You are my home

Friday, June 22, 2007

Melissa

I wake up because I feel something on my head. When I slowly open my eyes I see Valerie looking at me with a small smile. She sits on the floor next to the couch and gently strokes my hair. She looks tired. " How do you feel?". she asks softly and concerned. "I've felt better before." She nods in understanding. " You also still feel warm. I have another aspirin for you here and some pieces of fruit". With much pain and effort I sit up straight. Valerie hands me a glass of water and aspirin. Then she sits down next to me. When I've taken the aspirin she takes the empty glass from me and puts it on the table. "I'm really not hungry." I say when she hands me a bowl of fruit. She gives me a small smile. "You really need to eat something, Lis". While sighing, I take a few bites anyway. "Did you sleep?". She shrugs. "I will inform my mother that you are sick. You can just stay here. I only have a short day, so I'll be back as soon as possible. If there is something sooner, you can always call me". she says as she gets up and walks away. "Val, that wasn't an answer to my question." She turns her face towards me. " Barely. I'll catch up later. I'm going to get Rose ready now and then I have to go." Before I can respond any further, she is already out of the room.

I'm already half asleep when Rose comes running into the room. She immediately gives me a hug. "Hey princess". I see Valerie looking our way with a smile on her face. "You can leave her at home. I can look after Rose". She shakes her head. "You're sick, Lis. You need peace and no toddler around you". I nod understandingly. I will continue to cuddle with Rose for a while. In the meantime, Valerie is gathering her things. "I really have to go now. Feel free to grab something if you want something. Or take a shower. I'll be back as soon as possible". I give her a small nod. "Thank you very much, Val".

I don't know how long I've been asleep when I hear a door close. Not much later, Valerie enters the living room. I slowly get up to sit down. "Sorry, did I wake you up?" I shake my head. Valerie walks over to me and plops down on the couch next to me. " How do you feel?". she asks, placing her hand against my forehead. "Happy a little bit better". She gives me a small smile. "You also feel less warm". She gets up. "I'm going to make a sandwich. What do you want?" I shrug. "I'm not hungry and I still have some fruit from this morning. What time is it actually?". "Almost an hour". With that said, she walks out of the living room. I'm glad Valerie only had a short day today. She looks really tired. I also feel guilty for bothering her.

I'm about to get changed when Valerie comes back into the living room. " What are you doing?". I look at her. "I'll change my clothes and then I'll go. Thank you for letting me sleep here and for taking good care of you." Valerie sets her plate on the coffee table. She continues to walk towards me. "You're not going anywhere". she tells me as she pushes me back onto the couch. "Valerie, I'm a burden to you enough as it is. You also need your rest. You look dead." She shakes her head. She picks up her plate again and sits down next to me on the couch. " I can also relax when you are there. Maybe even better. Otherwise I'll just worry about you." I sigh. "I really feel better already. I can care for myself." Valerie turns her head and looks at me. "I know that, Lis. But you're not completely better either. And in a few hours you would be here anyway, so please stay". I give her a nod. I can read the relief on her face. "Where do you have Rose?". "She is with my sister for a while. I'll pick her up in a few hours. I could use a quiet afternoon and you need the rest too". She says as she looks at me sweetly. We stare at each other for a while. I don't really know what happened to me. I get all warm inside and get a strange feeling in my stomach. This has happened to me quite often in recent months. Maybe that was already the sign that I was going to get sick. I think I'm even sicker than I thought. "I-I need to go to the toilet". I say as I break our eye contact and get up quickly.

Fortunately, I soon feel better again. When I get back to the living room I see that Valerie has set up a movie. She herself lies on her side on the couch under the blanket. As soon as she sees me she lifts the blanket a little. Without saying anything, I lie down with her. As soon as my back is against her front, she puts the blanket over both of us. Then she presses the movie to play and puts an arm over me. I'm getting all warm again and that strange feeling in my stomach is there again. I just hope I start feeling better soon. It doesn't take me long to realize that Valerie has fallen asleep. I grab the remote and turn off the TV, then close my eyes too.

A few hours later we are awakened by Valerie's phone. I sit up straight. I pick up the phone from the coffee table and hand it to her. She looks at me with a nice smile before answering. I don't know why, but I can't take my eyes off her. She keeps smiling at me the whole time. It also takes a lot of effort not to put my hand up to her face and caress her cheek. I really don't know where that comes from. "That was my sister. I'm going to pick up Rose and on the way I'll get something to eat. I'll be back in an hour". She says as soon as she has hung up and sits up. " What do you fancy?". I shrug. "Something from the Chinese okay?". I nod. She kisses my forehead and then stands up. " OK nice. I freshen up quickly and then I'm off. Will you make sure the table is set by the time Rose and I get back?". I nod again because I can't say anything for a while. I feel so weird.

The rest of the evening was no different than any other Friday night. After dinner we played a game with Rose. By the time Emma arrived we put on a movie and I snuggled close to Valerie. Of course I quickly fell asleep again. The only difference is that I've been feeling so weird all this time, even worse than lately. I've had the flu before, but I never felt like this. I just hope I start feeling better soon.