Chapter 5

T alia laughed and then realized he wasn't joking. "Are you upchucking your food?" she asked in a sympathetic tone.

"Just once so far, since I've been here," he replied, "but, of course, once is bad enough."

"True, and it happens time and time again to patients here."

"Which doesn't make me feel any better at all."

She smiled. "No, of course not. Nobody wants to lose their cookies."

"Particularly when they are cookies," he said in mock horror.

Her laughter rang out. "I do love that sense of humor of yours," she stated, grinning broadly.

"Well then, I suggest that we spend some time having a cup of coffee together, though I'm not even sure I can hold that down."

"Sorry about that. Let's both have a green shake then."

"I live on these suckers," he muttered in a dark tone, staring at the one Dennis had just brought him. "I really want a steak and some veggies. Maybe a baked potato, but I'm pretty sure all of that'll be way too much."

"Have they mentioned to you about going with just single foods for a while?" she asked curiously.

"Actually Ilse told me that this morning during breakfast. And that she had a soup for me for lunch," he shared, as he looked out at the hot sun outside. "The trouble is, a hot soup isn't exactly what I would choose to eat today."

"Maybe not, but, if it comes from Ilse, I wouldn't turn it down."

He nodded. "And some salad would be good."

"Maybe just stick with that then, and don't add anything else to it," Talia suggested. "Buffets can be one of the problems. My family used to always go to buffets, and, every time I went, I would get sick. I blamed it on overeating. But then later I figured out that really it was more about a combination of so many different foods that my stomach couldn't handle it."

He nodded. "I have done that a couple times. I'm not too sure what's on the menu for today." He checked his watch. "It's not quite lunchtime yet, but I am a little bit hungry."

"In that case, let's go," she said, bouncing to her feet. "If you're hungry, you need to eat."

"But it might not be time yet."

"It depends on what Ilse's got prepped for you. Let's go take a look."

*

Xavier hesitated.

"I know. You don't want to be a bother," Talia muttered, with an eye roll.

"Everybody is doing so much, and I feel so appreciated," Xavier admitted, "but I also feel as if I'm being a spoiled jerk." She burst out laughing again, and he had to grin. "You might think I have a sense of humor," he began, "but I crack more jokes around you just because I love to hear your laughter."

She stopped laughing and stared at him. "I think that's the nicest thing I've heard somebody say to me in a very long time."

"What? Is everybody here blind? You're gorgeous," he said, "but that smile? For me that trumps looks anytime."

She chuckled. "Come on then. Trust me in this. We'll go to the dining room and see if you can eat right away whatever is available, even if just a little bit," she suggested. "If you're hungry, I firmly believe that you need to eat while you have an appetite."

"Maybe. Still, it's hard for me."

"And just because it's hard for you doesn't mean it's not worth doing," she replied.

He rolled his eyes at that. "Does that line work for you?"

"It's been working for me for a while," she stated, "so you can't break my streak now."

He allowed himself to be tugged toward the dining room. When she popped in and saw Dennis, she shared, "Well a miracle's occurred."

He looked at her, saw Xavier beside her, and asked, "What's that?"

"He has a little bit of an appetite." She smiled.

"A little bit," Xavier repeated.

But Dennis had a beaming smile and nodded. "What's your fancy? Protein? Veggies?

Xavier said, "I want to try a small salad."

"Done," Dennis declared. "Go sit down."