Ailments

 

No...no.  Her voice was muffled as he stood over her, her face buried in a pillow already a bit wet from fever, her hair scattered across it and the covers pulled up to her neck.

I need to take your temperature he said, one hand on the mattress...he was above her, had left her alone after she woke up early complaining of a sore throat and potential fever...but it had broken and now he just needed to know if she had something simple or yet another fucking Covid positive reaction.

Look, if you want I'll pull up the covers from below and just stick it in your butt.

Her head turned slightly...no fucking way came out from her muffled voice.  She turned further to face him, her cheeks a bit scarlet and stuck out her tongue.  

He started to move towards her with the thermometer...

wait she said...I'll do it myself...don't want you screwing up putting it in my mouth.

That really hasn't been a problem in the past he smiled.

You're not made of glass and mercury dumbass...she took the thermometer and pulled it into her lips.

She said something but he couldn't understand.  She pulled out the thermometer....don't make this sexual.

He left the room to let her be.

He brewed tea for her...Green and then maybe Chamomile as they both were softest on her throat...he thought about broaching her taking a Covid test but then decided he'd wait...she had plans...travel, friends, etc and he decided how she was treated, regardless of ailment, was the most important thing he could do.

He also brewed up some chicken soup, deciding if he was going to become a cliche he was going to go all in...that she would need some protein.

He also ordered a bunch of Pedialyte from an online delivery store...he felt like he was covering all his bases.

He walked back in.

101.

Really?

Yeah...she held up the thermometer like an offending object and rolled back over on her stomach.

I brought you some tea...and...some soup.

Soup?

uhm, yeah...chicken noodle?

For breakfast?

I thought it would be easier on your throat if it was sore.

Is that a sexual joke again?

Actually no...but now that I think about it I wish I could have delivered it with a bit better flair...but it's hard to talk to the back of your head.

She rolled onto her back...her hair in her face, a bit dampened with sweat.  The sides of her nostrils were red and her voice sounded like gravel.  But to him she exuded a grace and an elegance...adorned in a nightgown and high cotton covers, she was like a furled up flower.

Better? she posed.

Yes...so here...he brought forward the tea...he plumped up another pillow and as she raised up he placed it behind her.  Better? he posed.

She nodded, taking the tea and take slight sips...she winced a little, hinting at the soreness in her throat but it seemed to also sooth at the same time.  

He looked at the cup of soup, steaming in the morning air.

Do you think you want something to eat?

Again she just shook her head no, holding the tea with both hands...

okay, why don't I let you try to get back to sleep.  Again, a nod...thank you she uttered...a faint hint of her normal lilt.  He nodded back and walked backwards out the door, making sure he watched her the whole way so she knew he was watching her.  Over her.

He checked on her a few minutes later...she was asleep, her hand holding the empty cup on top of the covers...she was breathing normally and her hair was sweatier than before.  He went over and quietly moved the cup out of her hand...she murmured a little and he bent over her and kissed her where her hairline met her forehead...it was salty.  He had tasted the salt of her in his past, knew it like a fragrance and spoke against her skin to go back to sleep...she nodded slightly, turned from him and put her face down into the pillows.  He pulled up the covers as far as he could and left her, padding her where he imagined her ass was beneath the blankets.  

His phone dinged with a text.  He reached for it.

You can come in now.  It was from her.

After leaving her asleep he had gone to the store and gotten her sunflowers freshly cut, large like two feet in height...he also got her Virginia peanuts and salty caramel chocolate. He added some chocolate ice cream.  And then waited.

He entered the doorway with the flowers and the bag of food...she was sitting up in the bed, the scarlet in the cheeks subsided...her hair was dry and the covers were around her waist.  Her eyes were shining and he knew she felt better.

Where the fuck is my soup?

She smiled and he knew that she definitely felt better.

He placed the bag next to her and put the flowers along the bedside.

I'll go get it.

Wait...she patted the bed next to her.  He walked over and sat.  Her eyes went back and forth to his...they were alive...and she held up her mouth to him.  He placed his on hers, just letting gravity compress them...meeting in an alignment...nothing sexual but also nothing benign...it was like a human moment, and intimate.  He pulled back.

Thank you she said, her voice much better.

He nodded...anytime.