Saturday evening, June 8th

A familiar melody sounded somewhere far away, and it grew louder by the second. My sleepy brain recognized the ringtone as my brother calling. It took me a moment to realize the smartphone was ringing in my jeans’ pocket.

Out of the corner or my eye, I saw Kade sitting on the other end of the couch, a black laptop on his legs. He watched me for a brief moment as I pulled out my phone, then resumed typing. Kade didn’t need to worry anymore; nausea no longer plagued me after waking up.

“Hi, Chris,” I greeted my brother while I sat up.

“Hey, Evan. Out of the hospital by now, I hope?”

“Yeah, finally.”

There was no mistaking the relief in my voice. I blinked the last remnants of sleep away. It was getting dark outside, it seemed I had been out for quite a while.

“Ready to Skype? Your goddaughter is anxious to see you,” Chris reminded me.

My brother's eldest child, Victoria, was six years old, and she was adorable. She had me wrapped around her little finger from the moment I held her in my arms as a newborn baby. Quinton, her brother, had turned three recently and was mostly oblivious to the world as long as he had his trucks to play with or something to pick apart.

I had spoken to Tori over the phone a couple of times while I was in the hospital, but she wanted to make sure with her own eyes that her favorite uncle wasn’t hurting much. Now that the swelling and most bruises were gone, I was okay for her to see me. My heart warmed at the memory of Tori singing me a lullaby over the phone when I was at the hospital. I had mentioned my head was hurting and that I’d had trouble falling asleep, and my goddaughter promptly volunteered to sing a song after which she always felt better.

“Give me five minutes.” I returned to the present. “I just woke up and need to wash my scruffy face.” I had to look presentable in front of my little lady.

“Did I wake you? Sorry.”

“Don't worry about it. I have a whole night ahead. Keep your Skype open, I'll call you when I'm ready.”

“Okay, see you soon.” We hung up, and I turned my attention to the other man.

“Hey,” I greeted Kade, who had stopped typing as soon as I had finished my conversation with Chris.

“Hey. How are you feeling?”

“Rested, good. What time is it?” I asked at the same time as I looked at the screen of my smartphone.

“Almost eight.” Huh, so I was out for about four hours. Guess the headaches had exhausted me more than I thought.

“I'm going to Skype with Tori and everyone in a moment. If you want, you can use the time to go to the gym?”

I knew Kade had neglected not only the gym, but his karate and wing chun workouts as well. All so I wouldn’t be left alone at the hospital. When my friends had visited me for more than an hour, Kade used that time to tidy up at home.

We were lucky Kade could work from anywhere as long as he had his laptop. At least his job wasn't as neglected as his beloved hobbies.

“Do you plan to talk to them that long?” Kade considered the idea. He obviously wanted to go but didn't want to leave me alone. This wasn’t a hospital, mister.

“Tori no doubt will want to hear the whole story again in person, then tell me about her week too, so that will take half an hour at least. I'll also iron the details with Chris about staying with them for a week or two while you woo your new employer. I'd say you definitely have an hour, likely even more.”

“I still think I should cancel,” my lover grumbled, pulling his lip in an unsatisfied pout. He was cute when he didn't get his way.

“We've been over this already, Kade. I'm not gonna allow you to miss this chance. Period.” I slowly stood up. No dizziness, good. “Hopefully by the time you come back, I'll be my old self and we will celebrate our reunion properly.” I waggled my eyebrows at him and left for the bathroom.

Kade received an offer two months ago from a pharmaceutical company to become the Head Developer and Team Lead for one of their new projects. He was bound by the confidentiality agreement on the specifics, but the outcome of the project was supposed to be some intricate application with gazillion of features, user database, and two websites. The offered salary and benefits were great, and if all went well, more work could come his way. According to the contract, he had to spend the first four to six weeks in Pleasanton, California. Once the project was in full swing, he could work remotely from home with occasional visits.

We had originally planned to go together, but then I had the car accident, and all plans went to shit. Kade being Kade, he canceled the contract the next morning after my accident to stay with me. His gesture was admirable, but I had ripped him a new one for being willing to sacrifice his career for me. I didn't want my lover to mutate to a freaking babysitter, and anybody could keep an eye on me while I recovered at home. Even my battered head knew there was no need to destroy careers over that.

Luckily, Kade's reputation and recommendations were stellar, and the company took him back. Car accidents and immense worry could make any person take rash decisions. Kade wasn't pleased about me pushing him, but I had convinced him to see reason.

Okay, I had to give him an ultimatum to make him change his mind. In the end, he knew I was right. Kade agreed to start working next Tuesday, three days from now. Until then, he had to complete all mandatory online trainings.

The new plan consisted of us driving home to Hillsboro, Oregon, on Monday where I would stay with my family. Kade would then catch a plane from Portland to Oakland International Airport and drive to Pleasanton, where the company headquarters were and a rented one-bedroom condo awaited him.

I offered to go today or tomorrow, but Kade didn't budge on that one. The doctor advised to start slow and rest a lot, and apparently a four-hour drive home could be too taxing on me. Kade also wanted to spend a couple quiet days with me outside the hospital before he had to go. 

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