"Raf? Are you ready?" Olivia calls down the hallway to her husband, frowning when she doesn't get a response. She finds him sitting on the edge of their son's bed, watching him sleep.
A soft smile comes over her face as she pads quietly over to her boys. She presses a kiss to Noah's temple, whispering that she loves him and will miss him. "Come on, Barba. It's time to go," she says quietly, reaching out to pull Rafael to his feet. "The cab is waiting."
He nods then squeezes her hand, letting her know without words he is fine. She presses a kiss to his temple as well, then heads back to the living room, leaving him alone with Noah.
"Be a good boy for Abuela while we're gone, mijo," he whispers, repeating the words he said to his son before he went to sleep. "Next time we're all going on vacation together. Promise." Rafael runs his fingers through Noah's hair then drops a kiss on the crown of his head before pulling out his phone to snap a picture of the boy. Two weeks all of a sudden feels like an eternity.
When he enters the living area of their apartment, Olivia already has her shoes and jacket on. She's chatting with his mother, probably about him. They seem to be talking about him a lot lately.
"It will be fine, mijo. Don't worry," Lucia says confidently. "Noah and I have had lots of sleepovers, and you two have left me pages of notes with all of the information I will need while you're gone. You need this time to relax. And once you're settled at the resort we'll do the FaceTime every morning when Noah wakes up. I promise."
Rafael inhales loudly through his nose and nods, muttering, "Gracias, MamÃ," and leans in to kiss her cheek. Lucia rolls her eyes at his subdued response but lets it go. She knows how hard it is to leave your child for any length of time, especially when they're only six.
"Thanks again, Lucia. We appreciate you doing this so much," Liv says, hugging her mother in law.
"It's my pleasure darlings. Now get out of here before you miss your flight."
Once they are settled into the back of the cab on their way to JFK to catch their twenty five hour flight to Bali, Rafael allows himself to question one last time if they should be doing this. "Are you sure you're okay with doing this Liv?"
Olivia turns her phone off and slides it into her pocket before answering. She smirks. "What, you think spending twelve days in an island paradise with my husband is going to be a hardship?"
He tries to return her light attitude but he can't; he's feeling too much guilt. "It's so long to be leaving Noah. And do you really think this is necessary? I've got my stress under control now. The migraines are scarce, the panic attacks are gone, I'm exercising regularly- I just don't know if it's worth it."
She reaches over to take his hand, then slides over the seat to get as close to him as possible. "Noah is going to have a blast with your mother. I know we'll miss him and he will probably miss us too, but we haven't had a proper vacation just the two of us - ever, actually. I want to spend this time with you; even if, and maybe especially if it's not mandated by your doctor."
He looks into her eyes, seeing nothing but love in her gaze. He swallows hard, remembering his therapists' words to accept what he knows is true; doubting and second guessing everything leads to increased stress levels. Finally he nods slightly, leaning in to kiss her lips gently. "I love you," he whispers when they part, and she rests her head on his shoulder.
"I love you too, and I want you to be around for a long, long time. Heart attacks are not conducive to squabbling with me when we're 85, got it?" she replies with a half smile, looking forward to the endless days of retirement with her soulmate and best friend.