Chapter 159 Recovery and Cake
Byron and Emily insisted that Mateo should stay with them during his recovery so that they could assist him with anything he needed. For the first two weeks, he was not supposed to move his leg at all to let he bones heal.
Pretty soon, Mateo was walking with crutches. After the initial recovery, the doctors recommended putting more weight on the leg to prevent the muscles from atrophying.
Byron hired the best physio therapist in the city help Mateo to regain muscle strength. Instead of taking the culinary course he had come to Vancouver to do, Mateo was learning to walk again, which may have been a harsh disappointment to anyone else, but he looked at it with a cheerful attitude.
Emily wasn’t sure how Katie and Mateo were going to deal with their upcoming separation as he had to leave for California to help his family run the farm and eventually resume his schooling there in the fall.
To mark the last day before Mateo’s departure, Emily and Byron took Mateo and Katie out to a restaurant in the neighborhood, spoiling them with limo service and champagne.
The two young people looked very much in love. Anyone could tell there was some kind of magnetic energy zooming between them. Even though it was a fun evening overall, Emily felt like something was nagging at her, though she wasn’t sure what it was.
As they left the restaurant, Emily wanted to get home, but Katie and Mateo were ready to keep partying. Byron offered them the use of the limo, while he and Emily decided to walk home as it wasn’t that far.
“Do you think it’ll last?” Emily asked once they were left alone. “They seem so in love. Maybe it’s one of those overly intense relationships that quickly burn out.”
Byron took off his jacket and wrapped it around her as she was visibly chilly in the humid night air. “I have a feeling it’ll last.”
“I’m kind of envious of the youngsters,” Emily said as they walked down the quiet street lined with blossiming trees.
“Why?” Byron asked in surprise.
“I have no idea what it’s like to be so young and in love. Seems like it’s the most amazing time of their lives. It was something I never experienced, partly thanks to Josh. I didn’t think I ever met the right guy back then. But maybe I just never gave anyone a chance…”
“Are you saying we’re old?” Byron tried to lighten the mood.
“You’re right, we’re not that old,” she said, squeezing his hand. “And besides, I appreciate you all the more now that I’ve waited so long for someone to love.”
“I’m glad you appreciate me,” Byron said, “because I have a surprise waiting for you at home. It should have been delivered by now.”
“Something that’s delivered… Sounds interesting! Is it another dog?”
“No, don’t get too excited…”
“I’m glad you got here so soon,” said their dog sitter when they arrived. “I could hardly keep the dogs off it!”
Emily laughed in surprise and amazement when she saw it. An enormous, towering cake made up of five tiers, each a different flavor. It was basically like having five different cakes, the bottom two tiers being much bigger than any regular cake.
Byron smiled when he saw her reaction. “I recall you saying that weddings are all about the cake… so I took the liberty of recreating our exact wedding cake. Although I think the guava should have gone on top of the coffee tier like at our real wedding.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, “all it means is a bigger guava cake tier, which I like!”
“So you’re not mad at me for missing our anniversary?” he asked.
“I was never mad at you in the first place. And now, we can finally celebrate!”
Shandy and Odin sensed the excitement in the air and tried to put their paws on their table so they could get closer to the cake and take a bite. Rupert was better behaved and knew he wasn’t supposed to eat sugary human foods.
“Hey, it’s not for dogs,” Emily said, shooing them away.
“You just want it all to yourself, don’t you?” Byron said, chuckling.
“No,” she objected, “I can share the cake. But something I want all to myself tonight is… you.”
Suddenly it occurred to her that maybe she was ready to make another addition to their family… and spending quality time with her husband was always fun…
