by T L Osborn
James parks in front of me. “Thanks, Aria. I’ll be CEO for today. I won’t need you, but he does. He’ll explain in the car,” he says as I walk around to the driver side. I climb into the car, and James waves as he heads upstairs while I close the door.
“Hi,” I say to Simon.
“Come here and kiss me,” he says.
I lean over and place a kiss on his lips. He slides a hand around my neck deepening our kiss. Kissing me like he needs me to breathe.
He pulls back. “I needed that,” he whispers.
“So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I ask, as I adjust the mirrors on the car.
“You remember that eye condition I told you I have? Well, it would appear something is happening to my good eye. My surgeon, Dr Sean, wants to see me now, to take a look,” he says.
“What’s the something happening?” I question.
“Well, this’ll sound crazy, but I awoke this morning with what I can only describe as a big black ink blot in my vision,” he explains.
“Then let’s go to the hospital.” I navigate my way as best I can through the streets, taxi drivers, and couriers in Wellington who all think they own the roads. We make it to the hospital, and I help Simon inside. He directs me to where we need to go, and when we get there, he speaks to the receptionist, who informs us we’ll have to wait. I help him to a seat and sit beside him.
“Now we wait.” He chuckles.
“How long do we wait?” I ask him.
“A while. I hope you brought a book,” he says.
“Did you even need to ask?” I laugh, bending down to grab the book out of my bag. I lean back next to him, opening to where I left off last. Simon reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone, obviously trying to do some work on it. He shakes his leg beside mine, causing mine to shake too, and I reach out, placing my hand on his leg. “Stop it. You’re making me shake.”
“Sorry, I’m just not used to sitting here unable to do anything.”
“How long do these things take?” I ask, closing my book.
“Depends. We wait here for a nurse, and then they’ll take me through to put in some drops for dilation. Then we’re taken to another waiting area, and that’s where we may wait the longest,” he says.
“Okay, do the drops help them see what’s going on?”
“Yes, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to need surgery,” he answers.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions. We’ll wait for the doctors and see what they have to say. Then we’ll go from there,” I reassure him.
He squeezes my hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He’s called by a nurse a few minutes later, and I guide him to follow her into a room then help him over to a chair. I take a seat on the opposite wall as the nurse asks him to test his vision.
“I can’t bloody see a thing,” he says through gritted teeth.
She makes him try anyway, and I roll my eyes. After she places the drops in his eyes, we walk down a long corridor to another smaller waiting room. There are rooms lining either side, obviously rooms for the doctors to see patients. I sit down next to Simon and slide my hand into his, squeezing lightly.
“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper to him. “I’m here for whatever you need.”
Simon
I’m glad Aria is here and not James. I don’t know if I could stand listening to his dumb jokes. Aria reads me some of the news lines while we wait then decides to search for more books to buy from Amazon. With every name that’s called, I begin to wonder if I’m ever going to be seen.
“Simon Billington,” a familiar male voice says, and Aria grabs my arm, helping me towards the room. I haven’t the heart to tell her I can actually see to get around; I just can’t focus. “Simon, explain the symptoms again for me,” Dr Sean Kilt requests.
“Black almost oil-like in my vision. When I move my right eye left or right, it moves too,” I say.
“I’m going to take a look, then get my colleague, Dr Andrew Nelson, to take a look too, if that’s all right with you.”
“Sure thing,” I reply. I remove my glasses as Dr Sean turns off the lights and helps me into the headrest of the examination table to be able to have a look. Once I’m comfortable, he gives me instructions of where to look. He spends much of his time with me looking up and right.
He’s found the problem.
“Yes, you’ve had a tear of a blood vessel caused by some retinal pulling. The retinalschisis that you had is still there, but this has pulled some more. You’ll need surgery, probably tomorrow, to get it stable,” Dr Sean informs me, and I hear the door open and close in the darkness. “Andrew, replace me. Take a look at Simon’s eye and tell me what you think the course of action would be.”
Once again, a doctor sits down, giving the same instructions. I feel a bit like a guinea pig, used as a test subject. The lights turn on, and I put my glasses on—not that there’s any point wearing them, but I’m used to it.
“Simon’s condition has worsened. I believe the best course of action is a scleral buckle, possibly a partial, otherwise a full band to stabilise the walls of the eye to stop the retina pull from any further action,” Dr Nelson says to Doctor Sean.
“Simon, Andrew will be with us in the theatre, and he’ll help me with the surgery. Basically, same procedure as your left eye with putting the band around the walls of the eye to stabilise it. I don’t think laser treatment is required at this stage but may be done further down the track. I’ll go check the surgical list to see whether or not it’ll be tomorrow or Thursday.”
“All right,” I say, taking a deep breath. The door opens, and I know they’ve left.
“Simon, are you okay?” Aria asks from behind me.
“This always happens at the worst times,” I complain.
“Look, I can contact James on the way home, get him to organise to be CEO for the interim. If you’d like, I can work out of your home office for the recovery period,” Aria offers. I nod in agreement with that. “I’ll come home with you today and take care of you.”
I don’t get to reply before the doctor’s return.
“Tomorrow it is,” Doctor Sean says. “You’re first on the theatre list in the afternoon. So, no food from 6:00 am. You can have water, but again, only before 6:00 am. You’ll be in overnight and will need someone to take you home from the hospital the next day.”
“How long will I need off work?” I ask.
“Two weeks minimum. Longer if you need,” he answers, and I note a hint of warning in his voice.
“Okay,” I agree.
“Your girlfriend can help you fill out the emergency contact list and update your file. Tomorrow, come to the reception desk and ask for surgical admissions. From there, you’ll be brought upstairs to prepare for surgery,” Dr Sean explains.
“Okay.”
“See you tomorrow,” he tells us.
Aria helps me back out to the reception area, where she fills in my patient form, handing it over. We head back to the car.
“Right, we are going back to my place. I’m packing a bag for at least three nights, and I’m staying with you to help care for you and Charlotte while you’re resting.”
“Do I get a choice?” I ask her.
“Nope,” she retorts.
“You’ll sleep in my bed,” I tell her.
“But what if I accidentally roll over in the night and hit you in the face?” she questions.
“Then it would be payback wouldn’t it?” I reply.
“Simon, I’m serious, I could hurt you.”
“So am I. I need you near me. I need to hold you, to have your sweet kisses whenever I want,” I say.
“Simon, I don’t sleep straight. You know this,” she reminds me.
“You sleep about as straight as Charlotte.” I chuckle.
“That’s another point. What if Charlotte wants to come in because she’s had a bad dream? I think it’s for the best if I sleep separately from you.”
�
��No,” I growl.
“No?” she repeats.
“That’s right. You’ll sleep where I tell you.”
“No, I won’t. You aren’t in control, Simon,” she says. “I won’t sleep in your bed, and that’s final.”
“Then I don’t give a fuck if I chase you all over my house. You’ll sleep with me, even if it’s on the couch.”
“I’m not going to win this, am I?”
“I’d just give in now if I were you.”
She groans, and I assume she rolls her eyes, since I can’t see.
“You might’ve won this battle, Billington, but you won’t win the war!”
“Yes, I will, sweetheart.”
We get back to my place, and Aria tells me to lie down on the couch. I do as demanded and think she’s cute trying to order me around.
“Do you want a coffee or something?” she asks.
“A coffee would be great,” I reply.
“Okay, I’ll make you one, and then we’re going to watch a movie.”
“Not Beauty and the Beast.” I’m sick of reading the book to Charlotte over and over again. I lie back against the cushions as I hear Aria moving about in the kitchen, humming as she goes.
“What are you humming?” I ask.
“Oh, just one of my favourite songs by Carrie Underwood,” she replies. “I can stop if you want. My brothers are always telling me to stop.”
“Don’t stop. I like it. It’s rather soothing,” I tell her.
“Here, I have your coffee. If you sit up, I can give it to you to drink.”
I sit up and she clasps my hand in hers. “Thanks, Aria.”
When I finish my drink, she takes it and puts it on the coffee table. I pull her into my arms, making sure she’s snuggled close to me.
“Thank you for taking care of me,” I say again.
“You’re welcome. Now rest while I watch the movie.” I find her forehead with my hand to be able to kiss it. I hope Dr Sean can solve my problem before it gets any worse. I can’t image what it would be like to be blind, to not see my daughter’s beautiful face, nor be able to do my job ever again. I shut my eyes, hoping to stop the tears that threaten to fall. Aria rolls over in my arms, placing light kisses up my neck then finally my mouth. She’s a calming presence within my crazy world; without realizing it, she soothes me. My heart stops racing, and all I focus on is her.
I’m falling in love with her heart and soul.
Aria
I’m lying in bed with Simon two days post-surgery, and he’s come through it well. He stirs beside me.
“Ouch!” he says as he awakens.
“Babe, you okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, just very sore. Can you get me some pain relief and a coffee please?” he asks.
“Sure, I’ll get your drops too. I think it’s time you had them,” I say, rolling away from him and making my way downstairs. I grab a tray and place all the items on it once I’m finished making us each a cup then make my way back up the stairs. When I get there, Simon has peeled the eye patches off. He complained the first night, but his eyes were weeping at night, and they’re there to stop the weeping from getting on the pillow and make him feel better about sleeping.
“Babe, I’ll clean them in a minute, okay?”
“This sucks. I feel so helpless,” he complains.
“You’re even less help when you are trying to move, when you should be resting. Now, give me a minute and I’ll go get some warm water and cotton pads,” I say as I head into his bathroom. I grab the pain relief and fill up the little bowl with warm water, also grabbing some gauze. I clean his eyes with the warm water, throwing away the pads after every use. Once I’m done, he can open his eye to blink and look around. “How’s it feeling now?” I ask.
“Still sore, but at least I can move it.”
“I have Nurofen, Tramadol, and your drops, which I’ll put in before I hand you the coffee.”
“You’re a great nurse, you know that?” he prompts with a smile. I grab his meds and help him with the two doses of drops he needs to take, and then I give him his coffee. “Yum. Thanks, honey.”
“You’re welcome. Sit here and take your medicine. I’ll be back in a moment to snuggle back into you and finish watching the movie I started last night.”
“You mean from the part where you fell asleep last night? Because I hate to tell you, my love, but you were asleep before it even really started.” He chuckles.
“Oh, ha-ha, just take your pills and I’ll be back.” I put his pills back in the bathroom then take the drops and tray back downstairs. While I’m putting the drops in the fridge, the front door opens.
“What the hell are you doing here? You need to leave,” Simon’s mother’s voice screeches through the house.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I say turning to glare at her.
“My son doesn’t need sex, you little hussy. He needs someone to take care of him. Now that I’m here, you can take yourself out of my son’s home,” she says crossing through to the kitchen.
“I am taking care of him.”
She scoffs. “I doubt that. But now that I’m here he’ll be taken care of properly.”
“If you even gave two shits about your son, you would’ve been here three days ago when he found out he was having surgery, working out a plan with your other two children and me to take care of him.”
“I was busy, I had a luncheon I couldn’t get away from it had been planned for months.”
“So, doing something else was more important than your son’s health?”
“How dare you?”
“I dare because, I’m here looking after Simon while your swanning off doing who knows what. Simon has had major surgery and you of all people should be here.”
“My relationships and love life are none of your business. You’re only around because you want my son for sex and money, you greedy little whore.”
“I don’t want him for sex or money, you bitch. I’m in love with him and Charlotte, and I’m not going anywhere.” I fold my arms across my chest to make my point. She steps forward. “Don’t even think of laying a hand on me, I can have a policeman here before you can even call your lawyer.”
She looks at me, giving me a rueful glare that could inspire even Cruella DeVil.
“Bravo, my dear. Seems I underestimated you for being weak and timid. You aren’t, are you? You just may be the woman my son needs in his life, someone who has a backbone and is willing to fight for what she loves. As for being in love with him, that’s fine. Just don’t expect him to love you back. You’ll never match Clarissa. He adored her, as he does Charlotte, and it’s going to take someone special to fill the role of mother to her.”
“I don’t want to fill the role of mother to her. I want to be her friend even a confidant but never a mother. Clarissa is her mother, she knows I’m Aria.”
“Just so long as we are clear on that fact. Is Simon up in his room? I’ll go visit him now,” she says, turning on her heels and walking away.
I lean on the counter with my hands. I’m surprised by my own outburst. I didn’t know I had that kind of voice within me, and now I feel empowered. I make myself another coffee, deciding to drink this one in the kitchen to give his mother some time to spend with him. She returns as I’m rinsing my cup out and putting it in the dishwasher.
“It would appear he’s recovering nicely.”
“He has a hospital appointment scheduled for Monday to get it checked over, but he thinks it’s healing rather well.”
“I’ll see you over the weekend, Aria, while I visit with Charlotte. I assume Linda is bringing her back then.”
“Yes, Simon arranged for Linda to have Charlotte during the first week, but he’s going to see how the weekend goes in order to decide whether he’s capable of getting around by himself next week or not.”
“I’ll call in advance,” she says.
She leaves, and I return to find Simon asleep. He’s lightly snoring, so I just tuck the
blankets around him, grab my Kindle, and sit on the bed next to him. I take glances at him quickly. His face is still swollen from the bruising the surgeon left when he operated, but he’s still as handsome as ever. I lean down, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead before getting stuck in my book. I’ll probably have it finished by the time he wakes up.
Chapter Nineteen
Simon
Finally, I’m back at work today after nearly three weeks off. I got so fucking bored at home this last week I begged James to send me some reports to read so I wouldn’t be behind when I returned. Aria wasn’t happy when she found them by my bedside, but I told her I felt well enough to read, and to my surprise, she let it go. I arrive at Billington, climb out of the car, and make my way up in the elevator. The doors open at the lobby and reveal Aria standing before me, holding two hot coffee cups and my usual blueberry muffin.
“Good morning, Mr Billington,” she says as she steps into the awaiting lift.
“The same to you, Miss Thompson. Are you well this morning?” I ask.
“My boss is back at work. I have coffee and a couple of new books to read. Things are fantastic.” She smiles at me as she hands me a cup. “Your meeting schedule, business report, and a rundown of what you missed in the last three weeks is on your desk.”
“What about you? Are you going to be on my desk later?” I chuckle even though I mean it. We haven’t had sex in three weeks. I’m getting withdrawal symptoms, but she’s been too scared to touch me, in case she hurts me.
“Simon, we’re at work,” she hisses, taking a sip of her coffee.
“Fine, we’re doing it tonight though, and I don’t want you saying no,” I retort.
“You can’t make me have sex with you, nor can you coerce me. Besides, I was thinking about going home. I should really spend some time with my brothers and plan this weekend.”
“What’s happening this weekend?” I ask.
“You’re coming over for family dinner,” she reminds me.
“Oh yeah. Lucky I have you to run my life.” I laugh. “If you go home, please at least come back for dinner during the week. Charlotte will miss you.”
