by Kat Obie
Scott’s mom went to the kitchen and started to reheat the food she’d cooked earlier. Alice looked over to the kitchen and asked, “Would you like any help?”
“No, just keep him company. He’s happy, and that makes things so much easier.” Scott’s head fell over on top of Alice’s head. She knew that he was out again. Alice just stayed still for a few minutes. Scott’s mom broke the silence. “He really likes you. I’ve never seen him like that. He’s just so happy with you. Last time, he was so grumpy, although he still said anything that came to his mind. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wants to get you a ring soon. Do you want a plate brought over to you?”
Alice was taken aback that his mom mentioned an engagement ring. It seemed crazy. “Sure.”
Scott’s mom came into the living room with two plates. Alice took the plates and kissed Scott lightly. “Hey, sleepy head. Time to eat.”
Scott woke up some but almost as quickly fell back asleep. But his mom was having none of it and Alice understood why Scott always wanted her to eat. She said in a loud, stern voice, “Now Scott Simon Wheiland. You are going to eat right now. I don’t care whether you are hungry or not.”
Scott woke up fully. Alice had to laugh. She’d never heard Scotty’s middle name before. She had a feeling that she would hear that a few more times during his mom’s trip. She took a bite of the rustic stew and fresh bread.
Scotty turned to her and asked, “What’s so funny?”
“You, babe.” He was tripping. If it wasn’t so silly, she would have liked to see him under the effects of anesthesia on a regular basis.
“That’s not nice. I had surgery. You should be nice to me.” He practically stuck out his tongue at her.
Alice stifled a giggle by taking a spoonful of stew. It was delicious.
Scott ate some of the stew, but Alice could tell right away that he wasn’t hungry and only appeasing his mom by taking a few bites. He would normally eat his plate and hers if he had any appetite.
Alice decided that she wouldn’t be laughing any more at Scotty. “How would you like me to make it up to you?”
With no hesitation, he said, “Hockey and kisses.”
While laughing, she turned on the TV. It was literally the best answer she could have heard. She noticed that there was a game that was paused on the TV, so she just hit start. She then kissed his jaw first and then his mouth very chastely since his mom sat across from them. Alice smiled and said, “Is that better?”
Scott nodded. “Yes.” He leaned his head back and got comfy. He took a few more bites of the stew before setting the plate on the coffee table. He then turned to Alice and planted a sloppy kiss on her lips. Then he turned his attention to the game before falling asleep again.
Scott
Scott woke up the next morning feeling groggy and like a mac truck ran over him. He was glad to have Alice in his arms, and his knee wasn’t bothering him which was lucky and likely to get worse later. The day before felt like a blur, and he only remembered bits and pieces thanks to the medicine. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten to bed.
He looked at the time and realized the two of them should be waking up. He leaned over and kissed Alice along her neck, tracing a line all the way up to her ear. She murmured something, but Scott couldn’t understand what she said, so he kissed her ear again. She stirred and said a little louder, “It’s too early.” He kept kissing up and down her neck until she rolled over to face him with a smile and said, “What happened to the silly, sleepy Scott from yesterday?”
He smiled and said, “He slept.” He’d probably said a few silly things, but he wasn’t sure what.
Scotty grabbed her in a big bear hug and pulled her on top of him while being careful not to bump his bad leg. He wasn’t going to let her go back to sleep. While he was tired, he still wanted to make love to her since it’s been to long since he did it with Al. With lust in his voice, he said, “You’re not trying to tell me you’d rather sleep instead of making love, are you?” Alice reciprocated everything he gave her, so while she protested that she was tired, she didn’t really wanted to sleep.
“Is that what you are after?”
He kissed her nose gently and said, “Of course, it is. It’s been, like, forever.”
“True, and you are so good,” Alice said a little dreamily.
“So, what do you want to do?” Scott kissed some of Alice’s biggest pleasure centers: her ears and the nape of her neck. Her head fell back in pleasure, and he helped to stabilize her torso with his strong hands.
“More.”
Scott was off to the races, tossing her shirt off to the side of the room so he could have easy access to her breasts. He kissed her nipples and massaged her breasts. She started to kiss him on the mouth and had her hand on the back of his head. He could tell that she was stiffer than normal because she avoided his bad leg.
There was a knock on the door. They both froze, and Scott made sure he spoke in French. “What?” He closed his eyes and hoped that his mom wouldn’t open the door but would leave them be.
“Are you okay in there?”
“Yup.”
“Need any pain medicine?”
“Nope. I’m good.” Scott knew he would be in even better shape with his pain management if he could go back to what he and Alice were doing.
“How much longer do you expect to be in there?”
“I don’t know.” Scott looked at his beautiful girlfriend sitting on top of him. He wanted to go back to making love. But he knew that answer wouldn’t satisfy his mom so he quickly added, “Maybe an hour or so.”
“Alright. I’m going to take Chloe and Backup for a walk, then.”
“Sounds great.”
Alice smiled at him, but she remained silent. They were like teenagers who’d gotten caught making out despite the fact they were both in their early thirties. He pulled her close to his chest and whispered, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know my maman was coming. I hope everything was okay with her at the hospital.”
“Everything was fine. Don’t worry.”
Scott kissed her with vigor. When he pulled away, he said, “You know my maman doesn’t like it when you don’t eat. You will have to eat breakfast when she’s here.”
“You got in trouble yesterday for not eating, so I figured I would have to eat if I don’t want to get on your mom’s bad side.”
“I did not,” scoffed Scotty.
Alice leaned in and teased him with a kiss before saying, “You keep telling yourself that, Scott Simon Wheiland.” That’s when he knew he’d gotten in trouble. He’d never shared his middle name with Alice, and the only way she would have ever known it was if his mom said it. He was almost afraid to ask about the details.
Alice looked at him intently as she asked, “I did want to know—what does Tabarnak de calice mean? ‘Cause what I think it means and how your mom used it were very different.”
Scott laughed and really wanted to know how on earth Alice heard the phrase. “It basically means “Fuck.” It’s a Quebec thing. But how did you hear it?”
“When we were getting you into the car, you kept saying that I was pretty and wanted your mom to reaffirm that I was pretty. She said it and that you were worse than the last time you had surgery.” At least, she was amused by his antics from the day before. “It was like you were drunk. You would wake up and either compliment me, say that you love puppies, or ask for hockey and kisses.”
“Oh lord, really?” Scott hated hearing that. He was always on good behavior, and Alice had never seen him drunk.
“Yup. It was hysterical.” The more he heard about yesterday, the more he was embarrassed. He reached for his phone that should be charging on the nightstand to see if he’d done anything silly on social media.
Alice leaned in and kissed him before saying, “If you are afraid you posted anything on social media, I hid your phone pretty early on. It was one of the reasons you wanted hockey and kisses. I knew you would be pissed if I let you post anythin
g ridiculous. It’s charging in my nightstand drawer.”
He wanted to roll Alice over and take her right then and there. With his knee, he would have to stay on his back and maybe his right side. But definitely no rolling over to his front or moving the left knee at all for the time being.
“So, anything else that I should know about from yesterday?” asked a curious Scott.
Alice hesitated but then shook her head no. Scott didn’t believe her one bit. She was holding back and he wanted to know what it was. Since she was on top of him, he started to tickle her torso as he said, “Come on, tell me.” She giggled furiously but she remained silent. Then Scott leaned up to kiss her. As he pulled back, he whispered, “Come on, you know you want to tell me.”
Alice laughed. “Damn, you are persistent today.”
“Like that’s a bad thing,” he said with a wide grin, so self-assured. “I play to win—you know that. So tell me before I really have to play hardball.”
Alice waved her hand to the side dismissively. “It’s nothing.”
“So, if it’s nothing, you should share.” Scott smiled. He decided his next move.
Alice said, “Your mom thinks you will be proposing one day soon.”
Scott smiled widely at that. “Is that all?” When Alice didn’t say anything right away, he got a little afraid that she wasn’t feeling the relationship the same way he did. So he asked, “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. It’s just me being dumb.”
Scott put his hands on her shoulders and tried to steady her. “Okay, back up. I need to make sure I’m following. It’s not a problem that I would love to propose to you one day. But I don’t see how you are dumb since, the last time I checked, you are brilliant. So, what’s up?”
Alice smiled and said, “Basically, that’s it. I feel all weird planning life with a guy. My ex wrecked me. It’s nothing but a damn superstitious fear. You aren’t him, and we are living together. Everything is perfect, and I don’t want it to ever end. So, yes, this is me being dumb.”
Scott kissed her carefully. He wanted her to know how much he loved her, and this morning was perfect. He reached towards his nightstand and dug around in the drawer for a small box.
He’d purchased a ring while he was on the road trip and didn’t really have plans on when or how he was going to give it to her. He said, “What would you say if I had a ring for you?” Before she could even try to deny him, he said, “It’s not an engagement ring yet. I need to do it right, especially the part about being able to get down on bended knee. I can’t do that for a while.”
Alice looked at him incredulously. She had no idea what he was doing. He loved seeing her face with furrowed brows and confusion. He finally grabbed the ring box and pulled it out. He opened the box with a coy smile. Inside was a small silver Claddagh ring that he’d designed special for her. It included a garnet, her birthstone, as the heart, the number 77 in the center of the crown—the number she wore for hockey—and his own number 34 etched into the band directly underneath the heart.
“What the . . .”
Scott took the small ring out of the box and handed it to her as he said, “It’s a ring, silly. See, it even goes with your necklace.” Alice took the ring and looked at it carefully. While her face was still confused, he saw how much her eyes were smiling and in awe. “Don’t leave me hanging. Say something.”
“It’s beautiful. I just . . .” She cocked her head and chewed her bottom lip some. “But why the 77 in the crown and not your 34? Are you sure it’s not an engagement ring?”
“Positive. If it was an engagement ring, it would have a diamond in it and I would do it right. Ask your dad, plan an elaborate day, and all that shit.” Scott played with Alice’s hair as he looked intently at her face while she kept looking over the ring. “The 77 is in the crown since you get to rule your heart and who you want to let into it. I want to be inside your heart, and I am pretty sure that’s where you keep me anyway, so it’s the underbelly of the ring.”
Alice finally slipped the ring onto her right hand and then crushed the both of them into the pillows. He wasn’t expecting it. The only reason she moved him at all was due to the surprise. “You are so fucking amazing. I love you so damn much.”
She pulled at Scott’s boxers and his athletic shorts. Scott smiled and felt himself getting incredibly hard again. He knew he got close so he would have to control himself. They had some great sex.
After a little bit, Scott got restless, sure that his mom would be coming back to check on them if they stayed in the bedroom for much longer. He looked down at Alice and realized that she’d fallen back to sleep as they were cuddling.
He felt bad about waking her up a second time, but he knew that he would need help to get downstairs. He kissed Alice’s neck again and woke her up in the same way as he had earlier. Once she stirred, he said, “Hey, baby. We should go down for breakfast soon.”
“Do we have to? It’s so comfy here.”
“Come on. I know you like it here, but we need to get up. “
Alice wasn’t trying to smother him and would only help when he actually needed it. It was a nice balance. He had a feeling that his mom might have warned Alice. Although, given her personality, she might have figured it out on her own.
After a quick shower, they headed down the stairs. Scott felt so unstable, even with Alice giving extra support at his sides. “How the hell did you and maman get me up the stairs last night?”
“It took a while. But you were insistent that you weren’t going to sleep downstairs. I even offered to sleep with you, thinking that was the issue, but you wanted to be in your bed.”
Scott shook his head, but it sounded like something he would do. Alice and his mom must have had their hands full. He was glad they were together to help with his care. Neither of them were super tall. He was a big guy and basically solid muscle on top of that.
As soon as they went downstairs, Chloe and Backup were obviously curious about Scott’s crutches but gave them enough room to move around slowly. They headed towards the sofa in the living room so he could stretch out and get off his leg. After he got settled, Alice headed to the kitchen to help his mom with the food.
Maman immediately said, “Finally, you guys are up.”
Alice smiled. “That was my fault. I didn’t want to wake up.”
“Well, I assume you guys are hungry by now,” said Scott’s mom. His mom had the usual spread of food that she would make daily for him and his dad: eggs, Canadian bacon, sausage, potatoes, and even fresh biscuits. He could smell the delicious food waiting for them. The only thing that didn’t seem to be ready was the coffee, which Alice started.
“Do you want any coffee, Mrs. Wheiland?”
Scott tried to hide his snickers; he knew that maman would hate that, especially after spending the day together. Although, his mom said nothing about the formality or that it reminded her of her mother-in-law and instead said, “No, thanks.”
Alice made their usual coffee as his mom prepared plates of food. Maman brought a plate over to Scotty and looked at his knee. “How’s the pain? I can already tell you are much more like yourself, so you must have kicked most of the anesthesia.”
“Pain’s tolerable for now. I will take some medicine after breakfast,” Scotty said as he ate the food. “You know maman, you don't have to cook anything while you are here. Alice can cook too, or we can order in.”
“I know, but I enjoy it.” Maman went to the kitchen to get her plate. Alice brought over the coffees for both of them.
He was so tempted to say something about Alice eating breakfast since he’d never seen it in person. But he knew that would go over like a lead balloon. Sure, every once in a blue moon, he could convince her to take some breakfast into work so she could eat it later.
Instead, his eyes drifted to the ring he’d given her. He loved how it fit perfectly on her hand and went well with the casual look she had that day with a tunic top and leggings.
; “Do you mind if I turn on some hockey?” asked Scotty.
“Not if it’s just hockey,” said his mom. “I don’t need to know or see everything you want to do with her.”
Scotty attempted to feign innocence as he turned on the Lightning game from the previous night, but there was a subtle reddening to his skin his mom insinuated that he tried to do more with Alice yesterday.
It was a low-key day. Chloe was confused by how immobile Scotty was. She kept trying to get him to play with her, and she whined some when Alice took her for a walk. She clearly wanted Scotty to come with them. Backup was much more easily entertained and didn’t care if Scotty was laying on the sofa all day.
Alice
Alice’s alarm went off. Her alarm was on the obnoxious side with way too many sounds, but it was effective, although normally she would use a different alarm when sharing a bed with Scott. Alice pulled away from Scott’s body so she could silence the evilness, and he cursed. “Why?! That alarm is evil.”
“Sorry. Just go back to sleep,” Alice said casually.
Scott reached out for her and said, “Come here first.” He pulled her in for a tight hug and kiss. She loved being held by Scott, but she knew that she should get ready for work and couldn’t get trapped in the warmth. He pouted as she pulled away.
Alice thought that she would be able to get away from the bed without too much trouble, but as she walked by the bed, he grabbed her hand and kissed it.
“Babe, I need to get ready for work. Go back to sleep. Let your knee heal.”
“Okay.”
Alice went into the bathroom to start with a quick shower. She got dressed and slowly worked her hair into braids so she was ready for the day. She noticed that Scott was asleep again, and that made her happy. The two of them had stayed up a little too late last night, both talking and not talking.
As Alice headed downstairs, she heard a couple of voices talking in French. She immediately recognized Scott’s mom’s voice, but she had trouble placing the male voice. After a few words, she realized it was Lager.
