The show must go on

Chapter 34 - Christmas lights

"Great," she replies with her mouth still full. "How's your rice?" she follows up with a sarcastic undertone.

While she has ordered half the menu, I poke without any appetite at my rice. "I like rice," I reply curtly.

"Who likes plain rice?" she says incredulously and I just shrug.

"I honestly don't feel like having diarrhoea or sessions of vomiting just because I'm ignoring the limits of my stomach. I had this stupid feeding tube for weeks, I'd rather be careful," I explain, even though she knows it.

"I understand that, and I think it's good that you're being reasonable, but your plate looks so...sadly empty compared to mine. I feel a little guilty," she says, taking the next full fork.

"Doesn't stop you from stuffing your face," I remark with a laugh.

"Only because I'm starving!" she justifies herself, laughing. "But the next few days are going to be especially hard for you with all that food, aren't they?"

"You know what I can digest well. I trust you completely on that," I confess, which makes her smile sadly.

"I have something in mind," she assures me, and I had never doubted it before.

After she has finished her last bite, carried her plates into the kitchen and reluctantly taken my half-full plate of rice as well, she turns to me and grins at me with some hesitation in her eyes.

"What is it?", I ask, amused at her momentary timidity.

"A little relaxation before the chaos that's about to descend upon us tomorrow would certainly be good, wouldn't it?"

"What are you getting at?", I enquire with a grin.

"Would you be interested in taking a bath with me?"

"Why so formal?", I laugh out loud.

"I don't know, maybe you're too tired. You might as well say no!"

"I would never say no to that," I assure her and hold out my hand to signal that she should help me stand up.

After we sat in the bathtub for an hour, our skin already getting all wrinkly, she helped me out and into comfortable clothes before we made ourselves comfortable in bed. I snuggle up to her, resting my head on her chest as she strokes my back softly and tenderly, a film playing in the background.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" she asks after a while of being deep in her thoughts and I can hear the worry right in her voice.

"I don't know," I then admit honestly. "As ready as I can be."