Page 71 of The Marriage Deal
I could have punched him if he wasn't so weak. Levi chuckled and wheezed and had to suck in oxygen. "What were you thinking?"
"I had no idea the dish had shellfish in it.," he said after removing the mask. He smiled weakly and reached for my hand with his free one. "I am just glad you're here."
"You made me your next of kin."
"You're my wife. I wanted it to feel real, even though it was fake." He wheezed again, wanting to say more, but I put on his oxygen mask. He was too sick to do more than speak in bouts.
"Rest," I said and sat on the chair next to his bed. I had already called his family when I got here, and unfortunately all his siblings were out of the country. I sent a text to each, telling them he was doing okay and speaking to me. And then I fell asleep.
"Elvy?"
I woke up the next morning to Levi standing over me. My neck creaked from the uncomfortable position I had slept in. I stretched only to realize that he was out of bed. He was standing in front of me barefoot, his hairy legs sticking out of a hospital gown. "What are you doing! Get back in bed!"
He chuckled. "You were snoring."
I put my hands to my mouth as though that would stop the noise I had already let out in the middle of the night. He giggled again. Almost like a little boy. "I missed your snores."
I shot up from the chair, the tight muscles in my body protesting at the sudden move. I stretched again and realized Levi looks like someone who has been awake for quite a while. A monitor next to him connected to the cannula in his wrist.
"How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough to speak to all of my siblings. Thanks for that, by the way." He smiled. His skin was healthier this morning. It was pinker, and his lips no longer had the blue tinge of death they had yesterday. And most importantly, he was breathing well. He coughed. Better than yesterday, at least.
"You freaked me out yesterday," I said.
"Sorry. The guys were too happy to celebrate our findings, your findings, that they forgot I had an allergy. The restaurant we went to had these meat cakes. The server assured me they had no seafood in them. I shouldn't have eaten them. I should know better." He blushed. "But I was drunk and not thinking clearly. And I only found out they did in fact have shellfish in them twenty hours later when I could not breathe. It felt like having little ants crawl up and down your throat," he exhaled as though he was remembering the moment. "Calling nine-one-one was a chore, but I did it."
The image of Levi writhing on the floor, hands clawing at his neck as he struggled to breathe and trying to call the hospital, was horrific. The scratch marks, while less red now, still marred his neck.
"I'm so sorry." I went to hug him. He embraced me fully, his hands sliding around my waist. I didn't care that he smelled of hospital disinfectant and medicine. I was happy he was here with me. Alive.
Levi was discharged that morning. The doctor said he needed to rest, which he protested against, but after I told the doctor, I will make sure he follows her instructions, Levi relented. Levi had called Jones, who drove to Nolan's apartment, where he hadbeen staying for the weekend. The apartment was empty when we arrived.
"You've been here alone all weekend? Magnus wasn't here?"
"No. He had an off weekend. But I went out, remember?"
Not exactly the same, but I let the matter rest. I told Levi to sit and went to collect his luggage in the guest room. When I came back into the living room, he was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the city below him, his back to me, his hands casually shoved into his jean pockets. My breath hitched in my throat. I could not believe I almost lost this magnificent man. I was away one moment, and he was almost gone.
He must have felt my presence because he turned around, seeing me, he smiled. My stomach wobbled. Will I continue to act like this in his presence? Like a teenage girl experiencing her first crush? Part of me did not mind.
I cleared my throat. "Let's go," I said.
We got to his place in the afternoon, and I put away his bag, despite his protestations. "You're treating me like a child," he had said.
"If you stop whining like one, I will stop."
That shut him up for the day. He let me take the lead, and when I asked if he had taken his medication, he simply answered yes. We sat down to watch a movie. He wanted to watchPride and Prejudiceagain, so I put that on and opened a packet of ready-made kettle corn. He had bought a cupboard full of all kinds of popcorn, I realized. Ready-made, microwavable, caramel, and some good old-fashioned packets of plain popcorn. He even bought some with flavors I didn't know existed. For someone who didn't care for junk food, it was surprising.
"What's with the popcorn? " I said when I came to settle down on the couch next to him. I placed the bowl between us and scooped a handful.
"I don't know. I enjoy watching movies with you. And that's what people do when they watch movies, right?"
"Okay, Mr. I-Don't-Own-A-TV. Looks like you'd be needing one of your own soon."
His arm went around my shoulder. He squeezed to my side, squishing the silicone bowl between us. "Would I?" He gestured to the TV and said, "Looks like I already have one."
I was about to launch into a protest about how our pre-nup states that we both come out of the marriage with what we came with, but before I could do so, Levi pressed the play button and the movie began playing.
