Dan's POV
I proudly spent many more days with Phil. Before, he would still avoid meals or eat very minimal with me when we first met. Now Phil will eat up to three meals a day, or sometimes two with a few snacks. Junk and fattening foods still made him weary. It didn't seem like something that would go away for a long time. I was just happy he was eating at all. Often, he shared or gave me some of his food, so I tried to make it fun. We once had a bag of Jelly Beans to share, so I blind-folded him and made him guess the flavors. Sometimes I would feed him, and call him "cute." He seemed to like that.
Phil had just barely made healthy weight when we last weighed him. He was finally proud of himself, which lightened my heart. Though still skinny, Phil's body looked entirely transformed. His bones weren't visible. His eyes were lively, and his skin wasn't a ghostly pale. He had energy. In fact, he wanted to go outside more often. Now that it was warm, I promised him I would take him. Beth told me that the patients were really not allowed to go out very often, but that she trusted me to take care of him. Whenever I could, and whenever he wanted to, I would show Phil around, holding his hand to guide him. Since I lived so close to the rehab center, I showed him my house, but did not let him inside, for fear that my dad would be home.
Dad has been going out even more as the date of mum's death approached. He often didn't come home for days at a time. God knows what he was doing, the drunk bastard. I didn't want Phil to see him, though he knew about him. I was pretty sure Dad knew that I was out every day visiting someone somewhere, but never cared to inquire about it. I was fine with that.
When a day I dreaded finally came, I reluctantly went to see Phil again. I was hoping he would forget so we wouldn't make a big deal about it. Today was the first birthday without my mother. I was eighteen today.
When I walked in, Phil covered my eyes and dragged me to his room. He uncovered them, and a small group of people shouted "Surprise!"
"What's this?" I asked, laughing a bit.
"Happy birthday, Dan!" Phil said, hugging me. "I put a little party together for you. Do you like it?"
I looked around. It was much more than the graduation party he threw me before. There were balloons and a new banner, saying "Happy Birthday Dan!" A few of the nurses I knew were there, including Beth and her sister, Mrs. Grace. There was a cake with two candles, a "1" and an "8" next to it. Phil grinned cutely.
"I love it," I said, hugging him. "Thank you so much!"
Beth pulled out a match and flicked it, lighting the candles. The group began to sing "Happy Birthday" to me. I hadn't been treated so kindly in so long.
I caught up with everyone and spoke with them. Phil stayed with me the whole time. Beth offered to cut the cake, and handed me a slice – chocolate with vanilla icing. It was sweet and sugary, but tasty nonetheless. Then she offered one to Phil. He seemed to have anticipated that she would. He and I both knew there was no way that cake was fat free. He looked at me pleadingly to get out of it.
"It's really good," I told him. "You should just try some."
He very subtly shook his head no. "It's for you, not me. I already had breakfast today, I swear."
I took his hand. "You're allowed to eat, Phil." I forked a small piece for him. "Just try it, ok?"
He opened his mouth and let me feed him. His face scrunched, but the flavor seemed to finally – after so long of only seeing the bad in it versus the pleasure – get to him. He smiled. "It's good," he giggled.
"A small one then?"
"Ok."
Beth cut him a slice, nice and small for him to enjoy. Mrs. Grace approached me.
"Dan, it's nice to see you again."
"Yeah, you too."
"How are you?"
"Pretty good, honestly. Better."
"I'm glad to hear it. It's nice to see you too, Phil. You look well."
"Thank you," he answered.
She looked down, noticing my hand intertwined with Phil's. I became a bit nervous, but she smiled and winked. I think she was glad. I felt myself laughing.
"You seem happy," she commented. "Glad to see it."
"Yeah, I guess so." A thought hit me at random.
"Question, aren't you a 'Mrs.' Grace?"
"Yes, I am."
"So where's Mr. Grace?"
"Honestly? Mr. Grace isn't here anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"He had brain cancer, Dan. Just so you know."
I knew what it meant. Oh, how I knew. "I'm sorry."
"It takes a strong heart to heal a weak one," she said. "It's ok. Things happen, life goes on for the rest of us. There wasn't anything my husband wanted but for me to be happy. I admit, I was devastated. But, I knew something – he was still there. He is in everything I do. That, and his eternal love for me was enough. Sometimes, however, it takes a bit more. Some people need a hand to pull them up. And sometimes," she paused, speaking just to me, "when you lean down to help someone up, you notice yourself rising up a bit too." She smiled strangely, and checked her watch. "It's getting a bit late, and I've got a meeting for the school for next year. I should go. I'll be seeing you, Dan."
I thought about what she just told me. My mouth slightly hung open. Why did she tell me that? How was she so calm all the time?
The rest of the party didn't last too long. The nurses all went back to work after Mrs. G left. Beth decided to leave as well, leaving Phil and I alone again.
Phil's POV
"Did you have fun?" I asked him.
"Yeah."
I stirred a bit, unsure of what to say.
"No one's ever thrown me a party before," he said.
"That was so kind of you."
"I just wanted to do something nice for you."
"You do every time I see you." He opened his arms, and let me hug him. "Thank you, Phil."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
We were so close. I felt our chests pressed together. His mouth was incredibly close to mine, our noses touching. Slowly, he melted into me, and kissed me. We kissed for a while, my body shaking with shivers and love. Dan's hand ran through my hair and dropped to my lower back
"Why are you so good to me?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I be? You're perfect."
"I'm not, really. I'm pretty messed up."
"We're both pretty messed up."
He smiled, lines forming around his dark eyes. "I guess so." He looked out a window, and noticed it was a bit dark. "Oh, today lasted longer than I thought. Maybe I should be going."
I bit my lip. "You... don't have to."
He looked at me.
"I mean, if you want to, you can. But you could... stay here. With me."
"Wont they kick me out?"
"No," I assured, though they would if they found him. I think he saw through my lie. "I think they wouldn't mind. They like you here."
He seemed to like to offer. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I don't want you to go. I just –"
"Ok."
I was overjoyed. I kissed him quickly, then again. He held it a bit longer, keeping me close. "You're a good kisser," I told him.
"I'm glad you like it." His hands crawled around my back, then to my front, tickling me. I burst out in giggles and jumped back.
"Hey!"
"So you're ticklish too?"
"No!"
"Oh really?" he said, bearing his fingers at me.
I ran around, laughing at him as he chased me, trying to get me. I ran into my room and fell to my bed, Dan right behind me. He avoided jumping on me, knowing my body was weak still. I pulled his head down and kissed him, feeling the back of his head as he kept himself hovered just above me. One hand snuck down and touched my thin belly. I laughed and jumped from under him.
"Ticklish tummy?"
Still smiling and giggling, I nodded a bit. "You're mean."
"Love you."
"Love you too." We looked at each other. He looked so attractive. My heartbeat pounded my chest and rattled my body. I felt embarrassed, my face going white.
"You..." Dan stuttered, "you look beautiful tonight."
"You're beautiful every night."
Dan's mouth connected with mine again, his tongue slipping in and exploring around. It felt amazing. His warmth radiated to me, and I suddenly felt on fire.