Coming out of the office didn’t prove very fruitful with finding the friendly neighborhood receptionist, and then there was the awkward end of discussion with the doctor.  I guess even a day that starts out looking good could still lead to be stressful by the end of the day.  The amount of stress would make a normal person think about whether they really wanted to stay in this job or they wanted to move.  But, I knew better than that.  It was hard enough to grab this job.  I’ll get used to it.  I’ll adjust and adapt to the situation.  As soon as this trouble with the receptionist is over with, everything will be just fine.  

I came to the front door and hesitated before going to the inside of my home.  I thought about if I should prepare myself for another one of these “You’re getting shorter” talks with Rebecca.  With as much as she teased me and asked about it last night, I doubt it’s something she would let go just like that.  I retracted my hand from the door and thought for a moment, trying to collect my thoughts and make some good come-backs before even going in the door.  That is, if fate would allow me to do this.  The answer came when the door opened up by itself.  

There at the door, waiting for me, was a PJ-clad Rebecca with a goofy smile on her face.  “Welcome home, shorty” she said, teasingly as she leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  As my face reddened, I should have known this was coming.  I just returned her kiss in kind and let her pull me inside.  As I came in, I tried to explain to her again that I wasn’t getting shorter, but she was just not taking that for an answer for the second night in a row.  She reached forward, and pulled me into her.  

“See?  You’re even shorter today?  You’re only eye level with my lips!”  I just shook my head and kept my eyes shut as she embraced me.  Part of me didn’t care about all of this.  When her warmth hit me, all I cared about was her warmth.  But eventually she made me look.  As I opened my eyes and straightened up, I did see her lips and face in front of me.  I let out a soft laugh and just shook my head.  “Rebecca, just because you want to get up on your toes doesn’t mean I’m getting shorter, okay?  I even asked someone at work today about it and they dismissed it”

This got her attention as she began taking me back towards the bedroom.  “So you asked someone at work about this, huh?  My noticing making this bother you, hmmm?  Starting to believe it yourself?”  The way she teased me had always made me speechless and especially in this situation.  She knew that if she teased me, she could just make me blush and go into a shy state of mind.  And she was right.  My face blushed and I just crept along where she was taking me.  She giggled, knowing full well that she had done that on purpose all the way from the door and under the covers in bed.  

As we got in bed, she looked at me with a serious look on her face as she brushed back my hair.  “Listen, babe.  I just want you to know that I’m serious about this and I want you to take this serious, too.  I know what I feel when I hold you.  I know what I see when I gaze upon you.  It’s different.  I know it is.  I am worried about you.”

The seriousness of her tone really did strike me.  I could see the sincere look in her eyes.  She’d gone from a teasing girly girl to someone that looked very concerned and worried.  Her eyes were quivering as she held onto my hands.  I started feeling a heaviness in my chest, after seeing the serious look in her eyes and realize that she is stressing herself out over this.  I leaned forward and into her.  I expressed that I knew she was worried about me.   And said I would take her more seriously.  That I would take a closer look at things in the morning.  

I could tell she didn’t like the answer, but she held onto me, regardless.  I could feel her breathing over my hair.  I could feel her heart beating against me, rapidly.  She stroked my hair over and over again, humming to me until I fell fast asleep, thinking about how I must have been making her feel and what I could do to investigate this myself, to make sure she wasn’t just over-worrying herself…