As You Wish

Once they were gone and Ethan had drifted off into medicated dreamland, I asked the nurse to keep an eye on him so I could grab another cup of watery tea from the cafeteria. After a short internal debate where I repeatedly told myself it was far too late to bother her, I texted Noreen an update while I waited for the cashier to put the stale tea bag into the not-quite-hot-enough water, assuming she'd see it in the morning.

And how are you doing? came the response before the cashier had even handed me the cup of tea.

Fuck. I paid for the tea and stepped out of line, walking slowly as I tried to text back with one thumb.

jst getting tea then goin bak upstars

I almost laughed when my phone rang.

"Sorry," I said. "Texting with one hand isn't my strong suit."

"It's okay," Noreen said, laughing softly. "Just thought this might be easier."

"It is. Thanks."

There was an unreasonably uncomfortable silence before she spoke again. "You didn't really answer my question."

"Right," I said. "He's, uh, just sleeping now. Not in the ICU but not sure when we're heading home. They don't know for sure what's going on. But he's... you know. Stable."

"I asked how you were doing," she said kindly.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't think my typos were that bad. I'm fine. Just got some tea."

"Jere. You know what I mean."

I was in a deserted hallway, darkened offices surrounding me. Stopping, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

"I'm... okay. Worried, but that's the entirety of my existence at any given time, so not really anything new. And impatient, I guess. I want answers and I want them now, you know? But there's not much I can do but wait."

"Understandable. It's frustrating."

"Very." I sighed, tilting my head back. "I keep telling myself they wouldn't have discharged him and wouldn't be sending him home if he wasn't okay. Whatever's going on, it's not serious enough to keep him in ICU, and that's good."

"Of course. That makes sense."

"You think so?" I hated how vulnerable my voice sounded, but I couldn't help it.

"I do," she said.

It took me a moment to figure out why her words comforted me so much that I felt my heart flutter, but when I got there, it was obvious. Noreen had to have dealt with stuff like this before. Her affirmation that it seemed reasonable wasn't coming from just anyone; it was from someone who knew.

And that mattered.

That helped.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"For what?"

I smiled. "For everything. Listening. Being here. All the other, uh, stuff."

"Oh, like the cleaning and the sandwiches?" she teased.

I held back a laugh. "And the sex. That was pretty, uh..."

"Thoughtful?"

"I was gonna say 'generous' but didn't know if you would find that funny."

Apparently, she did, and I fought back a smile, looking up at the half-dimmed fluorescents in the hallway. I hadn't been sure where things stood with Noreen or what anything had meant; I didn't know if sleeping with her had just been a release or if there was something there.

But listening to that laughter, picturing the smile on her face only to have my memory warp it into what she'd looked like beneath me, her hair splayed on my pillow and her breath caressing my cheek...

Shit.

I hoped she thought there was something there as much as I hoped she didn't.

"Are you, um, okay with that?" I asked when she stopped laughing. "With what we, uh, did?"

"I don't have any regrets, if that's what you're asking."

It was and it was a relief to hear that. "It won't make trouble for you at work or anything? I don't want to cause issues for you."

"It won't," she said. "What are they going to do, fire me?"

I frowned. "I mean, maybe. I dunno how it works there. A couple of the places I've worked had stuff like that in the employee manuals or whatever."

"Right, I know, I just mean because--" She stopped short. "Oh."

"Oh what?"

"I haven't..." She took a breath. "This is the wrong time."

"Wrong time for what?" I asked, more alarmed than I was annoyed.

"We can talk another--"

"Please, Noreen," I asked. "All my patience is tied up in waiting for test results. Please don't make me worry about whatever this is, too."

She was silent, then sighed. "I haven't told you, but I... You and Ethan are... you're my last clients. I... resigned."

I didn't know how to feel about that. "Was it because of what happened? The... the paperwork?"

"No," she said quickly. "Not at all. That was after. I resigned before I knew they assigned you to me."

I licked my lips. "Oh. Okay. When are you, uh, done? Will we get a new Wish Granter or...?"

There was another moment of silence.

"No," she finally said. "I decided to stay until Ethan's wish is granted. They're still working on replacing me. It was important to me to make sure everything went perfectly for him, so I wanted to stay."

My throat was tight and my eyes stung. Hearing her say that did something to me.

"Jeremy?" she asked when I didn't say anything.

"D'you think we could have lunch tomorrow when you stop by?" I asked. "If you still want to? Like, I know it's not the fanciest place for a date, but my mom'll be here with Ethan and maybe we could go to the deli across the street? There's a Tim's too, if you like that better, but honestly I can't stand their food and that's saying something because I literally choked down the slimiest chicken noodle soup you can imagine for dinner tonight."

"A date?" she repeated, laughter in her voice.

I cringed, my face burning beneath my beard. "I'm doing a great job selling you on the idea, huh? Sorry, I... Can we pretend I'm not an idiot and forget this entire conversation happened?"

"As you wish, but if you forget the entire conversation, you're going to be really confused tomorrow when I show up for our date."

By the time I finished talking with her, my tea was long gone, but the smile on my face lasted long enough that Mom started in on me again when she got there the next morning.

"You can't tell me nothing is going on," she said boldly as we walked to Ethan's room. "I'm your mother, Jere. I know when something's up."

"Whatever you say, Mom."

"See? You're not even rolling your eyes at me. Noreen has something to do with this. Did you two--"

"Is that what you really want to think about, Mom?" I asked.

"Well..."

"That's what I thought." We reached Ethan's room and I put my hand on the doorknob. "By the way, she's stopping by to see Ethan later. Can you sit with him while the two of us grab lunch?"

Her eyeballs nearly popped out of her skull. "Jeremy--!"

"Awesome, thanks." I opened the door and stepped in. "Hey, bud. Gramma's here!"

Luckily, Ethan was awake and in good spirits, so Mom didn't have a chance to nag me about Noreen. We sat with him instead, watching cartoons and colouring, enjoying ourselves until his next round of medication was due. I'd asked Noreen to come by around the time I figured Ethan's meds would kick in, since they were still making him pretty drowsy. In a perfect world, that would not only let us get lunch, it would keep me from having to explain anything more to Mom, and then Ethan would be awake when we were done so Noreen could visit with him.

It was brilliant, so of course, it didn't work. Ethan threw a tantrum the moment the nurse came in to give him his medication.

"Please, no!" he sobbed. "It makes me sleep and I don't wanna sleep, I wanna watch Scooby Doo with Spike and Gramma!"

The nurse looked at me helplessly. "Do you want me to ask Dr. Cook or...?"

I shook my head and turned to Ethan. "Bud. Buddy. Listen."

"Dad, please," he begged. "I don't wanna take it."

My heart ached and I felt sick to my stomach. I hated hearing him upset like this. He would beg and beg, not knowing why he had to take it, just knowing he didn't like how it made him feel, and I had to judge whether it was just a tantrum or if something was legitimately wrong. If he was just being dramatic or if he needed me to advocate for him and what he needed.

Because that's the thing about having a kid with an illness like this. He was still a kid and kids try to get away with shit when they can. That's just what kids do. That doesn't end just because they're seriously sick. No one ever wants to say that. No one likes to admit that their sick kid is anything less than a wonderful, perfect little human fighting a battle, but a kid is still gonna act like a kid.

And kids are assholes sometimes. Ethan knew that throwing a tantrum meant he might get out of something he didn't want to do because every time he did, we had to figure out how serious he was being and sometimes it was just easier to give in.

When it came to meds, though?

I couldn't just give in.

"Okay, but listen," I said. "If you don't take your medicine, you won't be able to watch Scooby Doo anyway."

"That's not fair!" he wailed. "Why won't you let me? Why are you so mean? You're the worst dad ever!"

"Hey!" I said, much more harshly than I intended only because I was fighting not to let his angry words sting. "It's not me being mean. Your medicine stops you from fainting like you did the other night. If you don't take it, you might pass out and get hurt or be in pain." I looked at him seriously, seeing the anger boiling in the thick tears clouding his eyes. "That's why you're in the hospital, bud. Tell me the truth. Does your medicine make you feel worse than the reason you had to come here?"

For a long, tense moment, he stared at me. His forehead was crinkled, the place where his eyebrows would one day grow back heavy over his eyes as he frowned. Furious puffs of breath made the snot in his nose drip faster as he held my gaze. Then, a shaking hand went up to his nose, wiping it as he sniffled hard and tore his eyes off mine.

"No," he whimpered. "I just want to watch Scooby."

"Scooby will be here when you wake up," I said gently. "You can even start watching it now and finish it later. It's going to take a bit before the medicine makes you sleep."

He nodded sadly and my heart ached again. "'Kay. C-Can you stay and watch with me?"

"Of course, bud."

"Did you let Noreen know?" Mom whispered as the nurse started giving Ethan his meds.

"Shit." I shook my head guiltily. "She's probably already in the waiting room."

Without a word, Mom stood up and kissed the side of my head. Before I could protest, she left.

Just what I fucking needed.

We watched about half the episode of Scooby Doo before Ethan started to fade. I eyed him for a moment before whispering his name. When he didn't respond, I carefully extracted my hand from his, kissed the top of his head, and quietly left the room.

I kind of hoped Noreen was running late or something, but she and Mom were both standing in the waiting room when I walked up. My heart started racing, though whether it was anxiety from wondering what Mom said or nerves from seeing Noreen wearing a green dress showing off the curve of her waist that I now knew intimately, I couldn't tell. I cleared my throat as I approached and both of them turned to look at me.

"How's he doing?" Mom asked.

"Fine. He just fell asleep." I looked at Noreen. "Sorry. He really wanted to watch Scooby Doo."

"No need to apologize," she said. "Scooby Doo is pretty fabulous."

I almost laughed, but Mom got that pushy, excited look on her face and I was stuck trying to hide my aggravation instead.

She didn't say anything, thankfully, and eventually made her way to Ethan's room so Noreen and I could go for lunch. The deli across the street was busy but we found a dirty table near the window.

"What do you want?" I asked, glancing at the line at the counter as Noreen collected the dirty dishes and wiped the surface with a napkin.

"Oh, let me get it," she said. "You have enough other stuff to worry about. I can treat you to lunch."

I shook my head before she even finished speaking. "I invited you. Let me get it."

I thought she might protest, but after a moment, she nodded and glanced up at the menu. "The Montreal smoked meat sandwich, please. Extra mustard. And a cup of tea, if you wouldn't mind."

That sounded pretty good, so I got the same thing and a couple sides of coleslaw, plus an extra pickle.

There was a lot working against me. I hadn't been on a date in ages so I was a little rusty, and on top of that, it was a lunch date at a location chosen specifically for its proximity to the hospital. So much could have gone so badly, and yet...

It was amazing.

We talked about Ethan, of course, because if I didn't talk about Ethan, I wouldn't have anything to talk about. Noreen told me about her boss, Misha, and the struggles they were having finding someone to replace her.

"It's almost funny," she said. "In a sad sort of way. The first guy thought he had healing aura powers or something. Two of them have simply left and never returned. The latest one didn't realize she was the one who had to make the wishes happen. She thought she just had to show up to experiences and that someone else dealt with all the details."

We talked about other things, too, which was nice. She told me about her mom and her past, about riding horses at the Collip's ranch growing up. I worried that she'd realize her life had been pretty different from mine and that she was talking to a guy a few steps away from owning nothing but the shoes on his feet and the shirt on his back, but she didn't seem to... I don't know. Care about that. But in a way that didn't make me feel like she was talking down or pitying me.

That was rare. Being broke was something that permeated every bit of my life. But Noreen didn't see me as either a project or as someone "less-than." She simply shared her stories and listened to mine without judgement.

We didn't talk about what my mom said to her while I was sitting with Ethan. She didn't offer the information and frankly, I was too nervous to ask.

We talked for longer than I thought. The sandwiches were long gone and our cups of tea were empty when my pocket started vibrating.

"Shit," I said, seeing my mom's number flashing on the screen. "Ethan's probably awake."

"I'll clean up," Noreen said, collecting our dishes as I answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, honey," Mom said cheerfully. "Just wanted to check in. How's your date going?"

I felt my jaw tense. "Fine. Is that all you called to ask?"

"Cut me some fucking slack," she said. "I'm not that pushy. I just wanted you to know Ethan's awake and Dr. Cook was here."

"Fuck." I got out of my chair and glanced wildly at Noreen. "I'll be right there, is he--"

"Jere, wait, I--"

"Mom, is he okay?"

It was loud enough that Noreen whirled around to look at me, as did a few people at surrounding tables. Panic flashed across Noreen's face, mirroring the expression I was sure was on mine.

"Jeremy, shut the fuck for a second," Mom said. "Jesus. You wonder where Ethan gets his inability to stop and listen?"

"I--what?"

"He's fine. Watching Scooby Doo and eating dessert. Spike may or may not have a lime Jello stain on his forehead. Dr. Cook said they're going to monitor him for the rest of the afternoon and probably discharge him tonight."

"Oh," I said, my heart returning to a normal pace. "Okay. She told you that? Without me there?"

"I'm on his records as a secondary contact, honey."

"Oh."

"I called because I thought maybe you'd want to go get him some clothes to come home in," she continued. "All he's got is the pyjamas they brought him here in and those are a little, um, stained. Some clean underwear, you know? Socks and shoes? Since he's doing pretty well right now, I thought this would be a good time."

"Right. No, that's... that's a good idea."

"And I mean, maybe it would be worth Noreen bringing you home to do it so you don't have to worry about moving your truck and that gives you a little more time to--"

"Yep, I'll go home and get him some clothes, that's fine, bye."

And I hung up.

Noreen was standing in front of me, the worry on her face fading as I quickly explained that I'd overreacted. She smiled and took my hand when I said I needed to go home and get Ethan some clothes.

"I'll drive," she said simply, and I walked out of the deli with her soft hand clasped in mine, my heart skipping every other beat and a smile on my face.

It was the start of something. We didn't come right out and say it, but it was. She drove me home and helped me pack a few things up for Ethan, then distracted me with her lips and hands and the tiny noises she made when I touched her. I didn't exactly mean to hook up with her again while we were there, but once she was in my apartment and bending over to pick up Ethan's shoes... well.

We ended up on the couch and didn't make it to the bedroom. Instead, she tugged my jeans down and knelt in front of me, doing things with her mouth that I couldn't have dreamed of. Her eyes met mine as she sucked me, head bobbing as she worked my cock in and out of her throat. I couldn't look away, didn't even want to blink and miss a moment of what she looked like with her lips stretched around me.

I came in her mouth far faster than I would've liked. I pretended like it wasn't because it had been so long since I'd had a blowjob that I couldn't contain myself and that it was because we had to get back to the hospital right away. I then promptly proved that was a lie by shoving her dress up to her waist and slipping her panties down so I could return the favour.

Her fingers wound through my hair as I ate her out, indulging in the sweet taste of her and greedily lapping at her pussy. She pushed herself forward, thighs tight around my ears as she gasped and panted and urged me on. I pushed a finger inside of her, fingering her gently as I sucked on her clit, and the noises she made... fuck.

I kind of wished I hadn't come first because it was hot enough that I wanted to go again.

But we definitely didn't have time for that. I made her come on my face, let her shove my head tight against her lower body as she gushed against me. Slick juice coated my cheeks and lips and beard, though that didn't stop her from kissing me before letting me go so she could pull up her panties and I could go wash my face.

And that was it. That was the start of whatever we had.

13 - Noreen

Is there such a thing as perfect-adjacent? No relationship is perfect. That's obvious. That being said, we were at a point where endorphins were trying to convince us that perfect was possible. When I was clear-headed, I knew those endorphins were lying. If they weren't lying, it would be a lot easier to deal with our particular constraints.

We both struggled to carve out pieces of time to be together. I had another replacement quit when they found out they couldn't just cherry-pick children whose wishes aligned with the granter's hobbies and interests. They were under the impression their days would be filled with shopping sprees and trips to Canada's Wonderland. I was still doing my job, battling the insurance company and I'd stepped up my efforts to help Misha find a replacement who wasn't a waste of time.

Jeremy? He spent his days with Ethan, doctors, hospital staff and trying to grab some much needed sleep here and there. I don't know why it hit me as hard as it did, but I found him asleep on a chair in a waiting room, a book on homeschooling clutched in his hand. On top of everything else, he wanted to ensure that Ethan was engaging his mind.

Was the effort to find time for us worth it? Yeah, it absolutely was.

If things were perfect, Ethan would spend overnights at his grandparents' or go to the park instead of staying at the hospital waiting for test results or going for check-ups. They were increasing in frequency, but I assumed that was good. What had started his recent downturn was a mystery and I was happy they were aggressive about finding the cause.