Page 36 of Years in the Making

“Do you cook a lot?” I ask, sitting up more before thinking better of it.

“A couple times a week. After Mom’s aneurysm, we all picked up the things she did the most. Dad and Will did most of the cooking until Zoe and I could be fully trusted alone in the kitchen. Although to be honest, we are rarely alone. Mom loved… loves cooking so she’s often in there with us, overseeing things.”

“I hate what you’ve all been through, especially your mom, but it’s pretty great how you all stepped in.”

“That’s what family does. You face an issue head-on, you don’t run from it.”

“Is this you facing an issue head-on?” I gesture at the pile of stuff on the coffee table.

“It is.”

It still feels like my insides were thrown into ablender and then poured back into my body, but the way he looks at me, even when I’m several shades too green, does make things a bit better.

“So.” He gestures at the things he’s unpacked. “Can I get you anything right now?”

I survey the items again and feel the bile rise the minute my eyes land on the soup. “Maybe just the Gravol for now. I don’t think I could keep anything else down.” He nods and pops a couple out of the package, handing them to me.

“These will probably knock you out, but at least you won’t be throwing up.”

“One of those things is definitely better,” I murmur after I swallow the pills and snuggle back into my pillow.

“This that British drama you were talking about?” Teddy asks, sitting back and nodding towards the TV.

“Yes, but we can watch something else.”

He throws his hands up, “I would never dream of inviting myself over and then making you watch something else. Just give me the Coles Notes of what’s going on so I’m not totally lost.”

“Okay, so it basically all takes place at this estate in the English countryside, and there are usually two main storylines. One with the owners and one with the staff. Very upstairs-downstairs stuff. The family is the parents, their three daughters, and the dad’s mother. But his heir died, and so they had to find someone else in the line.”

“Wait, the heir died? But he has three other kids.”

“Apparently in the early 1900s, women couldn’t be the heir.”

“Typical.” Teddy rolls his eyes. “Sorry, continue.”

“They end up finding this guy who is a lawyer, and so he and his mom show up and it’s all snobby upper-class vs self-righteous middle-class people being dramatic. This is the first season. I think you’ll catch on pretty quickly.”

“Oh, you’ve already seen it?” I hold up three fingers. “You’ve seen it three times?” he asks, eyes wide.

“It’s my comfort show. I watch when I’m sick, which isn’t often, or I’m homesick or just want something familiar.”

“Huh, I don’t think I have a show like that. I don’t think I have anything like that, actually.”

“Well, I will happily share this one,” I assure him before restarting the episode.

“You don’t need to restart it,” Teddy says as if I’ve offered to donate a kidney.

“I was only fifteen minutes in. Trust me, EG, rewatching any part of this show is not a hardship for me.”

Teddy manages to get right into it, and halfway through our second episode he’s formed opinions about every character.

“I do not like the direction this relationship is going with the valet and that maid.” “I feel so bad for the blonde sister; she’s basically an outcast in every way. Do you think they cast her because she looks nothing like the others?” “Grandma is hands down the best character on this show. She dies in the next episode, doesn’t she? Wait, don’t tell me.” “I would not mind cooking in that kitchen. Imagine having that much counter space.”

I’ve never watched with someone else, and I am enjoying the commentary, especially on things that play out over several seasons. I’m asleep by the third episode and wake to the sound of heavy rain. Teddy is sitting at the end of the couch, ankle crossed over his knee, with a book in hand. I don’t say anything for a couple of minutes, soaking up the view of a hot guy reading.

“How are you feeling?” he asks without looking away from his page.

“Marginally better than I did earlier.”

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