You're Warm-Sparia
Spencer yawned and stretched out in her bed, waiting for the alarm to go off. At some point in the last year, she’d started waking up within moments of the alarm. It was weird, but she felt much more rested then she did if she was awoken by the shrill beeping. Besides, as creepy as it sounded, she enjoyed seeing Aria while she was asleep. She looked so calm and peaceful.
It was a beautiful October day and she was excited to spend the day with her girlfriend. They were going to the apple orchard and they were going to pick up pumpkins. She’d never actually carved pumpkins as a kid, so she was excited to give it a try. Aria, who happened to love Halloween, had been scandalized to learn that she’d never carved a pumpkin. Just as she’d known it would without looking, the alarm went off.
“Ugh, how are you already awake?” Aria groaned, slamming her hand against the alarm. Spencer frowned. Aria had been congested the last few days, and she sounded really bad.
“Are you feeling okay, sweetie?” she asked. Aria responded by pulling the pillow over her head. Truthfully, she felt like shit. She’d been feeling under the weather all week, but now she felt like there was someone inside her skull, kicking her brain. Spencer removed the pillow.
“Aria, what’s wrong?” she asked, putting her hand against Aria’s forehead. Concern settled across her face.
“You’re warm,” she said. Aria shook her head, then winced from the pain it caused.
“I’m fine. I just have a cold,” she argued. Spencer raised an eyebrow.
“You clearly have a fever,” she said. Stubbornly, Aria sat up and started getting out of bed. A wave of pain rushed through her body and she sat back down.
“I just need to have some coffee and I’ll be fine,” she protested weakly. Spencer produced a thermometer from her dresser drawer and made Aria stick it under her tongue.
“Is this clean?” Aria grumbled. Spencer rolled her eyes.
“Of course it’s clean. Do you think I would put a dirty thermometer in your mouth?” she asked. Aria shook her head.
“Look, even if I’m a little bit sick we can still go out,” she said around the stick in her mouth. Spencer looked at the thermometer and shook her head.
“No way. Look at this, 102 degrees. You’re going to get back under those blankets right now and get some rest. I’ll go make you some tea if you want,” she offered. Aria shook her head.
“No! We’re supposed to go to the orchard and buy pumpkins and carve them and I was going to surprise you by making an apple pie and if we don’t go today, who knows when we’ll be able to go!” she rambled. Spencer raised her eyebrow.
“Aria, we cannot go to the orchard when you’re this sick. If you won’t consider your own health, think of all the children you could infect. We can go another day,” she offered. Aria’s bottom lip started trembling.
“It isn’t fair! You’ve never even carved a pumpkin!” she cried, unsure of why she was so upset. Spencer frowned, startled by her girlfriend’s outburst.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying,” Aria admitted, her tears turning into a laugh. Spencer smiled and stroked Aria’s hair.
“It’s okay. I know you were excited about today, but seriously, it’s fine. We can pick up pumpkins at the grocery store anytime, if it’s that important,” she said. Aria shook her head.
“That’s the thing. I don’t even really care about the pumpkins. I was just excited about spending the day with you. I feel like we’re both at work so much, and I see you some mornings, and most evenings, but we hardly ever have the same day off. I can’t remember the last time we actually spent the day together,” she said, digging to the root of her sadness at being sick. Spencer nodded.
“I know. It’s been tough lately. I’ve been campaigning practically nonstop, and once the election is over it’ll be better, but I know I haven’t been home much,” she admitted. Aria shook her head.
“It’s not just you. I’ve been putting in extra hours at the office too. I’ve been trying to get promoted to editor, but I’m afraid I’ve put our relationship—and my health—on the back burner,” she said. Spencer frowned.
“What do you mean?” she asked. Aria shrugged.
“I dunno. I just feel like I’ve been working myself into the ground, you know? It’s like maybe if I had slowed down a little I wouldn’t have gotten this sick,” she explained. Spencer nodded in understanding.
“Okay, I have an idea. We might not be able to go to the orchard, but that doesn’t mean we can’t spend the day together. I’ll make us both some tea and we can go downstairs and watch Halloween movies,” she suggested. Aria brightened.
“Seriously? You hate Halloween movies,” she pointed out. Spencer shrugged.
“But you don’t. I’ll even watch Scream if you want,” she offered. Aria bit her bottom lip, giving Spencer a puppy dog look.
“Can we watch Scream 4?” she asked hopefully, naming her favorite movie. Spencer sighed dramatically, as if it was a huge chore for her.
“I guess we can,” she agreed. Aria grinned happily, temporarily forgetting she was sick. Laughing at her girlfriend’s antics, Spencer also forgot for a second.
“Oh my gosh, what am I doing? You should take some Advil,” she said, getting up to get some. Aria shook her head.
“No, my mom always said you should let a fever run its course and not try to suppress it,” she said. Spencer paused. She considered calling Melissa—her sister had surprised the entire family when she’d announced that she was going back to school to be a doctor—but decided to wait.
“Okay, but if it gets any higher, I’m calling Melissa,” she threatened. Aria rolled her eyes. She didn’t really think Spencer would call her sister, but it was her favorite card to pull. She decided not to point out that Spencer had made that threat before and never followed through.
“Fine, fine. Now can we go downstairs? I really would appreciate a cup of chamomile tea,” she said. Spencer nodded.
“One cup of chamomile tea, coming right up.”