I heard the key in the lock and knew Sean was finally home from work. He’d left for the hospital at 6:30, well before I was out of bed for the day, and had just finished a twelve-hour shift in the ED. Throwing his keys on the table inside the front door and kicking off his shoes, he came around the couch and looked down at me, snuggled under my favorite blanket with a book.

“Looks like you’re making the most of your day off,” he teased, sinking down next to me on the couch and kissing my cheek. Even after many years, his touch still gave me chills in the best possible way. From our very first meeting there had been a delicious energy between the two of us that had only gotten stronger over time.

“It certainly started out that way,” I said, straightening to return his kiss before slumping back with a sigh. “I had a really productive morning. Got a workout in, went grocery shopping, finally took those stupid returns to UPS ….”

Sean raised his eyebrows. “And …?”

“Well, I thought I’d reward myself with a few hours of reading, but about an hour in, I started feeling a little achy, and now I’m exhausted. Even though I’ve been lounging on the couch for the last three hours. And I’m getting a sore throat. I think I’m coming down with something,” I said miserably.

“Oh, Chels … that sucks. I’m sorry,” he said. “Just want to have some dinner and hit the sack?”

I chuckled. “You trying to lure me to bed?” I said with a mix of humor and seduction.

“Hey, if you haven’t figured out by now that I’ll take you just about any way I can get you, we’re in trouble,” Sean said, straightening and taking my hands in his. “C’mon, let’s have something to eat. Maybe it’ll make you feel a little better.”

He pulled me up and we made our way to the kitchen. The summer sun was still shining through our kitchen windows at 6:45pm, and it had been a mild enough day to keep all of the windows open so that I could smell the fresh air moving throughout the house. I loved that smell – like fresh cut grass and the hint of lilac blossoms, their scent wafting in from the back yard. It was the smell of summer. And it made me frustrated that I was feeling sick rather than enjoying it.

I’d put some Maryland crab soup on the stove before I hunkered down with my book, so we ladled some into two bowls and sat down with a crusty loaf of bread between us.

“Tell me about your day,” I said, looking at Sean above the rim of my water glass. He was halfway through a big piece of bread so I sat watching him, amused, until he was finished.

He was laughing as he swallowed the last of it. “What?” he asked, exasperated. “All I was doing was chewing,” he said, his blue-grey eyes sparkling in that way they always did when he was joking around.

“But you do it with such gusto,” I winked. “It’s fun to watch.”

“Really?” he said, more as a statement of interest than a question. “Hmm.” He continued to enjoy his soup in silence as I watched.

“So …?” I said finally, “what happened today?” Sean looked up, surprised, acting like he hadn’t seen me there until now.

“Oh. I didn’t want to spoil your fun,” he said innocently. After a beat he looked up and smiled. “Okay, we can talk work if you really want,” he said. I nodded with interest.

“Yes! C’mon Sean, you know even when I need a day off to recharge I’m still thinking about what’s going on there, wondering what I’m missing out on.” I worked in the behavioral health department at the hospital, and our paths rarely crossed during the work day, unless they had a kid in the ED who needed a psych evaluation or was on a psych hold.

“Honestly, you didn’t miss much, Chels,” he said through gulps of soup. “The department was pretty slow, but then again day shift tends to be that way down there. It picked up around 4pm, but by then I only had a couple hours left.” He shrugged. “Probably the most interesting thing I did was extract a lipstick cap from a guy’s ass,” he said, shaking his head.

“Are you kidding me?”

Sean looked up at me like I’d lost my mind. “Chelsea, you do realize that like 1 in every 5 patients comes in with something stuck somewhere it doesn’t belong, right?” Sean asked in disbelief.

“Well, yeah, I guess …” I stuttered. “I guess I thought more in terms of peas up kids’ noses and such.”

He laughed. “I wish everybody else thought in those terms. More often than not, it’s a vaginal or a rectal special we’ve got going on,” Sean said dryly. “Sometimes a nostril here or there.” I must’ve started to look a little pathetic because Sean’s face softened as he looked at me. “Yeah sweetie, you look unwell.”

I had to admit, at that moment the idea of crawling into my comfy soft bed and slipping underneath some cool sheets sounded mighty nice. I just wasn’t ready to wind down for the day though. It felt too early. I wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather and sit on the porch with Sean and laugh over a bottle of wine. His voice interrupted my thoughts.

“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” he asked, collecting our soup bowls and utensils and preparing to take them to the sink. I looked up.

He was so sexy. It hit me each time I looked at him, like I was seeing him again for the very first time, and my stomach did a somersault. He was fit and lean, and in scrubs, I could always see the bulge of his biceps under the short sleeves. He had an athlete’s posture, with the broad chest and shoulders to match, and a beautiful square jaw. But his eyes. It was his eyes that captivated me, and everyone else. I knew he had many admirers on either side of the gown, if you will. I also knew he was completely committed to me and devoted to our marriage. All of that made him sexy as hell.

“Nothing really. Just that collapsing into bed sounds really nice, but so does sitting on the porch and hanging out with you,” I sighed. “I feel pretty awful, but I’m not ready to turn in yet. It’s too early.”

Sean cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher quickly, then came back and sat down next to me. He put the back of his hand on my cheek, and then felt my clammy forehead. “I’m sorry you’re feeling under the weather babe,” Sean said, tenderly tucking my hair behind my ear. “Maybe Tim should have a look at you,” he said.

Tim Winters was our family doctor, a great internist but more often than not just the guy Sean went to when he knew what he needed but couldn’t legally write himself a prescription for it. Sean usually knew better than to push me to go see the doctor. Just as I started to protest, the teapot began whistling and Sean hopped up to take it off the burner. He returned with a concerned expression on his face.

“It’s not necessary Sean. I’m sure it’s just a summer cold. Which kind of sucks, but I’ll get over it.” He was getting that doctorly look on his face, the one I’d seen him use with patients.

“If you have a fever you really should be in bed Chels,” he said seriously.

“C’mon Sean,” I said wearily. “Please don’t play doctor with me.”

My head started pounding uncomfortably and I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths but it didn’t help much. Sean walked over to me and leaned over the back of my chair, wrapping his strong arms around me from behind. He smelled so good. Burying his head in the crook of my shoulder he planted a gentle kiss just beneath my ear lobe. “Are you sure?” he whispered, lingering there and breathing in the scent of me.