Page 23 of Fever: Love In Scrubs
“You say that until you get here and realize it’s a job.”
“Relationshipsarea job, love. You can’t just get the position and slack off. You have to put in time and work. They’ll be good days and bad days, but if it’s worth it, you do what you must to keep it.”
“You’re right.” I looked down at my food. “You know, sometimes, I wish I’d gotten to see my father love my mother. The cleaners found this old photo album of his. He barely everlet me touch it, but I finally got to see what he was keeping all those years. I knew he loved her just from the way he wanted to keep everything that reminded him of her. But seeing them in pictures and reading the love letters and cards he wrote her… she was the love of his life. I want someone to love me like that, but I’d never want them to let my death consume them.”
Jaxson hung his head. “I know what you mean. My parents are the blueprint for me. I’d never seen anybody love a woman the way my father loves my mother. I dread the day that they don’t have each other. I don’t think they would last long. The thought of that kinda scares me, you know? Them living without each other and me having to live without them. I know everybody has a day and time, but you wanna keep your loved ones as long as possible.”
I sniffled a little as I nodded my head. “Yeah. I hadn’t spoken to my dad in a few weeks. We had a fight the last time I called him and he never answered the phone again. I just… he died with animosity between us. I never got a chance to fix things.”
Tears pooled in my eyes as I spoke. That had been eating me alive since I learned of his passing. Sure, I tried to call him, but he didn’t answer. I should have been the bigger person and finally come to see him. Now he was gone and there was no other opportunity to make things right.
That hurt almost as badly as losing him.
Overcome with tears, I buried my face in my hands.
Jaxson slid next to me and pulled me into a hug while I cried on his shoulder. I’d had many crying spells over the last couple of months, but talking about this to him…talking about it out loud… it made me feel like shit.
“You can’t feel guilty,” he said softly as he rubbed my back. “Sometimes, you have to love people from a distance to protect your peace. I don’t know what it was like for you in that house, but for you not to go back, I can imagine it was painful. Nobodycan fault you for how you chose to heal from what you went through.”
He pulled back and swiped at my tears with the pads of his thumb.
“I’m sorry I’m crying all over you,” I said.
“Cry all you want. All beautiful things need water to grow.”
I leaned back into his embrace and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure how long we stayed like that. I wasn’t a hugger and I really didn’t care for too many people touching me, but somehow, touching him was soothing. He had a kind of spirit that just seemed to pull you in. I could tell he was a good person.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad getting to know him.
While I kept reminding Wynter that she needed to relax and stay off her feet, she insisted that she wanted to enjoy her time out of the house. I obliged her by suggesting we go to a park not too far from the chicken spot. We parked and I helped her out of the car once again. I noticed that she was limping a little more than she’d previously been.
“See,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re being hard headed, now look at you.”
She playfully shoved my shoulder. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? It’s a little walk to where the pedal boats are.”
“Pedal boats? Is that why you brought me here?”
I grinned. In the middle of the park was a big lake. There was a spot where you could rent a pedal boat and sail around.
“It’s peaceful and I think you’ll enjoy it.”
“Um, can you swim? ‘Cause I can’t and I can’t swallow all that water.”
I chuckled. “Damn, you sounded like my grandmother just now. Yes, I can swim, woman.”
“Is the boat sturdy? I’m not trying to tip over.”
“Yes, Wynter. Trust me. I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
She gave me a side eye. “Fine.”
“Good.” I turned my back to her. “Hop on.”
“Hop on what?”
“Stop playing and jump on my back. Let’s give your foot a break.”
