Fletcher gripped his phone tighter. Jason had texted a few times over the past couple of days, checking in. Fletcher had told him that Jordan was fine and to fuck off. But now she wasn’t fine and Fletcher knew that Jason was the best person to ask about how this headache would go, how Jordan would do over the next few hours, and if there really was anything he could possibly do for her.
As much as Fletcher hated it, Jason was his best resource. And he would do anything for Jordan. Even talking to her ex.
He could hear background noise, as if Jason was at a dinner party or restaurant.
“Hey. Yeah, she’s okay. Mostly. She’s got a migraine.”
“Oh. Good.” Jason cleared his throat. “I don’t mean it’s good she has a headache, but I’m glad she’s mostly okay.”
Fletcher really wanted to say, “no thanks to you” but he bit his tongue. Pissing Jason off and having him hang up wouldn’t help at all.
“Actually, that’s why I’m calling,” Fletcher said, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. “Was hoping you could tell me how this is going to go. And if there’s anything I can do.”
“Oh, hang on.”
Fletcher heard Jason say something to someone but it was muffled and he couldn’t make out the words. When Jason came back on the line the background was quiet, as if he’d stepped out of the room he’d been in.
“Okay, so, what’s going on right now?”
“She’s in bed in the dark.”
“So it just started a little while ago.”
“Guess so.” There was a stupid jealous part of him that hated that Jason knew so much just based on Jordan being in bed.
“Nothing much you can do right now, man. If she got to her meds in time, she might keep it from getting really bad. If not, it could be a rough night. Has she started vomiting?”
He didn’t even know that. He could have checked the master bathroom, but he hadn’t thought of it. “I don’t know. I just got home. She didn’t bring her suitcase from Vegas.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Jason said dryly. “But she keeps those meds in her purse so she should have them.”
Fletcher blew out a relieved breath. “Okay.”
“So she’ll get up in the night. She’ll need Gatorade then and probably painkillers. If she’s not vomiting. Otherwise, those won’t make a difference obviously.”
“Okay.” Fletcher wondered if he should be writing this down. But he was clinging to the details. Gatorade. Pain killers. Check on vomiting. “Should I…” He cleared his throat. He did not want to ask fucking Jason Young this. “Should I sleep up there with her or leave her alone or what?”
“Sleep with her.”
Jason’s response was smooth and Fletcher appreciated that the other man didn’t sound like he thought it was a stupid or awkward question.
“If she gets up, a wet, cold washcloth to the back of her neck and the Gatorade are good. Or water if that’s what she wants. But no lights, no talking.”
Fletcher nodded. “Got it.”
“Then just let her sleep. When she’s up tomorrow, she’ll want toast first thing. Then a burger and fries and a Coke.” Jason gave a laugh that actually sounded affectionate. “She will eat tomorrow. She’ll go for junk food and eat like she’s never seen a carb before.”
“Yeah. I remember the burgers and stuff from college. But I’m just wondering what’s going to happen between now and then.”
“Oh, well… like I said—sleep, maybe up in the night but maybe not.”
“And then she’ll just get up tomorrow and start eating?” Fletcher frowned. What about the in between part he didn’t know? Where he could maybe do something?
“Yeah. I mean, she might sleep late. She’ll be a little groggy. Like she’s hungover. But once she’s up, even if she’s moving slow, she’ll be ready to eat.”
“But…” Fletcher shook his head. Jason was such a pain.
Except, maybe Jason wasn’t a pain. The chances were this was all true. He’d called Jason because the other man would know better than Fletcher how this migraine thing would go.
“That’s the end then?” Fletcher asked. “She gets a headache, she goes to bed, Gatorade in the middle of the night, then a cheeseburger and it’s done?”
Yeah, he definitely did not need to take notes on this. That seemed easy.
“No, the cheeseburger is kind of stage two,” Jason said. “Or stage three. The migraine hits, there’s the middle of the night stuff, the cheeseburger and Coke, then she’ll do some yoga, then it’s time for chocolate, and then a neck and shoulder massage with peppermint oil.” Jason paused. “Yeah, that’s about it. The stages can last different amounts of time, but when she gets to the chocolate and peppermint oil stage then you’re at the end.”
Fletcher frowned. The cheeseburger wasn’t the end? He remembered her asking for peanut butter cups in the past too, now that Jason said that. But she ate those a lot of the time anyway. Cheeseburgers too, for that matter.
“You still there?” Jason asked.
“Yeah,” Fletcher answered. “I guess I didn’t realize what part of the process I’d seen in the past.”
“Yeah, just kind of the middle, I guess,” Jason said.
His words hit Fletcher directly in the chest.
He’d been there for the middle. Maybe it didn’t totally count if he thought he was at the end and was doing some big, wonderful thing by bringing her a cheeseburger when really it was just a step toward the end. Still, it had made him feel good to be there for her. And even now, knowing that he hadn’t “fixed” her headaches with those burgers, he was glad he’d been able to help.
“Hey, thanks, man,” Fletcher told Jason. “It helps knowing what to expect.”
“Sure. Any time. Of course Jordan takes pretty good care of herself.” Jason chuckled. “Let’s be honest, she was taking care of me more than I was of her. I know that she put a lot on hold and to the side for the stuff I wanted and was doing.”
The guy had just helped him out and had been great about it, so Fletcher bit back his initial retort to Jason’s words. But hell yeah Jordan had put a lot on hold for him.
“I owe her. And I know that with the way everything happened it doesn’t seem like it, but I do want her to be happy. I care what happens to her. And I want her to have what she wants and deserves.” Jason paused. “I’m glad she’s with you, Landry.”
This should have been a strange conversation. New husbands and longtime exes probably didn’t often have friendly conversations where the ex told the new guy he was glad how things worked out.
But Fletcher could hear the sincerity in Jason’s voice. And he could appreciate it. Jason and Jordan had been together for a long time, and Jordan was a very hard person not to love. If Jason hadn’t cared how she was doing and didn’t want her to be happy, he wouldn’t have been the type of guy that Jordan would’ve stayed with for eleven years.
Of course, without Jason in the picture, Fletcher was going to have to step up. But the idea of Jason—or any other man—never giving Jordan a shoulder massage again, was absolutely just fine with him.