“I see. I guess that’s why there was no answer when I called your phone?”
“Yeah. I was in the kitchen, making us a middle-of-the-night snack. How was the flight? Have you seen Doug?”
“Yes. My poor son.” He heard her grief-stricken voice, and his hand shook. Jude took the bottle from him and set it on the night table.
“What do the doctors say?”
“They’re hoping to do X-rays today to see if there’s a skull fracture. He had a quiet night, and he’s stable. Other than that…”
“I know, Mom. We spoke to Ilana yesterday.”
“So she told you? About the baby?”
He blinked back tears. The loss was unimaginable, and his heart hurt for Ilana and his brother, who didn’t even know about the baby they’d lost. “Yeah. It’s awful. I hope she’s okay.”
“We’re making sure she isn’t alone for a minute.”
“That’s great.”
He rolled his eyes, and Jude shook with silent laughter.
“We’re going to meet her in Doug’s room now. Daddy and I went for a cup of coffee. Neither of us slept at all on the plane, and we came directly to the hospital. We’re exhausted, but of course we had to see Doug and Ilana first. Once we speak to the doctors, we’ll go to the hotel.”
“Please let us know what’s going on.”
“Of course we will. I don’t know when that’ll be, but one of us will text you.”
“Okay, bye, Mom.”
“Thanks for calling, Silvia,” Jude said and was about to hit the button when she replied.
“Jude? Just so you know? You two will have to come up with a better story than Mason’s explanation. But we’ll talk when I get back.” She ended the call, and Mason was left staring at a wide-eyed Jude.
“Well, fuck.” He flopped onto the bed.
“You could say that.”
Jude stretched next to him, and Mason couldn’t help burrowing into his side. That’s how he knew Jude was it for him. The bed would forever be too cold and big without him. His leg slid between Jude’s.
“Mmm, that feels good.” His hand cupped Mason’s ass and drew him closer. “I’m not that into the mac-and-cheese anymore. I’d rather be in you.”
“Again?” He smiled into Jude’s chest, the familiar rush of pleasure washing over him. Jude’s mouth found his, and their kisses started out soft, then grew frantic and more desperate.
“Yeah. Again.” Jude loomed over him and touched his cheek, eyes crinkled with amusement, his normally guarded expression open and filled with laughter and light. “And again.”
* * *
The next day sped by with Mason hardly able to concentrate on his work. Each time the phone rang, he jumped, hoping it would be a call from his parents or Ilana with good news, but nothing came. Doug didn’t have a skull fracture, but the swelling was taking its sweet time going down. Neither Ilana nor his parents had left his bedside, wanting to be there the moment he woke up. At night he and Jude clung to each other, knowing the longer it went on without hearing Doug was getting better, the worse it might be.
On day two, Mason couldn’t sit by and called his father. “Dad, what’s going on?”
“Nothing really. Doug’s brain scan turned out normal, thank God, and his eyes are twitching, so we’re hoping he’ll wake up any minute now. We’re worried for Ilana. She’s barely eaten or slept, and she has to take care of herself too.”
“I’ll call her later. Jude would go crazy if he knew she was overstressing herself. I’d better go. I have a meeting. Please let us know the moment you hear anything.”
“We will. And Mason? Is it true about you and Jude? Your mother mentioned something, but I figured I’d ask you directly.”
He wouldn’t lie even if he wanted to. “Yeah. It is. But we’re taking it slow to see what happens.”
