Menopause to Matrimony (Fortytude Series Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

over”—he pauses for a moment—“the wedding plans.”
    It occurs to me that he knows this from when he was engaged to Christine, and he immediately seems to regret his remark. He silently pulls my hair to one side.
    “Is that what she did with Christine?”
    “I’m sorry.” He rests his chin on my shoulder.
    I turn my head so I can see his face. “It’s okay for you to talk about it. It won’t bother me.”
    “There’s not really anything to talk about. Just know that she will try to sway you from anything simple.”
    Running my fingers back and forth over his arms which are now wrapped around me, I tilt my head. “What kind of ceremony do you want? Do you want big and fun with lots of guests? Or would you rather have something more intimate?”
    “It makes no difference to me. The end result is all I care about.” He kisses the side of my head. “I want you to have the ceremony that you want, and if that’s something understated, Mother will work to convince you otherwise. In which case, I’ll have to firmly remind her that it’s our wedding, not hers.”
    “Dude, I really need to shave my legs.”
    “Here, turn around.”
    I sit up and swivel around to face him. Pushing the faucet to one side, I lean back and he lathers up one of my legs with soap. “Hand me your razor.”
    “You’re going to shave my legs?”
    “Sure. Why not?”
    I shrug and hand it to him. “Part of me would enjoy a big, celebratory wedding because when Luke and I got married, it was very understated, as you say.”
    Kiran is concentrating so intently on his task, making sure not to cut me, that I’m not sure he’s fully paying attention to what I’m saying.
    “But at the same time, I don’t want us to spend a fortune on one day. I think I would rather have a nice honeymoon, which I also never had when Luke and I married.”
    He pulls the razor away, purses his lips, and nods. “All I know is, once Seth arrives, I’m hoping he’ll serve as her distraction for a while instead of us.”

 
    SIX
     
    “Great!” I mutter and roll out of bed, completely soaked between my thighs. There’s a spot of blood the size of a plum on the sheets that leaked through my pajamas.
    Kiran rolls over. “You okay?”
    Holding a hand between my legs to keep from staining the carpet, I hobble toward the bathroom. “Just the usual. It’s that time of month for me to bleed like a stuck pig.” I close the door behind me, and as I back up in front of the toilet, I ready myself to quickly pull down my shorts because an imminent flood awaits.
    For two days each month, it’s the same drill. Debilitating cramps. Head throbbing with pain—bleeding out tends to do that to a girl. How is it that I can be “enjoying” onset of the occasional hot flashes and insomnia of perimenopause, and yet my periods are only getting worse? Isn’t that supposed to be one of the perks of getting older—gradually having lighter periods until eventually they just disappear?
    Sitting on the toilet, I pull off my soiled bottoms. I cannot go on like this. I keep telling myself I’ll suffer through a couple days a month, but that’s usually after it’s over. Then Mother Nature strikes again, and I’m reminded of how frickin’ awful it is.
    Kiran knocks on the door. “Can I get you anything?”
    I drop my face in my hands. This is not the part of couplehood I allowed myself to consider when he and I first started seeing each other. “Could you please bring me a clean pair of shorts and underwear?”
    It’s quiet for a minute, then he taps again. I crack the door open and his hand slides through with my requested items.
    When I return to the bedroom, he’s already stripped down the sheets and is putting on a clean set.
    “Thank you. I could have done that. You have to get ready for work.” Once he’s finished, I crawl back into bed.
    Standing over me, he rubs my forehead with his thumb. “You’re going to stay home?”
    “I don’t want to, but I