“Bathroom, just the bathroom!” I rushed off the bed and headed straight for the bathroom.
As I leaned over the toilet I placed my hand on the wall to steady myself. Far too late, I realized my mistake. The toilet began to bubble, then squirt. I managed to dodge the spray and lunged for the sink instead.
By the time I made it back to the bed I was covered in a cold sweat. Could this really be happening? On the last leg of my book tour, the last opportunity I had to explore a new country with Max, I was getting a stomach bug?
Max wiped a cool cloth along my forehead and the back of my neck. “I guess we did a little too much last night. Do you think you ate something off?”
“I’m not sure. I feel awful.” I groaned. “I’m not going to be able to go anywhere today. I’m so sorry, Max.”
“Don’t be sorry. I wish there was some way I could help you feel better. I know there’s a nurse facility here. Do you want me to take you there?”
“No. I think I just want to stay in this bed.”
“Okay, let me dim the lights and I’ll bring you some water.”
“No, Max, no. I can take care of myself. I want you to go out and explore Tokyo for me. Take lots of pictures so I don’t feel like I missed out on so much.”
“Sammy, I don’t want to go anywhere without you.”
“Please, Max. I’ll feel so much worse if I think that you’ve missed out because of me.”
“Don’t worry about that. I want to be here with you.”
“Max.” I stared into his eyes. “I love you, but the things I’m going to have to do in the next few hours are not something that I want you to witness.”
“Oh, I see.” He smiled a little. “But what if you get worse and I’m not here?”
“I have my phone. I’ll call you if I need you.”
“Alright, I’ll let you rest for a little while, but I’ll be back to check on you.”
“Okay, Max. I love you. Remember—lots of pictures.”
Chapter 14
After Max left I tried to be as still as possible. I didn’t want to throw up again even though I knew it was inevitable.
In my mind I listed everything I ate and drank. Was it possible that I had food poisoning? I didn’t feel like I had a hangover. I felt like my entire body was turning against me and rejecting the very thought of ingesting anything. Maybe the greasy foods I’d eaten the night before had counteracted my clean diet and caused a strong reaction.
Within twenty minutes I was back in the bathroom and then again ten minutes later.
As awful as I felt, I still missed being with Max. I thought about the places he was seeing and the things he was doing without me. I was glad that he was doing them, but I wished that I’d been well enough to join in.
I renewed my promise to myself and to my body to eat healthier, then I stretched out on the bed and rested my hands on my stomach. My heart raced as I wondered if some time in bed would help. I didn’t want to miss out on Kyoto or my anniversary dinner with Max.
I bit into my bottom lip and closed my eyes. With slow circular patterns I rubbed my stomach. Something that I’d looked at with loathing before, I now touched with gentle affection.
When the door to the hotel room opened Max rushed in. “Sammy?
“I’m here, Max.”
He rushed to the side of the bed. “I thought something happened to you. I called and you didn’t answer.”
“I’m sorry. I must have been asleep when you called.”
“That’s okay. I’m just glad everything is fine.”
“I’m just trying to keep calm. I do feel a little better.” I tried to force a smile, but a wave of upset in my stomach caused me to clamp my mouth shut. I closed my eyes and stayed very still while Max stroked my hair.
“I’m not leaving you again. The whole time I was gone, I did nothing but worry about you. I don’t care what you have to do in the bathroom, I’m your husband and I’m here to help you when you’re sick or any other time. Please don’t send me away again.”
“You can stay.” I opened one eye to look at him.
“Good. I brought something for you.”
I sat up a little bit to see what he had.
“I went over to the bookshop to find out from Yuki if any of the drinks we had last night had alcohol or anything unusual in them. She said she was sure of what you’d been served—that they shouldn’t have caused you to be sick. No one that she knows has been sick either. She did give me a special herbal remedy for you to try to see if it might calm your muscles. She said it might relax your stomach enough to keep you from continuing to feel sick. If you won’t go to the nurse, you can at least try this.”
“I don’t know, Max. Do you know what’s in it?”
He held up the package. “The ingredients are on the back, but it’s in Japanese. Yuki assured me that it’s safe though.”
“Alright, I guess I can try it. I doubt it could make me feel worse.” I smiled.
“I’ll get you some water.”
As he walked away I was reminded of how lucky I was to have him. While other men might have complained about missing out on a day of touring Tokyo, he didn’t even bat an eye at making sure that I was well.
“Thanks, Max. Maybe I’ll feel well enough to go out soon.”
“The important thing is that you rest. Even if you feel better, you should rest. Hopefully you’ll be feeling much better for our trip tomorrow.”
“Alright, Doctor.” I patted the back of his hand as he handed me the water. “I’ll follow your orders—if you snuggle with me.”
“I can absolutely do that. If you’re going to be sick, we might as well find a way to enjoy it.”
He crawled into bed beside me and gingerly passed his hand across my stomach. His touch sent a soft shiver up along my spine. I closed my eyes again and reveled in the warmth of his body curled close to mine. It was better than any hot water bottle or electric blanket.
It wasn’t long before I settled into sleep.
A few hours later I woke to the side of the bed moving. Max stood up in the dim light of the hotel room. I studied his silhouette as he moved carefully and quietly away from the bed—he tried so hard not to wake me. I enjoyed just watching him. My stomach was still not quite right but not as angry as it had been earlier.
Max sat down at the computer and started to work. I turned over in the bed and thought about what it would be like when we got back home. Would I be able to finish my next book? Would Max still want to maintain the website and blog for me? Would we still connect as intensely as we had throughout the book tour? It was a sure sign that I was feeling better, as I seemed to have enough energy to worry.
When I sat up in bed Max looked over at me.
“Are you okay? Can I get you anything? What do you need?” He jumped up from his chair.
“No, Max, I’m okay—really. Just a little weak.”
“Do you want to watch a movie?”
“That would be great.”
He brought his laptop over to the bed beside me and we picked out a movie to watch. Before it was over, I could feel myself drifting off to sleep again.
Chapter 15
The next morning I woke up with a light smile on my face. I passed a hand across my stomach and instead of the fierce war of the day before, it just gurgled with a little hunger.
Max lifted his head off the pillow and smiled at me. “Was that your stomach?”
“Yes, it was. I think I’m starving.”
“We can fix that. But are you sure that you’re up for eating?”
“I think so, yes. Maybe we can start with something light like a muffin or some toast.”
“Okay, I’ll run down to the dining room and grab you some.” He started to get out of bed.
“No, that’s okay. I think I feel up to going down myself.”
“Are you sure?” He frowned. “I don’t want you to end up back in bed.”
“No, I’m okay. The herbal medicine that Y
uki sent seems to have helped, so I should be fine. I don’t want to miss out on any more of our trip. We leave for Kyoto today, don’t we?”
“We don’t have to. We can stay here and check out Tokyo instead.”
“No, let’s go. I’m looking forward to seeing some more of Japan.”
“Okay, but you have to promise to tell me if you start feeling sick again. I don’t want you feeling miserable and not telling me because you think you have to put on a brave face.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” I smiled and climbed out of bed. “I’m going to need a hot shower before we get breakfast though.”
“Hot as in the water, or?”
“Max!” I threw a pillow at him.
He caught it and laughed. “I guess you are feeling better!”
After my shower I felt a lot better. I hoped that whatever had hit my stomach was just a brief bug. I was ready to take on Kyoto. With so many interesting things to see there, I didn’t want to miss out on a minute.
Max had our bags ready when I got out of the shower. “We’ll only be staying for a few days, but I’m not sure what we’ll need so I packed a little bit of everything.”
“Thanks, Max. You didn’t have to do that for me.”
“It’s no trouble. You’d better get used to me taking care of you, because I’m going to make sure that you have everything you need while we’re away.” He gazed at me for a moment.
“Max, are you okay?”
“I’m a little worried.”
“Why?” I smiled. “I feel much better.”
“I know, but you have been doing so much in such a short span of time. Maybe we should have spread the book tour out more or cut it in half.”
“Max, I promise. I’m fine.” I kissed his cheek. “I know how much you care about me, and I love you for it, but there’s nothing about this tour that made me sick. I probably ate some bad fish or had too much sugar last night. That’s why—as of today—we are back on our clean eating. No junk, not too much sugar, and no alcohol.”
“Except for sake.” He nodded and opened the door for me.
“Sake? That’s still alcohol.”
“Maybe, but it’s sacred alcohol.” Max wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.
“Okay.” I shook my head as I stepped out into the hall. “I’m not sure that I agree with that, but if it’s that important to you, you’re welcome to drink it.”
“Aren’t you going to share a toast with me on our anniversary?” Max steered me in the direction of the dining room.
“I don’t know. Let me think about it.”
“Alright, but when are we ever going to have another chance to toast with sake in Japan?”
“That’s a good question. I guess when I get the next book written.”
“No pressure, remember?”
“No pressure.” I hugged him just before we entered the dining room.
The strong smell of the breakfast foods made my stomach flip, but just for a second, then it settled.
“Whatever Yuki gave you for me really seems to be doing its job. I stashed it in my purse in case I need it while we’re away.”
“I’m so glad. She told me that it would help.”
“I’ll have to remember to thank her the next time I see her.”
“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that she invited us to dinner at her mother’s home before the next book signing—after we get back to Tokyo.”
“Great—I didn’t have much of a chance to speak with her mother. Even though we can’t communicate easily I’d like to get to know her a bit better.”
“Here’s some toast.” Max pointed out the toast that was offered on one of the buffet tables.
I selected a few slices and a small bran muffin. I didn’t think that either could cause my stomach to revolt.
As we sat down at a table Max tipped his head toward another group of people seated not far from us. “I think they were at your book signing.”
“Maybe they were. Honestly, the book signing was almost a complete blur to me. I just can’t seem to keep up with things these days.”
“You will get caught up once you’re back home and rested. You just need a chance to recover from this tour.”
“I hate to even say it like that. It’s been such an amazing opportunity and I value every experience I’ve had on it, but I do still feel like I need to recover from it a little.”
“Well, you’ll have plenty of time. Once we’re back from Kyoto, we just have the book signing. After that, we can stay for a day or two or head home. Home…” He laughed and shook his head. “It even sounds funny to say it.”
“What has been your favorite part of the book tour, Max?”
“Hm. I’d have to say it was Ireland—and visiting the Blarney Stone.”
“Seriously? I almost died!”
“You did not.” He laughed. “Okay, fine. Then maybe the waterfall?”
“What waterfall?” My eyes widened as I remembered our romantic adventure under the rushing water. “Oh. That waterfall. Okay, you win. That was the best part.”
“I thought you might agree with that.” He smiled and glanced at his watch. “We should get going if we don’t want to be late.”
“How exactly are we getting to Kyoto again?”
“There’s a bullet train that will get us there faster than anything else.”
“A train?” I cringed. “I’m not sure my stomach will hold up to that.”
“A taxi would be far too expensive. Maybe we should just postpone leaving until tomorrow.”
“No, it’s okay. I have the herbs that Yuki gave me. If I start to feel queasy I’ll just take more of that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
Chapter 16
We waited at the taxi stand outside of the hotel for some time. When one finally did pull up, the driver looked rather grim. He barely nodded at us, then pointed to the rate on his sign and waited for us to get inside.
I was a little put off by his cold nature, but then again, maybe if I drove a taxi I wouldn’t be so friendly either.
Max and I got into the backseat and the driver took off. Within minutes we were at the train station. Max paid the driver and added a tip. The driver didn’t even look at him. He pocketed the money, then drove away.
“Charming fellow.” I frowned as I watched the taxi go.
“He probably doesn’t like tourists.” Max shrugged.
While Max bought our tickets I looked around the station. It was very crowded, as I’d expected. And there was something interesting that I hadn’t noticed before. Every inch of space on the wall was taken up by a different kind of vending machine.
As I looked through the assortment of things, each one surprised me more than the last. There were even warm cans of coffee in one of the machines. The thought of putting caffeine in my system made me shudder. I imagined it would have as bad an effect as the sugar had.
Max waved me over to the train.
When I walked up to him he held out my ticket. “Just in case we get separated.”
“Oh no, I’m not letting that happen.” I wrapped my arm tightly around his.
A few minutes later we were on the train. I was relieved to find that it wasn’t as crowded as the local trains had been when we first arrived. The seats were spacious and everything was very clean and high tech.
Even when the train lurched forward, my stomach remained calm. Maybe it was Max’s hand, which rested across it, or the remedy that Yuki had provided for me. Either way, I was grateful.
When we arrived in Kyoto, I was stunned by the transition from the ultra-modern world of Tokyo to the more traditional environment I saw before me.
“It’s gorgeous, Max. There’s so much to see here.”
“Let’s check into the hotel so that we can drop off our bags, then we can head to one of the tours I signed us up for. We have a few hours before it starts if you feel up to getting something to eat first.”
; “I think I do. My stomach hasn’t given me any trouble. We may be out of the woods.”
“That’s great.”
After we checked into the hotel we decided to explore the area. Even though it wasn’t as flashy as Tokyo, Kyoto wasn’t tiny either. There were many buildings and narrow streets. The pace seemed slower, but there were still plenty of people around. As we looked for a restaurant to dine in, a sign outside a small building caught my attention.
“Oh look, it’s a cat cafe, Max! We have to go in.”
“A cat what?” He blinked. “I don’t want to eat a cat.”
“No, silly. You don’t eat them. I heard about this. It’s a big trend. It’s a place you can go to spend time with lots of cats. You pay a certain amount and you get to pet as many cats as you want. Plus you can feed them or play with them.”
“Uh, okay.” He quirked an eyebrow. “I guess that sounds like fun…”
“Cats are great, Max. You just need to give them a chance.”
“They’re covered in fur and have claws. Essentially they’re miniature bears.”
“Not tigers?”
“No—bears.”
“I’m just wondering how you made that leap from cat to bears—and not from cat to tigers.”
“Because tigers aren’t as dangerous as bears. My point is, cats are as dangerous as bears.”
“How could a tiger be less dangerous than a bear?” I stared at him with disbelief.
“A tiger can’t bear hug you.”
“It can wrestle you to the ground and tear you to pieces.”
“Maybe, but it can’t bear hug you.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“Because I’m right.” Max grinned.
“If you say so.”
“You know I’m right.” He kissed my cheek. “Now let’s go pet some cats.”
“Yay!” I grinned and tugged him toward the door.
Once we’d paid, a woman led us to the first section of the cafe. There were cats of all different shapes and sizes. Some curled up on the furniture, others scaled the catwalk, while still more prowled around the floor. I guessed that they were hunting either a bug or a morsel of food.
Sammy in Japan (Single Wide Female Travels #8) Page 5