Chapter 124 Disgustingly Cute Couple
The time in California was both restful and emotionally draining for Emily. Each day that Teddy seemed to recover, she was worried that he would fall ill again. She plunged back into work as soon as she returned. It helped take her mind off the whole situation.
And just like he had promised, Byron seemed to be taking it rather well. She only feared he might be depressed again if his hopes for Teddy’s recovery were suddenly dashed.
Aitana and her kids called them every couple of days to provide an update on Teddy’s progress, and they always had good news.
A couple of weeks later, the calls grew less frequent, but one evening Emily heard her laptop chime with the familiar call to video-conference.
She called Byron to come into her home office, and they both sat down at the desk as Aitana’s face appeared on the screen, her beautiful living room in the background.
“Hello my lovelies,” she said, “There’s someone who would like to speak to you.”
Teddy appeared on the screen as he leaned on the back of her chair. “I got my test results back today, and I passed with flying colors.”
“Huh?” Emily said, although she suspected she knew what that meant, but she didn’t dare to hope.
“I am officially cancer free,” Teddy announced.
“Oh my God, Teddy!” Emily squealed, “I’m giving you a virtual hug!”
Byron slumped in his chair like he had just run a marathon, breathing a deep sigh of relief. “You gave us all quite a scare,” he said, shaking his head, “It better not happen again.”
“No, sir. Going to be on the straight and narrow from now on,” Teddy joked.
“Teddy has always been a trickster,” Aitana said, smiling, “He had us all convinced he was going to die, only to fool us.”
“Yeah, right,” Teddy said, but he seemed quite pleased with all the attention.
“Since you’re fully recovered, you should come for a visit, the whole family,” Byron suggested. “After you’ve shown us your kind hospitality, we’d like to return the favor.”
They agreed that the family would come to visit after they finished up the harvest on their farm.
Next, they called Sylvia to tell her the good news.
“Thank goodness,” she said, “I thought I might have to go to a funeral, and I never look good in black.”
“What an emotional response,” Byron said.
“I’m glad Teddy is feeling better,” she replied irritably, “I told you I always believed he would keep chugging along, didn’t I?”
Of course, Sylvia would turn it into an ‘I was right all along’ moment. Byron rolled his eyes, and Emily grinned back at him.
“Would you want to come over and see him again when he and his family come to visit?” Byron asked.
“Uh… I think it’s a great thing for you to have your father back in your life, but I don’t really need to see him.”
“He would probably like to see you, though,” Byron insisted. “He cares about you. And he’s been through a lot.”
“Just because Teddy survived cancer doesn’t make him some kind of hero,” Sylvia said.
Byron tried not to burst out laughing. “Wow. I’ll be sure to mention that to him.”
“If you must.”
“No, I’m kidding.”
“Okay, I suppose I’ll stop by and see Teddy sometime if you insist,” Sylvia relented.
Finally, after saying goodbye to his mom, Byron hung up the phone and lay back in an arm chair.
“Are you sure it’s not going to get too explosive?” Emily asked, perching on the arm of the chair.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll invite some more people so they can all mingle together. That way it won’t be too much Sylvia and Ted interaction.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Emily said.
“But as for us, we have can have lots of interaction together…” he pulled her down into his lap and kissed her, making her pulse race faster. “You know, you have been amazing through this whole ordeal.”
“I know,” Emily said jokingly.
“Really, you don’t know how much your support helped me.”
“You helped me as well,” Emily said, kissing his cheek, which was rough with newly-grown stubble.
“Aren’t we the most disgustingly cute couple ever?”
They both laughed, and Emily felt a more carefree vibe returning after an extremely tense couple of weeks.
“You know what would make it even more cute?” she said, “We should go see the hummingbirds at the animal shelter!”
“Great idea, Miss Danzi.”
A couple of hours later, Emily and Byron walked around in the yard outside the farm house admiring all the different hues of birds that flitted around the feeders.
It was a mildly sunny day with a hint of chill, and the air smelled of autumn leaves and wet soil. The hummingbirds added a touch of summer to the scene with their bright colors, some grey with a hint of ruby red around their neck, others a brilliant emerald green.
Some birds dipped their long beaks carefully into the feeders, while others chirped aggressively and chased their fellows away from what they considered their territory. They were not intimidated by human presence and one bird even flew closer in, hovering in mid-air to have a look at the couple.
“This is one of the best gifts you’ve ever given me,” Emily said as they stopped below the feeders, holding hands and admiring the tiny creatures.
“Now we’re really the most disgustingly cute couple,” Byron said, “but that’s okay, because we’re not just for show.”
“No,” she agreed, hugging him closer, “we’re not.”
