I began my daily routine. I dragged myself out of bed and took a long bath, waiting for Josh’s call. I got out, pulled on fresh pajamas, dried my hair, and went downstairs.
I found Justin laying on the couch watching television while Laura was diligently working on some stuff for her job. Luckily, she worked from home anyway, so the staying with me for three months thing wasn't a big deal.
Danny was in the game room, playing mini-basketball, pretending he was some big NBA star. Justin had really rubbed off on him.
I sighed, turned around and went back upstairs. I grabbed the cordless off the table in the hall and went out on the balcony that was off my room. I sat in my comfy little chair and waited.
You’d think I would've learned that I could sleep for an extra hour, and still be on time for Josh’s call. Every morning, he called at exactly 10:15. I would end up waiting for 45 minutes before he called, every single morning.
I glanced back at the alarm clock. 10:15. The phone rang. I smiled to myself and quickly answered the phone.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Good morning!" Josh said, the same way he greeted me every morning.
"Good morning!" I replied. I got up and walked inside to lie on the still unmade bed. I curled up and got under the blankets that were piled at the foot of the enormous sleigh bed.
"You’re smiling."
"That I am." I laid back and rested my head on Josh’s pillow.
"Why so happy?"
"Because you’re only gone for another month and a half!"
"That I am. What are you doing right now?"
"Laying in bed, on your pillow, wishing you were here to lay in bed and be lazy all day with me!"
"Sounds like heaven. I wish I were there my little angel. So, are you feeling ok?"
"Uh, a little morning sickness lately, but that’s to be expected."
"I’m sorry, Sweetie."
"You’re glad you’re not here to see me throwing up every morning!" I accused.
"You’re right," he said seriously.
"Thanks."
"Anytime. Well, they’re calling me back. But I’ll call you tonight. I love you."
"I love you, too." I hung up and closed my eyes as I relaxed on the bed. I quickly fell asleep.
I was suddenly awoken from sleep in a cold sweat. "Oh God," I whispered, grabbing my stomach. I was breathing heavily. "Please let that have just been a dream," I whispered. I sat up and waited, and the abdominal pain suddenly subsided. I breathed a sigh of relief.
That had been the worst dream so far. Ever since my strange feelings had started, I’d been having the strangest dreams. They were mostly "falling" dreams, where I would actually hit the bottom. That’s when the abdominal pain would set in and I would wake up in a cold sweat.
This one was different. I had been lying on the bed talking to Josh on the phone. The abdominal pain arose, and when I looked down, there was blood everywhere. Luckily, I could now force myself to wake up.
The feelings just continued to get worse and worse. I couldn’t go five minutes anymore without thinking something horrible was lurking just around the corner.
And it never failed that Justin would be just around the corner. He would suddenly appear in front of me and scare the shit out of me. Then, he would proceed to get pissed because I wouldn’t tell him why I was so jumpy.
Just the other day, he had scared me and I called him a bastard, under my breath, and he freaked and didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day.
So, I took the opportunity to yell at him. "How the fuck did I ever live with you?!" I had yelled. And I was right up in his face, too. "How could anyone put up with you and your constantly shitty attitude?" I kept going, but Laura came up and dragged me away before I said anything else that was too hurtful.
"You don’t mean that," she said quietly. "You don’t mean any of that, so just-"
"Like hell I don’t mean it! I mean every bit of it. He’s a pain in the ass! Always asking me what’s wrong-"
"That’s why we’re here, Holly. Josh wanted us to take care of you-"
"Well, I don’t need anyone taking care of me!" I turned around and stormed back upstairs and lay down in the bed.
And here I was again, in bed, and it was five in the afternoon. I hadn't moved all day. I reached up and touched my necklace, my promise ring.
God, why did he have to have such a stupid, time consuming job?! Why couldn’t he be normal and just work some eight to five job, and be home every night, with the exception of some overtime every now and then?
Well, that was easy enough to answer. He loved acting. It was his passion. I know that he would have left it in an instant if I asked him to, but I couldn’t do that. I would just have to deal with it!
I was walking downstairs a couple of weeks later. Justin was talking to me again, after a long talk about mood swings (I suddenly felt like I was five again, and my Daddy was giving me a lecture about giving him attitude). Laura hadn't thought twice about what happened. That night, she came up and talked like she always did before I went to sleep.
Laura suddenly ran up behind me and grabbed my shoulders. "Holly, I need a favor!"
I turned around. "…Ok…what do ya need?"
"Well, see, my best friend is getting married in a few months, and I was talking to her the other day and we got in a conversation about you and how you’re a designer."
"Yeah…"
"Well, she was wondering if you could show her come sketches of wedding gowns and maybe some bridesmaid dresses?" Laura looked at me with a pitiful look on her face.
I stared at her for a minute. Should I do it? I’d never actually designed anything very major, only worked with clothes that had already been made. "Yeah, of course," I gave in.
"Oh, thank you!" she squealed, hugging me.
"You’re welcome. Well, I should probably know some things about her. Like, what is her clothing style?"
"She’s really into modern stuff, trendy stuff. She’s not really the old-fashioned, Cinderella type."
"Ok, I think I’ve got some ideas. I better go get started." I quickly went downstairs, into the basement/studio, turned on the stereo and sat down at my huge, already cluttered desk.
The phone rang and I answered after I realized no one else was going to.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Hey, took ya a while!" Josh said, sounding almost offended.
"Is it 10:15 already?" I asked, looking around for a clock.
"No, I’m kinda late today."
"I’d say! It’s noon, Hun!"
"I know-"
"I didn’t even noticed, Baby! Calm down." I was silent for a while.
"You’re preoccupied," he declared.
"Uh huh." I was busy sketching away on my scratch paper.
"Very preoccupied."
"Uh huh."
"With what?"
"Stuff," I mumbled.
"I’m offended!"
"I’m sorry."
"Holly!" he practically yelled.
I sighed. "What?"
"What are you doing?"
"Laura’s friend wanted me to sketch some wedding dresses ‘cause she’s getting married in a few months, and Laura mentioned to her that I’m a designer."
"That’s great!"
"Not so much. I’ve never sketched anything that was so important! I did a few things for the tour, but other than that-"
"You can do it! I know you can. But in the meantime, I better go, so we can get these shots in and go to lunch. Call ya tonight!"
"Got it. Talk to you later."
"Bye." We hung up.
I quickly got back to work.
I worked non-stop for two weeks. I hardly slept, which I know was very bad. The only reason I ate was because Justin insisted on watching me until I ate a full meal. I knew I should’ve been eating, considering I was pregnant, but I was so excited. In two weeks, I got two different wedding gown sketches and a two bridesmaid dresses.
The first dress was a simple halter that went straight to the floor, with a tiny train. It had an empire waist and above the waistline was an embroidered floral pattern.
The second dress was a halter that crisscrossed in the front and hooked behind the neck. It flowed out a little – but not like a ball gown – and its train was a few feet long.
The bridesmaid dresses were great, if I do say so myself. The first was sort of a strapless dress, but it was also a halter. The halter part, from just above the chest, was sheer. It had an empire waist, and above the waistline, there beads everywhere.
The second was a two-piece set. The top was sleeveless, with a square-cut neck and floral embroidery. The back was made to be tied up like a corset. The skirt was just a simple ball gown skirt with a little taffeta underneath to make it flow out.
I was in love with my sketches. I ran upstairs immediately to show Laura.
She was in awe. "Wow!" she murmured. "I love the colors, too!" she said, running her hand over the bridesmaid sketches. The first dress was maroon, the second a deep purple, almost plum color.
"Thanks. Uh, do you wanna fax them to her, or something?"
"Yeah, that’d be great," she mumbled, her eyes still fixated on the sketches.
"There’s a fax machine downstairs in the studio. You can go on down there and fax them."
"Thank you so much, Hol!" She hugged me.
"Anytime." I walked over to the couch and collapsed next to Justin. "Hi."
"Hi, how’s it goin’?" he asked, laying me down, my head in his lap.
"I’m hungry," I said decisively.
"You shoulda eaten more! I don’t want to say I told-"
"Then don’t." I got up and walked toward the stairs. "I’m tired, too, so I think I shall go lay down upstairs."
"Josh called!" Justin yelled after me. "He said to call him back before six! And dinner should be ready around seven!"
"Got it, boss!"
I grabbed the cordless and dialed Josh’s cell number on the way to the bed. I plopped down and waited for him to answer.
Two rings.
Three rings.
A half a ring, and then, "There you are!"
"Here I am!" I said cheerfully. "I woulda talked to you earlier, but Justin chose not to tell me you were on the phone! Bastard-"
"Don’t talk like that! Little ears."
"She can’t hear me yet!"
"You never know," he challenged. "Anyway, taking a break?"
"I actually just finished four sketches. Lor went to fax them to Madison, her friend. She seemed really excited about them. I wasn't all that crazy about the wedding gowns, but the bridesmaid dresses were pretty good," I explained matter-of-factly.
All of a sudden, I was hit with the most excruciating pain I had ever felt. I doubled over, barely able to breathe. I somehow got out, "I’ll call you back," and hung up the phone before I fell onto the floor, curled up in a fetal position.
