Always Summer (33 page)

We’d
recently discussed whether we wanted to re-advertise for a flat mate, yet after
talking about it, both of us decided once and for all that we liked things the
way they were, and didn’t want to share our space with someone else yet.
 
The money
Summer
was
now making was not only sufficient for her own needs and assisted with our
bills; but there was also enough to put away for some limited but important
savings.

 
This was supposed to be her off week, but
apart from what she termed as a light period for two days, she hadn’t really
had an off week.
 
As much as I
appreciated the ability to keep up our hectic schedule of sex, I was also
worried that her body wasn’t behaving normally.

“Summer,
have you phoned the gynecologist?” I asked, as I untangled another spider for
her.

“Oh, no I
forgot!” she replied.

“It’s
important!
 
This isn’t normal for you!” I
reasoned.

“Yeah, but
I still think its stress.
 
With college,
modeling and you... there’s a lot of stress in my life.” She chuckled.

I gave her
my exasperated look and looked at the clock on the kitchen wall.

“They’re
still open for another twenty minutes.
 
Just get it over and done with.” I told her.

“Okay.” She
sighed, getting ready to jump down off the bench.

I moved in
and lifted her off the bench, sliding her body down mine till she stood.
 
As her lips passed mine, I held her for a few
moments and kissed her softly, before releasing her.

She went to
her cell phone and scrolled through it till she found the number and dialed.

“Hello,
it’s Summer Rogerson... I was hoping to make an appointment to see Dr Drake...
um... probably mid December if she’s available, I’m finished exams by then, and
it’s not an emergency... 16th December?
 
What day is that...?
 
Friday, 11am?
 
Sure!
 
Okay, I’ll put it in my
calendar... Thank you!” she finished.

“That’s
nearly two months away!” I said, thinking hopefully that it was just like she
said and it was stress.
 
Lifting her up
on the bench and leaning into her body, I pulled her legs open and tugged her
towards me.

“It’s
stress... I feel fine!” she said, putting her arms around my neck.

“Do you
want me to come with you?” I asked, not exactly sure if I did want to, but
thinking husbands would do that sort of thing... and I was a husband in training.

“Do you
want to?” she asked, giving me a suspicious eye.

“Of course!”
I lied, though not entirely.

“Okay...
you come along with me.” She said, giving me a quick peck on the lips and
attempting to return to her decorations.

“No you
don’t.” I said.
 
Scooping her up again in
my arms and taking her to our bedroom.

Summer.

Thanksgiving
break in November began with us travelling on the Wednesday to Debbie and Max’s
place and sleeping there overnight in my bed.
 

Blake took
the opportunity to make love to me... and even sweet, our sex was incredible,
though not as loud.

Thursday
morning saw us having breakfast with Debbie and Max before they raced off to
New York to spend thanksgiving lunch with the three girls and Henry.

We spent
lunch with Blake’s parents and Julie, along with some cousins and aunts and
uncles of Blake’s and Julie’s that I barely knew.

It had been
meant to be another off week this week, yet this time I had nothing.
 
I had lost some weight too over the last
month... just another sign that I was stressed.
 
I had asked not to be called on for any work this holiday break... I
needed the rest.

I told
Blake that I had a light period on the Monday and Tuesday... the same as last
time, which wasn’t true, but I didn’t want him to worry; especially considering
that it was Thanksgiving.

Blake’s
uncle Brian turned up with a very ill ten-year-old daughter named Sara.
 
We tried to quarantine her to the living
area, but she was distressed, and she kept returning to seek out her father,
since it was his contact visit, and she had no-one else to turn to.

By her
fourth visit to our dinner table, I decided enough was enough, and I took her
to her couch, bundled her up, and watched television with her till her Father
grew some sense and took her home... which was unfortunately a good three hours
later...
asshole!

I was
driving, since Blake had been roped in by a couple of his uncles to have a
couple of beers, so I only had a small glass of sparkling wine with lunch,
which remained unfinished due to my retreat with Sara.

Once Sara
was gone, I returned to the kitchen to assist with the clean up.

“Need any
help?” I asked.

“Sure
honey,” Mrs. Austen replied, placing plastic wrap over the remaining turkey.

“What can I
do for you, Mrs. Austen?” I asked.

“First, you
can call me Ella... you’re practically my daughter-in-law... so enough of the
Mrs. Austen!” she requested.

I smiled,
“Okay, Ella.” I answered.

“And as for
Mr. Austen... call him Jim!” she enthused.

“Okay, Jim
it is then.” I responded enthusiastically.

“You’re lucky...
I thought they were going to get you to call them Mom and Dad!”
 
Julie chuckled, coming in from the back
verandah.

“Well, we
had thought it would be nice, but we know better than to ask that.” She
explained.

Julie
looked at her with amusement. “Whatever!” she chimed.

I knew what
Ella meant... she’d been friends with Debbie and Max for years... I had no
doubt she knew they were my foster parents... and if I didn’t call them Mom and
Dad then it would be disrespectful to call my in-laws Mom and Dad.

“I like
Ella and Jim... it’s fitting!”
 
I said.

Julie
chuckled, and gave me a shove, coming right up to my ear.

“I’m coming
out tonight.” She whispered.

I looked
around to see who might hear her, and then turned to face her with an excited
look on my face.

“Really?”
I enthused quietly.

“Yeah, when
the cousins and everyone leave... watch this space!” she said.

I gave her
a one armed hug and a quick peck on the cheek, before I returned to assisting
with the clean up.

*

 
It was just Jim, Ella, Julie, Blake and I
sitting around the dining table for a very light supper, since we’d all stuffed
ourselves silly over the Thanksgiving lunch.

Julie
cleared her throat, half way through the meal.

“Um... I
was hoping to talk to you, now that everyone has gone home.” She began.

“What’s
wrong honey?” Ella asked softly.

“First, I
want you to understand that I love you all, and I am the same old Jewels!” she
announced.

Blake put
down his fork... I’d already done that.

Ella and
Jim looked worriedly at their daughter.

“What’s happened?”
Jim asked.

“Nothing
really, well nothing lately!” she said.
 
“I need to say something, and I don’t want you to interrupt.”

“Are you
quitting school?” Ella frantically demanded.

“Mom...
please
! I really need you to stay quiet for a second, so I
can tell you... so stop guessing.” Julie pleaded.

Ella
nodded... Jim drew his eyebrows inward... Blake held my hand, he knew what was
coming... and since I did too, I held Julie’s hand.

She took a
deep breath.

“I’m
gay!
 
As in I’m a lesbian... and I have
been for years!” she blurted.

Jim and
Ella sat there... mouths slightly gaping.

“Can you
still love me?” Julie asked... tears beginning to prick in her eyes.

No words...
Ella, very sweet Ella, stood up and walked around the table to hug her
daughter.
 
Jim sat there a moment longer
before standing and following his wife’s lead.

“At least I
don’t have to beat idiot men off with a stick.” He said absently.

Blake burst
out laughing... I gave him a serious, snarling gaze.
 
It made him worse.

“Shut up
Blake!” Julie lamented.

“I love you
Jewels!” he voiced loudly.

“You’re an
idiot!” she replied with a huge grin.

Blake.

Summer got
out of her bed and ran to her ensuite.
 
I
could hear her dry heaving.
 
I quickly
got up, and glanced at the clock on her bedside table; it read 8:10am.

Rushing in
to her, she had her face over the porcelain.
 
So I pulled her hair back for her.

“Summer?”
I questioned.

“Your
bloody uncle!” she began...
heave...
“
what
was he thinking?”
heave...
“Poor Sara!”
 
heave
...
“This is
awful!”

“Bloody hell,
now we’ll all get it!” I said, soothing my hand over her back till she stopped
heaving.

I grabbed a
washcloth and wet it with cold water, before walking her back to bed, and
laying her down.
 
I washed her face, and
placed the cloth on her forehead.

“Where will
I find a bucket?” I asked her.

“Laundry!”
she replied.

Returning
with a bucket, I collect my phone up and rang my parents.

“Hello!”
Mom chimed.

“Mom...
Summer’s sick!” I said.

“Sara?” she
asked.

“We think
so.
 
Can you suggest anything?” I asked.

“Damn...
um... dry crackers, lots of water for sipping and ginger tablets from the
pharmacy.” She offered.

“Okay, be
on the lookout, everyone will get sick now.” I surmised.

“Look, I’ll
go get the stuff so you don’t share... when
do Debbie
and Max come home?” she asked.

“Sunday,
but we were leaving today.” I answered.

“Blake,
just wait till tomorrow, till she’s over the worst of it.” Mom reasoned.

“By then I
might be sick, and we’ll be stuck!” I responded.

“True...
okay. Maybe pack yourselves up now... I’ll go and get the stuff and you can
slowly wend your way home over the course of the day!” she brokered.

“Okay...
sounds
good
!” I replied.

*

We were
home in reasonably normal time... Summer slept... and she looked pale.
 
Yet we had to stop twice to deal with her
bouts of illness.

When we got
home, I put her to bed and rugged her up, with her foster parent’s bucket
beside her.

She was
still nauseas by Monday, when she was due back at school.
 
I was lucky, although I got sick too the day
after we returned home, it had lasted only a day for me.

Mom had
also gotten sick, but it seemed that apart from that, Uncle Brian was the only
other one that had gotten Sara’s illness.

Mom and I
felt that Sara had spent more time with
Summer
, so
Summer got the brunt of it.
 
In addition,
Summer
had been feeling stressed recently, so she was
already weakened.

Summer
wasn’t completely out of the woods for nearly ten days, she had momentary bouts
of nausea throughout every day, though not as bad as at the beginning, and she
had lost more weight due to not being able to always keep her food down.
 
I asked her to see the campus doctor, but
because she was already starting to feel better, she had said no.
 
I hated it during this time... she wasn’t herself,
and we had regressed to just cuddling and simple touching most of the time.

Blake.

Summer was
completely back to her normal self the week before our exams started. We
returned after classes on Monday and she was cheery; and then she cornered me
in the kitchen, while I was cooking dinner.

“Hey babe.”
She said, coming up behind me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Well
hello!
 
You said you felt good this
morning... how are you feeling now?” I asked, stirring the goulash.
 
She smelled of strawberries and lime... her
latest body wash.