FULL NOVELXO Chapter 102: Nausea
"What's wrong, honey?" Ethan asked as he and Samantha were eating together at the hotel's buffet restaurant during lunch on a weekday.
He easily saw his wife frown, right in the middle of eating her tomato and cheese salad.
"Sam?" Ethan asked again. He noticed how Samantha swallowed with difficulty again and again.
Samantha still did not answer. Instead, she got up, covering her mouth, and acted to heave.
Without saying a word, Samantha rushed to the restaurant restroom and Ethan followed behind her hastily.
"Sam? Honey? Are you okay?" He called as he walked briskly after her.
Ethan even dared to go inside the ladies' bathroom, excusing himself as he entered.
The next thing he saw was his wife, vomiting in the toilet bowl in one cubicle and that utterly crushed his chest.
"Oh, god, Sam. What happened?" He approached, caressing her back as she practically threw up her entire stomach contents.
When Samantha stood back up, she leaned against the cubicle divider, panting and her eyes watering.
Ethan was quick to take out his handkerchief and wipe on her face. His brows were drawn together, worried for his wife's sake. "Sam, tell me what's wrong? Please."
After catching her breath, Samantha finally answered with her voice shaking, "I'm - I'm fine." She flushed down her puke and further wiped her mouth before explaining, "I'm probably at the peak of my hormones so I'm starting to feel weird."
"Weird?" Ethan asked while raising a brow.
Samantha first left the restroom with her husband and as they made their way back to their table, she explained, "Many women go through nausea and vomiting in the first trimester of their pregnancy." She forced a smile before looking up to Ethan's concerned face and added, "I was like this with Kenzie and Kyle."
Settling himself back in his seat, Ethan asked, "Is this frequent? How often will you feel sick?"
"Mmmm," I can't really tell Ethan. She shook her head and said, "I don't understand it, really."
With a heavy sigh, she revealed, "It depends on the food that I eat. There are general DOs and DONTS, but really, sometimes there is no telling what I can keep down."
It was because Samantha lost her appetite after having thrown up that Ethan became overly concerned. He did not end their lunch meeting until Samantha would get food inside her stomach. The man practically asked the server to bring in all available food at the buffet for his wife to choose.
In the end, she settled for a newly whipped Italian carbonara with only eggs as its sauce.
Seeing his wife eat heartily, Ethan finally relaxed. He asked, "Is that comforting."
Samantha nodded and answered, "Strangely comforting. It's warm, and it's encouraging my happy hormones."
In the next two days, Samantha could not count the number of times she ate the same dish. Even at home, Ethan requested the same kind of pasta for her.
One morning, Ethan eagerly prepared the carbonara for Samantha's breakfast. He happily came out from the kitchen and said, "Here you go, honey. Your favorite pasta."
Seeing the carbonara in front of her, Samantha forced a smile and looked at her little girl. She asked, "Kenzie, do you want pasta?"
"Sure, Mommy. That looks yummy!" Kenzie eagerly reached across the table and grabbed onto Samantha's plate. "Kyle and I will share this."
"Um." Ethan scratched his head and asked, "You got tired of the pasta?"
With a frown, Samantha answered, "Um. Yesterday, hon. At the hotel, I threw up the pasta." she jerked mildly and told, "I'm not eating carbonara anymore."
"Okay, so. What do you want to eat?" Ethan probed. "I'll ask our cook to prepare something else."
Taking a deep sigh, Samantha answered, "I - I honestly don't know."
After being presented with five various dishes, Samantha felt obliged to eat.
She had a complete grimace as she chewed down a fish stew, but her nose was complaining about the smell.
The entire time, Ethan felt pained, watching his wife struggled through her breakfast.
He suggested for their cook to prepare another dish, but Samantha refused. She was getting late for work and she did not have the time to be choosy.
Getting up to the stairs, Samantha repeatedly acted to heave. She just tried to stop it by covering her mouth.
Entering the master bedroom, Samantha started taking heavy breaths. She leaned against the wall of their room, fanning her face.
"Relax, honey." Ethan swiftly grabbed Samantha's favorite lavender essential oil and allowed her to savor its scent. He massaged her back and said, "Relax, Sam. Relax." Samantha's eyes began to water. She earnestly wanted to relax, but her gut was telling her something else. A tear fell down her face before she said, "I'm sorry, hon." She threw up right then and there, standing on their wooden tiled floor with her breakfast and stomach acid on their feet.
Feeling completely sick, Samantha struggled to the bathroom, spitting every spew that was left in her mouth. She brushed her teeth repeatedly before making it to their bed. She cried as she went under the sheets, curling into a ball.
After Ethan returned with a maid to clean up the mess, he stayed with Samantha in the bed and caressed her hair. He asked, "I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry."
Samantha nodded, still weeping. She replied, "It's okay, hon. It's just the hard part during the first trimester." She forced a smile, looking at Ethan's face before adding, "I'll get through this." As days went by, Samantha's morning sickness got worse. Oftentimes, she would end up reporting late for work.
In fact, one evening, there was no sleeping at all for the couple. Samantha was feeling so unwell overnight, that she could not get up from the bed, always wanting to puke once she tried. Ethan decided to skip work the next morning and also announced the same for his wife.
He wiped Samantha with a wet towel and freshened her up while lying in bed. He played some soothing music and lay next to her. Caressing her back and face repeatedly, Ethan said, "Take a rest, Sam. Let's rest together and eat together when you wake up, okay."
Samantha nodded, feeling her eyes helplessly fall. She yawned and said, "Thank you, hon. Thank you for being here for me."
Ethan pulled her into a tighter embrace and told, "I'll make it up to you, this time, Sam. The best way I can. I may have to go to work on some of your worse days, but know that you are always in my thoughts." With Ethan's scent next to her and his loving embrace, Samantha found a good rest early in the morning, waking up refreshed right before lunch.
She looked up, finding him asleep, and she smiled. She asked, "Hon, how can I ever repay you?"
Apparently, Ethan was awake. He cleared his throat and while maintaining his eyes closed, he asked, "Hon, I really want to... eat you." Pouting her lips, she weakly answered, "Oh."