Love Leaps: A Short Story by Karen Jerabek (new ebook reader txt) 📗

feel better. Iknow I must look awful. I feel awful. It isn’t because of the fluor some bug, like everyone in my office believes. It’s muchmore severe thanthat.

Walking to the parking lot, my headstarts pounding and I’m feeling faint and nauseous. Luckily, Imanage to get in my car before I pass out in the middle of the lot.I turn the key in the ignition and put my head on the steeringwheel for a moment. I don’t even know if I can make it home. But,what else can I do? Tears well up in my eyes and I choke down apitiful wail. I quickly pull myself together, trying to keep theemotional floodgates from bursting wide open. I seriously can’tfall apart in my car while I’m parked right outside my officebuilding. I need to just focus on getting the hell out of here so Ican go to bed. Wiping my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt, I take abreath and slide on my sunglasses. Then, I pull out of the parkinglot and pray for green lights.

I don’t quite remember how I got homebut I’m here, at my safe haven. The street is quiet. Everyone isstill at work and won’t be home for a few more hours. Maybe my luckis changing. Probably not. I grab my gel eye mask from the fridge,and a bottle of water. Popping my meds for my migraine, I collapseinto my sofa. I try to clear my mind so that I can rest, but mythoughts are racing.

You know, this morning I woke upthinking it was going to be a pretty good day. I had woken up tenminutes early, stretched and lounged in my bed until the alarm wentoff. The radio station was playing one of my favorite songs and Ihopped out of bed, ready to get this Friday started. I turned themusic up and sang along in the shower. Friday’s actually myfavorite day of the week. It’s the last day of the workweek, andthere’s so much anticipation about what the weekend will hold.Anything is possible on a Friday.

As I stepped out of my house, almosteveryone I saw on the block seemed to be smiling. People’s spiritshave lifted now that spring is finally here and our long, drearywinter seems to be behind us. I waved to a couple neighbors as weclimbed into our cars and started the daily commute.

The morning seemed so innocent andfull of possibilities. I even managed to make it to work early andwas able to sit down, enjoy my coffee and read a couple articlesbefore starting on my inbox. Before I knew it, it was pastlunchtime. I had been working hard all morning, slowly reducing thehuge slush pile in my inbox. Since it was such a gorgeous day, Ithought that I would walk down to the deli to get a sandwich.Usually, I just nuke something in the microwave but I didn’t wantto be stuck inside all day. Walking past the store fronts, Iglanced in the window at Bailey’s Fine Jewelry store. The sunlightmade all of the diamonds, gemstones and crystal gifts sparkle andcast rainbows all around. There was one vase in particular thatreally caught my eye. I walked up to the window to take a closerlook and that one decision changed my life forever. And, I’m notsaying that in a melodramatic sort of way. It really changed mylife forever. My whole world proceeded to fall apart, because ofthat vase.

“Stupid vase,” I mutter.Good Lord, my head is throbbing. I think I need another dose of mymeds. The first dose hasn’t touched the pain. People that haven’thad migraines don’t understand what kind of excruciating pain amigraine causes. They think that it’s just a bad headache. If theyonly knew what we suffer with, they’d be more sympathetic! I have aknot in my shoulder that is shooting pain up my neck into my head,or the other way around. I can’t really tell. The pain iscentralized behind my left eye. It feels like someone is pounding aspike into my skull. What makes it really bad is that the painisn’t consistent. Each pounding sensation causes a bolt of intensepain that makes me wince. Then the pain eases slightly beforestarting all over again.

Realize that my eye mask has gottenwarm, I consider trying an ice compress. Reluctantly, I drag myselfoff the sofa and walk very slowly to the kitchen. I try not to makeany sudden movements because that might trigger extra poundingsfrom this hellish jackhammer migraine. The clinking of ice cubesgoing into the compress sounds horribly loud. I get anothermigraine pill and head back to my sofa for refuge where I settleback into the cushions and rest the compress on my forehead. It’stoo cold to put directly on my eye but the cold sensation seems tohelp reduce the intensity of the throbbing and it’s numbing thepain a little.

My eyelids start to feel heavy. I justwant to stop thinking about today and just fall asleep. Luckily,I’m so exhausted that I quickly fall asleep as soon as I close myeyes.

A very loud and very annoying buzzingsound wakes me from my sleep. It takes me a few seconds to decipherthat hideous noise because I'm so groggy. Kate must be here. Idon’t know why she’s ringing that buzzer so many times though.Dragging myself off the sofa, I wrap a blanket around my shouldersand stumble toward the door. Surprisingly, my migraine seems to begoing away.

I open the door and my face drops.It’s not Kate. It’s Michael. He just stares at me for a second.Just from his expression, I know that I really must look like apitiful mess.

“Look, Meg, we need totalk,” he says.

“We have absolutelynothing to talk about,” I say and try to shut the door, but hereaches out and holds it open.

“I hate that it happenedlike this. I wanted to break it to you gently,” he says.

“You're unbelievable. Getout of my face!”

“When you calm down,please call me so that we can straighten this out,” he says. Theslight crack in his voice gives away his annoyance with me, but Idon’t care.

“I hope that your life iscursed with pain