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When he finally woke up, I rolled over onto him, straddling his hips, my hands on either side of his shoulders. Before he woke, I'd snuck into the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth and freshened up, because I wanted to wake him with a nice slow session of making love.
"Good morning, old man," I said and leaned down to kiss him. "Happy Birthday."
His eyes narrowed and he kissed me back, closed-mouthed.
"Uh, uh," he murmured. Then he tickled me and rolled me off onto my back. "Not until I brush my teeth."
He jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. I lay there smiling, wondering if this wasn't the first morning in a long time that I wasn't going to rush to the bathroom and dry heave.
Of course, before we could engage once more, his cell rang on the bedside table.
He glanced at it as he stood at the side of the bed, his already-thickening erection a sign he did not want to answer.
"Don't answer," I said. "What kind of person calls you first thing in the morning on your birthday?"
"John, that's who. He wouldn't call unless it was important."
Luke sat on the side of the bed and held the cell to his ear. "Hey, CTO mine. What's up? Why are you disturbing my domestic peace on my birthday morning?"
I crawled up beside him and laid my hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Luke said and glanced at me, making a face of pain. "What did the doctor say?"
He listened some more. "Do you want me to meet you there?"
Luke grabbed his Apple watch from the bedside table and glanced at it.
"Sure," he said. "I'll be down there in twenty."
He listened again for a moment and shook his head. "Don't say you're sorry. I'll be there as soon as possible. And John? You never have to apologize. We're family, okay?"
Luke ended the call and sighed heavily.
"John's mother is dying," he said. "Her palliative care nurse called him and said she doesn't have long to live. He needs to go there and doesn't want to face it alone."
"Oh, poor John," I said and felt my gut knot at the
thought that his mother was dying. "Of course you have to go and be with him."
"He's upset that it's my birthday, but that's nothing."
"You go have a shower. We can continue what we started when you get back, if I'm still feeling this good."
"Thanks," he said and leaned over to kiss me. "I love you."
"I love you."
I exhaled and watched him walk back to the bathroom, feeling a twinge of regret that he was leaving but understanding completely that John needed him. Just as Candace needed me and I had to leave to be with her when we were on the trip, John needed Luke.
I couldn't imagine what it meant to know your parent -- your mother -- was dying. Luke did, having lived through it with both of his parents. He would understand what John was going through. He would be comfort for John in a way that no one else could be as a result.
I stayed in bed, turning on the flatscreen across from it and watching early news while Luke had a shower. Of course, it wasn't long after that my stomach started feeling queasy despite the Dramamine and I had to go to the kitchen and get some crackers and peppermint tea to prevent dry heaves. I had put it off because I thought I felt good enough to wake Luke up with a nice session but now, I was feeling the consequences. I quickly made a cup of tea and grabbed some crackers, then went to the living room and laid on the sofa, pulling the soft fuzzy throw over me, the cup of tea and crackers on the coffee table beside me. I switched on the flatscreen and watched local news, hoping it would distract me while I tried to choke down the crackers.
Luke came into the living room, dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a sweater, looking every inch the billionaire exec on the weekend. He sat on the edge of the sofa and slipped on his socks.
"How are you feeling?"
"Lousy," I said and made a face. "Here I thought today might be the day that I stopped feeling morning sickness. I guess not."
