The day before Jesse was set to go to Bolivia, Pearl's asthma reared its head.
He called her. She picked up after three rings.
"Hey sweetheart, I'm leaving Mom's house now. I'm going to stop by yours on my way home."
"Okay," she said.
Alarm shot through him like electricity.
Jesse frowned. "You don't sound alright."
Pause. "I'm not."
"Just hang in there. I'm on my way."
He heard her cough. "Okay."
Hanging up, Jesse stepped on the accelerator and drove just under the speed limit the whole way to Pearl's house. He stopped his car in the driveway and jogged to her door, his dread increasing with each step. He knocked twice and just as he was about to try the handle, the door opened.
Pearl stood there, her face drawn, looking washed out.
"Baby, talk to me," Jesse pleaded.
"I've just had a bad day." She walked into his open arms.
His heart slammed in his chest when he felt her slump against him. "Can you walk or do you want help?" he asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.
"I can walk," she assured him in weary tones.
"Come on, let's go inside."
When she was finally seated in the armchair in her room, Jesse crouched down in front of her.
"Did you have an asthma attack today?"
"Not a real one. I just coughed up a storm and started feeling weak at the end of the day. And my chest is on fire."
"Did you use your inhaler and have you been taking your iron supplements?"
She nodded.
Jesse took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, you're not coughing right now, so I'll count that as a blessing." He closed his eyes, his hand resting on her knee and said a quick prayer for her recovery and for his own anxiety.
When he opened his eyes, there were tears pooling in Pearl's brown ones.
"Honey, what is it?"
"Did you just pray for me?"
He nodded, rubbing her leg in a calming motion.
"Thank you," she whispered, placing her hand over his.
"Shh. You would've done the same for me. Don't get worked up, Pearl. I need you calm, okay."
A solitary tear fell down her cheek a she nodded once again.
"How am I supposed to leave you when you've got tears in those beautiful brown eyes?" he said softly, wiping it away.
Pearl almost smiled. "I was this close to not telling you that I wasn't feeling hundreds because I knew you'd say that." She took a deep breath. "I'll be okay, Jesse."
"I know you will, but I still care about how you feel- and I can tell you feel awful right now."
She couldn't disagree with that.
"Now, I don't know what you used to do before I came along, but I'd like you to let me take care of you tonight. Will you let me do that?"
Pearl nodded again.
"I'm going to run you a bath and while you're in there, I'll make you something to eat."
Without waiting for her response, he got up and walked into her bathroom, and started to run water into her large, deep bath tub. When steam started to fill the room, he added cold water and a handful of bath salts.
Heading back to her, he found her still sitting in her chair, eyes closed.
"The water's ready, hon'," he said quietly.
Her eyes opened. "Thanks, Jess."
He smiled slightly. "You're welcome. Take your time in there and try to relax."
"I will."
Jesse watched her stand up and head towards the door he'd left ajar. "Hey Pearl?"
She turned toward him. A second later she saw an impish gleam in his eyes.
"Need any help with your clothes or scrubbing your back, you call me, okay?"
Her mouth opened and then shut. Turning away, she just shook her head and muttered, "Indecent doctor."
It made Jesse laugh and with the release of that deep sound, some of his anxiety faded too. He'd take the pink stain in her cheeks as a good sign. He heard the click of the bathroom door closing as he headed to the kitchen.
Rummaging through her pantry, he found most of what he needed. The rest was in her fridge. He set to work and was so engrossed in what he was doing that it took a while to notice a new scent in the room.
Looking up from his station at the stove he saw her perched on a stool wrapped in a soft terry cloth robe and socks.
"Hey, babe." He walked over to her and took her face in both his hands. "You look so much better now." Then he kissed her.
When the short encounter was over, she said, "I feel better too."
Jesse smiled. "Are you hungry?"
"Surprisingly, yes."
Without losing the smile, he asked, "Did you eat lunch?"
"A little," she replied, suddenly looking guilty.
His eyebrows went up slightly but Jesse didn't say anything, he just turned back to his pots on the stove.
A few minutes later, he placed liver pate on slices of baguette in front of her. "Snack on this. Food will be ready in fifteen minutes or so."
Pearl ate it all obediently and then also ate the portion of chicken breast and pasta with spinach he put in front of her.
When she was done, he quickly put everything in the dishwasher and then ushered her to her bedroom. He insisted she get into bed and proceeded to get on right next to her and hold her in his arms.
She snuggled close to him. "Thank you for tonight."
"You don't have to thank me, honey. I'm just glad I was here to do it."
They chatted for a while and eventually Pearl fell asleep. Jesse sat there for a while, just holding her, relieved to hear unlaboured breathing.
Carefully he settled her against her pillows, covered her shoulders, placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and then straightened up, standing beside the bed.
He felt better about leaving her now because he'd seen her and knew that her condition for the time being was stable. He messaged her GP when he was out of the room. Then he engaged her security alarm and slipped out the door.
Getting into his car, he hoped she would sleep the whole night through. When he got home, he messaged her and then went straight to bed.
Pearl's phone rang late in the afternoon. She was still at work and because she'd taken the previous day off, she was playing catch up. She let it ring for a while and then picked it up.
"Hello."
"Hey, beautiful," a deep voice said on the other end.
Her face broke into a smile. "Hey, Jesse. How are you?"
"I should be asking you."
"I'm fine, Jess, really. I took your advice yesterday and didn't go to work, so I slept most of the day away."
"Excellent," she heard him say.
Rolling her eyes, she replied, "You wouldn't say that if you knew how much work I had today."
"That's why you have a PA, baby," Jesse said patiently. "You need to delegate. Beth loves to help you."
"You're right as usual," Pearl sighed.
"Yes, I am," he chuckled. Then he asked her about the rest of her week. She told him. "Good, I'm going to schedule a few video calls because there's a little munchkin who simply cannot wait to see you."
That made her smile. "It'll be good to see him too. And his Papa Jesse."
Jesse promised to get in touch soon and then they said good bye.
The next day Pearl got a text message on her cellphone from Jesse. It was a picture of him and Pablo at the beach. The caption read 'We look good together, right?'
She texted back, 'Adorable! Well, at least one of you is ;)'
A seconds later, he sent 'Ha ha.'
That made her laugh out loud and the rest of her day seemed to go just as well.
Pablo and Jesse called every other day and Pablo always had a new adventure to talk about. Papa Jesse and Mrs Henry had taken all the kids to the beach or through a forest or to a park or they'd watched a movie just the two of them. Pablo had met the flower man Hermano and even learned one of the songs the old man sang.
Pearl could tell anything that made Pablo happy brought contentment to Jesse. She enjoyed their conversations increasingly. At the end of each one, Pablo would say, "See you soon!" and Pearl would say the same and she would catch the kiss he blew her before sending one back to Jesse who would either give it to Pablo or keep it for himself.
Most of the time, the adults would get a little time to chat after that. Their conversations started with one of them saying how much they missed the other. Today was no different.
After Pablo hopped off the chair and ran to the other side of the room, Jesse turned back to Pearl with a smile. "You have no idea how much I miss you, honey."
Her response was wry. "I think I have an inkling, babe."
Shaking his head "Did you have to put lip gloss on just before the chat, though? I miss that delectable mouth of yours."
Her cheeks flamed up. "Jesse!"
"I'm just being honest."
"I know! Your honesty is scandalous!"
He laughed, murmuring, "I did warn you when we first started dating."
"That you did." Pearl laughed too. "Like, four minutes into the relationship."
"Hey, I wanted there to be no pretences."
Pablo gave a shout from somewhere in the room. Jesse smiled but stayed focused on Pearl. "Looks like I have to go soon."
"Yeah. That's okay."
"Pablo will sleep over with me at the hotel tomorrow before heading out."
"Oh, he'll enjoy that."
"Yeah, I'm hoping he will. He's really had fun exploring the city and surrounding areas with me."
"I'll bet."
Jesse laughed again, "Everywhere we go he introduces me as his Papa. And when they ask where his mama is, he says in an excited little voice, 'In California'."
"Aw." Pearl chuckled.
"It's almost too much…" he shook his head.
"Well, you'll be home soon."
That made Jesse smile. "You bet! I can't wait."
"Me neither…" Pause. "Let me let you go and spend time with Pablo." She blew him a kiss.
He pretended to catch it and patted his cheek. "Bye."
"Bye."
Then the screen went blank.