Life Changes » Marcus Armstrong

Fourtysix.

"Hello, my love," Marcus smiled when Jane accepted his FaceTime call.

It was winter, December had just crossed its halve, it was cold, and the Christmas vibes were getting stronger each day. Well, for the people who lived above the equator. For the people who lived below the equator; it was summer, December just crossed its halve, it was warm, and Christmas vibes were getting stronger each day.

"Hold on," Jane quickly said and started to cough. She muted the microphone and turned her phone away. After a minute, she unmuted herself again. "Hey," she said and sniffed.

Marcus' face softened. "It doesn't sound healthy... How are you feeling?" He was scanning her face, she looked pale and tired. She was really sick.

"Bad," she mentioned. "I'm tired, everything hurts. The flu worsened. It's bad." Jane's voice, well, she almost didn't have a voice, but it was raspy, and you could hear she had the flu. She was in bed.

"Oh, no... Did you see a doctor yet?" He was getting worried.

She nodded. "Yesterday. I got antibiotics, and I just have to rest, wait until it gets over." She turned around in bed and looked at her phone. "Nothing else I can do. Shit, I should have called you when I got back. I'm sorry, I forgot it."

"It's fine, babe," Marcus smiled. "For how long have you been sick now?"

"A week and a half now," she said, looking away and coughed a couple of times. "A couple of days too long. I want to do so many things, I have projects to finish up, but I don't even have the energy to go to the bathroom. But how are you doing? How is it down there?"

He looked at the time. "It's eleven in the morning at yours, right?" She nodded. "Okay. But I'm fine, finally used to the timezone. I visited some family today, it was a pretty fine day."

"How's your family?"

"All good, everyone is celebrating their time off now," he mentioned and smiled.

"That's good to hear."

There was silence. Jane closed her eyes and deeply breathed out. Marcus missed her, but this made him feel powerless. There was nothing he could do, only saying she would be better soon and cheering her up. He was on the other side of the world.

Jane's eyes shot open. "Oh, crap, I still have to write the Christmas cards," she mentioned when it suddenly popped up in her head. She sat up in bed and coughed a few times. "Still the same people you send me, right?"

"Babe, you don't have to do it right now. Take some rest," Marcus advised.

She looked at him. "I have to do it one day. If I don't do it now, it won't arrive on time. And I have something to do today now," she mentioned. "Plus, it will give me an excuse to go out for a walk."

"Sure," he softly said, still being worried about her. "But take it easy, yeah? And the people are still the same."

"Yeh." Jane put on a sweater and walked to the living room. She made tea and grabbed the empty cards and stamps from the table. "Just your name, right?"

Marcus flew straight after Abu Dhabi to New Zealand, not getting the time to write cards to the people in Italy and the rest of Europe. So Jane offered to write and send it for him. He had sent her an entire document with the addresses and instructed her what to write on the card, but she seemed to forget it.

"And yours." Marcus watched how Jane settled down on the ground in front of the sofa. She opened her laptop and coughed again. "Awh, babe, you really look bad... I wish I could be there to take care of you. You eat and drink enough, right?"