Sweet Lantern

Chapter 29

Alice

The next morning, I'm exhausted. I wake up late and reach for Darry, but he's not there. The clock says it's almost noon. He's already at the farm, he must've wanted to let me sleep in after my episode last night.

I drag myself to the kitchen and look for something easy to grab for lunch. A ham sandwich and some apple slices are waiting in the refrigerator on a small plate with a note from Darry. I hope you slept well, babe. I didn't wanna wake you. Eat this and feel better. I love you.

My husband never ceases to amaze me with just how sweet and thoughtful he is.

I grab the plate and sit down to eat, surprised by how famished I was. When the apple slices and sandwich have disappeared into my belly, I get back up to grab a tangerine and sit down to peel it. I finish up and decide I need to see Darry.

I hear his voice before I see him. When I turn into the barn, I see Darry and his dad leaning up against one of the horse stall doors, talking to someone that I can't see yet. I slide up behind Darry and wrap my arms around his body. He jumps and turns to me, so we're facing each other, he leans down to put his mouth to mine and then asks, "Hey, how are you feeling?" Concern fills his eyes.

I lean into him, laying my head on his chest and he begins to smooth the back of my hair with his hand, kissing the top of my head. "I'm ok, I guess. Thank you for lunch, it was exactly what I needed." I look up at him and he kisses my nose. "I'm sorry I wasn't up to cook your breakfast." I say, looking down at my feet. Darry puts his hand under my chin and raises my face to look at him. "Babe, I'm a big boy, I appreciate you cooking for me, but you don't have to. I can manage when you need the extra sleep."

I realize I haven't said anything to Mr. Williams, who's talking to my daddy behind the stall door and watching us out of the corner of his eye, smiling at how wonderful a man his son is.
"Hi. What do we have going on behind the door?" I ask, standing on my tiptoes to peek over. My dad is laying fresh hay, spreading it around with his feet.

"Do we have a new boarder coming today?" I ask the guys, looking around from one to the other and back again to my daddy. "Yes, ma'am. A family is bringing in a pony that they purchased for their daughter's 10th birthday. They should be here within the hour." he says, winking at me. "Your momma is in the office talking to them now, I believe."

I have always appreciated how my parents handle themselves; their marriage, this farm, us... just everything. They have a perfect handle on how things should be done, they know each other's strengths and weaknesses and they complement those for each other very well. Take the farm for instance; daddy's a hard worker, he likes to have his hands in things. So, he runs the farm, hands-on. He takes care of the barns, the horses, greeting the customers and taking in the new boarders.

Mom is usually behind the office door, sitting in her chair doing the office work, running things logistically. She talks to any potential clients, she handles promotion of the farm, and she keeps things moving. The Williams have the same set-up at their farm, but their operations are a bit more complicated and involved, so they have more employees than we do.

Mom hired someone last year that comes in from time to time just to give us extra hands on deck. It's a young man that comes by once a week, sometimes more, depending on how badly he's needed. He helps bathe the animals, he runs them and feeds them. If there's a show, he prepares the horses that are set to compete.

"Hey, where are you?" Darry's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. "You OK?"

"I'm OK. I'm just not feeling well, I guess. I think I'm gonna go lay down. See you at dinner?" I ask him, a little disappointed that he can't be with me right now.

"I was actually going to come hang out with you. We got the big stuff done earlier this morning. We've just been hanging around waiting for the truck to arrive. They can handle it from here."

He hooks his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him, my head laying on his shoulder. We walk back to the house like this and when we get to the porch, Darry reaches down to swoop me up in his arms, carrying me through the door. When we get inside, I feel my stomach turn and jump out of his arms, running for the bathroom.

Darry's right behind me, matching me step for step, when I bend down in front of the toilet, I feel his hands wrap around my hair, holding it back for me. "It's OK. I'm here, babe." He says, soothing me as best as he can.

When I've successfully evacuated the contents of my stomach, he hands me a warm wet rag to wipe my face with. I stand up to put it in the hamper and he sweeps me up in his arms again, taking me to set me gently on the bed, sitting down next to me. "You need to rest, Alley. Let me handle anything that needs to be done around here today, alright?" Worry darkening the features of his beautiful face. I put my hand to his cheek, and he leans into it, putting his hand on top of mine and turning his mouth to kiss my open palm. "I love you so much."

When my eyes flutter open again, it's dark outside. I sit up slowly, feeling a little dizzy and look around the space of our room. It's been cleaned, spotless; how I would normally clean it. I turn to the side of the bed and put my feet down on the floor, sliding my body to the edge of the bed. When I stand up, my head feels swimmy, so I immediately sit back down, trying to balance myself, gripping the edge of the mattress.
I think about calling for Darry, but quickly realize that I can't raise my voice without adding to the swimmy feeling. I get up again, slower this time, and make my way to the bedroom door.

My stomach growls as I turn into the livingroom. Darry's asleep sitting up on the couch, his bare feet propped up on the coffee table, a throw blanket covering his arms that are firmly crossed over his chest. I lean against the door frame and take in the sight before me. It's amusing to me because that blanket that looks so small on him, covers my entire body, easily.

When I bend down to kiss his forehead, he stirs under my touch, reaching up to wrap both of his arms around me. He pulls me down onto his lap and asks me how I'm feeling. I just lean against him and take in his scent. He always smells so great. It's intoxicating to me.

I sit up and look around the house. He's cleaned the whole thing, it's absolutely perfect. "Someone has been busy in here while I was sleeping. Did my mom come over?" I tease him.

He grins at me, knowing what I'm doing and says, "Yep. She did a good job, huh?" I laugh and he hugs me to him.

"Are you hungry? I'm starving."

"Yeah, I think I could eat. My stomach is OK now, I was just a little dizzy when I got up."

I stand up to go into the kitchen but Darry's right behind me. He grabs my arm to stop me, and says, "Oh no ma'am, I will not have you standing over a stove right now. I'm taking you out. What are you in the mood for?"