Page 48
“Did you sleep on the plane?” Mark asked.
“Very little.”
He reached behind me, moved a throw pillow, and I sat back into a better arrangement.
His phone buzzed on the coffee table. He picked it up, read it, typed for ten seconds, and put it back down.
“Anything need you at the office?”
“It’s covered.”
We left it there.
“Do you watch hockey games when you’re home?” I asked.
“Yes. At home I can say what I think of the officiating.”
“You can tell me,” I said. “I’ve probably said it to their face.”
“I know. Sometimes they show a close-up of your face.”
“I should work on that.”
“Please don’t. You’re my favorite part,” Mark said.
I turned toward him. He was smiling. I slid my hand along his jaw and kissed him again.
When we pulled back from the kiss, the condo was quiet enough that I could hear Peaches washing a paw beside us.
I closed my eyes with Mark’s leg warm against mine. When I opened them again, he was still there.
It was nearly three. I got up to offer Peaches some food, and she followed me into the kitchen. She ate most of what I put down. I marked the amount on the sheet, refreshed her water, and watched her drink before she returned to her window bed.
I confirmed the next morning’s appointment with Dr. Feld’s office, then sat down beside Mark. He had dozed off and woke apologizing for it.
An hour later I took a picture of Peaches in her window bed and sent the promised update to the list: ate at three, drinking, home and supervising. Anna answered with a thumbs up. Kelsey answered with three exclamation points and a demand for the shaved-leg story, which I declined to provide until Peaches had approved a statement.
Around six, I was hungry.
“What do you want for dinner?” I asked Mark, with no more ceremony than offering him more coffee.
“There’s a Thai place on Clark that does a good larb.”
“The one with the forty-five-minute wait?”
“That’s dine-in. Delivery’s half that,” Mark said.
“I always order enough for leftovers.”
“Would you order leftovers regardless of the restaurant?”
“I have a system.”
“I’ve heard about the system,” he said. “Two boxes, standing up. I want to use plates.”
I looked at Mark. He ordered the larb, spring rolls, two curries, and rice for four, which settled the leftovers question in my favor.
When the food arrived, the smell of lemongrass and fish sauce reached the couch before I had the bag fully open. Mark cleared the hospital paperwork to one end of the counter and helped make room on the table.
