Migraine from Hell

"I hope so. And I can't promise that won't happen in your car, so if you just want to take us over to our truck, we can..."

"Nonsense. I'm taking you home. You can't sit out here for hours waiting for this to pass," Bailey said. "You just let me know when you can walk again, okay?"

Leif stood up, his eyes still shut tightly. He took a long, slow breath then told her he thought he could walk.

Bailey steered him around the mess, and Leif was aware of what she was doing.

"Please don't be disgusted, but Lexi would take care of that for me if you weren't here with us."

Normally, the thought of a dog...doing that...would have given her the willies. But she was so moved with compassion to help this young man that the thought never crossed her mind.

"She seems amazing," Bailey offered.

"I'd never have made it without her," Leif said.

Somehow Lexi knew he was saying something nice about her and barked again.

"Good girl," her owner/master said. Leif thought of himself as her partner, but that word seemed a little too much so 'owner' was fine with him, but he preferred 'human' to anything else.

"We're here. Let me get your door for you, okay?" Bailey told him as she finally let go of his arm.

"Can we both ride in back?" Leif asked.

"Oh. Sure. I don't know why I didn't think of that."

She opened the door and waited for Lexi to move, but she wasn't going anywhere until the right person told her to.

"Up!" Leif said, and just like that, the Lab was in the seat waiting for him.

"Can you get your seatbelt?" Bailey asked once her human passenger was also inside.

Leif's head was already back resting on the rear of the seat, so Bailey began reaching around him for the belt just as he reached, too. When his hand grabbed hers he apologized.

"Sorry. We barely even know each other, huh?" Leif said, still trying to be funny.

Lexi was directly in front of his face and turned to look just in case he opened his eyes. He didn't but she was now fully aware that the woman at the bakery was right. He was a very nice looking young man.

Bailey laughed at his attempt at humor then told him she didn't mind.

"Don't worry. I won't try and kiss you," Leif said as he forced a painful smile.

Bailey had no idea why she said it, and regretted it as soon as she did, but she immediately told him, "I don't think I'd mind that too much, either."

"Flirting will get you anywhere," Leif said as she clicked the belt into the buckle.

As she stood up, Bailey said, "You only got a quick peek at me. When you can see again, you'll realize I'm a whole lot older than you think, and you won't be saying that."

"Oh, I saw you," Leif told her. "And you didn't look anything but beautiful, so..."

"Lord have mercy. You're also delusional," Bailey said with a nervous little laugh before closing his door.

"If you'll give me your address, I'll put it into my GPS app," she said once she was upfront and ready to start the car.

Leif gave it to her then thanked her again.

"Don't be ridiculous. Not helping would have been unconscionable."

As bad as he felt, and Leif was feeling extremely bad, he still tried to make conversation. And as long as he didn't move at all, he felt like he could avoid another incident—inside her vehicle.

"So while I'm flirting..." he began.

"Yes?" Bailey replied as she looked at him in the mirror.

"Are you married?"

"No. Not any more," she said very quietly.

When Leif didn't reply, Bailey asked, "You?"

"No. Lexi's the only girl in my life."

His dog moved closer then laid down on his lap.

"She's beautiful," Bailey told him.

"Yes, she is. She's everything to me."

"I'm glad you have her," Bailey replied. "I'm glad you both have each other."

"Yeah. Me, too," Leif told her as he gently stroked his best friend's fur.

"I don't mean to be unsociable, but I know you don't feel like talking, so I'll stop bothering you," Bailey said a moment later.

"You're not bothering me. You're being...amazing."

"I'm just glad I could help."

A few minutes later, the car made its way around an S-turn, and when it did, Leif felt a wave of nausea hit. He took several slow, deep breaths and held it together.

"Sorry. I'll slow down on any other turns," a very apologetic Bailey told him when she heard him.

"Thank you," Leif said very quietly.

Neither of them spoke again until Bailey pulled into the apartment complex where Leif lived.

"We're here. Let me come around and get the door for you, okay?" she said.

As she helped him get out Leif told her he'd never had a beautiful woman open a door for him before.

"You still haven't. It's just me, remember?" Bailey told him in that same minimizing way.

Lexi jumped out and took her spot on his left heel and waited for them to move.

"Which number are you?" Bailey asked.

"We're in lucky number 7."

"Good. Being on the ground floor is a very good thing today."

"Yes. Stairs would be the enemy," Leif replied as they got near the door.

"May I have your key?" Bailey asked.

Leif fished it out and handed it to her. She opened the door, and this time Lexi waited.

"Inside!" Leif said.

Once the dog was in, Bailey escorted Leif in then asked where he wanted to go.

"Can you take me to the bedroom?" he asked, unaware of the innuendo.

"Of course," Bailey said, not unaware, and as she stole another quick glance at him, there was a part of her that wished he was the one taking her there. But that brief phase of her life was over, and even if they had met under different circumstances, there was no way on earth that would be happening, even after a first date.

Once Leif felt the bed with his free hand, he told Bailey he could take it from there.

"Is there anything I can get you before you lay down? Some water or..."

"No. Nothing," Leif told her as the thought of even a drink of water made him ill.

"I hate to ask, but do you know how you'll get your car...sorry. How you'll get your truck home?"

"I'll uh, I'll call a friend from work when I feel better," he told her.

Bailey almost turned around but stopped before she did.

"Why don't you let me go get it? I'd hate to see it get...vandalized...or...stolen."

Leif had to lay down, so he did so then curled up on his side before answering her.

"No. That's way too much. You've done more than enough already. But thank you."

Again, she nearly left before trying again.

"I have the Lyft app on my phone. I can have someone here in a few minutes, go get your truck, then bring it back. It's really no problem at all," she said as convincingly as she could.

"Please?" she asked as she watched him lay there knowing he was in agony.

"I never argue with beautiful women," Leif said as he reached into his pocket.

It took all the strength he had just to get his keys out again, and as soon as Bailey took them, it felt like he'd just finished a workout in the gym.

"I won't be long, okay? And I'll lock the door before I leave," she promised.

Leif barely nodded before she actually did turn to exit the bedroom.

After using the app to hail a ride, she gave her sister a call.

"Where are you?" Zoe said without asking what was going on.

Bailey explained the situation, and her sister apologized.

"Is he okay?"

"He will be. But he's got the migraine from hell, so it may be hours or even days before he recovers. I'll get the cake as soon as I'm done, though, I promise."

"Just take care of this guy. He's a wounded warrior, and even if he's not, he needs your help."

"Thanks, Zo. I knew you'd understand."

"Bailey?"

"Yes?"

"Is he single?"

Bailey let out a 'you've gotta be kidding me' noise then told her sister, "Goodbye, Zoe!"

As she got hung up on, Zoe said to the dead phone, "I was just asking!"

Leif was mercifully sound asleep by the time Bailey dropped off his keys. Not being able to lock the door behind her was driving her crazy, but she wasn't going to wake Leif up for any reason.

She gently laid them on his dresser then tiptoed out of the bedroom. She got to the front door then stopped and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen from her purse.

"Leif. I put your keys on the dresser in your bedroom. I hope I didn't disturb you. If there's anything you need, please give me a call. I'm not sure what more I can do, but if you think of something, just let me know. And I'm a pretty good listener if you ever just need to talk, okay?"

She wrote her phone number then drew a smiley face and left the house to head back to Giant to finish the task she'd started and hoped her favorite niece would understand.

Molly not only understood, she hugged her Aunt Bailey and told her how great she thought she was after her mom explained why her aunt was so late. Molly was more like her aunt than her mother, and there'd always been a close bond between them. Her understanding made Bailey feel a lot better, but she was still unable to keep from worrying about Leif.

She realized there really wasn't anything more she could do, and it wasn't like they had anything in common beyond this experience. And the thought of anything beyond a possible thank-you call wasn't going do happen.

So why then was she still thinking about him long after the sweet-16 party was over until she fell asleep that night? In the end, all she could come up with was that she had some kind of motherly instinct thing going on, but mothers didn't think about their sons the way she was thinking about Leif. It wasn't...intimate. But it most definitely wasn't just motherly.

She drifted off to sleep a little after midnight with that final thought and had a few hours of respite from this new mental churning that was so unfamiliar to her.

The following morning Leif was no better. He'd made it through the night without throwing up again, but that was largely due to his bedroom being a blackout zone. After his second severe migraine, he'd bought some curtains that blocked out all light. That, plus laying on one side and never moving let him hold things down.

But Lexi had to eat, so around 7am, he forced himself to sit up. The movement brought back the searing pain and a wave of nausea which further forced him to move to the bathroom where he made it to the toilet before losing it—again.

He let Lexi got out to take care of her business on her own, knowing she'd do that then immediately come back to the door on her own. As she made the rounds, he made her breakfast, aware that she was doing that business in an area where dogs weren't supposed to that sort of thing. But going with her was out of the question, and he'd clean up the mess when he could and take heat from the grumpy apartment manager if she found it first.

With Lexi fed, Leif forced himself to call in sick knowing he'd get a ration of grief for having a 'headache' when he went back, but he'd deal with that when he was feeling better. He then went back to bed and lay very still until around 2pm when he heard the doorbell ring. His dog was trained not to bark when anyone knocked or rang, so he could have ignored it. But as bad as he felt, he made himself get up again and go see who it was.

When he cracked the door to see who it was, the sunlight felt like daggers being stabbed into his skull.

"Leif? Hi. I'm really sorry to bother you, but I couldn't stop worrying about you. May I come in?" a female voice asked.

"Oh. Right. Bailey. I'm sorry. My head is still killing me," he said once he recalled who she was.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone then," she told him.

"No. Please come in. I'm just still a little ragged around the edges still."

Bailey understood why he was so disheveled. His thick, dark hair was a matted mess. He hadn't shaved, and he was wearing the same thing she'd seen him in the day before along with some of what his body had ejected on his shirt.

"Are you sure?" she asked rather gingerly.

"Um...yeah. I...I just don't think I'll be very good company, but please at least come in for a bit."

She stepped inside then waited for him to close the door. When she looked down, Lexi was quietly sitting there looking up at her.

"May I pet her?"

"She'd like that," Leif said. "I'd offer you something to drink, but just thinking about putting anything in my mouth is enough to, you know..."

"I was going to offer to make you something, but in that case, I won't bother," she said very quietly.

"Please come in and sit down, and forgive me if the place is a mess."

It wasn't. In fact, it was all very clean and orderly, but Leif couldn't remember the last time he'd cleaned up, and right now, he didn't really care.

He showed her to the couch then asked her to sit down.

"Thank you. I won't stay long. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"That's very kind of you," Leif said as he forced himself to look at her.

"I was doing some research online about migraine headaches, and I was wondering if you take anything for them."

"Yes. Sumatriptan. But I ran out, and I need to see my doctor for a new prescription. I have an appointment for the day after tomorrow, but that's not much help today."

"Yes. That's what I was reading about. I guess it constricts the blood vessels."

Leif's foggy, pounding head was having trouble thinking, but he knew that migraines caused the blood vessels in the brain to open up. Some people drank coffee or something with caffeine in it at the first sign to help prevent it, but Leif's were usually so severe that a cup of coffee wouldn't even touch them.

"You're right. The medication makes a big difference. It makes minor migraines go away and reduces the severity of the more severe ones. Unfortunately, this has been the migraine from hell."

He had no idea Bailey had used those very words herself, and she didn't mention it.

"I feel terrible. Is there anything, anything at all that I might do for you?" Bailey asked with the utmost of concern.

"Can you cut off my head and get me a new one?" Leif said. It was meant to be funny, but he couldn't even smile let alone laugh.

Bailey did smile, but she didn't laugh.

"I'm afraid that's outside my skill set. And the odds of you finding a replacement that's anywhere near as handsome as the one you currently have attached seems very unlikely."

"Coming from a woman as beautiful as you are, that's quite a compliment."

"No, that's just the truth. But saying that about a woman my age truly is a compliment. So thank you for saying that."

"I'm sorry I'm such a piss po...lousy host, but this one is pretty bad."

"I won't stay then. But will you at least call me if there's anything I can do?" Bailey asked as she stood up to leave.

"I don't think I have your number. Could you maybe put it in phone?" Leif asked as he squinted her direction.

"Of course. Is your phone handy?" she said, knowing he hadn't found her note.

"I don't know. I'm not sure where it is."

"Do you mind if I take a quick look around?"

"No. Not at all."

The apartment wasn't big, and Bailey found it within a few seconds.

"Do you want to enter your passcode to unlock it?" she asked.

"Um...no. It's 2525," Leif told her. "Like the song."

Bailey entered the number then said, "Oh, right. 'In the Year 2525'. By...Zager and Evans, as I recall."

"You know your oldies," Leif said as she found his contacts page then entered her name and number.

She set it on the coffee table in front of her then told him she was serious about calling her.

"Anytime, okay?"

As she stood up again to leave, Leif thought he might be able to hold something down.

"Bailey? Would you mind doing something before you go?"

"Yes. Just name it."

"There are some saltine crackers in the pantry by the refrigerator. Would you mind bringing them to me and maybe a small glass of water?"

Seconds later, both items were in front of him. He wasn't sure he could eat anything, but crackers were always his go-to first item to try.

"Anything else?" she asked quietly but cheerfully.

"Honestly? I really wish you could stay," Leif told her as before taking a first small bite of one little cracker as a kind of test case.

"I can stay. I just thought you'd like to be alone."

"No. I'd never ask a beautiful woman to leave," he told her as he tried to force a half smile.

"Okay. Then I'll stay as long as you like," she told him sincerely with a sympathetic smile in return.

"I don't feel a whole lot like talking, but I'd love to hear about you if you don't mind sharing."

"Oh, gosh. I'm...I'm so boring. Are you sure?"

"I can't imagine you're boring," Leif told her as he finished off the first cracker. A sip of water stayed down, and that encouraged him to reach for another cracker.

"Well, let's see. I'm fo..."

She almost said her age but stopped.

"Like I said, I'm divorced. Almost three years now. No kids. I have an older sister named Zoe, and she has three children. Two boys and a girl. Yesterday was the girl's...Molly's...16th birthday. I was at Giant picking up the cake when I saw you kind of slumped over your shopping cart."

"Oh, okay. My guardian angel," Leif said very quietly, his eyes still closed as he continued to carefully and slowly chew.

"After I brought your truck back, I went back to the store to get the cake then spent the afternoon at my sister's celebrating the big day."

"Thank you for doing that. Well, thank you for—everything," Leif told her. "You were right, by the way. There was no way I could have toughed this out in the parking lot."

"I've had migraines before, but never anything close to this bad before. I have a friend who gets some doozies, and she's told me stories that make my skin crawl. It sounds like this was that kind of migraine, so to whatever degree I was able to help, it was my pleasure to do so."

"Maybe when I'm up and around again, I can make it up to you," Leif told her.

"What? Make it up to me? You don't owe me anything, Leif. I was happy to do it."

He was still too ill to be flirty, but out of habit he said, "Wow. It's been quite awhile since a pretty girl turned me down."

Because his eyes were still nearly shut, Leif couldn't see her quickly look away nor the redness in the apples of Bailey's cheeks. Neither could he know his comment caused a tingling sensation in her body.

"Pretty girl. Listen to you!" she said with a quiet laugh. "But again, that was very sweet of you to say."

"Keep in mind I do have your number now, so when I call you and ask you out for real, I hope you'll reconsider."

"I uh, I probably should get going," a somewhat flustered 41-year old woman said rather than respond to his comment.

"Oh. Okay. Let me just walk you..."

"No. Please don't get up, okay?" she asked. "Just stay there, and I'll show myself out."

Just trying to stand up again reminded Leif that he wasn't much better than before even though the crackers had settled his stomach a little.

"I think that's a good idea. I'm not quite up to even showing you out yet. But thank you again," he told her.

"I hope you feel better soon, Leif," she told him.

She wasn't sure if it was that 'motherly instinct' or something else, but a part of her wanted to at least give him a hug before she left. But she feared that even that might makes things worse for him, and beyond that, it might cause him to think she was a little on the strange side.

"I'm sure I'll be okay in another day or so," he told her, trying to sound cheerful but failing miserably.

"I hope that's the case," Bailey said before telling him 'goodbye' and reminding him one more to give her a jingle if he needed something.

"I will," Leif said, even though he knew he'd never call her for that reason.

As the door closed, Leif sat back in the large, soft chair and closed his eyes.

"But I will definitely be calling her as soon as I feel better," he said to himself as Lexi laid her head on his stockinged feet.