Mr. Big Daddy (Mr. Big 3)

"More tired than anything else," I said and shrugged. "I no longer feel like puking."

He kissed me again and stroked my face. "Whatever you need -- you know that. Whatever you need."

"I know," I said and smiled. I knew he meant it.

That warmed my heart, and helped me accept what was inevitable.

Chapter Six

Luke

My birthday was much quieter than we had anticipated.

Alexa was sick again, the morning sickness and fatigue preventing her from doing much beside nod when I showed her the finalized plans for the dinner at the beach house.

We drove out on Friday night after I was finished with work and it was all she could do to shower and get dressed. She was taking more powerful drugs for nausea, but they made her even more tired, if possible. She'd lost a few more pounds and so her gynecologist was concerned that she had the more intense form of morning sickness, similar to what Dana had gone through.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she entered the beach house and went right to our bedroom without even stopping in the living room to appreciate the beautiful view, which she always did whenever we went there for the weekend. "I have to get back into bed."

"Shh," I said and carried our suitcases up to the bedroom behind her. "I'd carry you up, if you wanted me to."

She gave me a faint smile, her hand gripping the staircase rail. "I can manage, but thanks. I'll remember that."

When we arrived in our master suite, she didn't even bother to undress and put on her nightgown. She just crept under the covers and pulled them over her right up to her ear.

"It's bad today?"

"Yes," she said and that was it. She closed her eyes and said nothing more.

I put our suitcases on the bench at the base of the bed and then went up to her side and moved her hair off her cheek for a kiss.

"Let me know if you need anything," I said and placed her handbag on the bed beside her, removing her cell so she could text me.

She didn't say anything in reply, but I saw her head nod just a bit.

I kissed her once more, feeling so bad for her. Hopefully, the nausea would soon be gone, and the fatigue would lift later. Maybe, she would feel good enough to eat something.

"I'll go downstairs and make dinner for us. When you're hungry, just let me know. I'll be working on some plans for the coming year."

I left her, knowing that she needed darkness and quiet to get through the next hour or so.

On my part, I went downstairs and took a beer out of the bar fridge, opened it and drank about half of it down at once. Then, I set about fixing dinner -- something plain and not at all spicy. Roasted chicken breasts, steamed carrots and peas and some plain white rice. That would be bland enough not to turn off her very-sensitive sensibility about food. Alexa was usually a good eater, with a good appetite and a love for ethnic food and spice, but since her morning sickness struck, she'd been turned off by anything with too much spice or too savory. She needed plain bland food.

I'd comply.

I ate alone, adding some spicy sauce to my chicken breast and soy sauce to my rice to liven up my own dinner. Alexa remained upstairs, sleeping off her fatigue and nausea. After I was finished, I called everyone up and made sure they were all on board for my birthday, apologizing that Alexa had planned on doing the calling herself, but was still not up to anything. No one complained of course, and everyone on the list of guests told me to tell her not to worry.

"I'll bring food, if you need me to," Mrs. Thorpe said. "Alexa shouldn't be cooking or cleaning if she's sick."

"Don't worry," I replied. "The event is being catered, so you just bring your wonderful selves, and everything will be great."

With that out of the way, I sat in front of the flatscreen and watched the game. When eight o'clock rolled around and Alexa was still not downstairs, I began to feel concerned. I went back upstairs to the master suite and found the bed was empty. I frowned and went to the bathroom door, which was closed. A sliver of light was visible under the door.

I knocked lightly. "Alexa? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," came her voice. "Just freshening up. I'll be down in five."

I relaxed and went back downstairs, getting her food ready on a plate, the plate on a tray with a salt and pepper shaker and a napkin. She could sit on the sofa and eat. I knew she would want to lie back down again when she was finished, as she had been doing for the past couple of weeks.