“Why am I here when you’re the one undergoing the tests?” Cara sighed as she watched her husband change into the given hospital robe.
“You orchestrated it,” he replied, throwing on the cloth. “This is your punishment.”
She leaned back, watching the as it fell over his toned legs. “Well, I’m not complaining,”
A satisfied purr slipping from her lips, as she closed the distance between them with a deliberate sway of her hips. Her hand caught the hem just before it fell completely, the other slipping under to caress his well-sculpted abs. “I get to see this.”
Adonis stiffened as she moved downwards, brushing over his thigh, dangerously close to his member,
“and this.” She pressed.
“Stop teasing me, Bel,” he growled, his voice suddenly husky as he pulled her closer.
“Me? That’s a false alarm. I would never do that to you.”
“You spoilt brat!” He grabbed both of her hands above her head, pushing her against the wall and, without warning, crashed lips against hers, hard and fast.
“I…” He moved to her neck, his tongue performing wonders that had her rubbing her thighs together. “… warned you. Do not blame me if the whole hospital hears your cry.” He breathed, his hands moving to her waistband.
“Adonis, we’re in a changing room at the hospital. Stop…” Cara laughed lightly, struggling free, but he ignored her, and his fingers slipped inside the waistband of her sweats. His mouth trailed down to a soft spot on her nape.
“You’ve got to be quiet, Bel, or we’ll be caught.”
“I told you to stop. We don’t have time for this.”
“Five minutes is more than enough time.” Two of his fingers found their goal, brushing over her but before they could slip into her underwear, a loud knock resounded at the door.
“Mr. Bernardi. It is time for your x-ray. Are you done changing, sir?”
She instantly pushed him away, heaving heavily as she adjusted her hair and clothes that had been roughened up by her husband’s wandering hands.
They quietly stared at one another, lust flaring in their gazes.
The knock came again.
“Mr. Bernardi. Are you in there?”
Adonis crossed his arm over his chest, refusing to acknowledge whoever it was.
“Say something…” Cara fretted. “No one knows I’m in here.”
He remained quiet.
The doorknob jingled, “Mr Bernardi?”
“AAdonis…” she anxiously whispered, afraid they’d be caught.
Finally, Adonis kissed his teeth and, with a roll of eyes, called back. “Yes. I’ll be out in five minutes.”
Her smile faltered.
He did it again… his actions…
She gazed at her husband with furrowed brows. Something was off. It wasn’t just the eye-rolling; it was the subtle change that she couldn’t quite place but had noticed for a while.
She had thought it was nothing serious but could a man change overnight? She began to check him for any explainable signs, “Are you alright? Do you feel strange? Are you having a headache?”
Adonis pulled away gently, eyeing her wearily. “I’m fine. What’s up?”
“You just… you rolled your eyes at me?”
“Yes?”
“You never do that, Adonis. You’ve been acting strangely different. It’ll take someone who knows you well to know.”
He squinted at her, “I think I know what it is.”
Cara eagerly moved closer. “You do?”
“Yes.” His hands found her hips again, “I want you, and I have less than five minutes. It’s why I’m acting out.”
“Adonis, come on!”
Adonis glanced at his watch, “Can you be quiet?”
*****
Exactly four minutes and thirty-nine seconds later, Cara stumbled out of the changing room with a normal-looking Adonis behind her. She, on the other hand, had strands of hair sticking to her damp forehead, and her wet underwear made walking a bit funny.
Would anyone believe if she told them that he had made her lose herself twice in such a short time?
“Mr. Bernardi…” A young lady in dark blue scrubs walked up to them, “Is everything alright? We have been waiting for a while now. I was going to come in to check on you if you were a minute later.”
“You wouldn’t have liked that.”,” Adonis grumbled.
“Sorry?”
Cara smiled brightly at the nurse, “What he means is that he’s usually uncomfortable in hospitals- he didn’t want to come out. Right, baby?” She gave her husband an ‘agree or you’re dead look’.
The left corner of his lip tilted, and he looked away, choosing to plead the fifth.
“Oh…” The nurse nodded in understanding. “In that case. You don’t have to be afraid, Mr. Bernardi. I’ll take good care of you.” She said, reaching for Adonis’s hand.
His wife immediately stepped in front with a frown, placing her hands on her hips. “I said uncomfortable, not afraid. And you don’t have to take good care of him. Just do your job. He won’t care anyway.”
The nurse’s words were meant to be of comfort but she didn’t like how it sounded one bit.
The young lady shifted, not knowing how to reply.
“Is Mr. Bernardi all set for his tests?” A familiar voice called out as he approached them.
“Doctor Bruno!” Cara greeted cheerfully, “So good to see you again. Thank you for coming to my aid on short notice.”
“Likewise, Mrs. Bernardi. How are the boys? Growing well? Are you taking your antenatal meds?”
“Of course.” She patted her bump. “Everything’s going smoothly, and I already told you, it’s Cara.”
The middle-aged man smiled respectfully before addressing Adonis, “You seem like you’re not happy to be here. Mr. Bernardi?”
Adonis eyed him, pulling at the gown he had on. “I’m just a victim in your scheme. Do ignore me, and let’s get on with this. I have somewhere important to be.”
“Okay…” Doctor Bruno turned to the nurse, “Take his sample and run the scans and x-ray. Be quick, as he is not a patient man.” He turned back to Mr. Grumpy, “You can go with her; she’d take good care of you.”
“I’ll do my job,” the nurse said. “Just my job.”
“It’s the same thing,” the doctor replied.”
“No, it isn’t,” the nurse corrected him as she turned to leave.
Cara, trying not to laugh at the scene, waved at Adonis, “I’ll be in Doctor Bruno’s office. Come find me when you’re done.”
His shoulder moved an inch up before dropping down in reply as he walked away. Cara eyed the doctor, who seemed preoccupied, thinking of what he had said wrong.
“Did I say anything out of turn?”
Cara patted his shoulder. “No, you didn’t, doctor. Forget about it. So… your office?”
****
“I must say I was surprised to receive the call from your father.” Doctor Bruno said as soon as they were situated. “We did a complete check as soon as he awoke, so I don’t think this is needed. Is there anything I should know?”
Cara glanced at the door, the playful expression long gone from her face.
“The reason for his episode. I think this would be a great opportunity to do some tests and see.”
The doctor nodded, thinking back on their conversation a few days back.
“I agree, although I don’t want you to get your hopes high. We have done them before, and I saw nothing.”
“It might be different this time, doctor Bruno.” She sat up. “He’s… different.”
“I don’t understand you.”
“Look, something keeps bugging me. Adonis has behavioural changes. His taste in food has also changed. He hates peas… like can not stomach them, but last night, he ate it fine without a complaint.”
Her words sounded strange to him; at the same time, they were worth checking.
“Can you give me specific sightings? I want to be sure it’s not just a psychological effect.”
“Psychowhat?”
“We call it a near-death experience. When a patient undergoes an event/incident so intense it leaves a trauma, he or she might wake up as a different person. For instance, a person who loves to save and live frugally can have a wake-up call. ‘What if I had died and left the savings unspent?’. Something like that…”
“This is not a psychological effect or trauma or whatever,” Cara denied. “He talks.”
“And that isn’t a good thing?”
“It is! But he wasn’t that way before.”
“Maybe he had a wake-up call? ‘I don’t want to die without saying everything I should’.”
“Nooo…” she refuted. “He’s more open.”
It was what she had always wanted. What she had been fighting for, but it wasn’t Adonis.
When she asked for change, she knew she would have to work for it; he was a man who had grown used to being that way. It wouldn’t be an easy fit, yet she didn’t even get to lift a finger.
She was sure about her feelings.
Doctor Bruno could see that she wasn’t satisfied with his reply, so he indulged her, “Can you tell me anything else you noticed?”
“He’s more understanding… a few days ago when I…” Cara began to give him a lowdown on Adonis’s actions since he awoke.
It took over an hour before Adonis returned all dressed up and ready to leave. She had said everything she could, but the doctor didn’t have a pleasing reply for her.
“Cara… I do not think there’s anything wrong with Adonis, but we’ll have to wait for the test results either way. However, if you are adamant he is acting too strange, I have a psychiatrist friend he can see.” He had concluded.
Psychiatrist?
Wasn’t that a bit too much? Adonis would never agree to it. She’d just have to be on the lookout and hope that the result came back okay.
The rest of the day went by relatively quickly. Adonis left for the gym, planning to secretly meet up with Luca and train for the fight that night, of which he wouldn’t be returning home until after it was over.
That was a decision that was taken to respect Jacob and Cecelia’s feelings-Luca wouldn’t have to drop by after training since no one wanted a showdown.
Having nothing to do but worry, Cara decided to escort her friend on her beach trip. The smell of the salty sea was somewhat calming and refreshing, and the rest of her evening was spent on a comfortable outdoor chair with a book and a cold beverage, enjoying the ambience and clinginess of the couple.
Overall, it was more fun than she expected, and after spending a few hours at the beach, they stopped by a simple roadside restaurant to have dinner on their way home.
The moment Cara walked into her room, she went straight for her phone, which she had intentionally left behind, to stop herself from spamming Adonis’s phone.
Yet, as her eyes found its screen, her worry multiplied.
It had four missed calls from Doctor Bruno and a text that read
‘Call me as soon as you get this message, Cara.’
Nothing more.
She immediately dialled his number, her heart pounding as she dreaded what the news might be.