Page 26 of Words Unspoken

Michael put his hands on her shoulder and watched the ever-changing waters. He felt entirely at peace. He was home. Ann was here.

∞

They managed a light dinner before Michael began to tire. Ann told him to go to bed and that she would take care of the dishes, however he pulled her away from the sink with a firm shake of his head to the negative. The housekeeper FenLei would take care of the dishes. Not that he could tell her that.

He shut off the lights in the kitchen and climbed the stairs to the next floor. He was still in his comfortable sweats, so he really didn’t see any reason to change. He pulled back the covers to his bed and sat, yawning. He was wiped.

Ann hovered in the doorway. She came over and took his hat off, laying it on the night table.

“Your hair is growing back,” she commented, softly touching it.

Good. He had no liking for the bald him. Plus, it would cover the scar eventually.

“You know, I forgot to pack pajamas,” she said wryly. “I didn’t really think about staying overnight since I had not expected you to get discharged so soon.”

Technically, she didn’t have to stay overnight. She had insisted since she was worried about him. He liked that she would be here. Michael did not want to admit that he was a little worried too that if something went wrong there would be no one to here to help him until FenLei came in the morning.

Michael motioned to the closet. He had plenty of clothes. If she wanted to, she could borrow.

“What?”

He repeated the gesture.

“I don’t understand,” she was confused.

He stood and went to the closet. He pulled out a tee and held it up against her. It was too big for her but maybe to sleep in? Kind of like a nightgown.

“I can borrow it?” she asked.

He nodded. It was one of his Harvard shirts. He had the feeling she would look amazing in it. Then again, he thought she looked beautiful in everything.

She took the shirt. “Thank you.”

He nodded then endured her nearly tucking him in. Really, she was fussing too much, he thought tiredly.

∞

She checked on him three times that night that he was aware of. It was ridiculous. There was no way Ann was going to get any sleep when she kept tiptoeing over to his room to see if he was still alive. He was not going to get any sleep either, waiting for her to come back each time. On the third time, Michael reached out and tugged on the shirt he had leant her. She had a pair of shorts on with it and while he had never seen her look so casual, he liked it.

“Michael, you are supposed to be sleeping,” she admonished. He had probably scared her, touching the hem of her shirt in the dark.. However, there was no sleeping when she was sneaking around.

He steadily tugged on her shirt until she was sitting on the bed.

“Okay, what would you like? Can I get you something? A glass of water?”

She could get him a full night is rest. He moved over then patted the bed. It was king sized. There was plenty of room for both of them.

“Michael, I am not going to sleep in here,” said Ann.

He sighed. Then neither of them were going to sleep. He patted the bed again then took her hand so that she could not leave.

“Well, maybe just until you go back to sleep,” Ann got comfortable.

Michael smiled and closed his eyes.

When he opened them in the morning, it was a beautiful sunrise. The rays of the sun were cascading across the room. But the most beautiful sight was in bed with him, cuddled up to him. He gently stroked her silky hair for a few minutes, watching her.

He could hear FenLei starting coffee downstairs. Regretfully, he disengaged himself from Ann. He got changed into clean sweats and grabbed the hat on his way quietly out of the room. He came down to the kitchen got himself a cup of coffee.