Page 35 of Mornings By the Linden Tree
“Absolutely not. People take medicine and go to sleep all the time.” I lifted her from the floor to place her on my knee. My back twinged again. “I plan to take two aspirin before I go to bed.” She began chewing on her lower lip. “Aspirin for my sore back,” I clarified. “I’m sure tomorrow morning I’ll wake up just fine.”
“Oh-kay.” The child seemed skeptical. I brought her in for a hug, which she reciprocated with great affection and a wet kiss on my cheek. “You has rough whiskers. Can I play more now?”
“I haven’t tidied up my goatee all day. Shame on me!” I teased, giving her nose a short peck before letting her climb down from my lap to return to her dollies. Rising after a moment of sharing a very loving look with Lennon, I tapped his shoulder and jerked my chin in the direction of the kitchen. He followed, bringing our coffee cups with him.
I placed my hands on the edges of the sink to catch my breath. Lennon placed the mugs on the counter, came up behind me, slid his arms around my middle, and then kissed me between my shoulder blades.
“I nearly fucked that up,” I whispered as I berated myself. “I have no skills with children at all. I was throwing big words at her as if she were a client and not a preschooler.” I spun to face him, his hands skimming along my waist until they settled on my hips. “Do you think I did any harm to her already traumatized mind? Did I handle that well?”
“You did a great job. I’m sure it will take time to work through her fear, but now we know what we’re working with. When you relay that to Dr. Bajaj, he’ll set up his sessions to touch on her fear of sleeping and death. And hey, that is a really normal thingto be scared of. Sometimes I wonder if I’m going to wake up the next day, you know?”
“Yes, I have those thoughts on occasion as well.” I blew out a breath. “I would love a hug.”
“I would love to give you one.” He wrapped me tightly in his arms. I buried my nose in his smooth hair, breathed in lime, and felt myself sink into his hold. “You are a marvelous uncle to that child. No one is knowledgeable about childcare right off. You just fumble through it and do your best to keep them healthy and happy, my mom always says. You’re doing both.”
I drew back just enough to stare into those soft blue eyes. “May I kiss you?”
“Yes, of course.” He rose up to his toes, and I lowered my head so we could meet in the middle. The kiss was powerful, nothing too graphic as a child was playing just around the corner, but that press of lips tied me to him even more tightly. When the kiss ended, he gave my hip bone a rub and stepped back to get some air between us before things got out of hand. “You are doing great. Don’t doubt yourself.”
“I’m not familiar with being so unsure of my skills. I can walk into a courtroom or a judge’s chamber and give summations that bring tears to the eyes of those hearing it. But ask me to discuss something like death with a little girl, and I’m a nervous wreck. God help me when she asks where babies come from.”
That made him chuckle. “You’ll handle that as well. I have faith in you.”
“I’m glad someone does.”
“You got this.”
From his freshly kissed lips to God’s ears. “I’d like some coffee. With a liberal splash of spiced rum, but since this cabin is dry, plain coffee will have to suffice.”
He left me standing by the sink to make more coffee. I hurried to send a text to Dr. Bajaj, even though he was on holidaysomewhere, just to let him know what just transpired as well as what I had said to her. He replied before the second mug was full to inform me I had done a wonderful job, we would touch on it during our next session, and to keep up the good work and enjoy the fireworks.
That made me feel much better. Perhaps I would fire up the hot tub after all and ask Lennon to join me after Valeria was tucked in. On the pullout sofa, I assumed. If the child slept through one whole night, I would fall to my knees in praise, and I was not a religious man.
***
Sadly, we never got into the hot tub that night. A sudden rainstorm blew in over the island, bringing with it thunder that rattled the shutters and lightning so bright the heavens themselves were illuminated. Valeria slept through it all. Yes, she was on the pullout bed, but that counted, right? Lennon and I snuggled on a small chaise in my bedroom, spiced rum coffee sitting on the floor awaiting us as we fell into a petting session that rivaled the weather outside.
When his spunk was mixed with mine in our joined hands, I nuzzled his throat, breathing in the sweet smell of citrus and Lennon. The chirrup of his phone seemed incredibly loud over the low rumbles of thunder and the steady downpour of rain on the new metal roof.
He groaned at the insistent noise while I wiggled my clean hand into my back pocket to find a handkerchief to wipe our hands on. The man lay atop me, huffing, lips red and cheeks rosy, fumbling under the chaise for his cell.
“Sorry, this is the worst kind of interruption of a romantic tryst,” he said as he lifted the vibrating phone, then rolled hiseyes. “It’s my boss. Ugh, I hate to take it, but if I don’t, I might miss a gig.”
“No, please take it.” I kissed his chin. He rolled to the floor on one knee, talking to his employer while trying to stuff his spent cock back into his pants. I made my way to the bath, holding up my slacks with one hand while balling up the dirty hankie with the other. I wished Lennon had a different job. One that was more appreciative of his talent. The few tidbits I’d heard about his boss, the less I liked him. And if he was skipping over Lennon because of his homosexuality, then I would haul his hateful ass into court faster than he could blink.
I was soaping up when the doorbell rang. Probably the dinner we ordered was delivered since the fireworks had been called off due to the weather. “I’ll get that,” I called out, then rushed through the cottage to the foyer. I hoped the driver had kept the food dry. Nothing tasted worse than cold Thai served in soggy containers. Pulling the door open with my hand in my back pocket, my eyes flared to see Percy standing on the stoop with a newspaper held over his head.
And Lennon had thought a call from his boss was bad. I would say this is the worst kind of interruption of a romantic tryst, hands down.
“It’s pissing down out here. Care to let me in?” he shouted over a clap of thunder that made my fillings rumble. I moved back, stunned into silence, as he jumped through the doorway just as a jagged bolt of lightning leaped from one cloud to the other. “Bloody hell,” he muttered as he shook off the paper, then handed it to me. “I wasn’t sure the ferry would be making the trip. Old bloke wasn’t too keen on taking me over in this mess, but I lied and told him I was meeting my old senile mum for a final weekend on the beach, so he took me over, after I put fifty quid in his hand. Why the hell are you staring at me like that?”
“What are you doing here?” I finally managed to ask. He shook like a dog, sending droplets of water everywhere, before he peeled off his fashionable raincoat. A London Fog, no doubt. You could tell quality just by the cut and fit of the raincoat. “How did you even know where to find me?”
“I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days to set up a meeting. It’s been months, and when I couldn’t get a reply from you, poor form that, I went to your house. Mrs. Polkowski was not pleased to see me, but then again, she never is the cheeky cow. Told me if I wanted to see you, I’d have to fly to Nantucket. I asked where the fuck is Nantucket and—”
“Please watch your language and keep your voice down before you wake up—”
“Uncle Wes, who is that ugly man with the big nose?” Valeria asked from the shadows.
