The Thrill Is Gone

It was at a quarter to eleven that Harry finally showed up. He was supposed to get back at six, but then the Army Air Corps officials decided to prolong their meeting with the young prince. It hadn’t been their initial intention to keep him there so long, but after having realized just how long the commute was for the prince, they decided to spare him two more days of it, and kept their meeting going until ten at night. Throughout the course of their ten hour meeting, they were able to hammer out all the specifics of Harry’s impending training. There’d been a representative present from Clarence House that assisted Harry in the decision making and represented his father at the meeting. It was that representative that was charged with carrying a printed copy of Harry’s upcoming training plan to the Queen.

Once given to the Queen, they would have to wait for her approval. If she agreed with the terms, then the information would be formally put into the system and Harry’s second phase of training would commence, but if not, they would have to start from scratch in order to gain approval from their monarch. Harry hoped that his grandmother would approve of it directly. He didn’t want to waste anymore of his time, he wanted to learn everything he needed to learn and devote himself to his straining so that he would be able to be back in the thick of it, because it was out in the Middle East where he felt most at ease. Out there, he wasn’t Prince Harry, third in line to the throne. He was just Captain Harry Wales, and he loved being on an equal playing field with everyone else. He loved being commended and reprimanded like all the others, and he looked forward to being deployed once more.

No matter what his grandmother decided, Harry was just pleased that everything had been taken care of in a timely fashion. He was glad that he’d been spared two more days of commuting. That would’ve been six wasted hours, but now that time had been spared, and his two following mornings and afternoons were open for him to do as he saw fit. But despite being altogether pleased by how things had transpired, he couldn’t help but be upset at the fact that he’d not been able to spend any quality time with his girlfriend.

They’d meant to have dinner together and then watch a few movies that Harry was to pick up on his way back from Hampshire, but things had gotten away from him. And instead of dinner, all she had was a hurried call from him explaining that he wouldn’t be getting in until much later, he’d have to miss dinner but he’d still pick up the movies. He kept his promise about bringing along the movies, though it was Alistair who actually procured them from a local shop. He’d been the one to fetch the films and snacks that were Paulina’s favorite, that had been his duty and he’d carried it out to ensure that Harry would be able to comfortably watch a film with his girlfriend.

When Harry finally got to the house, he expected to find Paulina in the sitting room with her laptop. That was, after all, the usual place he found her at. She made a habit of being on talking to her family over Skype or to Rodrigo or Stephanie, so he expected to find her there, but when he popped his head into the room, she was nowhere to be found.

“Darling!” he called out to her, hoping she’d reply. “Darling, where are you?”

His inquiry went unanswered so he proceeded to wander around the house, looking for her. He’d almost finished checking the entire first floor when he realized he could just call her. That was simple enough, but he’d completely forgotten about his mobile. So he dug into his pant pocket, took out his blackberry, and then proceeded to phone her. He fully expected her to answer, she wasn’t one to let a call go to voicemail unless she was truly unavailable, but the phone rang and rang, and remained unanswered.

Despite her not answering the call, Harry was able to hear that her phone was ringing somewhere upstairs. So he proceeded to walk up to the second floor, and then wandered down the corridor until he came across the room where the noise was emanating from. She was in the guest bedroom where they were staying.

“There you are,” he began to say as he walked in, “I’ve been looking everywhere for –”

He stopped abruptly when he saw her sleeping figure on the couch. How could she be asleep already? She wasn’t one for sleeping early, and while 10:45 certainly wasn’t early for most people, it was for her. She was the sort of person that stayed up until the early hours of the morning. Usually, she was on the computer talking with friend or online reading up on something or another or watching a show or movie. She hardly ever went to sleep before midnight, and he’d fully expected her to be wide awake for when he returned, but there she was, lying fast asleep on the couch.

Her hair was an absolute disaster. It was still a bit damp which made it clear that she’d only recently fallen asleep. Her brow was furrowed, giving her the appearance of being deep in concentration. Her nose was slightly scrunched up, making her look as if she’d just smelled a fart or something of the sort. She was a far cry from sleeping peacefully. There was nothing angelic or particularly sweet about her sleeping features, and as Harry stared at her, he couldn’t help but think that maybe she’d gone to sleep annoyed at him, irritated at the fact that he hadn’t spent any time with her at all. Had he been in her position, he would’ve been annoyed. Their time together was limited. She was only going to be in England for another three weeks before she had to return to California, so they couldn’t just be wasting their time, but he’d had to stay late at that meeting. Staying the extra hours had ensured that he wouldn’t have to waste fourteen hours in the following two days. It had been a necessary sacrifice, and he hoped that she wouldn’t quarrel. He wasn’t in the mood for that. All he wanted was to take a quick shower, eat some leftovers, and then carry her to bed so that they could sleep together. That was it.

But before he showered, he wanted to do a bit of tidying up so she wouldn’t have to do it in the morning, not that there was much to clean up. There was an empty bottle of wine, a sleeve of cookies that was only missing a couple, and a few strawberries on a plate, though to be honest, the only thing that was left of the strawberries was that bit of green at the top of them. He grabbed the wine and the cookies, stuffing a few them into his mouth before shoving the rest of the cookies into his pant pocket. He then reached to grab the plate of strawberries, and when he did, he noticed that they were resting on top of a beat up DVD of The English Patient.

It suddenly made sense to him why she’d finished an entire bottle of wine and had gone at the cookies and strawberries at so late an hour, she was on her period. That was, after all, the only time that she watched The English Patient. At any other moment she would’ve complained that it was too sad to watch, that she didn’t want to emotionally exhaust herself, but whenever her period came around, she watched it. It was tradition for her. She’d get a little drunk, indulge in sweets a bit, and cry. Not that she cried all day long. She wasn’t one for being overly sensitive and taking offense at everything. That wasn’t her menstrual cycle style. No, she was the sort of woman that had to squeeze in a nap or two throughout the day because she felt a bit rundown, and she always had horrible craps on the first day of her period. And for the most part she was emotionally stable, but she did enjoy watching movies that made her cry because according to her, they provided a release. That was why she always watched The English Patient, because regardless of how many times she’d seen it, it always made her cry. She mixed it up with the other films she watched, sometimes with a Jane Austen adaptation, others with a romantic drama or just a drama from Hollywood, but no matter what, The English Patient was always somewhere in the mix. Harry had learned that particular fact about his girlfriend after being with her for five and a half months.

Now that he knew that she was on her period, her irritated look made sense. She was probably having those cramps that always seemed to take it out of her on the first day, and as much as that sucked for her, he was relieved that she didn’t look grumpy because of his not being there.

Since she was on her period, Harry decided that it’d be best not to carry her over to the bed. He knew her well enough to know that she was a right bitch when people woke her up before she intended to. She’d be irritable and altogether unpleasant, so instead he grabbed a blanket off the bed and covered her up. And once he was sure that she’d be alright, he picked up the bottle of wine and plate of strawberries, and proceeded to make his way out of the room. He was just about to open the door when a low groan caught his attention. The groan was then followed by a slew of profanity.

“Son of a bitch . . .” she grumbled angrily. “Can’t even fucking sleep in peace anymore. Stupid ass cramps.”

“That’s quite the mouthful.” Harry said without thinking.

Her head snapped in his direction, confusion washing over her features.

“Güerito?” she spoke as she sat up. “When’d you get here?”

“Just got in, actually,” he replied and began to walk towards her. “I would’ve woken you, but, uh, you were sleeping so I figured it best not to.”

“Good thinking.” She had an arm wrapped around her lower abdomen, hoping that the heat would help somewhat alleviate the cramps that she’d been dealing with on and off for the past two hours. “You would’ve probably gotten told off if you’d woken me up.”

“I know.” He chuckled, smiling affectionately. “That’s why I didn’t do it.”

“So how was the meeting?” asked Paulina, trying her best not to grimace from the seemingly never ending war that was taking place inside her uterus. She felt as if miniature canons were being fired within her. It was an absurd thing to say, she knew, but that was honestly how she felt. She was uncomfortable, terribly so, and if she was to be honest, the cramps she was experiencing were the worst she’d ever felt.

“It was brilliant. We were actually able to finish up everything that needed doing, so I’ve got the following two mornings and early afternoons open now.” He took a seat beside her, setting down the wine and plate on the nearby table. “Of course, whether or not the plans we made get approved is entirely up to my Gran, but I suspect she’ll approve of it. After all, my father sent a representative along to ensure the details would be in the interest of the crown.”

“That’s good then,” she spoke and she leant forward a bit, trying to apply more pressure to her lower abdomen and pelvic area. “If the representative was there then they definitely made sure to agree to terms that she’d be alright with.” She cringed as she repositioned herself to better look at Harry. “When is your training meant to start?”

“A week after you leave.” He replied. “I know it’s soon, but I figured that I ought to get right in the thick of it as soon as I could. Maybe that way I’ll be able to be sent to the front before the war ends.”

“I don’t think the war will be ending any time soon.” Paulina commented. “There’s at least another four years in it.”

“Four years?” Harry shook his head. “Won’t be that long,” he told her. “It can’t be.”

“Well, I don’t know how long the UK’s going to support the US’s efforts, but President Obama said he’d withdraw troops from Afghanistan by 2014. Granted, that doesn’t mean that all troops are gonna be pulled out. There are still gonna be a large American presence, the only thing is that American involvement there is going to go from combat mission to a support mission.”

“How do you know this?” inquired Harry. “There’s not been anything said of that in the press. Not in the American press or ours. So how do you know?”

“Professor Warren told me.” Paulina cursed inwardly, realizing that she wasn’t supposed to have said anything about that. “Remember how I told you that she’s close to the President?”

Harry nodded.

“Well, they’re in each others confidence, and he told her that he plans to do that. He wanted to announce his plan this summer, but, uh, it’s kind of a little crazy right now in Washington. So he’s putting his efforts into supporting legislation and helping get it passed, but at some point, in the not so distant future, he’ll make that announcement.”

“I can’t believe you’re privy to that sort of information.” Harry honestly couldn’t believe that his girlfriend, the woman whom he’d lay in bed with, was an insider in Washington politics.

“It’s because I’m fucking adorable.” Paulina said, nonchalantly. “And do you see this face? This is a trustworthy face. Granted, I wasn’t supposed to tell you about it, but you’re my boyfriend so it’s not like you’re gonna tell anyone what I just said.” She paused. “You better not tell anyone about that. The Army Air Corps doesn’t need to know that information until the President deems it necessary.”

“Don’t nag me. I’m not about to run off and tell them.” Harry feigned offense, though in truth, there had been a part of him that thought his superiors might want to know that. That way they could make plans of their own for troop withdrawal. “Honestly love, ya know I’m not one to run at the –” he was cut off by Paulina hissing in pain.

In the span of a few seconds, she’d gone from sitting up to lying on the couch with her face buried on one of the decorative throw pillows. She was clutching at her lower abdomen, holding it as tightly as she could to apply heat as the latest bout of cramps wreaked havoc within her. It was moments like those when she hated being a woman. Cramps were the fucking devils work. They completely overpowered her, and while she honestly only ever had cramps on the first day of her period, they would sometimes linger into the second, and for that entire time she would feel like crap, but this time they were stronger than usual. She wasn’t just going to be able to get through them by bundling up a blanket and sticking it under her shirt or applying a warm compress, she was going to have to take some medicine to deal with the pain.

“A bunch of bullshit . . .” she mumbled angrily into the pillow.

“There, there love,” cooed Harry as he rubbed her back. “Just tell me what’s wrong and I’ll sort it out?”

“There’s a fucking war in my uterus,” she grumbled. “And I don’t get why it’s this bad if its two weeks early. You’d think that it’d be smoother since it’s early, but no. My uterus has turned on me! It’s fucking mutiny.”

Harry didn’t know what to say to all that. He didn’t grow up with sisters. He did have cousins, but he never truly dealt with them when they were on their period, and not to mention that Paulina wasn’t usually so moody about it. Yes, she was in pain for the first day, but it never seemed to be a great deal of pain. It was tolerable. At least, that’s what it seemed like to him. She was able to control it with warm blankets and a warm water bottle or a heating pad, so to see her in such elevated pain and to hear her so all those things really unnerved him. Because what could he do? What was he supposed to do? Chelsy had never been much of a fuss when it came to her periods. Nothing really changed with her. She’d remain the same. The only thing that changed with her was the fact that she indulged in salty snacks a bit more, but that was it. So he felt unprepared to be there. And a formed version of himself would’ve probably made an excuse to get out of there, but Harry wasn’t going to do that to her. She’d stuck by his side when he was throwing and shitting all night when he’d gotten horrible food poisoning from an ill prepared lobster, so he’d stay by hers and hopefully, he’d be of some use.

“Do ya reckon a spot of tea would help calm the mutiny?” he asked, still rubbing her back.

“Fuck tea,” she mumbled.

“Something stronger then?” inquired Harry. “Perhaps another bottle of wine or I could open that tequila bottle you brought along?”

“I want some chocolate milk.”

“But we don’t –” he was about to tell her that they didn’t have chocolate milk, but he quickly decided against it. “Give me a moment. I’ll make a quick run to the shop to get some.”

“Will you really?” Paulina lifted her head up from the pillow and stared at him with newfound hope in her eyes.

“Of course, I will.” He lifted his hand to her cheek and gently caressed it. “Is there anything else you’ll need? Because I noticed you hardly touched the Oreos and those are your favorites.”

“They didn’t taste right,” she told him. “I don’t know, it was probably because I was eating them with wine. That’s why they tasted all weird, but ugh.” She rubbed her tired eyes. “Can you just get the chocolate for the milk and some Midol? Ah! And some ice cream, I could really go for some butter pecan ice cream . . . and . . . some roasted almonds.”

“Ya know if I didn’t know any better I’d reckon you were pregnant.” Harry joked, trying to make light of the situation.

“Well I’m fucking bleeding from the vag so that’s not happening.” She said, petulantly. “Sorry,” she blurted out only a moment later. “I’m being such a bitch right now, but I don’t feel well.”

“Maybe I could take you to the doctor?”

“They’ll laugh at me.” She said. “I’m 25 years old. Cramps shouldn’t be a reason for me to go to the hospital. They’ll think I’m stupid. I’ll just be here. Thank you though for going. I’d go with you but I feel like I’d punch photographers.”

“And we can’t have that happening.” Harry smiled. “Don’t worry though, just curl up here. And I’ll be back in a bit.” He leant forward and placed a kiss atop her forehead. “And just so you know, I brought some films for us to watch later. If you’re up for it, of course,” he added.

“You remembered?” Paulina hadn’t expected him to, not with his being at meetings all day. She was so overjoyed at the fact that he’d remembered, that she felt liable to cry, her fucking hormones were going crazy on her and she was over it. That was what she got for getting her period nearly two weeks early. “Of course I’ll be up for it.”

“Then I’ll hurry back.” He stood up straight. “And if you need anything at all, phone me and I’ll get back quick as I can.”

The said, he wasted no time in embarking on a drive to the nearest available pharmacy. It took quite a bit of time for him to find one that was opened at such a later hour, but when he did, he wasted no time in running over to the pain relief area. He felt awkward having top buy Midol, but he grabbed it just the same and then scurried off to find the right ice cream and the almonds. He was grateful that there weren’t any cameras around to see him. It was as if all the photographers had decided that he wasn’t going to do anything worth seeing with his night, so in peace, he paid for his items and then jumped back into the car to get home.

When he arrived, he found Paulina downstairs in the kitchen. He hadn’t expected her to move from the couch since she seemed to be in such discomfort, but there she was in the kitchen, grimacing as she heated up his enchiladas in the oven, since he wasn’t keen on having things heated in the microwave.

“You’re meant to be resting.” He told her as he set the items down on the table. “Go on, love. Have a rest. I’ll finish whatever it is you’re doing here.”

“I’m almost done.” She told him. “I was just heating up some food for you since you didn’t get to have dinner. I made you enchiladas, and even did the rice and beans like you like them.”

“You put veggies in the rice?”

She nodded, “Lots of them.”

“And ya sprinkled cheese on top of the beans? So it’s nice and melted?”

“I did.” She moved towards him, slowly. “It’ll be done in like three minutes, so you’ll be good to eat.”

“Brilliant.” He grinned. “Oh. And here are the medicine and ice cream and all that. They didn’t have the brand of chocolate milk you like, so I just went for what they had.”

“That’s alright, thank you.” She forced a smile. “And I’m sorry for being snippy at you earlier. My body’s just going crazy on me.”

“Has it been like this all day?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I was fine up until a couple hours ago. I was, uh, reading in the sitting room when I felt it coming on, and then I came upstairs, and it all went downhill from there. I mean, I know I shouldn’t be complaining, cuz its better early than late, but ugh. Just ugh.”

“Well hopefully the Midol will help relieve some of the ugh, and then we can get to watching the films.” He pulled out the container and handed it over to her. “And just so you know, if you don’t feel up for the event we have tomorrow night, you can stay in. It’d be alright.”

“Thanks, but I’m not flaking. I’ve never been to an event for Walking With the Wounded, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“I’m pleased to hear that.” He really was. He wanted to introduce her to another one of his charities. “But if for some reason you don’t feel up for it, don’t exert yourself, because I don’t want you hurting.”

“I won’t be.” She smiled a genuine smile. “The pills will have me good in awhile, and since you don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow morning and afternoon, we can just stay in. How’s that sound?”

“Perfect.” And he meant it. He wanted nothing more than to lounge about with her. Granted, he would’ve loved to have a go as well, but that wasn’t happening. Not any time soon. “So how was your day with Olivia and Alfred?”

And just like that, they began to catch up with each others days. She told him all about going out to eat with Alfred and Olivia, with the way the owners treated her. She was half tempted to tell him about her having eaten fish, but then he would’ve tried to convince her to eat fish whenever they went out, and she was not about to have that happen. In time, they moved away from the kitchen and ventured upstairs where they watched two of the movies that Harry had brought along with him. And they ended up falling asleep cuddled up on the couch.