Slowly and quietly, so as to not wake Tom up, she walked over to the window to watch the rising sun that illuminated the morning festivities. Not very many civilians were up yet, but she figured that many of them would want to stay home with their families today.
She noticed there was a bump in the curtains and reached over to find the bouquet of ‘snow drops’ Tom had left there the night before. How sweet, she thought as she held the flowers in her hands. He really loves me.
After thinking those words, Merope’s stomach flipped. How many times had she reflected on those words without even thinking about it twice? She glanced over at Tom sleeping in the bed soundly. Something about today made her feel different.
Maybe by now he has learned to really love me. Maybe he just isn’t a morning person.
Merope smiled hopefully and put back the curtains. She made her way out of the room and down the stairs to the lobby of the inn. Sara and few other personnel had just set out the free continental breakfast. Merope took a glass mug from a stack and poured some coffee into it. She heard from someone on the streets that this “coffee” stuff helped wake up a person in the morning.
“I’ll bring the mug back later,” she said coldly to Sara as she exited the room. They had stayed in the inn long enough now that the personnel trusted them not to ‘steal the towels’ so to speak.
After making her way back up the stairs and into her room, she placed the hot mug on the counter and began making eggs, toast, and bacon, which she made every morning. Except this time, she left the regular portion of Amortentia out of Tom’s cup and replaced it instead with the coffee.
Within an hour Tom had woken up and made his way into the kitchen. “The eggs are bland,” he stated in an expressionless manner. He glanced over at his mug and added, “and my orange juice is black.”
Merope chuckled to herself but knew better than to laugh out loud, “That isn’t orange juice, Tom. It’s a morning drink called ‘coffee.’ It’s supposed to be a good booster in the morning.”
“I want my orange juice.”
“Okay, I’ll get you some.” Merope made her way over to the mini refrigerator and got out the orange juice. She then got out a cup and began pouring the juice.
Maybe I should add the Amortentia today. He doesn’t seem too happy, although he is getting better. Yes, he is getting better. I know he is getting better. Plus, the only way for marriage to last is if he loves me of his own free will.
She placed the glass of orange juice next to Tom, but it seemed he had already taken a sip of the coffee.
“This cough-ey stuff is fine. I don’t need the orange juice.”
Rather than arguing, Merope moved the glass of juice to her plate, relieved that she hadn’t added the potion to it. She noticed that the more coffee Tom drank, the easier he was to deal with. Maybe he really wasn’t a morning person.
Merope sat down at her place at the table and looked down at her plate. Bacon, eggs, toast? What was this stuff? She then got back up and walked over to the fridge. Lettuce, tomatoes, sauerkraut, mayonnaise, bread, and more started pouring out of it from behind her. She pulled all her new ingredients to her end of the table and made herself a not-so-appetizing version of a morning sandwich.
Tom looked at her awkwardly but the coffee had him in a better mood so he decided not to say anything. Merope ate it rapidly, but before she could get more she politely stood up and said, “Will you excuse me?” and ran into the bathroom.
Not knowing what to do in this type of situation, Tom simply looked down at his breakfast and began to eat it again. What else could he do?
Merope entered the room again a few minutes later with a slightly green face. She mentioned nothing to Tom, but just cleaned up her mess and began finishing her normal breakfast, too.
The rest of breakfast ended without a word, which was probably good for both of them. Merope cleaned up, and put away the dishes as she normally did, but noticed the new expression on Tom’s face as he watched her. It was not an expression of love or admiration, but one of contempt. Maybe he was happy here after all?
The air of the day was one of celebration. Everyone seemed happy and everywhere you looked, it seems there was a happy girl with an “amulet” on her right chest. People were comparing necklaces, bracelets, pins, and flowers that morning and Merope wished that she had something to show. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about going home and getting the flowers Tom had given her. She was just waiting for the time that he would give it to her.
Over the course of the day, Tom began to stray away from Merope more and more. Even with almost four months of living with Merope, Tom hadn’t lost his touch with the ladies. Merope had more than once that day found him surrounded by a group of giggling girls. But rather than being angered by the situation, seeing Tom truly happy again only reminded her of how much she loved him.
“What did Tom give you this morning?” asked one of the women Merope had become friends with. They had met in one of the town shops about a month previously and stayed fairly good friends. This wasn’t the only person who had asked Merope this question this morning; it seemed Martisor was not only a day to reunite those in love, but also to reunite friendships.
“Well, I saw a bouquet of flowers behind the window curtains this morning,” Merope said trying to think of a way to cover up Tom’s ‘forgetfulness,’ “But, he hasn’t given them to me yet, so I’m guessing he has something planned for me tonight.”
After she had said this, Merope’s heart lightened. Maybe this was true.
Later that afternoon, Merope and Tom were sitting at the café at which they always ate lunch. Merope had noticed a change in Tom after a few hours, so she decided the best thing to do was to bring him to lunch earlier and get him another cup of that coffee. Coffee seemed to work miracles.
“What’s that damn sound?” Tom asked during lunch before he drank any of his beverage.
Merope had heard the sound too. It was just a low rumble, but she knew what it was. Her stomach was ‘moaning’ and she wasn’t feeling good at all.
“I think I’ll go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” she said as she got up and left the table.
A few minutes later Tom saw her run out of the bathroom looking sick, but rather than walk back to the table, she ran right out of the café. Rather than following her, Tom stayed at the table and continued to drink his coffee and eat his lunch.
He continued to watch Merope out of the window. He noticed her running out of a few shops frantically. After around ten minutes, right after Tom had finished eating, paid for the meal, and was about to leave, he noticed Merope walk slowly out of one of the shops, this time looking solemn.
She walked back into the café and sat down at the table as Tom stood up. “Where have you been for so bloody long? I was about to leave.”
“Tom,” she said, barely letting anything out of her mouth, “it’s blue.”
“What’s blue?” he asked. “What the hell could be so important that just because its ‘blue’ you think you can blow off our whole lunch?”
“I’m pregnant.”