I can hear him smiling on the phone from his soft chuckles. He sounds almost half-asleep already.
“Yeah, okay.” His voice comes out tired again.
I have no idea where Sarah is, but even if she’s in the room with him, the bitch probably knows better than to tell Lincoln that he can’t talk to me. How hilarious.
“You’ll be there when I come back, right?” Lincoln asks me one more time, his voice sounding so tiny.
“Of course I’ll be here when you come back, unless Sarah comes here and tries to kick me out.”
“That won’t happen, it’s my house. How’s Morris, by the way?”
“Oh, Morris is fine,” I say, petting Morris in my bag. “Yeah, he and I are out to see the seagulls.”
“Really?” Lincoln asks. His excitement sounds as enthusiastic as a tired old car trying to start underwater.
“Yep,” I say, smiling. “I bought a harness for him and a leash and everything.”
“And he lets you walk him?” Lincoln asks, sounding a bit more energetic now.
“I mean, yeah, it’s like he’s always been able to be walked on the harness. You can’t tell. Didn’t have to train him or anything,” I say.
Lincoln chuckles. “Wow, just don’t lose him.”
“You think I was born yesterday?” I quip.
“Sometimes you looked like you were,” Lincoln teases, still tired.
We both laugh together. And for this moment, it almost feels like old times.
“Okay, sucker, why don’t you go sleep? Because you’re makingmetired, the way you sound. And I’ll talk to you later,” I say.
“All right, baby. Later,” he says tiredly before hanging up.
He called me baby.
This shouldn’t be a surprise, because during our entire dating history and marriage, basically the whole time Lincoln and I were together, he’s called me baby. Or sweetheart. And it’s onlybecause he’s out of it right now. He probably doesn’t even realize what he said.
Oh, shit.
It would be so hilarious if Sarah had been sitting there when he said that. Not gonna lie, though, it feels kind of nice hearing him call me that, even though we’re not together.
Maybe it’s just such an ingrained habit that when he’s doped up, he defaults back to it. His body and his heart remember.
If only he had been strong enough to resist what ended up tearing us apart.
Oh well.
-??-
Chapter 7
It’s the day of Lincoln’s discharge. I’ve been keeping up to date with the nurses on how he’s doing, and he seems to be okay, funny enough. Even though he’s able to walk and do everything very slowly, he’s still going to feel sick when he comes home. People don’t just bounce back after sepsis. He’s going to be weak, tired, and probably sleep half the day. He’ll need antibiotics for another week or so, hydration, light foods until his appetite comes back, and definitely no work. They told me he’s supposed to take time off, at least a week, maybe two, because his immune system basically crashed.
So I already know he’s going to need help. And apparently Sarah knows too, because she’s the one dropping him off.
It’s very awkward. The entire time Sarah is babying him and trying to be there for him. And when I even offered Lincoln some food, Sarah claimed she had her own food.
Right now, Sarah is staying here in Lincoln’s house while I’m here too. The only thing that gives me any real joy right now is Morris. The cat stays by my side, and I’ve noticed he doesn’t even like Sarah all that much. He basically hisses at her and runs away.
