To the Moon and Back

Chapter 37




Ellie’s throat was on fire, her body was a dead weight, and she couldn’t stop shivering. It was almost too painful to turn over in bed. Was this how it felt to climb Kilimanjaro? Oh God, Jamie, this is horrible, where are you when I need you? Can you not even get me a glass of water?

She woke up again three hours later. It was sunny outside and the light hurt her eyes. It was even an effort to lift her head and peer at the alarm clock. Eight thirty. Oh no, what about work? But there was no way she could go in today; this wasn’t a cough or a cold, it was full-blown flu. She’d experienced it twice before in her life and now it was third time unlucky. But at least she didn’t need to wrestle with her conscience; work was out of the question. This wasn’t man flu, it was the proper kind. She’d have to call Zack and let him know.

It took superhuman strength to crawl out of bed. Unbelievably, all she’d felt last night was extra tired and a bit hot. Now it was all she could do to make it to the bathroom for Tylenol, a glass of water, and a wee. Then through to the living room to collect her phone.

Back in bed, breathless and weak with exhaustion, Ellie pressed buttons until Zack’s name came up. Then she heard his voice telling her he was busy right now and could she leave a message.

‘Zack, it’s me. Sorry, um, I’ve got flu.’ Even holding the phone was sapping her energy; the pain in her head was indescribable. ‘Can’t come into work.’ Her throat was burning and she was croaking like a frog. She sounded ridiculous, like the worst kind of malingerer putting on one of those feeble I’m-so-sick voices that didn’t fool anyone. ‘Sorry, but I can’t, I really am ill. It’s flu… OK… bye.’ She ended the call and hauled herself with difficulty over onto her side. Her eyes closed, which could only be a good thing. Sleep would take the pain away, wouldn’t it?

The next time Ellie woke it was four o’clock and her skin hurt so much she could hardly bear the duvet to touch it. Her bones ached, and she’d never felt hotter in her life. But two minutes later, having pushed the duvet to one side, she was shivering uncontrollably once more. Her mouth was dry too, and she was thirsty beyond belief. Pushing strands of damp hair off her face only caused more pain. This was worse than Kilimanjaro in size-three high heels. OK, reach for the glass, drink the water. She managed it without spilling too much down the side of her chin. It wasn’t until the glass was empty that Ellie realized she’d forgotten to take the next two Tylenols. She couldn’t swallow them dry. But this now meant climbing out of bed to get more water. Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. This was when she missed Jamie the most. And she couldn’t have picked a worse time to be ill if she tried; Tony had flown back to LA last week, Todd was away at a business conference in Edinburgh, even Roo had taken off for a few days to pay a long overdue visit to her mother in Marbella. If she were truly desperate she could call Paula, but she didn’t want to do that; it wouldn’t be fair.

Jamie? Jamie, are you there?

But her brain was so fogged with pain and exhaustion and cotton wool that she was unable to conjure him up. And even if she could, he wouldn’t be able to bring her another glass of water. The brutal reality was that she was here on her own. If she wanted anything, she was going to have to get it herself.

Ellie shuffled through to the kitchen, careful not to move her head, and filled a pint glass from the tap. There was a carton of orange juice in the fridge; fumbling to get it out, she pushed the bottle of olive oil to one side and watched helplessly, with the reaction times of a slug, as it overbalanced and toppled off the shelf. The bottle smashed on the white tiles and a great pool of extra virgin olive oil glinting with glass splinters spread across the floor.

Ellie hung on to the fridge door and gazed at the mess. You knew you were ill when you didn’t have the energy to say, ‘F*ck.’

Since there was no way she could clear it up, she took the pint of water and shuffled back to bed. Took two more painkillers. Closed her eyes and began to doze fitfully, her feverish brain conjuring up disjointed, unrelaxing dreams…

And now she was suffocating, being smothered by a big grizzly bear, and the phone was ringing, ringing, ringing…

OK, so it wasn’t a bear. Ellie freed herself from the depths of the duvet and managed to locate the phone on its fifth and final ring.

Dozily she croaked, ‘Hello?’

‘Did I wake you?’ It was Zack’s voice. ‘I just wanted to make sure you’re all right.’

‘Oh.’ Her throat felt as if it were being squeezed by a giant fist, she could barely swallow. Was he calling her to see if she was really ill or just faking it? He sounded concerned but maybe that was to catch her out. ‘Um, I don’t think I’ll be able to come into work tomorrow…’ She began to cough feebly, the pain slicing through her brain. ‘Ow, sorry…’

‘Don’t apologize. Of course you can’t work. Have you seen a doctor?’

‘No…’ Stupidly, she hadn’t yet got around to registering with a local doctor’s office. What were the chances of her old GP trekking over from Hammersmith?

‘Is there someone to look after you?’

Another fit of coughing seized her. ‘No.’

‘Where’s Todd?’

‘Away at a business conference.’

‘Can you get out of bed?’

‘Yes…’

‘Right. I’m coming over.’

‘No, no… I’ll be OK. You don’t want to catch this.’

Zack ignored her. ‘Is there anything you need?’

I need Jamie. She closed her eyes and whispered, ‘Painkillers. Strong ones. I’ve run out.’

‘I’ve got some. I’m on my way.’

Ellie rubbed a hand over her face; had she ever looked worse than this? Oh well, too ill to care, she swallowed with difficulty. ‘Thanks.’

The doorbell duly rang fifteen minutes later. She pressed the buzzer to let him in and collapsed back into bed.

***

Zack entered the flat and heard a voice call out weakly, ‘I’m in here.’

The door to her bedroom was open, the curtains drawn across. The faint smell of her perfume hung in the air. Huddled under the duvet, Ellie lay shivering and deathly pale. She waggled the fingers of her left hand at him and murmured, ‘Don’t come any closer.’

‘I’m never ill.’ Ignoring her, he approached the bed. ‘Have you been here on your own all day?’

She nodded fractionally and winced. ‘It’s only flu.’

‘I’ve brought Ibuprofen, Tylenol, and Night Nurse.’ He placed them on the bedside table and picked up the empty glasses. ‘I’ll get you some fresh water. Or how about a cup of tea?’

Ellie shook her head. ‘Just water.’ She stiffened, remembering something. ‘From the bathroom. Don’t go into the kitchen, there’s a mess. I had an accident.’

Zack wanted to hold her, take her in his arms, scoop her up, and carry her home. Instead, he left the bedroom and pushed open the door to the kitchen. For a horrified split second, greeted by the sight of a golden puddle, he thought she’d had that kind of accident. Then he saw the broken glass and realized it was olive oil.

‘Here.’ He went back with a glass of water. ‘Now let’s sort out your pillows.’

Ellie rolled over to the side of the bed and he plumped up the flattened pillows. Then he helped her into a semisitting position so she could take two tablets and wash them down with water. It was the most physical contact they’d ever had and it felt incredible. Ellie was ill and he loved being able to help her. He even loved that her skin was shiny and pale green and her stringy hair was all over the place. She was wearing a dark blue jersey nightdress that was slipping off one shoulder and he wasn’t even going to think about the fact that this might be the only item of clothing she had on.

Returning to the bedroom twenty minutes later, he said, ‘How about some fruit juice?’

Ellie shook her head fractionally, ‘Don’t go into the kitchen.’

‘It’s OK, all cleared up.’

‘What?’ She frowned. ‘The olive oil? Oh God, you didn’t.’ It had actually been a nightmare job; every time he’d scrubbed the floor and wiped it dry, stepping on it had revealed that the tiles were still as slippery as an ice rink.

But he was keen to impress, so Zack shrugged and said easily, ‘Not a problem.’

‘I can’t believe you cleaned my kitchen floor.’ She looked mortified.

‘Hey, it’s done. Don’t worry about it.’ He picked up the tissue box on the bedside table. ‘This is almost empty. Do you have any more?’

‘No. It’s OK, there’s loo roll.’

‘You can’t use that. I’ll get you another box. I need to go now but I’ll be back in a couple of hours.’

‘You don’t have to come back.’

‘I’m not leaving you on your own like this. You’re ill. Get some sleep now.’ Zack leaned over the bed and straightened pillows that didn’t need straightening. ‘Do you want to give me the key so I don’t have to ring the bell?’

She nodded. ‘In my handbag in the living room. Could I have a…? No, it doesn’t matter.’

‘Say it. Anything you like.’

A faint smile lifted the corners of her mouth. ‘Great, I’ll have a red Mercedes and a diamond tiara.’

‘Right.’ In that moment Zack knew he loved her, he actually loved her. ‘Well, that might take a couple of days to organize. Anything else in the meantime?’

‘A can of Sprite would be fantastic.’

‘Now you’re just being greedy. But you’re the invalid, so OK.’

Another smile. ‘Thanks.’