After the steam started to loosen up all the shit in his head and chest, Jake went and took a hot shower to let that steam loosen the crap up even more. Maddie’s teasing aside, he was feeling a little better, but he knew it was going to take a while to be even back to fifty percent, let alone a hundred. Grilled cheese and tomato soup sound really good right about now, he thought as let the hot water soak into his muscles and the steam in the tiny little bathroom built up to make the little room more like a sauna. The steamier the room got, the more he coughed. The more he coughed, the more crap that came up out of his lungs. He may not have been a pulmonologist, but he knew when his chest was congested. He’d been raised to listen to his body and not push past what he knew it could handle. His mother and father didn’t raise a fool and fools push themselves when they shouldn’t. If he still wasn’t feeling well, by the time his time off was up, he’d call out of work. His boss would understand. No one benefitted if their doctor was sick.
When he got out of the tub, he couldn’t stop coughing because of the amount of steam built up in his little bathroom. Delilah was right outside the bathroom and heard him coughing. When it didn’t stop, she knocked on the door. “Baby, are you ok?”
He was gasping for breath, only to continue coughing. “CAN’T… BREATHE”, he coughed.
She opened the door to let the steam out in a rush of air, then immediately went to pounding lightly on his back with her fists. “Get the shit up, baby. Cough up that lung if you have to.”
He coughed a little while longer as he started to take deeper breaths. Finally, he stopped. “GOD!”, she groaned. “This is BULL SHIT! Why me and why NOW of all times to get sick?”
“It’s probably a combination of how hard you work and the travelling you’ve done in the last week. I mean, you did fly to and from DIA in a matter of 36 hours, baby.”
He took as deep a breath as he could without coughing. “For the love of everything that’s HOLY”, he bellowed.
She faked a pout and rubbed his back. “Oh, my poor big baby. Do I need to play nurse and make you feel better, honey?”
He turned and rested his head on her shoulder with a nod. “I feel like shit, baby.”
“Why don’t we get you in bed and I’ll go in and get you something to eat?”
He nodded and turned to leave the bathroom. “See if my Mom and Dad will keep Miri again tonight. I don’t want to get her sick.”
She nodded as she followed him to the bedroom. “I was already planning on that, Jacob. Get your ass in bed.”
He chuckled and it turned into a cough. When he could speak again, he did. “Yes, Ma’am.” He peeled the blankets back and crawled into the bed.
She pulled the covers up around him and kissed his cheek. “What do you want to eat, love?”
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup”, he laughed.
“Comfort food. I like it. I’ll go get it and be right back. Do you want me to put a movie in or something before I leave?”
“Yes, please, hon. I don’t care what it is, just something other than the news.”
“Ok.” She moved to the television and turned it on, putting a movie in for her man.
“Oh, if I’m asleep when you get back, wake me up to eat.”
“I had planned on it. Now, you get some rest and I’ll be back soon.”
He nodded as his eyes drooped closed. As she shut the front door, he was sawing logs.
---------------
When she walked into the house, her in laws looked at her. “How is he, Delilah?” Brie asked.
“Snoring at the moment. He had a coughing fit when he got out of the shower, but he’d turned the bathroom into a sauna”, she said.
“That boy needs to learn how to slow the hell down”, David said with a sigh as he sipped his coffee.
“Yeah, Dad, that will happen when hell freezes over”, Delilah said with a laugh.
“I know, that’s the sad part. He’s just like his mother and me. You can rest when you’re dead.”
She laughed as she pulled out a skillet and a pot to make her man something to eat. “I’m working on him though. I made him lay his ass down. He didn’t argue.”
“There’s a shock!” Brie laughed. “Normally, he argues just like me.”
“You’re the most stubborn woman I know, love”, David said with a smile. He watched his daughter in law start pulling things out to cook. “What does he want to eat?” he asked as she pulled out a few things to cook.
“He asked for grilled cheese and tomato soup”, she laughed.
“His childhood favorite”, his parents said in unison.
“Really?”
Brie nodded. “When Jake did get sick, he always wanted grilled cheese and tomato soup. It’s rare that he gets sick, mind you. But, when he does get sick that’s what he wants.”
“Do all of your kids have that special little something that makes them feel better when they’re sick?”
“Yeah”, Brie nodded. “Jake’s is the grilled cheese and tomato soup. Jordan was always chicken noodle soup- homemade of course. Malachai was Minestrone and hot roast beef and cheddar. Maddie was also a Minestrone girl, but she never ate a sandwich. She just wanted the soup. Meagan and Makayla have always wanted Matzo ball soup. They like going back to the family roots. James is the Mac n’ Cheese boy. Jeremiah likes cream of celery soup. Jessi likes Italian- style wedding soup for some fucked up reason. And Marc, he’s our little Irish boy who likes Potato and Leek soup for some fucking reason.”
“How the hell do you remember all that?”
“I’m their mother. It’s my job. I was the one stuck taking care of the sick kids when David was away. They usually record in the winter at the beginning of any given year that way it’s snowy and yucky outside. There was ONE year when they started recording in December… and it was still pretty messed up out there in Chicago.”
“That was the year that Jordan and Malachai’s band made it to the big leagues if I remember correctly”, David added reminiscently.
Brie smiled at her husband. “Who said your mind is slipping?” she teased. “Still sharp as a tact.”
He just laughed and shook his head.
Delilah smiled at her mother and father in law. “I honestly pray that Jacob and I can have half the relationship that you two have. You’re so funny.”
“Delilah, you and Jake are meant to be together. You two have the relationship we had when we first got together. It’s easier than breathing to be together for the two of you. You two will have a long and happy marriage. Just keep him from being too serious and running himself into an early grave”, Brie said with a gentle smile.
Delilah looked from her mother in law to her father in law. He just nodded in silence. When he spoke, it was short, sweet and to the point. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
---------------
Brie gave Delilah a hint on Jake’s grilled cheese sandwiches that made it exactly the way he liked it. He would love that she knew the way to make his sandwiches. It was a simple little trick. “It’s really more like a hot turkey and cheese, but it’s more cheese than turkey. He likes three different cheeses: Cheddar, Provolone, and Swiss. And you put in on in three layers. One layer of the three cheeses, one thin layer of turkey, and then another layer of the three cheeses.”
“He’s picky”, Delilah laughed.
“He kinda deserves it; he’s sick”, Brie said when she flipped the first sandwich. “And, if you haven’t notices, we don’t use margarine around here. It’s real butter or nothing.”
“You know, I have noticed that.”
“I won’t allow margarine in my house. It’s too close to plastic and I’m not going to eat it. Not going to let me family eat it either.”
After all of the food was ready, she put it on a covered tray and took it out to her sleeping husband. When she walked into the house, she saw him laying on his side with his head hanging over the edge of the bed as he coughed. She went to him and clapped him lightly on the back. “You’re ok, honey. Just cough that shit up.”
When he finally stopped coughing, he sniffled and laid back against the pillows. “I hate being sick”, he groaned. He was still stuffy.
“I know, honey, no one likes being sick. Here, I brought you your sandwiches and soup.”
He sat up and she put the tray in his lap. “Thank you, baby. I’d give you a kiss, but I don’t want to get you sick too. Oh, did you talk to Mom and Dad about Miri?”
“They said they have it under control. All I need to do is focus on getting you better.” She kissed his forehead. “Now, eat or do I have to feed you?”
He chuckled. “That would be funny, but no thank you. Maybe another time.” He picked up the spoon and started to eat. When he took a bite of one of the sandwiches, he smiled. “You made them just right”, he laughed. “Who told you?”
“Mom. She made the first one and let me make the other one.”
He smiled. “Leave it to Mom.”
---------------
With their daughter being taken care of and his father handling dinner that night, Delilah and Jacob curled up in bed. Normally she would lie with her head on his chest and he’d wrap his arm around her shoulders. This time they lay oddly. Instead of lying down, she propped herself into a semi- reclining position and he laid his head on her stomach. She took a picture of it with her phone and sent it to his mother. “Has he ever done this before”, was the message that accompanied the picture.
“LOL, only every time he’s ever been sick. He likes to lay on the stomach for some reason.”
“He’s kinda cute when he’s not feeling well.”
“That he is. Do me a favor, Delilah.”
“What?”
“See if he’s running a fever.”
She laid her palm against the forehead. He was a little warm. “Mild at best.”
“Keep an eye on him and let me know how he’s doing.”
“Worried about your little boy, Mom?”
“LOL, just a bit. Comes with the territory.”
Delilah laughed at the message as he started coughing again. He rolled away from her and hung his head over the edge of the bed, pulling a trashcan closer so that whatever came up out of his chest could go somewhere other than staying in his body. She responded one handed as the other clapped him on the back. “You and me both.”
“LOL, when he gets sick at least he does it all the way and not half- assed like some of his siblings.”
“LMAO, true that.”
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