The Man He Chose

Chapter 4

A/N: The image above does not  belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Santa's POV

I tried a little bit of the squash soup while it was still cooking in the pot. I wanted to make sure that I had seasoned it just right because Cooheart hated it whenever I did not put enough seasoning in any soup that I served to him.

Mmm, mmm, yummy, even if I have to say so myself.

I glanced at the kitchen clock. It was half past seven, way past dinner time. We always made it a point to have dinner at seven or earlier.

I wondered whether I should set the food on the dining table already. Nah, if I did so the food would get cold if he did not come back in the next few minutes.

I decided to walk over to the living room and watch the evening news.

I turned the TV on, knowing that my brain wasn't going to absorb whatever was on the screen.

I had tried to focus on my cooking earlier and was barely able to put together all the ingredients I needed to cook Cooheart's favorite teriyaki salmon paired with chunky squash soup.

All the time that I was stirring the pot my mind kept going back to Cooheart's conversation with Title's mother, a conversation that I didn't mean to eavesdrop on.

"Hello, mom?" I heard him say after he had swiped his phone screen and walked over to the living room while I sorted the bags of groceries that I had set on the kitchen counter.

We had just come from the supermarket and we were both happy with all the healthy food choices that we came home with.

"Mom, are you alright?" I had already gotten used to the pain that hit my chest whenever I heard Cooheart addressing his ex-boyfriend's mother as 'mom'.

"Ohmygahd, what hospital? Yes, I'll go there right away. I'm sorry that you're not well. Don't worry I'm going there now. I will let you know how bad the situation is.  Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best."

"Santa ... " he started to say as he walked over to the kitchen.

"Go quickly," I said even though in my heart I had wanted him to stay.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, I overheard your conversation," I said grimly. "C'mon Cooheart, the living room is just a few steps from the kitchen, how could you expect me not to hear? But I'm not stopping you from going. He needs your help. Go now, I say."

He didn't say anything further but grabbed the car key from the copper bowl in one corner of the kitchen counter.

"I will come back as soon as I can," he said as he opened the door and closed it after him.

He had forgotten to give me a good bye kiss which he had never failed to do before.

Still, I told myself, I should trust him. He had told me when we had first made our relationship official that even before his and Title's breakup he no longer felt anything for him. He only kept in touch with Title's mom because they had developed a close mother and son relationship during the years that he and Title had been together.

I told myself not to worry as I went about fixing dinner for him and myself.

If there was anything that I would worry about, it was if his very first boyfriend, Kao, were to come back from Japan. Cooheart had confessed to me that he still loved him but it did not stop me from pursuing Cooheart.

Cooheart had tried to avoid me, saying that our seven year age gap was problematic for him. I had managed to convince him that age was just a number.

We had continued to date and eventually he gave in and he had officially become my boyfriend.

He had been honest with me and had told me that he did love me back but that he had lingering feelings for Kao. I told him that I was willing to live with that and had asked that he tried to love me back even just a little bit, in return.

He had given me a tight hug and a sweet kiss as his response and I was more than happy with those.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket when I heard the sound of an incoming text.

Sweetheart, I'm leaving the hospital now. I will be dropping off Title at his house and will head straight back home. Go ahead and have dinner if you're feeling hungry already.

As if I would be able to swallow any food at this time.

"I will wait for you. Drive safe."  I texted him back.

I must have dozed off in the couch. The TV was still on. There was some comedy show going on when I heard the front door open.

Cooheart came in looking like he had been the one who had gone through some kind of devastating illness that needed medical attention instead of Title.

He was holding on to the wall for support while walking weakly into the living room.

I shot up from the couch and ran to support him.

"He's back ... from Japan ... "

I found myself going down to the floor in slow motion.