Chapter 19

Toni

Toni woke up with the living room window gray in front of her – and sideways too, it seemed. For a moment she wasn't sure where she was, and then she remembered – she'd leaned back against 'Berto, his arms around her, and fallen asleep. She was now lying on the sofa, a pillow under her head and her feet touching the arm at the other end. Her head was turned to the left, her now-open eyes looking past the TV to where the window was letting in the day's first light. There was a blanket over her, pulled up to her chin and draping over the end of the sofa where her feet were. Only 'Berto could have done all this for her. She wondered for a moment why he hadn't carried her to the bedroom, but then decided that as slight as she was, she would still have been a fair load for him – he might be taller, but he was just about as skinny as she was slender. He'd carried her that day, lifted her up and hauled her to the steps, but that was live weight, not the dead weight of a sleeping person. And she'd slept well here on the sofa, whereas if he'd lifted her it might well have woken her up.

She stretched her arms out over her head, pushing against the arm of the sofa with her feet. It was a delicious feeling, her joints cracking and her muscles straining toward relaxation. She was warm, and comfortable, and clearly 'Berto's profession of love was no empty claim – not that she had ever thought it was.

She flipped the blanket off and swung her feet to the floor, sitting up on the edge of the sofa. There was a note on the coffee table: Toni, I'll wake you when I get up, unless you wake up on your own first. No pressure, take your time. I love you. And then his signature, a scrawl that she wouldn't be able to read at all if she didn't know what it was.

She got up and went into the kitchen to check the time, there being no clock in the living room. It was just before six, and the alarm clock in the bedroom would go off in a few minutes. She want back in the living room, gathered up the blanket, and carried it into the bedroom. With the curtains closed it was considerably darker in there. She dumped the blanket on the chair in the corner and opened the curtains, shut off the alarm clock, and then went and sat on the edge of the bed next to 'Berto. She brushed his hair back from his forehead, placed a hand on his shoulder – his arm was outside the covers – and leaned down and kissed his cheek. Still leaning down, she whispered in his ear, "Time to get up, my love."

He didn't stir – and she hadn't expected he would, or she would not have used that endearment. She shook his shoulder, gently, until he did. "Wake up, 'Berto." He rolled over on his back, his eyes coming open and looking up into her face.

"Wha'?"

"It's almost six, 'Berto. It's time to get up."

"Ugh." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I missed some sleep last night."

"I know. You were so sweet to hold me till I went to sleep, and then make me comfortable."

"Shoot, Toni, what else was I going to do? I couldn't very well leave you there."

"I know, 'Berto. But thank you anyway."

"You're welcome, Toni."

She stood up and reached down to take his hand. "Up you come, my lord." She pulled, and he stuck his feet over the side of the bed and stood up. Suddenly, instead of looking down at him, she was looking up into his face. And then he bent down and kissed her gently. She said, against his lips, "You're so tall."

"No, I'm not tall." He had pulled back just slightly, and they were so close that her breath mingled with his. "It's just that you're such a tiny little girl."

"A little girl who's almost old enough to be your mother."

He smiled. "Yes, you are – a little girl, who's almost old enough to be my mother."

She didn't know whether he'd been trying to change the mood from solemn to teasing, but if he had been, he'd succeeded. "In that case, little boy, get yourself dressed while I make you some breakfast. This morning cereal isn't good enough for you – I'm going to fry up some bacon and toast some bread, and fix you up something a little more substantial."

"Okay, Toni. But I can't get dressed if you keep hanging on me."

"Then I'll quit hanging on you, my lord." And she released him and stepped back. "I go to serve you." And with a gigantic smile she turned and headed for the kitchen.

'Berto

It turned out that a plate of bacon, nice and crispy, and another of buttered toast, with a choice of grape jelly, apple butter, or orange marmalade, made a wonderful breakfast. While Toni dressed in her scrubs, Roberto ate from both plates. It was finger food, and he soon had bacon grease and melted butter and stickiness from all three sweet things on his fingers. He was still eating when Toni returned. He looked at her in admiration. He'd seen her in scrubs before, of course. He'd been living with her for over two weeks now, and he'd seen her in scrubs, her usual t-shirt and pants, her nightgown, in all sorts of clothing. And no matter what she was wearing, he loved to look at her.

He didn't think he'd seen scrubs anywhere else with sleeves that came down to the elbow. Perhaps she'd had someone make them specially for her. For such a short woman she had long bones, and ordinary scrubs would have exposed a great deal of her upper arms – which she seemed to dislike, judging from what she wore. Whenever she washed dishes she'd roll her sleeves up to her shoulder, but other than that she liked her short sleeves long. Her nightgown's sleeves came down past her elbows, and all her t-shirts had sleeves to the elbow. But she still looked wonderful – slim and straight, her hair in its ponytail now, and apparently just a touch of rouge on her cheeks and perhaps some lipstick or lip gloss – he couldn't be sure, and if she was wearing anything on her lips, it matched her natural skin almost perfectly. This morning she'd put a silver bracelet on her right arm – at least it looked like silver, though perhaps it wasn't, and it was just enough larger than her slenderness that when she reached up into the cabinet for the coffee and creamer it slid halfway to her elbow.

"I love you, Toni," he heard himself saying, in a voice that surprised him with its emotion.

She turned to look at him. "Unfortunately I can't yet give you any sort of definitive reply to that, 'Berto – but it makes me very happy that you do love me."

"I'm sorry, Toni. I didn't think – it popped out without me realizing it. I'm not trying to push you..."