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Thank God it was one of the fast thermometers and it beeped within seconds. Clare’s eyes went wide.
“You have a hundred- and two-point five temp. Let’s get some medicine in you and some food. You’ll feel so much better.”
All I could do was nod my head.
“Maybe after you take some medicine and eat, you might want to take a lukewarm bath.”
“Only if you join me,” I said before coughing.
Clare laughed as I heard her moving around in the kitchen. I must have dozed off while she was in there because I jolted awake when I heard her sweet voice once again.
“Do you want me to help you sit up?”
Opening my eyes, I saw her standing there. Next to her was one of my TV trays with a plate of food on it and a tall glass of water.
“Nah, I got it,” I said, pushing myself up. “The room is spinning.”
Clare moved the TV tray in front of me, then held her hand out. “First, let’s take some Tylenol for that fever.”
I took the pills and the offered glass of water. The cold felt good going down my throat.
“After you eat, I’ll give you the other medicine.”
Nodding, I focused on the plate in front of me. I blinked a few times then looked up at her.
“You got me Greek food?”
She smiled. “I did. A friend of mine owns a Greek restaurant and they owed me a pretty big favor, so I called it in. He was closed today, but made an exception for me.”
“How did you know what I liked?” I asked as I looked down at the food. There were actually two plates on the tray. One had hummus and pita bread on it. The other had a chicken gyro and fries. A small Greek salad was in a smaller bowl.
When I glanced back up at her, she gave a one-shoulder shrug. “You mentioned it one time and I remembered.”
I blinked at her several times. Clare had remembered such a small detail, and that knowledge did something strange to my chest.
“Thank you, Clare. I don’t think anyone has ever done anything so nice for me before.”
She waved off my comment. “I’m sure that’s not true. I’m going to go get my food and I’ll join you out here.”
I wasn’t about to wait for her to come back. I was starving and dug into the fries first. The more I ate, the better I started to feel.
“I thought you were my mother,” I said when Clare returned with her food, the same exact thing I had. She pulled her legs up onto the chair across from the sofa and pulled the tray to her.
“Rory told Jennifer she was going to make up some leftovers and bring them to you. When I offered to do it, your mom took the phone and thanked me over and over for taking care of her, and I quote, ‘Baby boy’, and on Thanksgiving Day, no doubt.” Clare grinned. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her I was sitting alone in my apartment about to heat up a chicken pot pie.”
I smiled. “You probably just made my mother add you to the list of potential people I should marry.”
Clare paused her chewing for a moment, then rolled her eyes. Once she was finished, she swallowed and said, “Why do our mother’s feel like it’s their duty to try and set us up? Or think they’re in charge of our love life.”
“Beats me. Does she do it with your brother as well?”
Shaking her head, Clare replied, “Nope. She said because he’s in the military it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to settle down just yet.”
I put my gyro down. “So that’s what I have to do to get my mother off my back…join the military?”
Laughing, she simply shook her head and studied me. “How are you feeling?”
“A little bit better.”
