Unrequited

Seeing Double - Late October, 2003

John stood in the bedroom of his LA home, trying to pack his suitcase for the fall tour of the US with Duran. Arianna was somewhere in the house, gathering things for him to pack. She had been rather short with him as of late because she wasn't feeling well. In fact, shortly after Robert Palmer had died in Paris in late September, she had started feeling sick. She was nauseous a lot, sometimes actually throwing up, and she was often so tired that she could barely function. It was very flu-like, but she thought it was way too early in the season for it to be the flu. So, her not feeling well was keeping her from joining John on tour, which only made her more miserable because they were going to be in Philly in two weeks.

"Here they are," she said in a sing-song voice as she entered the room.

She walked over and handed John the stack of books he had put aside earlier to pack in his suitcase. He took the books from her, along with a kiss, and put them on top of his clothes. He closed the lid, flipped the latches down, and locked the case. He looked up at Arianna in time to see her put her hand over her mouth, looking like she was going to puke.

"You okay?" he asked, watching her intently. She lowered her hand as she nodded.

"Damn nausea is the worst," she complained as she sat on the bed. "Sorry I can't go with you," she added with a sulky pout.

"Stop it. You've said that about a million times now. You're going to call the doctor for an appointment tomorrow, right?" he confirmed, and she nodded. "And you'll come out as soon as you decide you're no longer sick?" he asked with a smirk, and she swatted at him.

He loved to tease her, but she was simply not in a teasing mood as of late. He watched as she again put her hand to her mouth, but that time, she got up and bolted into the bathroom, having another bout of dry heaves since she had emptied her stomach earlier. She cursed as the wave passed, wiping her mouth with a towel as she returned to the bedroom. She flopped onto her back on the bed and then looked up at John. He smiled at her and then came over and laid down beside her.

"You know, if you didn't have an IUD, I would swear you were pregnant," he teased as he lifted the edge of her tee shirt and started to kiss circles around her belly button.

"Don't even say that in jest," she scolded, making him laugh.

"Why would it be so horrible?" he asked, and she scoffed at him.

"John," she started, looking at him incredulously. "I am forty-one. You are forty-three. A baby right now would make us feel way older than we actually are," she explained, but he mocked her scowling face with his own playful one.

"I am not old," he declared, and she scoffed again.

"But a baby will make you feel old," she scolded. "You forget what it's like, don't you?"

"No, Allegra is only two," he reminded.

"It would be a terrible time for that, wouldn't it? What with you going off on tour and me opening more and more Taylored Fields stores all the time. Pregnancy would really throw a monkey wrench into things for us right now," she argued.

"Ah, come on, sweetheart. Just one more time. For me," he taunted, fluttering his eyelashes at her in an attempt to make her laugh.

"And that right there is why I have the bloody IUD. So you can't sweet talk me into another baby," she retorted, making him laugh. "Come on, you still have packing to do before I take you to the airport," she prodded, patted his leg, and sat up. He sat up beside her and pulled her into a kiss.

"I wouldn't mind, is all I'm saying," he clarified, and she rolled her eyes.

He got to his feet, grabbed his laptop bag, and slipped his Apple laptop into it. Arianna watched him as he did it and slowly realized he wasn't kidding. Another baby probably would make him happy, even if his being home for the delivery would be difficult because of the tour.