When Jake called out to her, Jessica couldn’t help but gag again.”

    The next second, Brian came rushing out of the kitchen, still holding a spat and wearing his apron. “Jessica-”

    84%

    The smell of cooking oil still clinging to his clothes made Jessica feel even worse. Without thinking, she looked up and said, “Don’te over here!”

    Brian stopped dead in his tracks and stood a few steps away, watching her with concern. “Jake, help your mom by patting her back. I’m going to wash up first.”

    “Okay, Daddy!” Jacob replied loudly, stretching up on his tiptoes to pat Jessica’s back.

    Jessica refused. “No, don’t. I might throw up on you.”

    She hadn’t been paying attention earlier and had already gotten some on herself. Jessica really didn’t want to get clean little Jacob dirty too, but Jacob didn’t hesitate to respond.

    “It’s okay, Mom, throw up all you want. You took care of me the same way when I was sick!” Jake still remembered those few times he’d had bad colds and was throwing up.

    Jessica would carry him straight to the doctor, and even when he threw up all over her during the ride, she never put him down.

    Jessica hadn’t been disgusted with him back then, so there was no way he would be disgusted with her.

    Jessica was surprised he still remembered those moments, and warmth spread through her chest. ‘At least all those years of caring for him left some kind of mark, she thought. But it was too little, toote.

    The

    memory of that photo she’d just seen hit her again, and another wave of nausea rolled through her. ‘Brian, how could you?‘ she thought bitterly.

    Brian had just finished washing his face and hands when he rushed back to find Jessica throwing up violently again. “Jessica, smell this,” he said, holding a pregnancy nausea relief spray he’d bought after researching online right under her

    nose.

    Jessica was too sick and exhausted to argue with him. When she saw something being offered to her, she immediately. took a deep breath. The cool, fresh scent filled her nostrils and made her feel considerably better.

    Seeing that it worked, Brian quickly ced the spray in Jessica’s hands, then scooped her up and carried her to the clean couch nearby. When he noticed her clothes were dirty, he immediately grabbed some tissues to wipe them clean while giving Jake instructions.

    “Jake, go get your mom some clean clothes,” Brian said.

    “Okay.” Jacob immediately turned and ran toward Jessica’s bedroom.

    Jessica wanted to stop him but couldn’t react fast enough, iso /ishe just let it go. She looked down at Brianb, /bwho was carefully cleaning the mess off her body, and for a moment her expression wentpletely nk.

    ‘Brian, do you really not mind this?‘ she wondered. ‘Or have you been pretending this whole time, just putting bon /ban act for me? But could someone really be that good at acting?‘

    Jessica didn’t know and couldn’t figure it out.

    “There, all clean now. Jessica, you can take your clothes off now,” Brian said. He was worried she’d be ufortable wearing the dirty clothes, so he’d cleaned her up as quickly as possible.

    “Okay,” Jessica replied weakly, then let Brian help her out of her jacket.

    Brian took the jacket and put it in the dirtyundry basket in the bathroom, then came back out with a broom and mop bto /b

    clean up the room.

    “Mom, here’s a clean shirt,” Jacob said, running back with the fresh clothes and handing them to Jessica.

    But Jessica didn’t take them. Instead, she stared at Brian, who had crouched down to examine the mess she’d made on the floor. “What are you doing?” she asked with a frown..

    ‘Why would anyone want to look at vomit up close? It has to smell awful,‘ Jessica thought.

    “I’m trying to see what you threw up, Jessica. Are you having trouble keeping this food down? Is that why you’re getting sick?” Brian examined the vomit, mentally noting the food he could still identify, then looked up at her.

    Jessica stared at him. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t sick because of the food itself, but because of the reason

    behind him bringing it.

    AD