Page 7 of Love Limits

Their pocket buzzed again before they could answer. They shut the thing off. They should have already done it.

“Nothing. Just personal stuff.”

“That couple you were seeing, wasn’t it?” Mr. Isling didn’t miss a thing, even if his words were a little slow.

Ash groaned. One of the things that they loved about doing long-term care for the elderly was getting to know people. Ash liked to listen to people’s stories and share their own. That is… gossip.

Of course, Mr. Isling had been equally perceptive when Ash had gotten into the poly relationship a few months ago, teasing them like a hound after a bone. Ash had kept it light and conversational, like they always did, sharing a bit about going on a date or watching a movie without overstepping any bounds.

What they’d forgotten was that they’d talked about Maya the first few times and then launched into a story about Soren the next day. Mr. Isling had crowed in delight when he figured out the two of them were a couple and Ash was dating both of them.

“I knew they were bad news,” he swore now.

Ash rolled their eyes. “You said no such thing. You wanted to know where I slept in the bed.” Among other things.

“Yes, and you wouldn’t tell me.” Ash was sure that he would have put his hands on his hips if he could bear the weight of his arms. His fingers quivered in his lap, but his eyes were lively.

“Nope. Get your own partners.” Ash automatically reached out to attach the pulse oximeter to Mr. Isling’s finger. “Ready?” they asked. On Mr. Isling’s nod, they swabbed a finger on his other hand, pricked it with the lancet, and caught the crimson drop on the glucose test strip. Over and done in a few seconds, and they slipped off their gloves.

“One eighty.” They gave him a little glare. It was at the highest end of acceptable for a few hours after eating. “Did you eat all of your breakfast or just the carbs?”

Mr. Isling snickered. “I’m too old for that healthy breakfast nonsense. Tell me about your duo. Things didn’t work out?” His words took a long time to get out, but Ash never minded.

“You need to eat your proteins to keep your blood sugar stable.” They really were worried about him, though they knew nagging wouldn’t help. “And Maya and Soren moved away.” If they didn’t say it, Mr. Isling would just keep asking.

The couple had told Ash last week that they were moving for Maya’s job and gently stated that they didn’t do long distance relationships. Ash had met up with them one more time, but it had been hectic while they were packing up the old house. Everything was chaotic and Ash felt like one more object that didn’t have a place.

When they moved, that was just the end of it, somehow. The two of them still had each other and Ash had no one.

Being poly didn’t make break-ups hurt any less.

In fact, it hurt doubly, because they missed them both, or at least the dreams of what they could have had. So far, it had been just a little seed of a relationship, just putting out its first roots and leaves.

The two of them had been so good to Ash, welcoming them into an age play relationship that had lasted a decade. Maya was Ash’s friend and baby sister and Soren the adoring Daddy who loved them both. Or at least Ash had thought so, even as their secondary.

“Plenty of other fish in the sea,” Mr. Isling commented.

Ha! If only he knew. “Not a lot of folks who want to date a Deaf person and learn sign language,” they said instead. It was definitely true, but only the tip of the iceberg.

“Oh, right. I always forget that you’re Deaf.”

Ash sighed. They never forgot. Hearing aid technology had gotten a lot better in recent years, with two microphones for each ear and different programs to decrease background noise. But even in the best conditions, like right now in a quiet room with just one person, they could only make out about 90% of what someone was saying and had to infer the rest. They’d long ago given up on the endless refrain of “can you say that again?” unless it was really important. When it mattered, like for changing someone’s medications, they used Live Transcribe.

They tapped their hearing aids. “You got me. I’m actually a secret spy for the government and these are my spy cameras.” They needed to talk about something else and knew that Mr. Isling would go along with their joking.

“I knew it!” he cackled. “You think the government wants to hear about my psoriasis?”

Ash nodded seriously. “They have a whole file on it.” They turned over Mr. Isling’s arm, his skin fragile like paper under their fingers. “It looks like you’re having a flair up.”

Mr. Isling’s trembling fingers reached over to touch his elbow. He made a scratching gesture that was probably too light to even feel, then slowly moved his hand back to his lap. “Yeah, it started a couple of days ago.”

“Hmmm…” Ash started working the lotion into the scaly, inflamed skin. “You just started a new blood pressure medication, right?”

Mr. Isling snorted. “Did you see that cup full of pills? I don’t know what all you put in there. Probably poisoning me.”

Ash laughed. Mr. Isling didn’t have dementia, he just liked to tease. He’d tricked new nurses on the floor, though, into thinking he did. He said it gave him something to do and kept his mind sharp. They said he was a difficult patient.

One of the other nurses still held a grudge against him for his practical jokes, which is why Ash always tried to see him. They moved to Mr. Isling’s scalp, rubbing the lotion along his hairline and into the mostly bald patch at the back of his head.