Stay(52)

“This is good!” He spears a green bean with his fork and bites off the end. “Mom and I usually just have pizza or subs. Or burgers from Paul’s.”

“You don’t have to tell everything we do.” Emmy slices a piece of pork chop, and I give her a disapproving look. She makes a face. “Not all of us have a personal chef.”

“We can have burgers for lunch tomorrow.” Eli looks up, and I give him a grin. “They’ll be a little different, no bun, extra cheese.”

His head tilts to the side thinking, then he nods. “Okay!”

Emmy shifts in her seat. “The way we’re eating is supposed to help with your seizures.” She clears her throat. “Speaking of which…” She pushes her green beans around on her plate.

I know this is hard for her, but I let her do it.

“Yeah, Mom?” Eli takes an oversized bite of pork, which pokes out his cheek and gives him duck lips.

“What if I told you we’d found a way to make it so you might not have them anymore?”

Eli jumps out of his chair. “No more seizures? How?” He’s beaming, and Emmy smiles, reaching out her hand.

“Sit down, buddy. Finish your dinner.” He does as she says, but his eyes are fixed on her as she continues. “It would be a surgery. On your head.” His brow furrows, but he listens closely. “Stephen has a friend who’s a doctor, and he can do this… thing to your brain, and hopefully it will make everything stop.”

“My brain will stop?”

“No, honey…” She exhales a soft laugh. “I mean the seizures will stop. We hope. For good.”

Emmy looks to me with pleading eyes, and I take it as my cue to help her. “We’re telling you about it because having the surgery might change things—”

“Yeah, it would! If my seizures stopped, I could ride my bike again and go skating again and…”

“What Stephen means is since it’s on your head, you might have to stay in bed for a while. Until it heals. So that’s kind of a downside.”

He turns to her. “How long would I have to stay in bed?”

She smiles, seeming calmer. “We have an appointment tomorrow with the doctor. He can answer all your questions and tell us if he thinks it might work for you. Is that something you’d like to do?”

“Sure!”

Ted interrupts us, entering the room with a treat I know he’s been perfecting all afternoon. “Dessert is chocolate chip coconut bars!”

I lean forward and speak in a stage whisper. “It helps your son likes coconut.”

The short, blond chef places a bar on each of our plates. Eli scoops his up and eats it fast.

“Coconut is cool! The other kids think it’s gross, but they’re just dumb.” Eli speaks around a big bite of chocolate.

“Spoken like someone else I know.” Emmy glances at me before placing her fork beside her plate and giving him a warm smile. “As soon as you’re done, hit the shower.”



* * *



A few hours later, I stop by the blue room on my way to the third floor. Eli is tucked in bed with Kona under his arm, and Emmy sits beside him reading a book about dolphins. It’s kind of perfect, like something out of a painting or one of those Rockwell prints of family life back in the day.

She closes the book and leans forward, kissing her son’s head. Eli spots me, and calls out a goodnight. I wave and tell him to have pirate dreams. Emmy cuts off his light, and a projection of stars and planets covers the ceiling—another project of ours today.

We’re out in the hall, and she smiles up at me. “Well, I guess I’ll get some rest. I’ll go in a little early tomorrow, since I’m leaving early.”

She starts for the yellow room down the hall, and I frown. “Where are you going?”

Emmy pauses at the door. “I moved my things downstairs… I figured this room was for me.”

“Your room is upstairs with me.” Closing the space between us, I’m ready to toss her over my shoulder and carry her to the third floor where she belongs.

She grins, crossing her arms over her chest. “We discussed this before we got married, Stephen. I’m not sleeping in your bed.”

She is so fucking stubborn. “You did a damn good job of it this past weekend.” My voice rises, and she steps forward holding her hand in front of my mouth.

“Shh… Eli will hear you.”

“And what happens if Eli gets up in the night and sees you sleeping down here?”

She looks to the side and does a little shrug. “I’ll tell him the truth. I worry about him being so far from me at night. What if he needs me?”

“I expect my wife sleeping in my bed with me.” My jaw is tight, but her expression is firm.

“Fake wife, and I’m not sleeping in your room.”

“Because you’re worried about Eli?” I’m furious.

“That,” she nods. “And I think it’ll only complicate things down the line.”

Stepping forward, I place my hand on the wall and lean in close. “You can sleep here tonight. Tomorrow, I will get a monitor for Eli’s bedroom and put the receiver upstairs. I want you in bed with me at night.”

“Stephen—”