Midsummer's Magic

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

If her night time hallucinations weren't enough to convince her to lay off the tequila, then the hangover Beth woke with definitely was. With a groan, she carefully opened one eye and promptly shut it again as lasers shot into her head, threatening to slice her brain in two. Turning away from the window as carefully as she could, as any sudden movement seemed to make the contents of her stomach race to escape her mouth, she tentatively opened hers eyes again. OK, not quite so bad, but her tongue felt like it was too big for her mouth. It was as dry as her extra can of Sure deodorant. As the contents of her stomach continued to rebel, she groaned again as she attempted to get out of bed and head for the bathroom. The miners with pick axes in her head took second place to the rolling of her stomach, and she broke into a run, getting to the toilet in time to be violently sick. Once her stomach had purged itself of last night's barbecue, she crawled into the shower, and managed to reach up enough to turn it on. Then she just sat back against the tiles and let the water flow over her, hoping that it would either refresh her or that she would drown and be put out of her misery. After half an hour of wallowing, she started to feel slightly better and managed to stand up and wash her hair. She carefully stepped out of the shower, trying hard not to jar her head anymore than necessary, and cleaned her teeth in an attempt to get the taste of regurgitated tequila and food out of her mouth. 

Feeling closer to being human again, she slipped on another one of her coloured tanks and cut off jean shorts. She then made her way down to the kitchen. It was only when she walked into the living room that she remembered Rory, but he wasn't on the sofa where she had left him. With a sigh of relief at not having to face an awkward conversation, she went to make herself some breakfast. In the kitchen, she found his coffee cup from the night before on top of a piece of paper. She picked it up and read the note.  

Sorry I couldn't follow through on what had been a great evening, hope your hangover's not as bad as mine. See you soon. Rory. 

Ah, sweet, she thought. At least there were no bad feelings and with that, she made herself some coffee and toast. Deciding to eat outside, she grabbed her sunglasses to protect her still sensitive eyes, sat back on a lounger, and cast her mind back over the previous evening. Ginny's friends were a laugh, she'd had a lot of fun. Rory was sweet, but she couldn't help remembering the feeling of disappointment she felt when she saw Liam leaving the party early and obviously upset about something. Then her mind wandered to the weird dream she'd had. At least she was pretty sure it was a dream, but she couldn't help thinking about the conversation she had supposedly overheard. Who were they talking about, him so sad, and her with ice in her heart? And what was that about midsummer's eve and was that love potions they were on about? 

Shaking her head slowly, as it was still a bit fragile, she thought that it must have been the combination of tequila and Rory joking about Piskies and Faeries that had made her imagination run wild. Crumbs, wait till I tell Trish, she thought grinning. She will think I have really lost it this time, she chuckled to herself. 

An hour later, when her mobile trilled, Beth was feeling moderately human again and happily accepted Ginny's invitation to lunch. She changed into a strappy, emerald green sundress that brought out the colour of her eyes. Pulled her hair back in a matching scrunchy, so that she could get some sun on her shoulders, grabbed her bag and jacket, and then she set off for the Manor House again. 

When she arrived at the house, she was greeted by Ginny at the door and invited in to what appeared to be pandemonium. As soon as she stepped inside, two large, golden retrievers bounded towards her and almost knocked her off her feet. 

"I hope you don't mind dogs," Ginny laughed as Beth struggled to stay upright. 

"No, I love dogs. They are beautiful," she replied.