Page 33 of Saved By A God
“Okay.”
She keeps squinting, and I stop beating the eggs. Walking to the cupboard where she keeps medicine, I open it and search through everything until I find eye drops.
As I check the expiry date, I move closer to her and say, “Tilt your head back.”
“Wait. Tissue.” She grabs one from a nearby box, then turns her face up.
I keep my touch gentle as I hold her eyes open, squeezing two drops into each one.
She blinks several times and wipes the artificial tears away. “Thanks.”
I set the eyedrops down on her kitchen table, and while I continue beating the eggs, Rosie pours two mugs of coffee. She sets one down beside me, then asks, “Where are my electronics?”
“Upstairs. The remote is in the bedroom. I’ve told everyone to leave you alone for two days.”
“That’s too…” I silence her with a shake of my head. “Fine. What are we making for breakfast?”
“You can grill sausages while I take care of the scrambled eggs.”
“And the green stuff?” she asks, eyeing the spinach.
“You will eat everything I put on your plate,” I order, my tone clearly stating I won’t take any shit from her today. “And oncethe food has settled, we’re running laps in the parking area to get the blood pumping through your body.”
“I can think of other things… oooh, forget I even started that sentence.”
It’s easy to guess what she was going to say.
Silence falls between us while we prepare the food, and once we’re each seated at the table with a plate of scrambled eggs, sautéed spinach and mushrooms, and turkey sausage, I ask, “What kept you so busy the past few days?”
“Someone kept trying to hack my system.” She takes a bite of the sausage. “They were good.”
“Should I be worried?”
She shakes her head. “Nah. They’re notthatgood.”
Hearing my phone ring, I set my cutlery down, but then Rosie lifts her eyebrows at me. “If I don’t get my phone, neither do you. As soon as you take a call, I’m going back to work.”
“You blackmailing me now?”
A grin spreads over her face. “It’s only fair. You need to rest as well.”
We continue eating, and by the time my phone rings for the sixth time, Rosie mutters, “Jesus!” She gets up from the table and walks away, and a minute later I hear her snap, “Handle the shit yourselves… Enzo is mine until I’m better… I don’t care if you’re the boss, Christiano. Do you want me to spam you with granny nudes?... Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Her tone turns sarcastic as she mutters, “Sure, I’ll tell him that. Bye.”
Rosie comes back and sits down again, and I stare at her while she takes a bite of the scrambled eggs.
When it’s clear she’s not going to say anything, I ask, “Tell me what?”
“Nothing worth repeating.” Picking up her coffee, she finishes it while meeting my stare. “I’ll run two laps.”
“Ten.”
“Hell no.” She sets the empty mug down. “Three.”
Climbing to my feet, I gather the plates. “Nine.”
“Four. That’s my final offer.”
“Five if you tell me what Christiano said.”
