“He is going to do some work for the evening in his study.” Luisa answered as she entered the room, “He shall check in on you before he goes to bed.”
“He works so hard…” Rosemary said looking down, “He should rest himself…”
Emma said nothing, but picked up the black kitten that was walking around the bed and petted it. The fact that he wasn’t there, and yet, just downstairs, made her sad. Was it her that made him go downstairs to eat?
“I’ll eat here tonight.” Rosemary said calmly, “Let me clean up lunch with Luisa, get you some fresh water, and I will come up with our dinner.”
“You don’t have to-“ Emma started looking up at her.
Rosemary took her face into her hand gently, “It’s nice to have company when one is sick… Isn’t it?” she smiled undoing the businesslike hair bun she had in her hair with the other hand. She let go of Emma’s face and placed the bobby-pins in the now free hand and gently shook out her hair, “It takes away the attention of the sickness… and I am lonely too…”
“What about me!?” cried Luisa looking sadly at Rosemary.
“You can eat here too if you promise not to act like Kenna.” Rosemary said smiling at her.
Luisa smushed up her face in annoyance, took the pot off the cart, and marched out of the room. Rosemary giggled, and turned back to Emma, “Would you like the company my dear?”
“Well…” Emma looked away.
“Murrr!” said LB from behind her nuzzling her head, “Mrow!”
Emma smiled a little and petted his head.
“Of course, it would be welcomed.”
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During dinner, Emma had a good time. Rice Pilaf with grilled fish, steamed vegetables, and mixed fruit for dessert.
“I haven’t had food like this in a long time…” Emma said quietly, “Who made dinner?”
“We all did.” Rosemary said as Luisa played with Charlotte and Koi, who had followed them in when dinner was served to the other cats, “Henry looked over the vegetables from time to time, I did the rice while getting the kitties dinner’s while trying to find bedding for the little one, and Luisa grilled the fish on the portable griller, while cutting the fruit. It is faster that way.”
“But fruit for dessert?” Emma said looking for another piece of Strawberry in her largish bowl.
“You are sick, and need to get all the vitamins and minerals you need!” Luisa chimed from the fire place where she was playing with the two kittens.
Emma just looked at the food and felt happy a little. To have people care like this, it was not normal… Just Christopher would make a fuss… small… But to have three people cook for her… For some reason, the fact that Henry helped to cook it, made her feel even happier.
“Let’s get you tucked in,” Rosemary said as she saw Emma stifle a yawn. She took Emma’s bowl and plate and said, “I’ll place these in the fridge if you want the leftovers for lunch tomorrow…”
Emma watched sleepily as Luisa took the black kitten, and the small Calico, Koi, and placed them in the large fluffy blanket that was in front of the fireplace. Luisa then took the plates that Rosemary couldn’t carry downstairs. Both women returned soon, Rosemary with a fresh pitcher of water and glass, and filled it. Luisa placed a sliced lemon in it.
“Mr. Tate said!” she said to Rosemary.
“I’m not arguing!” Rosemary said laughing a little at her.
Emma sleepily petted Charlotte as she came and climbed up her chest a little, sniffing her.
“Awww…” she said stroking her head, “Where is your master?”
A yawn escaped Emma as she heard Rosemary make a disagreeing noise. Looking up, Emma smiled sheepishly.
“Bed for you.” She said pulling down the pillows, LB making disagreeing noises for the moment, because his perch was taken away, but happy now he could lay next to his mistress.
“But…” Emma didn’t want to go to sleep; Henry hadn’t come to see her yet.
“You still have a fever.” Rosemary said, placing a hand on her forehead. For some reason, it was so gentle and caring, Emma felt so safe where she was, and closed her eyes yawning again, “You won’t get rid of it by staying awake.”
Emma didn’t argue. She turned and snuggled into the warm blankets being pulled over her, and the friendly hand leaving her head, while closing her eyes. She felt a second small; cat like body next to her head lay down. It seemed Charlotte would be sleeping with her tonight too, but she felt lonelier without seeing Henry. The feeling bothered her. Only one other she felt like this before with, and when she wished he was with her, he was always gone.
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Emma woke, sitting up, sweat running down her forehead. It wasn’t a lot, but it was more than enough to make her remember the nightmare she just had. She saw, from the bedside table next to her, a nightlight from the Hello Kitty vaporizer, and steam spewing from it. From across the room, she saw a small, almost embers now, fire in the fireplace.
She felt the cats on the bed moving, LB near her head, Charlotte near her left side. She looked down, and in the dim light from the nightlight, she saw the form of a body on her bed on her right.
She began to panic, but the cats didn’t seem to mind it, so she turned on the light by the bed, and saw Henry laying half on the bed, and half sitting in one of the tall red chairs from the coffee table nearby.
Her panic from both the nightmare, and from fear, began to subside. She laid back down on the bed looking up at the ceiling breathing heavily. She remembered the dream vividly, and frankly, didn’t want to.
She sat up again to drink some of the water by the bed. It tasted good, because she felt hotish. As she placed the empty glass down, she looked at Henry’s head. It was just his hair she could see, not tidy as she had always seen him with, very much as if someone had just plopped his head onto the bed and left it there. His hair was pretty. Very brown. She found her hand moving to touch it, hesitated a moment as she thought as to why she was wanting to, and justified it by telling herself she just wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked at the moment, and continued to put her hand through the mass of his hair, and run her hand through it.
She had done this several times, thinking that it looked darker than she first thought when they had met, and even though they had known each other a while, it was the first time she thought it looked darker than before. Kenna’s hair was darker than his by far, she thought, continuing to run her hand through it, but that could be because of her mother’s hair too…
She had just placed her hand into his hair again, when he began to stir in his own dreams, and then lift his head slowly. She quickly tried to remove her hand, but he touched her arm, and kept it at the side of his face as he sat up looking at her.
“Emma.” He said sleepily, looking at her with a small, hurtful smile. His glasses were off, and she could feel and see a little stubble forming on his face. He obliviously had come here before bed, and was still in his work shirt from the previous evening. She didn’t try to force herself away from him, he was there for her. “Are you ok?”
Emma didn’t know what to do or say to him. She had never seen Henry like this before: His hair was messed up, as if a great wind had been blowing it back for a long time, his face unshaven and unwashed, and he looked so tired. How long had he been asleep? A few hours? A few minutes? She felt angry at him, but for some reason, the anger seemed to stem from some sort of sadness.
“I came in to make a small fire, its drafty in here because of the windows.” He said, “Floor length and cold in the winter despite long heavy curtains…” he smiled a little and hugged her hand and arm, “But as I came to kiss your forehead goodnight, you called out in your sleep for me, and asked me to stay-”
That’s what did it for Emma.
She burst out sobbing for no reason, and flung herself at him. She felt her nose get stuffy, and it was hard to breathe… She needed something to blow her nose with…
“Here…” Henry’s deepish voice said from his chest, “Sit up a moment, and do as I say…” She sat up, and saw he had his hanky out, and placed it gently on her nose as she continued to sob between breaths. “Blow…”
She blew through her nose and felt him gently wipe it. She then buried her head back into his chest as he removed the rag, and cried for a few moments.
Emma didn’t know how long it was really, she didn’t realize anything till she heard him singing very softly, and stroking her hair and back. He sang so softly, he sometimes didn’t get the words out all the time. He started humming the tune very, very softly then, she wasn’t crying now, just listening to his voice, and sound.
“Now,” he said after a moment of silence. He lifted her up, and with the end of his sleeve, he wiped her eyes, “You don’t have to say a thing…” he smiled softly at her and let her hold herself up, “It’s alright now.”
Emma nodded. She felt better, a lot better. She sniffed, coughed, and then looked back at Henry. He was sitting there smiling softly at her like the idiot he always was. She then bent over and kissed his forehead very gently. So gently, she knew she barely touched him; it was the least she could do for him showing his kindness.
As she moved away, he was smiling still, but one she never noticed before. She had seen it before, but it was brighter, in someway, now. She looked away, frightened she did something wrong, but not regretting it.
“You’re fever broke…” he said gently as he pushed her back to her spot on the bed. He stood up and went to the dresser and took out two hankies and came back and knelt down next to her still with the special smile. He dipped the edge of one into the water and then wiped where her tears were, then dried the wetness with the other hanky, before laying them both on the table, “Now it’s coughing, and the end of the cold…”
Emma said nothing again, and just looked at him, didn’t he have anything to say? She looked away, and saw Charlotte next to her. She petted the cat that was there.
“I’ll go to bed now.” Henry said turning off the table lamp.
“Please.” Emma said suddenly, “Stay here tonight…”
She saw him, in the glow from the nightlight, stand still for a moment, and then sit back down in the chair that was next to her bed.
“Till you go to sleep… Then I’ll be next door…”
“Ok.”
There was a moment of silence, as Emma felt lonely again.
“I’ll try and stay as long as I can tomorrow morning…”
Emma felt happier as he said that.
“Ok…”
She then laid down, and pulled the covers over her, not feeling as lonely as before. With the thought of that feeling, a small, very small, smile on her face appeared.
Part 5: Fin~
