Page 70 of His Forever

Monday morning dawned bright and early and as she stretched, she realized she was alone in bed. Feeling the coolness of his pillow, she figured he had been up for quite some time. Once up, she winced at the pain she felt in her low back, then shrugged it off as they had had quite a busy weekend.Just muscles being used that haven’t been. After taking a quick shower she headed into the kitchen, she saw a note on the refrigerator and smiled. He had gone over to Paulie’s to get some boxes and would meet her at her apartment when she got up.

Grabbing an apple and a Diet Coke, she slipped her sandals on and walked through the pathway until she reached her apartment, where she found a beehive of activity. “Morning, chica!” Paulie called out as he came through the door with a box.

“What on earth?”

“Zeus called this morning and said you were moving in so we came over to give him a hand. He’s already got your planters at his house. You need to get in here, though, and pack up your clothes and stuff.”

Rolling her eyes at his bossy tone, she climbed the stairs and walked into controlled chaos. Her mother was packing up her kitchen, Gray was packing up the bathroom and her dad came through the door from the inside saying, “I’ve got the cat stuff down on the golf cart and can run it to your house, Zeus.”

“What in the ever-loving hell is going on?” she finally asked, hands on hips. “I mean, you just asked me last night!”

“Si, and with everyone here, I knew we could get it done quickly,” he replied, coming over to her. “Good morning, mi siempre hermosa,” he murmured as he kissed her.

“Good morning. Where are the cats?”

“They’re already at my house, out on the back porch where it is screened in,” he told her.

Sighing, because what else was there to do, she grabbed a few boxes and headed into her bedroom to pack.

***

Within a few short hours, her stuff was at Zeus’ and put up. Duke was in his element and as Zeus fired up his grill to cook for her parents, Paulie and Gray, he laughed at how the hound dog was following the kitten around as she explored. Looking around, he saw her standing there rubbing her low back and he frowned.

“Mi siempre hermosa? Are you okay?” he asked, coming up next to her.

“What? Yeah, I think so. I don’t know. Just some low back pain.”

“Once everyone leaves, we will relax, okay?”

“Okay, that works for me. It’s been a busy few days,” she replied.

Chapter Twenty-One

Getting up Tuesday, she noticed the pain was worse and when she had to pee several times while getting ready, she knew she had to go see a doctor.Damn it.I haven’t had problems in years.In the kitchen, she smiled at Zeus who was busy feeding the cats and Duke. “Good morning, mi siempre hermosa,” he said, coming up and kissing her. Seeing the look on her face, he asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I think…I think I have a kidney infection or something,” she replied.

“I’ll take you to the clinic, okay?” he replied, pouring coffee in his travel mug. “Are you ready?”

She nodded gratefully. The pain had gotten worse and all she wanted was relief. As he led her out of the house and to his truck, she thought of the clients she had on the books. “Zeus, wait, I need to reschedule a few people.”

“Do it on the way, mi siempre hermosa.Youare more important to me.”

As she went through her calendar and began texting her clients, she winced at every bump in the road. Once she was done, she said, “Most are still feeling the effects of the weekend and several were going to have to reschedule because they got too much sun.”

“Did you call Mamá?”

“No, not yet,” she replied. Picking up her phone once more, she called María-Luisa and let her know that she was on her way to the clinic and wouldn’t be in but her clients had been rescheduled.

“Mija, is Jesús with you?” the older woman asked.

“He is, yes.”

“Let me speak with him, please.”

She handed the phone to him and then listened as rapid-fire Spanish commenced, before he finally said, “Te amo, Mamá, I will call you once we know what is going on, alright? Let Paulie know she will call him later.”

“What was that all about?” she asked him as he handed her the phone.

---