Prank Date [✔]

Part 17

****

Normally, I bought only the bare necessities when I went grocery shopping. But this time, as I unpacked the paper bags, I realized I had gone overboard.

Three different kinds of teas, half a dozen bottles of Gatorade, cough medicine, nose spray, a package of Tylenol, three boxes of tissues, and fresh fruit covered the counter while the soup heated on the stove.

I placed a bowl of soup, sage tea, and the medicine on a tray. Lego shadowed me as I tiptoed upstairs with the tray and opened the bedroom door.

Lisa lay in bed with her eyes closed and the covers pulled up to her chin. Her face had gone pale.

Lego squeezed past me and ran up to the bed. Before I could stop him, he nosed one of Lisa's hands and whined.

"Hmm?" Lisa opened one eye, then the other and looked around for a moment. "Oh."

When she sat up, I noticed with relief that Lisa had managed to put on her sleep shirt.

Lisa cleared her throat. "You're back already?"

I had been gone for an hour and a half. She's really out of it.

"Do you feel up to a bowl of vegetable soup? Or maybe just some tea?" I helped Lisa sit up and placed the tray across her lap.

Wrinkling her nose, Lisa stared at the tea, but then she lifted it to her lips and blew on it before she took a sip. Her face brightened.

"Yum. You put honey in it." She sipped her tea for a while, then reached for the cough syrup. Her fingers trembled, and she wrestled with the childproof cap of the medicine bottle.

"Let me." I sat on the edge of the bed and took the bottle from her. When I had it open, I took the spoon from the tray and poured out a spoonful of cough syrup. Instead of handing it to her, I held the spoon to Lisa's lips.

Like an obedient child, Lisa opened her mouth, swallowed the syrup, and then shook herself. "Ugh. No honey in that."

I suppressed a smile. She's cute when she's sick. After hesitating for a moment, I handed over the spoon. Feeding her the soup might be too much.

Finally, when the bowl was empty, Lisa wordlessly took the Tylenol I handed her and swallowed it. She leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes.

"Can I ask one last favor before you go?"

"Go?" I shook my head. "I'm not going anywhere as long as you're this sick."

Lisa opened her eyes. They were still glassy. "You don't need to stay. I'm not that sick."

"Oh, no?" I pressed my palm against her forehead. "You're burning up."

For a few moments, she leaned into my touch before she turned her head away and sighed.

"What favor did you want to ask?" I asked.

"Lego" she said. "Would you take him on a short walk around the lake? He hasn't been outside since this morning. We had another wine tasting today, and I didn't want him to bother the guests, so I kept him inside."

"You did a wine tasting while you're this sick?" I shook my head.

"No. Huna, one of my employees, was pouring. So, will you take Lego out?"

"Sure. If you think he'll go with me."

Lisa closed her eyes. With a tired smile, she mumbled, "He will. He's a sucker for pretty ladies. Just pick up his leash from the hall table, and he'll follow you to the end of the world."