia)

Chapter 16

10:45 AM

"Alright ladies and gentlemen...we are roughly five miles out to sea, and the water here is roughly 100 feet deep. There are a few rules you need to abide by. Stay close to the boat, don't touch the fish, and don't take off your snorkle, fins, and mask until you're back on the boat. We're going to be here for an hour, ok?"

"Ok." We say in unison.

"I want everyone to gear up and hop in the water." Liv and I do as we're told, and luckily for us, the water is quite warm. The first fish I see, is a fish that looks like Dori from Finding Nemo. Such a pretty fish. A few minutes later...I bump into a jelly fish. The jelly fish wraps it's tentacles around my arm and stings me.

"AHHHHHHHH! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Oh god. Fuck!" I yell after spitting out the snorkle. I start swimming back to the boat, Liv hot on my heels.

"Amanda...Amanda baby. Are you ok?" I shake my head no and show her the jelly fish that's still attached to my arm.

"Oh god. Antonio! Antonio!"

"What? What is it girls?"

"My wife just got stung by a portuguese man o' war. Can you help her back on the boat please?" Antonio helps me onto the boat. I lie down on one of the cushions and let out a groan. Liv drops to her knees next to me.

"Amanda baby...I'm going to remove the portuguese man o' war from your arm, ok?" I shake my head ok.

"Ok. Antonio...I'm going to need a heavy duty pair of gloves and a stick please. I'm also going to need some salt water and a..." Before Liv can finish her sentence, I throw up all over the floor by her feet.

"Hurts...hurts so bad. Make it better baby. Please." I mumble.

"I'm going to make it better baby. Just hang in there, ok?"

"Ok." I mumble. After Antonio gets Liv a pair of gloves and a stick, Liv puts on the pair of gloves, grabs the stick, and starts removing the portuguese man o' war from my body. A couple of minutes later, she gets it removed and after tossing it back into the ocean, she slowly dumps a bucket full of salt water onto my welts. She then dumps a bucket full of hot water onto the welts. The pain slowly starts to subside.

"Better." I mumble before throwing up again. This time on Liv's chest and arms.

"Oh god...I'm so sorry baby. I...fuck...fuck...fuck. Can't help it. So sorry." I mumble.

"It's ok baby. I'm going to go rinse off in the water. I'll be back in a bit." Liv says.

"Ok." I mumble. A couple of minutes later...everyone is back on the boat and we're heading towards shore.

"Hello...my name is Alex Nicholas...I am a doctor. Would you mind if I took a look at your wife?" Alex asks Liv. Liv shakes her head no. Dr. Nicholas drops to a knee next to me. Careful to avoid the vomit.

"Can I sit up please?" I ask Dr. Nicholas. She shakes her head yes and helps me sit up. Liv sits down next to me and wraps her arm around me. I smile at her and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"On a scale of 1-10...how's the pain?"

"Five." I mumble.

"That's good. I'm goin to take your pulse now, ok?"

"Ok." I mumble. A minute later...

"Your pulse is slighly elevated at 104 beats per minute. Nothing to really worry about. You're breathing is slightly shallow, which worries me. Lucky for you...I happen to have a fresh oxygen tank and nose canula in my bag." Dr. Nicholas says. After retreiving the oxygen tank and nose canula, she puts the nose canula in my nose and turns the oxygen tank on. She turns the dial to three litres per minute. I take a breath in through my nose and out through my mouth.

"Better." I mumble.

"Good. I'm going to continue to monitor you until we get back to shore. You're wife did a very good job taking care of you after you got stung...are you a doctor ma'am?" Dr. Nicholas asks Liv.

"No...Amanda and I are detectives for the special victims unit in Manhattan."

"My wife is a detective for the special victims unit in Boston."

"That's cool. Amanda's been working for us for two years and I've been with the unit for 15 years." Liv says.

"15 years?"

"Yeah." Liv says.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Liv says.

35 Minutes Later...11:29 AM

Once safely back on shore, Dr. Nicholas removes the canula from my nose, grabs the oxygen tank and her medical bag and bids us farewell.

"Can we go back to the hotel please?" I ask Liv.

"Sure baby." Liv says.

A Few Minutes Laater...11:45 AM

Liv sets me down on the floor by our bed. After grabbing a few towels from the bathroom, she lays them down on the bed, and then she picks me up and lays me down on the towels. She quickly removes my board shorts and bikini top and then she starts drying me off. Once I'm dried off, she puts a clean pair of boxer briefs, a clean pair of shorts, a clean sports bra, and a clean wifebeater on me. She removes the towels and tosses them towards the bathroom.

"What a day." I mumble.

"I agree. How's the pain?"

"Manageable." I mumble.

"That's good. Are you still sick to the stomach?"

"No." I mumble.

"That's good. I suggest we take a nap. After we nap, we can go get some food and walk around on the beach if you want."

"Ok." I mumble as I close my eyes. A few minutes later, I drift to sleep.