He chuckles, pecking kisses on my jaw, cheeks, and forehead. “Tell me more.”
“First, I need coffee. Then maybe a shower, and you’re free to join me. Let’s see what happens after that.”
He flashes me a wicked grin, and I melt on the spot—I think I could get used to seeing that grin more often.
Opening the front door to my family home after a day of traveling, I hear my da coughing—the ominous sound echoes in our house, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There’s a flu going around, which always worries us as it can be severe for someone like him. I take off my shoes, drop my bag in my bedroom and find my parents watching TV in the living room. Da is in his recliner, a cup of what I’m sure is ginger tea with honey on his side table—mama always makes it when one of us is feeling under the weather.
“Don’t think I didn’t hear that nasty cough.”
“Don’t worry about me; I’m just feeling off today. Nothing a little rest can’t fix.” Da’s voice is softer than usual.
My mama huffs from the sofa, where she’s sitting under the blanket. “Chicklet, you should know by now that your father is the most stubborn man on this planet. He won’t tell you that he didn’t feel too good the last two days, and the cough has worsened. We need to keep an eye on it.”
"Is there something I can do?” I ask, taking a seat beside my mama. She puts an arm around my shoulders, and I lean into her as she drapes the blanket over both of us.
“I already talked with his doctor and got recommendations for home remedies. Let’s see how those and my tea help.”
“Does da need to go to the hospital if it gets worse?” I ask. Mama squeezes my hand under the blanket without saying a word. It means that I should stop asking questions for now.
“You two just stop worrying about it, and it’ll be grand,” my da says as he senses my growing worry.
I laugh as he rarely uses Irish sayings. “Sure, da, it’ll begrand.”
He smiles and focuses on the reruns ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit. Before the episode ends, da’s eyes slip shut. His loud snores fill the room, and I’m glad he’s not coughing anymore. The last twelve months have been stressful enough. If da gets seriously ill, I don’t know how we’ll manage. Money is tight, and additional treatment would put a deeper dent in our savings. Not to forget our mental capacity to deal with another bump in the road.
“Mama, do you need anything?”
“Just patience and strength,” she answers.
And I feel that deep inside me. “I know exactly what you mean. I need a helping of those too.”
Mama rubs my back in a soothing act that I have loved since I was a kid. “Oh, my little one.” We sit in silence for a while before she turns to me. “How was your trip to Omaha? How’s Jax and his family?”
I’m glad the dimmed lights hide my blush. “Um, Omaha was good.”
“Good…mmm, good sounds good,” she mutters like she can sense my avoidance tactics from a mile away.
I contemplate what I should share with her because I’m not one who tells their parents about their sex life. “Okay, you got me. I enjoyed spending time with the Kingston-Bennett family, even if the reason why I was in Omaha with Jax and his cousins was less than ideal. They’re so much fun. There was some drama, of course, but isn’t there always when families get together after a while?”
“There surely is. Remember when your aunts from Barbados came for a visit ten years ago? Your auntie B didn’t talk to our sister for three years after their trip.”
“I vaguely remember that. What happened between them?”
“No idea, but it shows that every family is dysfunctional sometimes, and you just have to see past it.”
“No family is sane, is it?”
“I mean, look at your da’s side of the family and ask me that again.”
We both laugh until tears run down my mama’s face. I hand her a tissue, and we sit there, my da’s snores keeping us company.
23
JAX
Currently playing: I Don’t Want to Be - Stripped Version by Gavin DeGraw
Since returning from Nebraska a week ago, I’ve been working long hours to distract myself from how my life turned upside down during my visit. I didn’t even go to the Halloween party Nelly organized last weekend. I wasn’t in the mood to dress up and act like I was not hurting. There are days when getting out of bed feels impossible, but I still prefer drowning in work to keep myself busy.
