A tale of two cities

Now, I know I’m using a title for a book but it’s fitting to describe the night I had. 

I have been suffering from a stomach bug for the past day and night. I feel like a balloon with too much air in it that just needs to pop. (Yes, I realize that I am pregnant and I’m already ballooning out but this is worse!)  I couldn’t stay in bed anymore so, I wondered into the living room to read, surf the net and moan in pain. In between bathroom breaks, my neighbors were also awake. 

Except, they weren’t awake because they also had a stomach bug but because they decided that 5 am is the perfect time to argue. The woman was screaming at the top of her lungs about what this guy had done to her and he was calmly talking back to her. It went on for quite some time and then stopped. I had a couple of more bathroom breaks during this time only to come back to more shouting. 

I wondered what I could do? Here I was, in pain. Trying to get through this night and they were also in pain. A different kind of pain. I wanted to say something, call the police, call someone but who? I feel so helpless in these situations. How do you offer someone in the middle of the night help without them lashing out at you. 

So, I just listened. Took some more bathroom breaks and dealt with my own pain as best as I could. Sometimes,  you just have to handle your own pain.