Surge

“I’m sore in the hip, but the transfusion is still running through my veins. It’s weird. I haven’t felt this good in months.”

I kissed his lips. They were warm and luscious but also dry, reminding me that his illness still loomed behind his optimistic eyes.

“What’s that?” He pointed to the basket.

“Dixie made an iron-rich food hamper for you.”

“Really?”

“I hope you have an appetite because she’ll ask you if you liked it.” I took his hand. “If only it was as easy as that.”

He rubbed his thumbs along my hand. “I take it she knows everything now? That’s really nice of her by the way.”

“Yeah. I told her everything. There are a couple other things we should talk about, too.” I wasn’t sure how he’d respond so I braced myself. “I told Gina I need the year off.”

He let go of my hand. “A year off! Maeve that’s…”

I interrupted. “I know you don’t want to disrupt anyone’s life. I know how you are. But first, for a spoiled rich kid, I’ve never taken any time off so I’m due a blowout.”

“Ha. Some blowout hanging out at doctor’s appointments.”

I gave him a tight smile.

“I take it Gina said yes.”

“Course she did.”

Drake stretched and leaned back, running his fingers through his hair. It was a complicated gesture, both gracious and solemn. I knew it when I’d done it but I couldn’t do the next months any other way. I figured we both tried our best to focus on how lucky we were that I could do this.

Drake tried to lighten the mood. “I hope you don’t get sick of me.”

I wrapped my arms around him. “More likely to be the other way around.”

He caressed a finger along my forearm. “Rewind a bit. You said ‘first.’ What’s the second thing you need to tell me?”

“Yeah. So, I know you have your apartment still, but I talked to my mom, and we think you should stay at ours while you’re getting treatment. You’ll be more comfortable, and we won’t have the travel and stuff to see each other.”

Drake pushed himself more upright. “When you say ‘we’ you mean Dixie agreed to this?”

“It was her idea actually.”

“Now I’ve heard everything…”

“And ‘we’ is more than just me and Dixie. It’s your mom, too.”

Drake cupped his hand around his mouth like a megaphone. “Nurse! Nurse!”

I slapped his arm lightly.

“Seriously,” he said, “I’m fucking hallucinating now. What the hell? How long have I been in this place that Dixie and Nora are now co-parents? This is alternate universe shit. Spill the story because I’m shell-shocked and I need some bearings.”

“I told my mom what was going on and, it was all her idea, honest to God, she just said you and your mom are moving in with us and that was that.”

“What if I don’t want to?” He stopped me before I started. “Let me guess. What Dixie wants, Dixie gets?”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly. But anyway, your mom is already moving in, so it would be a little bit weird if you said no now.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He stiffened but smirked. His face fell into his hands dramatically. “Now I know I’m dying.”