Chapter Twenty Eight

Before Jayme knew it, it was Thanksgiving day. Bella was three and a half weeks old. Both Jayme and Rex were adjusting well to parenthood. Jayme stayed home with Bella and cared for the house, did chores and cooked. She also put a large down payment on the construction of her house, although she knew it would be spring before they were able to break ground on the new construction.
Gathering at Jayme’s parents house, Garrett and Sheryl were also present. Garrett and Sheryl took possession of Bella, playing with her and getting her used to other family members. Bella had found her smile.
Sitting at the dinner table, the six of them spoke of different issues. Everyone learned that Garrett and Sheryl were planning an April wedding. And they wanted to marry in the town they live in, the town Sheryl’s parents live in. Jayme knew they would all be attending, including Rex. Rex and Garrett enjoyed each others company and were glad to see each other after so many years. Garrett asked about Jodi and Johnny.
Rex told Garrett that Jodi worked in Silver Creek, as a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive care unit and that she lived only fifteen minutes from Rex. But Johnny was in the military and stationed somewhere in Colorado at the present time. He had been in the military for three years now although he had only one year left of enlistment, he wanted to make it a career.
The first of December brought with it a large storm that dropped nine inches of snow in Hillman. Although Rex had a difficult time driving in the deep snow, he had to patrol the area. Jayme kept herself, and Bella, inside, out of the cold and snow.
Days passed and turned into weeks. Jayme was out Christmas shopping for everyone on her list. It was two weeks before Christmas and she was nearly done. Walking through the local mall, she first began to feel overheated. Jayme pulled off her heavy winter coat and laid it over her arm. But removing her coat didn’t seem to help.
Soon, she began to sweat profusely and was so hot, she began to get nauseated. Finding a public bathroom, she entered a stall and stood for a moment, knowing she would be sick. But she hadn’t ate anything. Bella laid in her car seat that was sitting on the floor beside Jayme.
After expelling everything in her stomach, she sat on the toilet for a minute. Soon, she began to feel better. Her body had cooled off and her nausea was gone. She was hoping it wasn’t a symptom of anything but the flu had been going around.
Leaving the mall, she was feeling much better but found herself toting almost more than she could handle. With the eight bags she carried, along with the car seat, her load was heavy and bulky. She had to set everything down a few times to rest before reaching her car. First, she snapped Bella’s car seat into the base, then put everything into the trunk of her car.
Rex was still at work when she arrived home. First, she took Bella into the house, then carried all the bags in from her entire day of shopping. It took her four trips to carry everything in. Jayme knew it was about time to feed Bella so she took her from the car seat and laid her on the couch. First, Jayme changed Bella’s diaper, then pulled her to her breast.
As Bella fed, Jayme sat on the couch, lightly rocking. Holding Bella against her chest, Jayme patted and rubbed her back to produce a burp to expel the air from her stomach. Then, Bella finished eating. After playing with Bella for approximately twenty minutes, Jayme laid her in the bassinet.
Putting all the bags in the middle of the floor, Jayme sat among them and began to unload the bags, putting things in piles according to person. She had piles for Bella, Rex, Paige, Simon, and Garrett and Sheryl.
Gathering the wrapping paper and supplies, she sat on the floor for two hours, wrapping most of the gifts. Putting the wrapped presents under the tree, she placed the other presents in Bella’s closet, covering them with a blanket, then putting the wrapping paper and supplies on top, hiding the presents. However, Rex’s presents were already wrapped.
As Jayme used the bathroom, she noticed she bloody spots in her underwear. After assuming she was starting her period, she thought about things and realized she hadn’t started her period after the birth of Bella. She put protection in her underwear and went on about her day, not thinking much about it.
Rex arrived home at approximately seven thirty, Jayme had dinner on the table. It was his usual time to arrive home as his shifts ran seven AM to Seven PM. As his usual routine, Rex will remove his coat, kick off his shoes, then find Jayme to kiss her and lastly, find Bella to say hello with a smile and gentle touch.
Tonight, Jayme made baked chicken with teriyaki sauce, braised green beans and baked butternut squash. Rex loved her more for her cooking skills and encouraged her to do something with it. He wanted her to create a cooking show on the TV. But Jayme was too busy and too timid to do a TV show.
The sheriff department’s Christmas party was just two nights away, on Saturday evening. Jayme knew she needed to buy a nice evening gown for the event and Rex needed a tuxedo. Visiting a formal store in the mall, Jayme felt bloated and slightly nauseated. When she tried on the gowns, she needed to go up a size because she was bloated.
Over the next twenty four to forty eight hours, Jayme still felt bloated and nauseated and she hadn’t started her period, only spotting. After thinking about the whole situation, she came to the assumption that she could be pregnant again. Stopping at a drug store on the way home, Jayme bought two pregnancy tests. She also purchased some other items and hid the pregnancy tests from Rex. It wasn’t something she was ready to share quite yet.
Upon arriving home, Rex carried Bella in as Jayme carried everything else in. Grabbing the pregnancy tests, Jayme went straight into the bathroom where she shut and locked the door. Locking the door was something she didn’t normally do. Following the directions, Jayme completed the test and waited the five minutes it took to produce a positive result.
Jayme wasn’t sure how she felt. She wasn’t sure how Rex would feel. Throwing the pregnancy test into the trash, she pulled the trash bag and carried it out of the bathroom and directly to the trashcan sitting directly outside the back door. With the thought of the pregnancy repeating in her mind, Jayme grew nauseated and went into the bedroom to lie down.
Twenty minutes later, Rex came into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. Jayme was wasn’t sleeping but she wasn’t quite awake either. Rex stroked the skin on her cheek and she opened her eyes. “Hey, you ok?” Rex asked.
“I’m just exhausted…” Jayme said, which wasn’t a complete lie.
“Bella’s going to want to eat soon.” Rex said. “I’ll bring her to you when she gets fussy.”
“Ok.” Jayme said. “Thank you, Rex.”
Rex leaned down and kissed her forehead, feeling that she was warmer than normal. “Do you have a fever?” Rex asked.
“I don’t think so.” Jayme said. “Let’s see how I feel after I get up.”
“Ok.” Rex said and stood up. He left the door open as he exited the bedroom.
Forty five minutes later, Rex brought Bella to Jayme, waking her up. Jayme, still groggy from exhaustion, sat up in bed and positioned herself for the feeding. Taking Bella from Rex, Jayme laid her on the bed.
“You don’t need to change her, I’ve already done that.” Rex said.
“Oh, thank you, Rex.” Jayme said as she picked Bella back up and pulled her to her chest.
Jayme couldn’t keep her eyes open while she was feeding Bella, she kept dozing off and waking up. When she was finished, she laid Bella in her crib and laid back down. From there, she slept all night, not knowing when Rex joined her in bed.