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Danny refused to become a statistic when his wife was diagnosed. He stood by her through the surgeries, chemo, and radiation that hadn’t been enough in the end. He cursed the healthcare system that kept his wife from going to the doctor when she first showed signs of being sick a whole year before she was forced into the ER. He blamed himself for Lucinda’s death so Rhea wouldn’t have to.
For all his faults, he stepped up when necessary. Rhea wanted to be that kind of spouse, too.
I’ve got faults. Lots of them.She put the framed photo back down on her father’s thrift store dresser and wondered how long it would be before she had true regrets about her marriage – and kicked herself for doing nothing about them.
Chapter 13
Oneofthemanytips in Dr. Seville’s “Tier One” was setting aside a consistent night for romance. This, she stressed, did not have to ultimately lead to sex – it was more about making time for one another and being in the moment. No work. No friends. No TV – and for the love of God, no cell phones.
That night became Wednesday. They were less likely to have other plans that night, and Paige mentioned that it would be nice to have something to look forward to on “hump” day.Says the woman who sometimes works weekends, too.Rhea couldn’t complain too much. Paige always made a good chunk of extra money whenever a client was desperate enough to get one-on-one training on the weekends.
Except that made Rhea more aware of how tired her wife must be at the end of the day. Even on a “normal” Wednesday, when Paige did more paperwork than physical fitness. So, instead of ordering takeout like she might usually do when Paige phoned ahead at four and announced,“I’m beat,”Rhea zoomed down to the corner market to pick up ingredients for her wife’s favorite healthy homemade meal.
Grilled salmon, fresh greens, and seasoned couscous it is.Rhea knew how to make it well enough, but it had been a while. And she wanted it done before Paige entered the house around six.Not the easiest thing I’ve done, but for Paige? Anything.
She had finished plating dinner when a sweaty woman in a track jacket and yoga pants shuffled through the door. The moment Paige smelled salmon in the kitchen, she dropped her bag and picked up the pace. Her smile was worth all of Rhea’s effort.
“I feel so schlubby.” Paige awkwardly sat at the dining table while her wife brought over a plate of food and white wine. “Here I am, too gross to be considered human, and you’ve made one of my favorite romantic meals.”
She wiped something from her eye. Rhea figured it was sweat. “I thought you didn’t have many clients today?” she asked when sitting down.
“I finished my paperwork early and decided to do an intense workout of my own. Didn’t have time to shower before coming home. To be fair, I thought I’d hit the shower as soon as I walked through the door. But…” Paige shyly smiled at her wife. “You went all out, I see.”
“Did I? I only wanted tonight to be special.”
Paige remained collapsed in her seat while Rhea cut into her salmon.Could have grilled it longer.She was already picking bones out of her teeth. “Yeah,” Paige said with her exhausted smile. “Thanks. This looks great.”
“You haven’t eaten any yet.”
“Can’t. Too tired.”
Using her own fork, Rhea reached over and slipped her utensil under the couscous. “Should I feed you, Ms. Powell?”
Something about that made Paige laugh even harder. “That’s not necessary but thank you.” Nevertheless, someone had to eat the couscous on Rhea’s fork, and Paige didn’t see why it shouldn’t be her. Once some sustenance was in her mouth, she sat up, grabbed her fork, and began eating dinner.
Neither of them forgot that it was “intimacy” night, not even when Paige went up to take a shower by herself and Rhea popped some popcorn in the microwave to eat while they watched one of their favorite shows in the living room. She had everything ready, including the show queued up on the TV when Paige came back down in her pajamas.
“What?” Paige asked as she took a small towel to her still damp hair. “I didn’t leave a glob of shampoo in my hair again, did I?”
Rhea made space next to her on the couch. “Admiring your top without a bra.”
Paige glanced down. “They’re excited to see you.”
“I’m excited to seethem.”
When Paige sat down, it was with a sigh announcing that she was ready to finally relax. So was Rhea, who had tossed one of her wife’s favorite flavored waters into the fridge so it would be chilled for this moment.
“I feel like I’m getting such special treatment.” Paige snuggled into her wife’s embrace as the opening credits began to play. “What have I done to deserve such doting attention?”
Rhea was only slightly caught off guard by that question. “I just wanted to go out of my way to do nice things for you. Maybe make it more of an instinctual habit.”
“I’ve never thought you didn’t do enough.”
That’s not the point…Rhea dropped it, though. Her wife was relaxed and happy on a night dedicated to marital intimacy, and that was all Rhea had wanted.
It was an hour-long show, even when not accounting for the commercials they paid to not have to see. Yet Rhea struggled to pay too much attention to the machinations of the characters out to destroy one another or the familiar sights of Los Angeles where the show was primarily filmed. While Paige was not deterred from occasionally bursting with,“That’s where I buy my quinoa bowls!”Rhea was too focused on how nicely her wife fit into her arms and how they had gradually sunk into the couch together, like two perfectly fitting puzzle pieces.
She smelled nice.No, great.She was warm.No, hot.She laughed easily.No, often.Rhea couldn’t take her eyes off the part in Paige’s hair or how one nipple had stayed hard beneath her thin shirt while the other all but disappeared. Naked toes curled over the arm of the couch while a muscular arm stretched above Rhea’s head. Soon, Paige was completely on top of her wife, the two of them sharing one softened heartbeat.
