Chapter 7

I woke up the next morning to feel Lisa-Marie crawling back into bed.

"Morning." I mumbled.

"There's nothing good about it." She grumbled. "It's snowing and I've got my period, so don't even touch me."

"Oops. Can I bring you a cup of tea after I get up and around?"

"I'll be up later." She mumbled, then sighed softly and actually tried to chuckle. "You're so good to me."

"Well, my body doesn't get all screwed up by strange hormones." I snorted. "I should have known this was coming, as wild as you were last night."

"Mmmmm." She moaned almost happily. "That was fun. The trouble is I'm not in the mood to tease Andy this morning and I was looking forward to that."

"You keep that up and she's gonna rape me."

"Hmmm, now that might be fun to watch." She snorted.

"The trouble is that you're liable to get pissed off if she even thinks about it."

"I know. Maybe it's just this stupid mood I get in when my period is coming on, but as it is, I don't even understand myself."

"I suppose." I sighed. "I sure don't."

"Well, for now I'm going to try to forget that. I'm going to try to go back to sleep. Wake me up about ten if I'm not up before that would you please?"

"Okay." With that, I grabbed my clothes and went to the bathroom to get dressed.

When I went downstairs, I was surprised to see Andrea already sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hi." She said quietly. "Is Lisa-Marie still recovering?"

"I wouldn't call it that, she has a rough time when her period comes and it just did." I answered as I poured a coffee.

"Oh, that explains stuff a bit." She nodded. "Some girls at school used to act crazy the day before their periods started. I just get PMS for a few days, then I feel like a lazy lump when the moon bites."

"Well, she gets all wound up and wants nothing but sex and thrills the day before. After it starts though she doesn't want to be touched or anything for three or four days."

"That long? Wow! It's only a couple of days for me." She looked at me and frowned. "Hey, how come you're so comfortable talking about periods and PMS and stuff?"

"You mean that isn't allowed?" I grinned.

"Oh, don't be silly. It's just that most guys get embarrassed and change the subject."

"I suppose I've had a different education than most. My family doesn't hide much from each other, so I just grew up knowing about that stuff."

"I can tell." She snorted. "You're something else. But then, so is Lisa-Marie."

"Well, she hasn't been acting exactly normal this weekend. She's been a bit over the top, even for her."

"Yeah, but I sure liked it." She grinned, then blushed. "You've learned to just go along for the ride huh?"

"Yes and no." I sighed. "Sometimes, like last night I get carried away by her enthusiasm. Then too, sometimes I have to apologise to people the next day."

"Well this time there's no apology needed. Not from you anyway." She sighed. "I should apologise though. You did know I was watching again, didn't you?"

"No apology needed there either. Lisa-Marie asked me to leave the door open and I agreed, so you had our implied permission. We thought you might want to watch."

"And you didn't mind?"

"No. Actually last night it was a turn on for both of us and we were acting up a bit for your benefit. We aren't usually as wild as that."

"That's good. Someone could get hurt." She giggled.

"Oh come now, we weren't that wild last night." I laughed.

"Jeez, I can hardly believe this, I'm talking to you about what you did in bed last night." She blushed again. "I didn't even want to talk to Fred about what we did afterward."

"That's probably because you didn't really enjoy sex with Fred."

"That's true. I didn't." She nodded. "He wasn't even a minute man, so just when I'd start to feel anything good at all, he was done. If I was to talk to him now, I think I'd walk away with sore knuckles."

"I think a lot of people are feeling that way." I nodded, getting up to get more coffee. "Want more?" I lifted the pot which was still partly-full.

"Please." She smiled. "I was wondering, since Lisa-Marie was acting a bit, well, a bit funny last night, does that mean that the hugs and stuff are done?"

"What?" I looked at her in surprise, then set the coffee pot on the table for a moment. "Please stand up."

"Huh, why?"

"Because I want to give my friend a good morning hug." I grinned, grabbing her hands and pulling her to her feet, then into my arms. "Is that better?"

"Oh yeah." She sighed against my shoulder.

"I think maybe we should cool the kisses with the tongue though. A guy like me can only stand being teased so much by a sexy wench like you."

"Oh man." She giggled softly. "You say the darnedest things and make me feel so good."

"It's the truth. You are a sexy woman, a very good looking one too."

"Oh, if I didn't like you and Lisa-Marie so much as a couple, I'd be tempted to see if kissing you would really get you wound up." She laughed softly and pushed herself away. "As it is, we'd better put a time limit on our hugs too."

"Oh I suppose, if you insist." I overemphasised a deep sigh, which made her laugh. "What are you up to today?"

"Well, I expect Willy will drop by this morning after he's done the chores and if he's going to church, I might go. Unless you need some help with something?"

"Oh I was just going to make a new hatch for the attic and then clean up around the plumbing stack in the basement. I plan to get a plumber in to do the changes I want in the next week or two and he'll have to get at things easily. There's not that much I need help with." I put the depleted coffee pot back on the counter.

"Well, would you at least like your cook to make you breakfast," She smiled. "What would you like?"

"On weekends I usually have eggs and bacon, but I can do that too." I laughed. "We weren't really serious about any of that stuff you know."

"I was, at least with the offer to help out when I could. I have to do something to pay you back for staying here."

"If it makes you feel better, go ahead and cook, but you know there's no need for you to feel obligated, don't you?"

"That's part of the reason that I want to do things." She laughed. "I don't want you to feel that I'm a burden and I don't like taking advantage of things."

"You can forget that idea right off the bat." I frowned. "You aren't a burden. And while I'm thinking of it, have you seen a doctor yet to talk about what you should and shouldn't do during a pregnancy? Like eating right and things like that?"

"Jeez, I'm not even two months pregnant for gosh sakes and it's not like I'm a high risk patient or anything."

"So have you, or haven't you seen a doctor?"

"I saw the doctor and he ran a test to make sure I was pregnant." She sighed loudly. "Why are you so uptight about my pregnancy anyway? I almost got an abortion you know."

"Well you didn't. Now, since you've decided to keep the baby and since I care about you, that means that I care about the health of your baby too. Or does that make sense to you."

"Don't let him worry you, Andy." Lisa-Marie's voice broke in, surprising us both. "He's like that with everyone and everything that gets pregnant. That's why he's such a good farmer."

"Hey, good morning, Lisa-Marie. I hear you aren't feeling so good." Andrea said solicitously. "Would you like coffee or tea or anything?"

"Hi, Andy. Is there any orange juice left?" Lisa-Marie sighed as she plopped into a kitchen chair. "Actually, I feel like hell warmed over and I hate my periods."

"I don't exactly love mine either. At least that's one thing about having a baby, no periods for nine months."

"Now there's an idea." Lisa-Marie snorted and looked at me. "Did you hear that buster? Guess what you can give me for a wedding gift."

"Hmm." Andrea grunted as she set a glass of juice down next to Lisa-Marie's hand. "Now is that gift for you, or for him?"

"Both of us." Lisa-Marie snorted, making me grin. "I feel like hell when I'm on the rag. Heck, I even hate to be touched and so all he gets is the flak from my mean moods. That way we both suffer."

"Well, considering the way he's been acting toward me already, I think if he does what you want, you can expect to be spoiled for about nine months." Andrea said as she walked back toward the stove. "I was just going to make some breakfast, would you like some too?"

"Oh, please no." Lisa-Marie grimaced. "The thought of food makes my stomach churn."

"Oh no. If that's true, pregnancy might not be such a good thing for you after all. What you're describing sounds almost like morning sickness and some women get that for months at a time when they're pregnant." Andrea looked concerned. "Will it bother you if I cook breakfast for Tom?"

"Oh God. Why wasn't I born a man?" Lisa-Marie groaned. "Go ahead with your fry-up. If I start to feel sick, I'll go back to bed."

"Oh, it's not fair that you feel too rough to stay and talk." Andrea sympathised.

"When is life ever fair?" Lisa-Marie sighed. "You know what? I'm going to grab another glass of orange juice and go back upstairs. I think I'll just soak in the tub for a while."

"If you want, I'll come talk to you in a while." I offered.

"If you do, you know I'll just get upset and you'll feel guilty." She sighed. "I'm going to take some pills and have a bath, then go to bed again. Give me three or four more hours, then I'll be safe to have near civilization."

After Lisa-Marie had gone upstairs and we heard the tub start to fill, Andrea finally started breakfast.

"Since Lisa-Marie goes through that crap every month, you must be a darn patient man."

"Not really, I just try to think of the other twenty-five days a month when things are great." I grinned. "I just wish I could make her feel better somehow."

"Well, if I were you, I'd take her down to visit Mrs. Lowther, the herb woman. Maybe she can help some."

"Mrs. Lowther?" I looked at her questioningly.

"Yeah, she lives down by the river in an old house with a barn full of dried herbs that she ships around the country. She sells stuff to big companies, but she likes to help neighbours if they're feeling poorly. Won't take money for anything from us, so most of us take her a gift when we visit. You know, eggs, a loaf of home made bread, stuff like that." Andrea smiled.

"I see, a naturopathic doctor, sort of."

"Umm, I don't know about that? Years ago, she'd have been called a witch or maybe a witch doctor, but she's an herbalist. She gives you samples of herbs to try so you can see if they help you. Then when she finds the right combination, she gives you a small supply of them, but shows you how to collect them on your own. Sometimes she even gives away plants for people to grow themselves."

"So she's a little old lady, living off in the boonies, who helps people out of the goodness of her heart?"

"Oh no! She's not that old. I went to school with her sons." Andrea laughed. "She's a university professor who quit teaching to grow herbs and sell them. That's her real business now, selling herbs. The reason she lives by the river is because that's where her herbs grow best and because she can get water right out of the river to irrigate the herbs that need it."

"So why does she give the herbs away to her neighbours?"

"Well, I think she's still teaching, only this time she's teaching in a more practical way. Besides, it's good advertising for her." She smiled as she set plates of food on the table and sat down to join me at breakfast.

"Yeah, I suppose it would be. She sounds like a character." I carried on the conversation.

"She is, The story that I heard from the two Granger Grannies was that she had a bad marriage and she wanted out, so she left her hubby. She moved out here years ago when her boys were young, bought the place down by the river and set up her business. Did you know that she tried to buy this place from Silas when she first came here?"

"No, I hadn't heard that."

"She did. He turned her down, but there are rumours that they used to visit each other. One of them was that if he went to see her, she'd make sure her boys were out collecting herbs on the far end of her place that day."

"Hmmph." I snorted, then I laughed softly. "It could be I guess. Maybe they weren't lovers though, maybe they had a business deal of some sort."

"Then why would she make sure the boys were out of the house? I used to go to school with her youngest and even though he was shy, he and I would talk. He wanted to know about Silas and since I lived so close, I told him what I could. In return he told me in strictest secrecy that his Mom and Silas were really close friends."

"Well, so you're saying that Uncle Silas had a secret lover." I paused and thought for a moment. "I wonder why it would have to be so secret?"

"I wouldn't know." She wiped up the last of her egg with a piece of toast. "You know, I was thinking, do you suppose Lisa-Marie would feel up to going for a short ride in the car? I could skip church and go with you guys to introduce you to Mrs. Lowther."

"Well, I could ask I guess, but I doubt if she'll want to. She really gets uncomfortable for the first while when this thing hits her. Besides, she's seen so many doctors and specialists that I don't hold out much hope for anything. I doubt if she will either."

"Well, if you know her symptoms, maybe she wouldn't even have to be there. I could talk to her about it, if you want? Maybe I could convince her?"

"You can try. I'll get these dishes washed."

"Damn, you're going make that lucky lady a fine husband." She chuckled, then hurried upstairs before I could answer.

She was back in a few minutes

"You were right, Lisa-Marie doesn't want to go out, but she said if we think we could get something that would help her feel better, she'd love to have us go see her. Then she asked me to have you come talk to her for a minute. She wants you to take down some notes about what she feels like and what medications she's taking. In fact she said she wanted you to bring along a pencil and paper."

I thought I knew what pills she was taking and most of her symptoms already, but I wasn't going to argue. Instead, I got a pencil and paper, then went in and sat on the seat of the toilet so that I could take notes as Lisa-Marie dictated to me. As I suspected, there were no surprises, either in her medications or in her symptoms.

"You know I don't hold out much hope that this will help me, don't you?" She said quietly.

"I suspected that, so why did you agree to send me off on what you think is a wild goose chase?"

"It will get you out of the house and give me a chance to recover in peace and quiet. If you're here, you're going to be building stuff and making noise. That would drive me nuts." She admitted. "Besides, Andy says that this woman has helped lots of other people that doctors thought were tough problems, so there is an outside chance."

"Well, if she can come up with something natural that will take the place of all these bloody chemicals and mood altering drugs that the doctors are feeding you, I'll be ecstatic." I said flatly. "I know you need something and I'm not trying to discourage you from using any help you can get, but I think you realise that I hate the idea of you putting artificial crap in your body to do it."