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I looked at her gratefully.
I was lost.
I’d taken Asa to the doctor before, but those had all been well visits. Him actually being sick was a foreign concept to me.
“Generally speaking, the CVS is something that he’ll just grow out of,” Dr. Peterson admitted. “CVS can be attributed to stress, anxiety, fear. Any of those factors play a rather large role in his health and well-being. Do you ever see a trend when it comes to the vomiting?”
I thought about that, then looked over at Dillan with a shrug.
“Anxiety wise,” I said. “He had one of these episodes when his mom went out of town for business. The last episode he had was a couple of weeks ago when I had to drop him off at school to go to work. He could be scared about that, I guess.”
She nodded. “Take note of when it happens. See if you can find a trend. As for the headaches, don’t beat yourself up about not knowing about those. Sometimes children just don’t realize that anything is wrong. They are very good at adapting. That’s why you always see children playing when they have strep throat, and it’ll take an adult down for a few days.”
I did feel better after that.
“So is there anything we can do for this?” I asked anxiously.
Dr. Peterson just smiled. “No, unfortunately not for the CVS. As for the headaches, or migraines, those can be handled with meds if you wish to take that route. That’s something I would discuss with the specialist, though. There are alternatives to medicine that do work.”
After squeezing every single drop of information I could out of the doctor, the next thirty minutes was spent relaying it to Delanie, who was ten times more worried than the rest of us.
“I should’ve never left.” She sighed.
I looked in my rearview mirror at Asa, who was still sleeping, and grinned.
“He’ll get over it, Delanie,” I said. “It’s not a death sentence.”
At least, I hoped not.
***
“You ready to get some sleep?” Dillan asked curiously.
I pulled her into my arms and wrapped them around her tightly.
She yawned in response.
“You scared the shit out of me today,” I said. “And I’m sorry you can’t keep the dog.”
She sighed.
“I just… I want him to have a good life. I know why I can’t keep him. I’m not quite crazy enough to think that I can control a dog,” she murmured against my skin.
Knowing that she didn’t want to talk anymore about this, I changed the subject.
“Hey, Dillan?” I asked softly.
Dillan moved until her back was facing the window and her front was facing me. “Yeah?”
I swallowed. “I want you to move in with me.”
“That might leave Delanie in a bind if she ever has to leave like she’s doing now,” I admitted. “Not necessarily with Asa, but with the dogs and the kennel.”
I debated whether or not to say the next thing on my mind, but then chose to go ahead and give it all to her.
“How about you worry about us,” I said softly. “We can help your sister out when she needs it, but I’m…” I blew out a frustrated breath. “I think we’ve done enough living for other people. Now it’s our turn.”
She moved until her lips could press against my chest.
“You don’t think it’s too soon?” she wondered.
I moved until she was splayed fully on top of me, her head resting against my heart.
“Do you think it’s too soon?” I asked. “Because I wouldn’t have asked you if I thought it was.”
She snorted. “Does this not hurt?”
She pressed her hands to my still sore chest.
“No,” I lied. “Answer the question.”
She snickered. “You’re being quite pushy.”
“You’re evading answering the question,” I countered.
She sighed. “I don’t think it’s too soon. But I’m fearful that you’ll realize it’s too soon after I’ve already moved in. Or realize that I’m not nearly as cool to be around when it’s my time of the month. Or when I get up Saturday and Sunday mornings at the ass crack of dawn to make donuts.” She paused. “I go to bed at eight o’clock.”
I grinned and ran my hand up and down the length of her back.
“There are some nights that I get a call out at one in the morning,” I said. “And there are others where I’ve been up on my feet from the time the sun rises to the moment that it sets. And all I want to do is fall asleep in my recliner at six o’clock.” I paused. “I snore. I drink too much sometimes on the weekends. I cook a mean steak, but I can’t cook anything else. And, a lot of the times, I leave the toilet lid up.”
She snickered. “That’s a deal-breaker for me. You’re going to have to get that under control or this deal is off.”
