Page 56 of What Comes After

Right now, I just wasn’t ready.

I could close my eyes for a few minutes and rest. There was no question I’d need to have fully stocked energy reserves to be back in his presence without the hope or possibility of an interruption from a nurse or doctor.

So, that’s what I did.

I allowed my eyes to drift shut for a few minutes.

The next thing I knew, I’d opened my eyes, looked at the clock, and saw it was six-thirty.

Apparently, I was even more tired than I had thought.

After taking a minute to gather my bearings, I walked into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. A moment later, I was descending the stairs, doing it carefully, as I still felt significant tenderness in my torso. Between the incision from the surgery and the ribs that were still healing, it was going to be a while before I was feeling like I could take on the world.

I was on the second to last step when I heard Theo. “I thought I heard you coming down the stairs. How are you feeling?” he asked.

“A bit sore,” I admitted.

“I’ve got your pain medication in the kitchen if you want to take some. You probably could have had some at least two hours ago,” he returned.

I nodded and explained, “Yeah, I meant to come down sooner, but I got tired and dozed off. Sorry about that.”

He shook his head as I made it off the last step. “There’s no need to apologize. I’m pretty sure that’s normal, and it’s going to take some time for you to get back to your regular sleep schedule.”

“Fingers crossed it happens sooner rather than later,” I mumbled.

Theo offered a sympathetic look and asked, “Are you hungry? I’ve got dinner ready.”

My eyes narrowed on him. “Like, you bought dinner, and it arrived? Or are you telling me you cooked?”

He lifted his chin proudly and grinned at me. “Believe it or not, I cooked for us.”

Us.

He cooked for us.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was.

There was a time when I would have given anything to walk down the stairs of a home we were living in together and have Theo tell me he cooked for us. Even better, I would have loved if the roles were reversed, and it was me who had cooked for him.

Understanding that I couldn’t continue to allow the feelings of longing to move through me and make their presence known, I shook off those thoughts, smiled at him, and said, “I’ve got to see this.”

“Just wait. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by my talent,” he teased.

With that, the two of us walked away from the stairs and made our way toward the kitchen.

“Why don’t you grab a seat at the table, and I’ll bring everything over?” Theo declared.

I didn’t know how long I’d be able to tolerate him waiting on me hand and foot, but considering I was still a bit unsteady and a lot sore, I figured it was best to let him indulge me for a while.

No sooner had I gotten as comfortable as possible at the table, Theo walked over with two plates. The second he set them down, I felt a wave of shock move through me.

I had anticipated some spaghetti topped with a jar of store-bought sauce.

Suffice it to say, I was wrong.

Each of our plates had a piece of salmon, a pile of potatoes, and some asparagus.

“You made this?” I asked.

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