Page 39 of The Golden Goalie

I breathe a sigh of relief. It was a moment of weakness that made me tell him, and I hate myself for it. “Thank you for everything.” I turn to go back inside.

“What are you going to do about your car?” he asks before I can go inside.

I’d conveniently forgotten about my dead car. Suddenly, that pizza isn’t settling very well anymore. My mouth begins to water, and I know what’s coming. “I’ll ask if I can borrow my mom’s. Night, Rico. Thank you.” I close the door before running to the bathroom.Ugh. Why was pizza so good going down and so awful coming back up?

I drag myself to bed and crash. A few minutes later, my phone dings. I pick it up and stare at it.No, he didn’t.I check my bank account and sure enough; yes, he did. I text him immediately.

Me-you did not just put $5,000 in my bank account

He texts back immediatly

Rico- course not

Rico- There’s a limit of $5,000 a day. That’s why I didn’t send more.

Me- don’t you dare send more

He’s silent.

Me- Rico!

Rico- we’ll see

Me-I don’t even know what to say.

I wait a minute before sending another text.

Me-thank you. You really didn’t need to do that

Rico-I know. I wanted to.

Me-thank you

Rico-you already said that

He sends a winking emoji, and I go to sleep with a smile on my face for the first time in a while. The next morning, I wake up feeling like I have every other morning. I spend the first few minutes hung over the toilet before I make my way back to my room. Curiosity has me digging through the basket. At this stage in the game, I’m ready to try anything and everything. I grab the spray bottle and notice it has a small piece of paper stuck to it that I didn’t notice last night.

Apply liberally over stomach after showering.

Huh.I put that back down and dig through the basket for those nausea bracelets. I read the back of the box. I shrug and take both of them out of the box and slip one onto each wrist, making sure the little bead is on the right pressure point. Next, I dig out the vitamin bottles. One is a prenatal vitamin and the other is a bottle of B6 vitamins. There’s another little note on this one.

Take a fourth of a pill every time you feel sick—up to three a day...I think. There was some discrepancies with this one. But some women swear by it.

I feel myself smiling at his words. I dig through the basket and pull out the lemonheads and turn the bag over.

The tartness of the lemon is supposed to help keep the gagging sensation away. Never been a lemon fan myself but hopefully you are.

After grabbing a baggie from the kitchen, I fill it with saltines, ginger candies, and lemonheads. Next, I fill the water bottle to the top and take note of how much I need to drink and when.I throw the soft gray sweater over my tee and snag the Kindle before grabbing my bag and phone and heading to the kitchen. “Hey Mom, would it be okay if I borrow your car today? I’ll get mine figured out.”

“Of course, Sweetie. Just watch the front tire; it’s been low lately. Oh, and I think it’s out of gas.”

“Okay.” I mentally make a note. “See you, Mom.”

“Did you pack something for lunch or eat breakfast?” I scowl because I was going to do better. “Here. Eat this; at least it’s something.”

“I’m not going to take your toast, Mom.”

“Take it, Baby. I’ll make more. Have a good day today.”

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