The only thing better than being nearly four months pregnant with a baby that was doing its damndest to wreak havoc on her body, was getting to just over five months pregnant without anything further happening to threaten either her or the growing fetus. Domino spent twenty-one or so hours a day laying down with her head just slightly raised, and the other few hours, she was allowed to sit up a little more in order to eat and make trips to and from her bathroom. Dr. Trainor visited often, and she was constantly being bombarded with ultrasounds and questions. He seemed pleased with how her body was reacting to bedrest, and she was thankful that he hadn't had to put her in the position he'd mentioned to Mr. Hughes. She wasn't sure she would have been able to handle laying with her head tilted down for very long.
Samir spent time with her early each morning, and then in the afternoons unless he had an appointment. It seemed like there was a pretty good supply of clients, both human and non-human, that visited Vorhees each week. She knew he enjoyed his work for the most part, and she was pretty certain it was because it allowed him to meet his sexual needs and not worry about getting hurt. You couldn't get hurt when you lived life having what amounted to one night stands with women. Domino wished that her friend would be more open to starting a relationship with someone, but he wouldn't, he was very happy with the status quo.
Mr. Hughes also visited her, sometimes bringing up some of the paperwork he had to fill out with him so that he could sit at the desk in the room and make idle conversation with her while he worked. He had never been that into computer systems, and after a while, having watched him take pen to paper so often, Domino had started to toy around with her computer to develop a system that would better suit his needs and make certain things flow more efficiently. In the last few weeks, he had started to hand certain parts of the running of the spa over to her to transfer to the computer, and she had enjoyed teaching him how to use the computer program that she'd made. What had been done just to humor her at first had turned into something that he had told her would make things much easier for him in the long run.
It was nice to feel useful after weeks of moping around on her bed, bored out of her mind. She'd watched movies and knitted a baby blanket and she was three fourths of the way through a charcoal colored tweed sweater. Shi had been nice enough to make a few trips into Toronto to get her some knitting supplies because she'd left her things in Vermont, in the apartment that was still being paid for, though she had no idea if or when she would ever return to it. Eventually, she would have to deal with it, but she didn't want to think about it now. She also wasn't working anymore, Mr. Hughes had taken care of that for her. When they weren't sure if she would even regain consciousness, he had sent an email under her work account to her employer resigning from her position. When she'd first found out about it, she'd been very angry. The choice to quit should have been hers, but she knew why he had done it. She still missed the work, but now that Mr. Hughes was having her help him with Vorhees, she at least got to do something besides get stuck in her own head all day.
Faeron visited, too, often with Dr. Trainor, and sometimes alone. He was kind to her, and she knew that things were going well with his work at the spa. He was spending a lot of time with Mr. Hughes learning the background workings and he apparently asked a lot of questions, wanting to know as much as Mr. Hughes would tell him. His interest seemed sincere, and while they were still very weary of him, there was a touch of trust in the wood elf. She had even shown him the computer program that she'd created to help streamline some of the work. Domino no longer watched his appointments, not since that one time, and she knew that they were going well. Shi and Deandra were most often his chaperones at this point, and there had been no complaints from any of the clients that had been a recipient of his services.
Alexandru was still away, and he hadn't contacted them, not even once since he had left. That was what bothered Domino the most. Why hadn't he called? What was taking so long? His sire was a little reclusive, Faeron had tried to reassure her, but Domino was not happy about the wait. She wanted her vampire back, she wanted him here if something were to happen to her. She wanted to know that the baby would have its father when the time came. Faeron had told her the gender, but she had no intention of telling anyone else, she had wanted Alexandru there for that decision, but he wasn't back, and she had no idea how much longer it would take him to get home.
Even more amazing than getting to five months pregnant was knowing that by the time Halloween rolled around this year, she had hit the 26 week mark and was feeling pretty good about her baby's chances to survive. Halloween was her favorite time of year, which had always surprised Jenna because Domino had refused to ever go out to any parties or clubs. She had resisted even participating in her apartment complex's trick or treating. The thought of having to open her apartment door over and over had been entirely too much for her. Instead, Domino had spent more Halloweens than she wanted to count standing by the front window and stretching her neck here and there to spot the kids and adults walking through her neighborhood wearing their costumes.
A few weeks before, she had approached Mr. Hughes and asked if the staff at Vorhees had ever had a Halloween party, and he had smiled at her, humored by her question. "Halloween is full of people dressing up and pretending to be non-human. It tends to be a little non-sequitur to celebrate Halloween." He explained, and Domino had nodded and then given him a million and one reasons that she wanted to throw a party anyway.
He had been resistant, apparently having no appetite for chocolate, which she assured him spoke volumes about his constantly sour mood, nor did he have a desire to see people bobbing for apples, to which she had just rolled her eyes and said he didn't get it because he'd never done it. In the end, she'd simply told him that it was her favorite holiday, and it could well be her last, and she wanted to celebrate it, she wanted to celebrate something.
Mr. Hughes had eventually handed her his credit card and told her that if she was going to plan a Halloween party, to make it worth it, and that he would re-organize the schedule to allow for his employees to be available for the party.
"It's going to be a costume party." She had told him as he'd walked to the door, her hand already on her laptop.
The look he'd sent her way before leaving had been akin to torture. Domino had only smiled and connected to the internet and started ordering everything that she would need to turn Vorhees Spa, or at least a few rooms of it, into the proper setting for a very spooky, and fun, Halloween party.
The morning of the party, Dr. Trainor had been called to give Domino a thorough evaluation. Samir and Mr. Hughes had stayed close by, wanting to know the verdict as to whether or not Domino could be up for a longer period of time during the night's festivities, and they had been pleasantly, but cautiously assured that Domino's body was reacting well to the medication regimen that she was on, and that one night in a wheelchair should not have any adverse affects to her health.
Domino was excited, it was better than she'd hoped for, she'd actually made sure one area of the downstairs dining room would be clear for a chaise lounge to be brought in to have her lay on. Just because she couldn't get up, she was not willing to forgo the party herself! So knowing she would get to sit in a wheelchair was fantastic! She couldn't wait to see what Mr. Hughes and the others dressed as. She had asked them all to keep their costumes a secret from her, she had not wanted to know what anyone had come up with. She had wanted to be completely surprised. Her own costume, she had ordered online and had kept it secreted away under her bed so no one could see it and spoil things for her.
After the doctor had left, after yet again declining their offer to come to tonight's Halloween party, Domino had made Samir sit and watch several Halloween movies with her. She'd started out with Hocus Pocus, and then had settled into an old Dracula movie that she liked, a black and white one that had made her television companion laugh repeatedly. Deandra had come in at one point, something white in her hands that she worked on diligently during the movie that Domino couldn't quite make out, though it looked like one of those old-fashioned cravat type things.
Lunch was soup and sandwiches and Domino ate with zeal, she was hungry so often now she often told Samir that she could give him a run for his money. After lunch, she was starting to get anxious, she had a phone beside her that she constantly used to contact Shi, who was in charge of getting all of the decorations in place for that night. She wanted everything to be perfect, and the tall, black haired woman had a taste for decoration. Between the two of them, she knew that everything would come together just as she planned it. Then, around five pm, Shi spent some time upstairs helping Domino get ready for the party before going to her own rooms to change into her costume.
When it was finally time to go down to the party, Domino was impatiently watching the second hand of the clock on her wall tick away. It seemed like time slowed down and then stopped at some point, it was taking so long for seven pm to hit, but then she heard footsteps outside of her door and watched as it opened and Mr. Hughes walked into the room. She saw the black wheelchair he pushed inside first, and then looked up at him and frowned. She was going to kill him.
You in a suit is hardly a costume." She huffed, folding her arms in front of her.
"Wait for it." He spoke in a deep voice, she could feel the humor in his words.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, and then he put his hand out the door and came back in with a black fedora style hat that he placed on his head.
"Oh. My. God." She started laughing when suddenly, Samir was at his side, dressed identically.
"It's 110 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas..." Mr. Hughes smiled his lopsided grin and turned to Samir, who was smiling more like an idiot.
"A half a pack of cigarettes," He pulled a beaten up looking pack of them out of his suit pocket, "It's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."
