She had to reheat the cheeseburger and fries, but as she took the first bite, not only did her head seemingly feel immediately better, but her heart was full. She’d been dealing with migraines for so long, that she took for granted always having the thing she needed, and frankly, having a boyfriend who knew what to expect. But Fletcher had come through. He remembered the cheeseburger and Coke combination from college. And somehow he’d known about the Gatorade in the middle of the night. Maybe he had done an Internet search. It wasn’t like she was the only migraine sufferer to depend on these particular things. Most migraine patients talked about their cravings and the things that made them feel better the day after. Whatever he’d done, however he’d found this out, Fletcher had done a great job.
As always.
An hour later after doing a little bit of yoga, she felt good enough to head to the petting zoo and see if there was anything she could do.
Charlie assured her that all of the paperwork and presentation preparation could wait, so she headed over to the alpaca pen.
Apacalypse and Ella both saw her and came strolling over.
“Hi, ladies,” she greeted. She let them sniff her hands and then she stroked their necks. Ella nuzzled her hair and she laughed as the animal’s soft lips tickled her neck.
As she stroked their soft coats and talked to them in a low voice, she realized how relaxing it was. They were quiet animals and out here in their pen, with the soft breeze blowing, and the warm sun shining down, she felt the tension melting out of her neck and shoulders.
Two more of the alpacas noticed her, and came over to see what they were missing. She loved their sweet curiosity and that, unlike the otters, they weren’t constantly looking for treats. They seemed to actually enjoy human companionship and being stroked and petted.
She noticed Chewpaca off to one side by himself. He was grazing, seemingly unconcerned with what was going on by the fence, but she found herself wishing that he wanted more interaction as well.
He was much younger than the rest of the herd, of course, and had spent his early days on a farm interacting only with the farmers. He did seem a little intimidated by the groups of people, especially younger children, who wanted to give him attention.
Except with Sophia.
Jordan wondered if there would be any advantage to bringing the little girl over a few more times specifically to get Chewie more used to being touched and petted.
She’d have to ask Tori and Griffin. She could read a lot about alpacas in general, but she needed a little more guidance from the people who knew the personalities of these animals best.
She finished talking with the alpacas, then made her way around the animal park checking on everyone and giving them their afternoon feeding. About the time school was out, she asked Charlie if she could head home. Her head was much better but she was afraid that too much commotion could change that. She could use a nap. And some chocolate and caffeine.
She wondered if Fletcher would be up for giving her a neck and shoulder massage tonight.
She grinned. She was sure he would. He’d do anything she needed him to do. She’d have to instruct him and she knew the first time wouldn’t be perfect. It had taken Jason years to figure out exactly what pressure to use and he still needed coaching at times.
Still, it would make Fletcher feel good to have something to do.
She left him a note in the kitchen, telling him that she was going to try to sleep for an hour or so, but not to hesitate to wake her up when he got home.
Which he did with a sweet kiss to her forehead and a soft, “Jordan,”
Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him with a smile. This was a wonderful way to wake up.
“Hi.”
“Hi. How are you?”
She thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Much better.”
“I brought you peanut butter cups and coffee,” he said.
The aroma of the coffee hit her and she took a deep breath. Her smile grew. “You’re amazing. That’s exactly what I needed.”
He was clearly incredibly pleased by that.
“I figured we were staying in tonight,” he said. “Wasn’t sure what you would feel like eating though.”
“Pizza,” she said quickly. “And cheesy garlic bread. And onion chips. And maybe wings.”
He chuckled. “Wow. Okay. I can do all of that.”
She pushed up to sit against the headboard and he handed her the coffee. She cradled the paper cup between her two hands and took a little sip. It was doctored perfectly with cream and sugar. She normally drank it without sugar, as she did her Coke, but the day after a migraine required calories. Or the comfort of sugar. Or both. Or something. She didn’t argue with the results.
“Do you think you can watch a movie tonight? Or what works best the day after one of the headaches?”
She tipped her head. “Sometimes a movie is too much. At least in a theater where its brighter and loud, but here at home it should be fine. And I’m feeling pretty good.” She studied him for a moment. “We’ve watched movies together the day after I had a migraine.”
He nodded. “Yeah, but I didn’t know what stage that was.”
“Stage?”
“Last night was the first time I’ve been there through the whole thing. It occurred to me, as usual, I was probably coming in at the end of a migraine in the past. I didn’t know how long it would take you to get to that point.”
She nodded in understanding. “Oh. Yeah, I’ll have to tell you more about my headaches so you know what to expect.”
“Sure,” he said, pushing up off the bed. “But you don’t have to right now. Let me go see about getting you food.”
Of course he would be more comfortable focusing on actions rather than just talking. She smiled. She could help with that. “Sounds good. Would you be willing to rub my neck and shoulders later too?”
“Absolutely. Whatever you need. I had Mitch get some peppermint oil when he was in New Orleans picking up some tourists for a swamp boat tour today.”
Jordan stopped with the coffee cup part way to her mouth and stared at him. “You did?”
“We had to kind of guess what you needed. But he told the girl at the shop what we were going to use it for and that you have headaches. She recommended the oil he brought home.”
Jordan lowered the cup the rest of the way to her lap. “How did you know to get peppermint oil for a massage?”
Again, it wasn’t some crazy secret or something that only worked on her. Peppermint oil was widely used for pain control. But for Fletcher to know that was one thing. To go to the effort of asking Mitch to pick some up for her without knowing if it actually worked was another.
Fletcher blew out a breath. “I made a call last night when I wasn’t sure what to do to help you.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and looked the floor rather than directly at her. He looked almost sheepish.
Jordan felt surprise and then an incredible warmth spread through her. Tears pricked her eyes. “Did you call Jason last night?”
She’d had migraines in high school when she’d still been living at home, so her mother would’ve known a few tricks, but they were still learning about things and trying different remedies when Jordan went to college. Jason was the person who had seen the most of her migraines and had been the only one to rub peppermint oil on her shoulders. Until now.