In my new room, I unload the goodies I bought and rip open the potato-chip bag first. Because I haven’t eaten much in the last twenty-four hours, I can almost feel my stomach reaching upward with greedy fingers as the food moves down my esophagus. I have no clue what Beth is preparing for dinner, but I might resemble a hungry bear while eating. After finishing the junk food, I fix my hair and makeup, brush my teeth, and head downstairs. Ben and his family will be arriving any minute now, and I don’t want to look frumpy when I greet them. Mom and Beth, however, question whether or not I should actually be out of bed. My eyes roll more than once as they chatter about how I still look out of sorts. “Guys, seriously, I’m fine,” I argue. “If I wasn’t, I’d be under the covers, curled up in the fetal position, like I was last night.”Beth pats me on the shoulder and says, “All right, dear. But if you decide dinner is a bit too much, don’t hesitate to excuse yourself. Nobody will blame you.”I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling queasy.
