Cry to Me

The room was dark except for the soft glove of the television in the armoire. Dulci wasn’t exactly sure where she was initially, but when she heard light snores, she realized she was in Sidney’s bed, naked and shivering from the lack of covers.She turned over to see Sidney peacefully sleeping on his back.She tried to gaze at him, but realized her eyes were dry from sleeping in her contacts.She needed to find her bag and get her holder.She slowly got out of bed, careful not to disturb Sidney, and walked around to find her pile of clothing.He undressed her next to his side of the bed, but she didn’t see her clothes anywhere except her underwear.It didn’t help that her vision was cloudy.She did notice his hoodie on the chair across from his bed. She quickly slipped it over her head, basking in the smell of him.Exiting his room, she took the flight of stairs down toward the front door where she faintly saw her bag.Grabbing it, she ran back upstairs to his room and headed to his en suite bathroom.Shutting the door and turning the light on, she took a hazy look at herself.She looked like a mess.She had raccoon eyes from her mascara running, her chin was chaffed from the stubble on Sidney’s chin, and her lips were red and swollen from kissing.Yet, she never felt better.Their second time together was definitely a reprieve.She felt herself getting hot thinking about the way he touched her, kissed her, fucked her.

Opening the cabinet, she found some really expensive exfoliating facial cleanser.She placed a small amount onto her hand, worked it into her face, careful not to scrub the irritated skin on her chin, and rinsed.She took her contacts out next and used a large amount of moisturizing eye drops to sooth her itchy eyes.

When she exited the bathroom, she noticed a small amount of sunlight coming through the curtains.It must’ve been close to 7am.If she got out of bed at 8, she could drive home, shower, dress, and make it to work with plenty of time to spare.She discreetly climbed back into bed and nuzzled into Sidney, laying her head on his chest.She closed her eyes and listened to his breathing for a few minutes before he shifted so that their fronts were together with his arms around her.She was eye level with his lips. She watched as they occasionally twitched, and when she thought she saw a faint smile on his face, she reached her head up and placed a light kiss on them. Dulci pulled back after she was done and was startled when he opened his eyes.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He asked with a sleepy smile.She didn’t have time to respond before he was returning the affection and taking it further.He rolled her onto her back and followed, ending on top of her with his legs between hers.

“Why are you wearing clothes?” he asked, kissing her neck and sucking on the spot directly beneath her ear.

“Because I woke up freezing without any blankets to keep warm,” she weakly responded as he pulled his hoodie off of her body.

They made out while touching and teasing one another. Tired of being on top of her, Sidney rolled them both over until she was on top. He wanted to see her on display for him to ogle at. Except, she didn't straddle him like he had intended, instead laying fiat on top of him. He slid his hands in her underwear, feeling and squeezing her ass while trying to subtly push them down.

"We can't," Dulci murmured against his lips, pulling his hand from inside her underwear.

"Why not?" It almost sounded like a pout, making Dulci chuckle.

"Because I'll be cutting your dog in less than four hours. Do you want a physically exhausted veterinarian operating on your dog and risk fucking up?"

"If it were anyone else, I'd say no, but you look good when I physically exhaust you," he smiled before kissing her again.

"You're probably right. I have practice this morning and a game tonight," he added before kissing her again. They kissed each other languidly for a few more minutes until Dulci's phone started to ring, which she ignored. She knew her alarm would be going off soon, and she wanted to soak up as much time with Sidney as possible. She wasn't sure when they'd see each other again. Almost immediately after it finished ringing, it started again. Seeing that the caller ID said "work," she sat up, granting Sidney's wish by straddling him and answered the call.

"Hello?... Hi Savannah..."

Her calm professional demeanor left when Sidney sat up and started kissing her neck, making her stutter on the phone.

"I'm at... I'm... I'm getting ready..." Sidney smiled as her continued assaulting her neck and collarbone with kisses and gentle bites.

"I'm not breathy... I'm just... I'm working out... Hold on." Dulci pressed mute before she kissed him with everything she had, pushing him backward so she was laying completely on top of him again.

"You're incorrigible." She held him down with her hand as she sat back up, resuming the conversation.

He was feeling her everywhere, loving the sound of her fumbling on the phone because of what he was doing. All of a sudden, she was tense and wasn’t responsive to his touch.When he looked up, he noticed Dulci's face had gone from a nice pink flush to a pale white. It looked like someone had smacked her in the face.

"Oh God. That's terrible," she gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. She stared down vacantly at Sidney's chest, coving her own with her arm.

"I'm here. I'll be in soon," and with that, hung up. Dulci was frozen in that position for what seemed like ages. Sidney tried to read her expression but struggled as she seemed to fly through different emotions: shock, grief, and when he noticed her tearing up, he saw the last emotion, guilt.

"Is everything ok?" he asked softly, rubbing her legs. She was jolted from her thoughts at his question.

"No," she said staring blanking at nothing.

"My good friend Alyssa, one of the technicians, miscarried last night. She was six and a half months pregnant. She went into labor early. It was too soon."

"That's awful," Sidney said quietly while sitting up, running his hands through his hair.

"She and her husband had been trying for months. They've been having difficulty. My heart breaks for them," she explained before climbing off of Sidney and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I need to go home and shower before work." Dulci stood and walked to the dresser that held her folded clothes. She hadn’t noticed before, but in the sobering light of day, she found them. She quickly picked up her bra to put on. She felt a hand on her back before Sidney appeared in front of her.

"Take a shower here. Taylor leaves stuff here for visits."

"Ok."

Sidney quickly entered Taylor's en suite bathroom and grabbed her shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and blow dryer. Upon returning to his bedroom, he found Dulci sitting on the toilet, waiting with a towel and washcloth she must've found in his linen closet.

"Thank you," she said weakly with an empty smile. When she finally made eye contact, her eyes looked grief stricken. He left the bathroom to give her space, and as he was pulling a tee shirt out of a drawer, he heard faint, muffled sobs mixed with running water. Walking to the bathroom door, he contemplated getting into the shower with her to comfort her, but figured he'd give her privacy. Plus, he wasn't exactly sure why she was crying other than a good friend going through a terrible time. Sidney had married friends back at home who had experienced miscarriages, and while he felt sympathy for them, especially their wives, he was never that shaken up. As he was spritzing himself with cologne, he hit him, the pregnancy tests that Carly told him about. Maybe Dulci was crying because she recently had a miscarriage and she was living it again when she heard the news. He wanted to be there for her, but she hadn't said anything to him and he didn't want to pry. Instead, he figured he would run out and get her a coffee, hoping to cheer her up.

Thirty-five minutes later, Dulci was freshly showered and dressed. Luckily, she had a spare set of scrubs and under garments in her trunk for messy days at the hospital. When she walked down stairs to find Sidney, she found a note instead, notifying her he'd be back soon. She was starving, she opened his fridge to find food but there was nothing really edible to her standards. As she was raiding his cupboard, she heard his garage door open. Closing it, she turned around to find him carrying in a Starbucks cup and a breakfast sandwich. She was already a crying wreck, and the site of him holding out comfort food made her tear up again.

Sidney could see her fighting back emotional baggage. He instantly placed the coffee and sandwich on the entry table and went to her, opening his arms to hug her.

"Please don't say anything, it'll make it worse," Dulci sniffled into his shoulder as she hugged him tightly. He held her as she silently cried for a minute before she let go and walked toward the powder room. Wiping her face with a tissue, she noticed him in the doorway, fidgeting as he tried to figure out what to say. To break the awkward heir between them, she closed their distance and gave him a light kiss.

"I'm sorry about this," she said gesturing toward her face. "It's not very becoming."

"Why are you apologizing? You're upset about your friend. I just wish I knew what to say...or do," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her again.

"This is perfect." They stood rocking back and forth for a few moments before Dulci looked at her watch.

"Sam and I better get going. We have a date with the scalpel and ten blade." While she was particularly trying to be funny, Sidney chuckled a little, and she smiled back. He was probably trying to raise her spirits. He walked Sam out to Dulci's car with her and lifted Sam into the backseat. As Dulci opened the driver side door, Sidney stopped her, turned her to face him, and gave her a kiss that spoke volumes to her. He was telling her that he was there for her if she needed and that he wanted to be there, tears or no tears.

----

"Good morning sun..." Savannah could tell Dulci had been crying with her puffy eyes and red face. Instead of saying anything else, she grabbed her hand and dragged her into the doctor's luxurious bathroom with Sam in tow.

"Stay here. I'll be right back," Savannah said as she closed the bathroom door. Not even a minute later she returned with a bag full of makeup.

"Do you want me to kick his ass?" Savannah asked as she sorted through her bag.

"What are you talking about?"

"Crosby. Did he make you cry? I'll beat his ass," she added handing Dulci some BB cream.

"This," Dulci gestured to her face, "has nothing to do with him. I was crying about Alyssa," she finished, rubbing her face with the foundation.

"Oh... Yeah. That’s freaking horrible. I didn't think you'd be that upset about it." Savannah's statement came out sounding more like a question.

"I feel...guilty."

"Grief I understand, but why guilt?" Savannah asked handing Dulci some brown eye liner.

"I'm only going to tell you because I know you won't judge me. I had an abortion six years ago because one, I was on the worst medication around for pregnancies. I didn't know I was pregnant when I took it, and my GYN told me it would be wise to abort, and two, I didn’t to try being a first time mother during my first year of vet school." Even though she knew Savannah wouldn't judge, she couldn't look at her. She felt ashamed.

"So how does that make you feel guilty?"

"Because Alyssa has wanted to start a family for months and she's having so much trouble. Meanwhile, I get pregnant by mistake from looking at a penis the wrong way... I feel like a terrible person." Dulci couldn't finish.

"Let me ask you something. Had you not been on medication that would've severely altered the health of the baby, would you have kept it?"

Dulci thought about calling it off the day she had the procedure. She was in love with Jason and she thought they could make it work.

"I didn't want a baby, but I would've tried."

"Then no guilt necessary. You did what was best for you and the pregnancy at the time. What do you tell clients about quality of life? If it's grim then they need to consider euthanasia. The same can be said of your situation. Plus, your physician recommended it." Savannah always had a clear, nonjudgmental outlook to every situation, and Dulci appreciated it.

"Thank you," Dulci smiled feebly.

"Anytime. I thought I was going to whip some ass."

Savannah smiled in return.

"Well, Sidney saw me crying this morning. He may run for the hills after I'm done with Sam's surgery today," Dulci said applying mascara.

"Oh please. He cries to the refs all the time," Savannah scoffed, waving the Dulci’s concern away.

"In all seriousness. I was a wreck this morning after you called. We were in the middle of making out before hand. He probably thinks I'm nuts."

"Ohhhhh. So that's why you sounded winded. Good for you! Have you had sex since his poor attempt?"

Dulci closed her eyes, smiled coyly, and turned so red she matched the medical waste disposal box.

"I want details later! You can just leave the makeup in my cubby in the break room." And with that, Savannah left the bathroom.

----

Three hours later, Dulci was finishing suturing up her spay when Savannah entered the surgical suite.

"He didn't run," she said with a huge grin. Dulci was confused, and Savannah noticed instantly.

"Christ, Dulci. Don't you remember the conversation earlier about nuts and running for the hills? Well he didn't run."

As Savannah walked away, the technician looked at Dulci, and Dulci shrugged in return. She had an inkling, however. How was Savannah sure he wasn't going to break off whatever they had? Had he called the hospital? The thought made Dulci's heart rate rise. After giving the technician the usual patient wake up instructions, she walked to the front desk to find Savannah, who was nowhere to be found. She walked toward the doctor's office and the moment the office manager spotted her, she turned to Dulci with a grin.

"Someone's got an admirer."

Dulci looked on her desk to find a giant arrangement of red cabbage roses, the biggest she'd ever seen. Pulling out the card, she read to herself.

You're beautiful.

-Sid.

As she held the card to her chest and stuck her nose in the flowers, Savannah interrupted.

"Told you so. And by the way, Mrs. Szorc is here and you said you needed to speak to her?"

"Oh. Right on time. Can you put her in room four?" Dulci asked as she took her surgical gown off and hung it on her chair.

----

There was an hour before the game started, and usually Sidney wouldn't look at his phone let alone bring it in the arena, but he wanted to keep a line of communication open incase anything happened to Sam. He had two messages from Dulci two hours before he looked. He silently panicked and hoped it wasn't anything serious. The first message was a picture of Sam after surgery, stoned out of her mind with a pink cast on her back leg. She was still connected to an IV drip on a comfortable bed. Dulci was sitting next to her Indian style, still in her surgical gown, laughing as Sam was trying to lick her chin. The picture warmed his heart and he couldn't get the smile off of his face if someone had paid him to, and he wouldn't want to. The second message was also a picture. It was a close up profile view of Dulci smelling the roses he had sent to her earlier that day. She had her eyes closed and an affectionate look on her face. It was candid and beautiful, like he said in the card. He saved the picture to his phone and added it to her contact information. He wanted to see it every time she called and hoped that she'd call soon.

Notes