“I feel like I should do something else for my mom, but I don’t know what,” I said.
“What about setting up an appointment at the spa for her? I bet Chloe would help you out.” It was a brilliant idea.
“You are the best,” I said, leaning my head against him. “That would be perfect.” I called Chloe immediately and asked if she could book Mom for a whole day of treatments next week.
“I’ll pay for it,” I said, but Chloe cut me off.
“No way. This is on the house. Think of it as my way of helping out.” I tried to tell her that wasn’t necessary, but she kept interrupting me.
“Stop it. I’m doing this. It’s happening.” I knew arguing anymore was a lost cause, so I gave in.
“Thank you, Chlo. That means a lot to me. I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t even sweat it. I’ll call you back with the appointment times and everything tomorrow.” I thanked her again and hung up.
“I have the best friends,” I said.
“Yes, you do.”
Twelve
We spent the rest of the day at the hospital. They were going to watch Dad for two more days and then he’d be allowed to go home. He was already champing at the bit and wanted to get out as soon as he possibly could.
“Now, Walter. You have to let the experts do their jobs. And those experts think you should be in the hospital for a few more days. So stop this whining and rest so you can get back to 100 percent and help me around the house because I will not be cooking every single meal,” Mom said, with her hand clamped on his shoulder.
“Well, I guess I have no choice,” he said, tilting his face up. Mom kissed him and smiled.
“No, you don’t.”
~*~*~
Sunday night when Lucah and I were home, I started freaking out a little.
“This is going to be okay, right?” I asked as I paced my bedroom in my underwear.
“Do you need me to distract you with sex, because I am very open to doing that.” We hadn’t done that yet, but we were getting there.
“No. I just… I need to like, meditate or something. Get Zen with the world and be calm and…” I trailed off and tried breathing deeply. I’d flirted with yoga and meditation for years, but had never managed to succeed with either.
“Calming breaths,” he said in a slow voice. “Why don’t you stop moving? It might help you quiet your mind if your body isn’t moving.” That sounded right. I sat down on the bed, crossed my legs, put my hands on my knees and closed my eyes.
“Now see if you can deepen and slow your breathing at the same time.” I tried to do what he said. I also remembered that in order to meditate you don’t have to empty your mind totally. You just let your thoughts go as you have them. Don’t dwell. Lucah started singing slowly and quietly and that definitely helped. His voice was a balm for my soul. It always had been, from that very first time I’d heard it. I’d been weak in the knees and hadn’t known what hit me.
I found myself matching my breathing to the beat of the song. This was good. This helped.
Soon, I opened my eyes and smiled at him.
“I think it worked.” My mind was less noisy. Trains full of thoughts weren’t barreling through it anymore. Now they were like whispers that were gone in a breeze.
“See? I knew you could do it.” His arms reached for me and I crawled forward. Now it was time for the sex.
~*~*~
I couldn’t decide what to wear the next morning, so consequently, Lucah and I were late.
“You’ll be okay,” he said. “You’ll be okay and I’ll be waiting for you in your office. I don’t care if I get in trouble.” He gave me one quick, hard kiss before I rushed toward the boardroom. For a brief, insane second, I remembered the time when Lucah had fingered me under the table during a meeting. That was definitely not going to be happening today.
I walked in and was inundated with requests for updates on Dad. Figuring it was easier to tell everyone at once, I moved to the front of the room. I hated being up here, especially talking about this, but I had to do it. I gripped the edge of the able and then had to let go so I could stand straight.