Jonnor: In Sickness And in Health

In sickness and in health

I get a call from Connor pretty early on Saturday morning. He had to cancel our plans of going to the beach because he couldn't get out of bed, due to the fact that he just contracted the flu. He apologized over and over which made no sense to me considering he couldn't help the fact that he was sick. Grabbing a bag, I fill it with all sorts of things that might help tackle his flu and then I head over to Connors. He needs someone to take care of him since he's home all alone today, even though he said he'd alright without any help.
I park my bike in his drive way and use the key that was under the door mat to unlock the front door. "Dad, is that you?" I hear Connor call in a scratchy voice from upstairs. "No its, your babysitter." I say as I head upstairs into his bedroom. "What?" I laugh a bit. When I open his door I let out a small gasp. Connor looks like...how do I put this lightly... death. He looks like death. Sweaty and red, tissues scattered everywhere while he's all curled up in a ball in his bed. "I look awful, don't I?" Connor asks in a soft voice followed by a cough. I clear my throat. "No, you look... fine. Like, super cute." Well, for the most part that was a lie but he did look kind of cute all cuddled up in his bed with his bright pink cheeks. As long as you ignore all the sweating and the runny nose. I move closer to him and pick up all the used tissues that he must have just thrown on the floor, Connor probably tried aiming for the trash bin that was across the room. But he failed. "Jude you don't have to do that, you might get sick too." Connor protests weakly while I clean up his room. "I don't mind, someone needs to take care of you, you're kind of a mess." I say. "No offence Con." I add with a smile. He smiles back and rolls his eyes at me. "Alright fine, you can stay. But if you get sick it's not my fault." He says lying his head back on his pillow. Connor dozes off to sleep and I go down into the kitchen to make him some lunch.
"Connor, you up?" I ask in a quiet voice while setting down what I like to call my little 'Connor Care Package' on his bedside table. He yawns and looks up at me. "Yeah, I'm up." He says as he scoots over so I can sit on the bed next to him. "I brought you some things to hopefully make you feel better." I say, taking a cool wet cloth and placing it on his forehead while simultaneously putting a thermometer in his mouth. He hums in appreciation of the cloth and we wait in silence for the thermometer to read his temperature. I pull it out and read the number. 104 degrees. I shake my head. My poor Connor. "Drink some water." I say while helping him sit up. He smiles at me. "Wow, you really are my baby sitter. I must be the luckiest guy to have a babysitter like you. Thanks for all this." I laugh and blush at his compliment. "I just want you to feel better so I can have someone to take me to the beach this weekend." I tease. He grabs at his chest and pretends to be hurt. "Ouch, right in the heart!" We laugh for a little bit before I pass him some soup. "Eat it." I say. Connor shakes his head. "I'm not really hungry." He protests. "That's the flu talking. Eat your soup, you need nutrients so you can get your strength back." I say trying to put the spoon full of soup in his mouth. He turns his head away. "No. I'm not hungry." He battles. "Jesus Christ Connor eat the soup or for the love of god I'll shove it down your throat." Connor looks at me with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. I sigh. "Okay, maybe I took that a little too far." Connor laughs. "A little? More like a lot you psycho." He says leaning in closer to the spoon of soup and sipping it. "I may be a little crazy but  my work is effective." I state while feeding him another spoonful. "I feel like a baby." Connor mumbles while I keep feeding him. I laugh. "Well, i am your babysitter." He rolls his eyes.

I watch Connor as he sleeps next to me in his bed. He's snoring lightly but I've still been managing to read my book just fine. He looks so tired, but he also looks a lot less like death, now that he's eaten and had some fluids. I don't know how he would have been able to take care of himself on his own. I stroke his hair and continue to read my book. Even though today wasn't what I had originally planned for us, it was still just as good. As long as we get to spend time together we can be doing anything.
I hear a noise from downstairs and soon see Adam quietly open the door to Connors room. "Hey Jude. I think I got it from here if you want to go home." He says. I nod and give Connor a kiss on the forehead before quietly making my way back downstairs with Adam right behind me. "Thanks for taking care of him." Adam says as I head out the door. "No problem." I say with a small smile as I head over to my bike. I'm glad he's not mad.

After a few day of nursing Connor fully back to health I give him a call from my house.
"Guess who caught your flu."
I hear a light laugh on the other end of the phone line. "I'll be right over Jude."