I chuckled. “Ginger for ginger tea, to settle my stomach. Eggs for breakfast.”
 
 He pulled out his phone. “Go straight home. I’ll have it delivered to your apartment. Anything else?”
 
 “I can…” I started to protest, but one glance told me that I was not an employee at that moment. I was Alan’s omega, and as Alan’s house manager, it was Victor’s job to take care of me as well.
 
 I shook my head. “Thank you.”
 
 He nodded, then walked over and set his hand on my shoulder. “Rest, get feeling better. That’s all that matters. Ok?”
 
 “Ok.”
 
 “Give me a call if you need anything, and I do mean anything. I’ll make sure you get it.”
 
 I smiled. “I’ll be ok. I’ll drink my tea and curl up with a book.”
 
 He nodded. “I’ll let Alan know to call you at home when he checks in.”
 
 “Thanks.”
 
 I rubbed my stomach again. Maybe going home was the best plan. I could take a nap since I was more tired than normal too. Head off whatever bug I had before it could make me any sicker.
 
 “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow,” Victor said as I left the kitchen.
 
 “Day after tomorrow,” I confirmed.
 
 I made my way to my car, and a few minutes later pulled into the parking lot of my complex. A fresh wave of nausea hit me as I got out of the car and I got a whiff of a roof being retarred nearby. I hurried to my apartment and breathed a sigh of relief as the noxious odor was shut out.
 
 I trudged to my couch, wishing that Alan was home. But maybe it was better that he was in New York. I’d want to be curled in his arms, and I couldn’t risk him catching whatever I had.
 
 I grabbed the latest book I’d been reading and tried to focus, but had only managed a few pages when there was a knock.
 
 I opened the door to see the personal shopper that Victor and Alan used, grocery bag held in his hand. “Hey David, Victor ordered these things for you.”
 
 “Thanks Mark,” I replied. “Sorry to send you on such a small errand.”
 
 He laughed. “It’s not a big deal. I was already at the store shopping for somebody else, so I just grabbed your things while I was there.”
 
 “I still appreciate it.”
 
 He grinned. “No problem.”
 
 I wrinkled my nose again. “I should let you go. Those fumes are nasty.”
 
 He blinked. “What fumes?”
 
 I motioned to the outside. “The tar fumes? I think somebody’s redoing a roof around here.”
 
 He sniffed. “Whoa, you’re right. Good nose, I can barely smell it.”
 
 “Really? It’s making me queasy just standing here.”
 
 “I’ll let you get back inside then. Take care.”
 
 “You too.”
 
 I closed the door and headed to the kitchen. Soon the aroma of simmering ginger filled my apartment, and a few minutes later I carried a steaming mug back to the couch.
 
 By the time I finished my tea my stomach was already settling and I wondered if Victor hadn’t sent me home too early.