The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
| IN SICKNESS BY TIMA |
CHAPTER 107 |
PREVIOUSLY:
Tea: Can you accept that I need my support group?
Todd: Are you going to stop hiding stuff about it from me?
Tea: If you want to know all the details...
Todd: Not all, just the stuff that makes you cry.
[Tea places her arms around him.]
Tea: I need you. Nothing will ever change that.
Todd: It better not.
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IN SICKNESS
chapter 107:
[Later that evening...
Todd and Tea are dining in a small restaurant several miles from the motel.]
Tea: Do we own that vacant land next to the motel?
Todd: You want to build a house out here?
Tea: I thought that maybe, if we build a restaurant like this one, next to the hotel, it might help business.
Todd: Because people will want a place to lie down after they get sick?
Tea: You don't think it's a good idea?
Todd: I've already dumped enough money into that place.
Tea: Are you thinking about selling it?
Todd: I know what you're trying to do.
Tea: I'm trying to discuss business with you. You did say that you planned to give the motel to me.
Todd: If it will make you feel better, go ahead, toss more of my money into that dump.
Tea: It's not a dump.
Todd: It's not a profitable business. That much I know.
Tea: It just needs some attention.
Todd: Gerry's been giving that motel nothing but attention for years. It's still a dump.
Tea: It needs attention from someone with the proper financing.
Todd: Like I said, you can spend as much money as you need to help you forget that thing that you don't want to think about.
Tea: I'm thinking about it, just like you are.
Todd: I'm not thinking about it because it's not happening.
Tea: Cancer! There! I've said it. It doesn't have power over me anymore.
Todd: It doesn't work that way.
Tea: It did the last time. I was determined to beat it and I did.
Todd: There were times you let it win.
Tea: Only for a moment. Luckily, I had you beside me, encouraging me.
Todd: You did it all yourself. I was useless, as usual.
Tea: You, querido, were my strength.
Todd: You didn't need my strength. You've got a ton of your own.
Tea: There were times when my strength was depleted and I took from yours more than you know.
Todd: Whatever!
Tea: I take it you want to change the subject.
Todd: You take it right.
Tea: What would you like to discuss?
Todd: How's Manny enjoying the food?
Tea: Hopefully, more than I am.
Todd: Do you want something else?
Tea: I want this heartburn to go away.
Todd: I knew we shouldn't have eaten here.
Tea: It was better than your idea of dining at the convenience store.
Todd: Now we have to go back there and get something for your stomach.
Tea: I'll be okay. I just need to lie down in our motel room and have you rub my stomach for a while.
Todd: Is this your way of letting me know you want to get out of here and get on with our evening? Or, is this real?
Tea: Both.
[Minutes later...
Todd and Tea return to their motel room.]
Todd: Lie down. I'll go get you that stuff to stop you from feeling this way.
Tea: I told you already, I don't need anything but you.
Todd: Stop being so stubborn.
Tea: You forget, while I was sick, I had a great deal of experience with stomach upset. I know what works for me.
Todd: Do you really think I could forget that?
Tea: Of course not. I'm sorry. In some ways it was probably worse for you than it was for me.
Todd: That's right! Do you know how hard it is to watch someone puking that much and not puke yourself?
Tea: I'm very proud of you.
Todd: You should be.
Tea: I am. All teasing aside, I am very proud of you. I'm proud that you're my husband.
Todd: If you weren't pregnant with Manny, I'd think you were drunk.
Tea: Are we dressing for bed?
Todd: We'll look like idiots in that stuff you made me buy.
Tea: The convenience store was the only place around here that was still open that sold clothing.
Todd: I bet we were the first people who were ever desperate enough to buy any of that junk.
Tea: It's functional.
Todd: It's ugly.
Tea: Since when do you care how you look?
Todd: Since I was planning on seducing you tonight.
Tea: Oh, you were, were you?
Todd: How do you feel about that?
Tea: Excited.
Todd: Really?
Tea: I've been excited since you told me earlier today what we would be doing tonight.
Todd: I didn't say it was definite.
Tea: Just knowing that you want to...
Todd: I've always wanted to. You know that, right? Everything inside me is just so screwed up sometimes.
Tea: We don't have to do this. I only want to if you feel okay about it.
Todd: It's kind of weird knowing Manny's here with us.
Tea: The baby won't know what we're doing. It won't hurt him in any way.
Todd: It might make me think about stuff I hate thinking about.
Tea: Let's not do it. We'll just hold each other.
Todd: You know how you don't want that bastard disease to win? I don't want that bastard who made me call him dad to win, either.
Tea: We'll win...both of us. Together we'll win against all obstacles.
Todd: Tonight's only about winning, nothing else. All of the bad junk will have to wait until tomorrow to get in our way again.
Tea: Promise?
Todd: I promise you will have the night you want. I promised a long time ago that if you kicked the big C's butt, I'd give you a special day and I blew it.
Tea: Let's focus on the present, not the past.
Todd: You remember that, right? You wanted one day to be happy and I couldn't even give you that.
Tea: You gave me many days of happiness.
Todd: But, I didn't give you the day that you wanted.
Tea: Every day with you is a day that I want. I don't need anything special, or anything fancy. I just need you.
Todd: It's a good thing you don't want special or fancy, because this dump definitely isn't either of those things.
Tea: It's special to me because it's special to you.
Todd: The whole time I was here, you were at home crying your eyes out over me. Right?
Tea: I missed you very much.
Todd: But, you didn't cry a lot?
Tea: I knew you would come back.
Todd: Did you really?
Tea: For the first time in my life, I trusted that the person who couldn't be with me still loved me despite needing to leave.
Todd: I do love you, Tea. No matter what happens, you have to always know that.
Tea: I do.
Todd: I know you love me, too. I thought about that when I was here. I've never been good at believing anyone really feels that way about me. Most people turn on me so it's easy for me to figure out they really hate my guts. Viki only says she loves me because I'm her brother.
Tea: That's not true.
Todd: It doesn't matter what's true. That's how it feels when I give my brain a chance to look at all the angles. Starr loves me because she doesn't know everything about me yet. You're the only one who totally knows me that I actually believe loves me, despite knowing all that junk.
Tea: I do love you, more and more each day.
Todd: I don't know why.
Tea: I could try to explain it to you again but I'm just glad that you can finally allow yourself to feel my love.
Todd: It's not always a good feeling.
Tea: I know.
Todd: But, I think, maybe it's not as lousy a feeling as it used to be.
Tea: That's progress.
Todd: If you've been waiting for the perfect time to sucker punch me with the truth that you never really gave a damn about me, now's that time.
Tea: You won't be getting off the hook that easily. You, my love, are stuck with me for the rest of our lives.
Todd: That will be a really long time, right?
Tea: I intend to grow old with you.
Todd: I never really thought I'd ever have a chance to do that growing old thing. I thought for sure someone would have murdered me by now.
Tea: Please, don't say that.
Todd: It's the truth. I've had enough people try. I'm willing to make a deal with you, though.
Tea: What's that?
Todd: If you do everything you can to stick around with me, I'll do everything I can to stick around with you.
Tea: You have a deal.
Todd: Do you want to shake on it?
Tea: We could seal our deal with a kiss.
Todd: I like your way better.
[Todd moves closer to Tea and tenderly kisses his wife.]
to be continued...
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2002 COPYRIGHT BY TIMA
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