Yearning for Love

Sprinkle of Tea Leaves

The engagement started on a good note. Both Andrew and Caroline walked in hand in hand, waving at guest and introducing each other as a to-be latest couple in town. Caroline smile couldn’t seize nor could she hide the amount of joy she felt. When she walked to Andrew in the golden gown her designer ordered for her, his stares didn’t look away. He stared and stared until she feared he would pounce on her.

“I will be all for you soon.” She informed him with a blush. He broken the stare instantly, as if realizing the mistake he was making.

“Your husband and I will be amazing partners for sure!” Mr Halls exclaimed slapping Andrew on the back.

“You will hurt him, daddy.” Caroline soothened the part Andrew was hit. “Are you fine?” She asked.

Andrew threw her a weak smile and ignored her, avoiding her gaze. During the couple dance, they danced slowly to the beat that played and he gripped her on the waist. She loved the fact his eyes were focused on hers all through, knowing it’s been a while they exchanged eye locks that way.

“What kind of lady do you love?” She asked.

“Beautiful, responsible and educated.” He responded, before letting go of her when the music went off.

Caroline’s heart dropped when she heard what he said. Educated? She thought. She couldn’t tell if he was told of her school dropout or not. Would he understand if she told him of her aspiring dream to be a doctor? Would he support her? These were questions she had no answer to.

If only she never asked. At the end of the ceremony, the two families bid each other farewell and they went their separate ways.

“Does he know I dropped out of school?” Caroline asked her mum.

“No, why?” Her mum questioned.

“Nothing, I just asked.”

For the next few days she worked at the mini-mart, contemplating whether to tell him about her education status or not. As usual the customers discovered she was lost in thought, but seemed rather distracted by the ring on her finger.

“You’re getting married. That’s good news!” They would say while she handed them their bags.

“Thank you.” She had no clue how many of those words she said in the first four hours. Their mini-mart was booming anyway and they often got lots of visitors. The fact that lots came that new week was not a surprise.

During one of her shifts, she watched her mum interview some new recruits to hire in her replacement.

“You want to taste some of this pasta? It’s filled with garlic though.” Laura asked, stuffing under her nose a meal full of garlic.

Caroline felt her stomach churn at the strong foul smell of garlic. She pushed the plate away from her immediately and held her hands to her mouth as she tried to throw up.

“I told them not to put much on because you hated it!” Laura shouted after her as she raced to throw up in the washroom. Carolime cleaned her lips and took a deep breath.

“That’s careless, Laura. You know how badly my body reacts to garlic.” Caroline nagged as she walked back to the counter.

“I am sorry. I should have asked for no garlic then.” Laura gave the plate of meal to her mum. “Is work tedious today though? You ought to be resting against your wedding in two weeks.”

“You know there is no rest in my dictionary. I have to work. I always have to work.” Caroline said, sighting a customer approach. She felt her head ache and a nauseous feeling grip her.

“To be honest, I do feel tired a lot lately. I have no clue how hard I have worked.”

“You work a lot. You could take a day off today, I will take it from here.”

“You help with the restocking Laura.” Caroline hissed.

“I know but mum will help me with that. For now, you need to have some alone time.”

Caroline nodded and clocked out. She met with her mum who advised her to take care of herself, before she walked out.

Her headache didn’t subside and the nauseous sensation never stopped troubling her. She stood before the mirror for fifteen minutes, waiting to throw up but nothing came up. She couldn’t tell what was wrong with her, nor could she tell why her reaction to the garlic got worse. She knew she hated garlic, but it wasn’t always that bad. Strolling back to the bed, she sat on her fluffy mattress and gazed at her calendar. Speaking of her health, she hasn’t gotten her flow that month yet and she was already twelve days late. This made no sense to her because she never missed her period.

She laid on her bed and meditated for a while hoping that improved her mood. With her eyes closed, she listened to the silence of the day and blocked out any form of distractions. Not even the sound of the fan could pull her out. Suddenly, she recalled her intimate moments with Andrew and her eyes slid open. They never used protection on that day. Things got so intense, neither of them thought in that direction.

“No way!” She sat up promptly.