When We Stand Together

You push your empty plate away from you and groan, feeling bloated and sleepy after consuming such a wonderful meal.

"Valerie, that was amazing" You say.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it" She replies happily"Jeremy, are you done?"

Jeremy snaps out of his daydream and sighs.

"Yeah. Thanks mom"

Valerie gives you a concerned look and you know she's worried. You watch her as she collects the dirty plates and walks off into the kitchen.

"You didn't eat anything" You say, gripping Jeremy's hand.

"Sorry" He says, rubbing his face and leaning on his hand."I'm going to have a cigarette and take a shower"

You join Valerie in the kitchen and quickly help yourself to the pile of dishes in the sink. You don't know whether to apologise to Valerie for overhearing you and Jeremy earlier or just leave it.

"Valerie, I'm sorry about earlier. We shouldn't have-"

"Enough" Valerie says firmly."You two are young and in love. Believe it or not, I do remember what that was like. I don't mind as long as I don't have to replace the bed when you two leave"

Your cheeks is red and you can feel the heat of embarrassment radiating through your body. You certainly weren't expecting Valerie to make such a comment.

The sound of groaning stirs you from your dreams and the light peeking underneath the door tells you that Jeremy is in the ensuite bathroom. You sleepily go to the door and open it, walking in uninvited. Jeremy is sitting on the side of the bath, his arms folded over his stomach in a kind of embrace to ease the discomfort.

"Baby?"

"I'm fine" He says, groaning and puffs his cheeks out."Stomach cramps"

You get him a glass of water and you perch yourself on the edge of the bath, rubbing his back in slow circles. A thin layer of sweat has formed on his forehead and upper lip, his eyes heavy and tired. You wet a flannel and dab his face and the back of his neck, trying to soothe him a little.

"Sorry I woke you" he mumbles.

"It's okay, baby. You should have woke me. Do you want to get some air?"

He nods and you wrap your arm around his waist, helping him up as you take the first few steps into the upper landing. A bedroom door to the side of you opens and Valerie stands there with a look of worry on her face.

"He's not feeling too good. I'm going to take him out and get him some air" You say, trying to get yourself and Jeremy down the first step of the stairs.

"Let me help" Valerie says and steps towards you.

"I'm fine, Ma. Just a little woozy" He says dismissively and holds onto the banister.

"Are you going to pass out?" You ask as you sit him down on the sofa.

You didn't realise how heavy he was until you had to practically drag him downstairs.

"Think so" He murmurs and you can hear Valerie rummaging around in the kitchen cupboards.

Quickly she comes back with a jar of something and a tablespoon.

"Open up" She says and grabs
Jeremy's nose and forces in the spoonful of syrup into his mouth."Swallow it"

You wince a little as Jeremy gags on the syrup.

After twenty minutes she is pushing toast at him and you wonder if this has happened before. Jeremy snores soundly on the sofa while you and Valerie remain in the kitchen and drink tea.

"The doctor said the reason he's passing out is because his blood sugar is low" You say, stirring your tea.

"Has he been tested for diabetes?"

"The tests came back clear, Val. It's because he's not eating." You let out a sigh of frustration."The antibiotics don't seem to be helping"

"I've got to see Dr Penny tomorrow for a check-up. I'll see if he can suggest a different antibiotic. This one doesn't seem to be doing any good" She says and you agree with her.

"I'll go get them" You say and run upstairs to grab the packet of antibiotics that Jeremy kept in his holdall.

As you go back downstairs you squint at the tiny writing on the label that's been smudged.

"I can't make out what it says" You say.

"The name of it should be on the blister pack" Valerie replies, yawning and wrapping her robe around her.

A chill creeps up your arms and you wonder where it's come from.

"These are painkillers" You say quietly.

Why would Jeremy tell you he was taking antibiotics if he wasn't.

"Don't worry." Valerie says, rubbing your arm."There's probably been some kind of mix up."

You can't ignore the growing knot in your stomach as Valerie pours you a fresh cup of tea, your mind jumping to conclusions.

"How much will Dr Penny tell you?"
You ask, biting on your lip.

"He can't tell me anything" she sighs" but I can threaten him"