Lucas, who went to check the mail, comes in the house.
“Anything good?” I ask, putting the turkey away.
“No, it’s all junk mail.” He pulls open the drawer with the garbage and recycling and drops an advertisement for window replacements in the recycling. “It’s a waste of paper.”
“It is, and I like this environmentalist side of you.”
“You don’t have to be an environmentalist to be concerned for the world. I’ve lived long enough to see the harsh effects humans have on it.”
“I don’t disagree there.” I yawn and put my hands on the counter, letting my eyes fall shut for a second. A headache started forming halfway home, and it’s getting worse by the second. I’ve had plenty of headaches before, usually caused by stress or the rare occasion I’d been hungover. Still, I’ve spent most of my life with perfect health, and any sort of ache or pain is really fucking annoying.
“Go upstairs and lie down. It’s been a long day and it’s late.”
I rub my forehead, trying to will the headache away. “I’m pooped and my head hurts. I have Tylenol somewhere. I don’t know the last time I took it.” I open my eyes. “That’s safe for me to take, right?”
“Right. I’ll find it. Rest, Callie.”
Nodding, I open the back door to let Scarlet out, and Lucas says he’ll let her in when she’s ready. I go up the back stairs, and all three of my familiars follow. I should change into pajamas, brush my teeth, and wash my face, but I lie down in bed instead. If I don’t feel like doing that now, I definitely won’t feel like doing it later, I know, but I make poor choices every once in a while. Okay, I make poor choices on a weekly basis, but after the day we had, could anyone blame me?
Pulling the ivory-colored comforter back, I wave my other hand and magically toss the decorative pillows onto the ground. Scarlet will lie on them if I don’t put them on the bench at the foot of the bed, which doesn’t really bother me, but Lucas doesn’t like it. He’s not the biggest fan of sharing our bed with my familiars, but since they’re not actual cats, he can’t use his animals shouldn’t be in our bed argument.
I nestle under the covers, get comfy, and them remember I’m not supposed to lie on my back because the growing baby puts pressure on a vein that can restrict blood flow and cause low blood pressure. I’m still carrying small—but Elena is measuring perfectly—so I think it’s okay. Though after seeing her moving around on the ultrasound screen, yawning and flipping around, I’ll sacrifice my comfort for her any day.
I move to my side, shoving pillows underneath me to keep me from rolling onto my back. My shoulders are stiff, and sleeping like this is going to suck. Groaning, I reach up and try to rub a knot out of my shoulder. Letting out a soft meow, Pandora jumps onto the bed and nudges my hand away with her head. She stands on my shoulder and starts kneading her paws.
“Oh, thanks,” I tell her and close my eyes. Freya joins, kneading her little paws into my lower back, and Binx snuggles up against me on my pillow. I start to relax, brain going into the I’ll deal with it later mode I’m way too familiar with. “This is nice.” If I had a fire going, I could easily be lulled to sleep.
The floor creaks, letting me know Lucas is down the hall. The human contractor insisted twice that we fix most of the creaky floorboards. While we had to replace more than I liked due to the water damage, both Lucas and I like the character the creaking gives the house.
And it’s a good way to know if someone—or something—is sneaking through our house.
I slit my eyes open and look up in the doorway. Lucas enters the room, slowing as his brows furrow. “Are your familiars giving you a massage?”
Pandora moves to my neck and starts kneading her paws into my stiff muscles.
“Yes.” I let my eyes fall closed, and a few seconds pass, yet Lucas doesn’t move. I force my eyes open again and look at him. “What?”
“I can’t decide if it’s weird or…or…”
“Or makes you feel useless?” I offer.
“Useless with defective sperm,” he deadpans, and I laugh. “I brought you the medicine. Do you still have a headache?”
“Yeah, it’s not so bad, though.” I know exactly where Lucas’s train of thought is going because he’s read so many damn pregnancy books. Headaches can be a sign of high blood pressure, which isn’t good when you’re pregnant. Maybe I should have let Abby check my vitals like she wanted, but I insisted it was a waste of time.