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He frowned as his hair fell loose around his face and shoulders. “Why did you do that?”

“It looked like it was too tight.” She said the words casually, as if they were normal and the gesture hadn’t been a strangely intimate one. “So what else do we need to do to get ready for the wedding?”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Father Paul emailed me a bunch of questions about the ceremony.” He stared down at the screen, but the words blurred in front of his eyes. If only his head would ease up for an hour or so.

“You want me to look at them?” she asked, extending her hand.

He passed her his phone, relieved at not having to focus on reading in his current condition.

She skimmed over the email. “Okay. These look fairly straightforward. What do you think of this first one? Which of these options for readings do you prefer?”

They spent the next hour discussing the questions and the choices for the readings and blessings as well as starting on plans for their honeymoon. Eve wrote their responses to Father Paul on Jude’s phone. He hadn’t actually given her permission to use it, other than to read the email, but he was too relieved at not having to focus on text right now that he didn’t mention it.

As they talked, Eve got up to close the curtains one by one, darkening the room. And at one point she called Nancy and asked her to bring in sandwiches. Jude asked for coffee.

He wasn’t a bit hungry, but Eve put a sandwich in his hand, so he ate it. He’d only taken a few sips of coffee when she took the mug away without a word, giving him a glass of water instead.

He intended to complain about her high-handedness but didn’t have the energy. He gulped down the water instead, surprised he was so thirsty. Eve poured him another glass, so he drank that too.

When they were done eating, Eve passed him a pill and told him to take it.

Blinking down at it, he realized it was one of the pain pills the doctor had prescribed for his headaches back before he’d gotten the diagnosis. Nancy must have brought it to her.

He only took the pills when he had to because they made him sleepy and dulled his thinking. He hated being so out of it.

“We’re about done here, so you might as well take it.” Eve didn’t sound soft or sympathetic. Mostly just matter-of-fact.

“Oh. Okay.” He couldn’t come up with an objection, so he swallowed the pill down.

She’d sent the response email to Father Paul earlier, and soon they got through most of their plans for the next week. Eve said she’d contact the travel agent the Gregorys had always used so they wouldn’t have to mess with all the reservations and scheduling for the trip themselves.

Jude was fuzzy and confused by the time they finished talking. When Eve knelt down on the floor next to him, he stared at her groggily. “What are you doing down there?”

She slid off one of his shoes and then the other. “You need your shoes off so you can put your feet up on the couch and stretch out. This couch is way too nice to have shoes on it.”

He didn’t quite understand what was happening, but he did as she said, obediently raising his legs and lying down on the couch.

She got up and gently lifted his head. Wedged a soft throw cushion under it.

Somehow he ended up sprawled out on the couch, and he still wasn’t sure how it had happened. But he let out a long breath as he closed his eyes. The pill was starting to work, and everything felt so much better this way. Lying down in a dark room.

He enjoyed the relief for a few minutes until he remembered he wasn’t alone.

“I told you I was fine,” he mumbled, lifting his head to see what Eve was doing. She was back on the window seat, reading her book by the light of one small lamp.

“I know you’re fine. But we did everything we need to do today.”

“I was going to write more this evening. Got to finish the book.”

“You can still write later if you want. Just close your eyes for a little while first.”

“Okay. Wake me up in an hour.” He sighed again as his body relaxed. The sound was almost a groan. He wondered why he felt so much better. He couldn’t even remember the steps taken to get him to this point.

He should be embarrassed, having such a physical and mental collapse in front of Eve. He wasn’t in the habit of letting go in front of anyone. Certainly not an attractive woman.

He turned his head and peered out between his eyelids one more time at Eve, but she didn’t appear aware of him at all. She was contentedly reading. She’d removed that annoying clip, so her hair was spilling down around her back and shoulders like a golden veil. Like a halo.

Maybe she was an angel. He wasn’t even sure anymore.

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