Chapter 37

AJ reached out to catch her before she fell, "Tessa! You sit down right now! In fact you go and lay down while I make breakfast and bring it to you! Then you can sleep until it is time to leave."

"I'll be all right, really. This happens all the time when I get wrapped up in my painting. I just had two to finish instead of one. Are you going to ship yours ahead to or did your want me to ship it today when I do Adele's and mine?" she asked going to the bathroom to wash her face. "The rest will have to come later. I hate to leave them behind some of them are my best
work, but I don't see any way around it."

Hating to even mention the other men, AJ asked, "Could Sonny or John do that for you? Or maybe Jean that was here yesterday?"

"I hadn't thought of them, but Sonny and John could do it for me. They were terrific models and I'm going to miss them. They have been in love for years and so devoted that I don't have to worry about them fighting over the female models," replied Tessa drying her face. "AJ, if you don't mind I think I'll lay back down for a little while. Fix you something or go out, but I do need a little sleep before I start packing."

"Let me see what you have in the fridge and try and stay awake long enough for me to feed you, okay? Then if you like I could pack some of your things if that would help?" he offered, not sure how she would feel about him going through her things, but wanting to help.

"Anything as long as I can sleep for a little while. I don't really have anything I really want to take
unless it's that box of mother's and my jewelry and my painting supplies," she yawned. "Whatever I need, I can buy in Washington."

AJ whipped up omelets for them out of the things he found in the fridge and then he spotted a partial loaf of French bread. He sprinkled it with chives he found growing in a little pot on the windowsill and cheese. Popping it under the broiler for a few minutes while the omelets cooked, he also brewed a pot of coffee.

Bringing the food to the bed on a tray, he found that Tessa was nearly asleep. "Hey you, wake up and eat before you go to sleep."

She smiled at him sleepily and sat up in the bed. The sat there facing each other eating and even feeding each other from their plates. Tessa fell asleep before the food was gone and AJ placed the tray on the floor so he could lay her down properly in the bed. He finished off the pot of coffee as he did dishes and cleaned up the kitchen.

When he was done with that he packed up the paintings that needed shipping. He addressed the one to his sister Adele and put a note to her in with it. AJ invited her to come to Washington to spend Christmas with him. Then he addressed the portraits of the two of them to his home in McLean. The rest of her works were also packed and waiting to be addressed to where ever she would want them to go. Checking on her after all that was done, he found she was still deeply asleep.

Deciding to chance her wrath, he located a suitcase and began to pick out some of her warmest looking clothes. The temperature difference would be a shock to her, he knew. AJ was a bit concerned when he didn't find a coat of any kind. He did find a sweater and a sweatshirt, which he laid out for her to wear on the plane, making a mental note to buy her a coat as soon as they could go shopping.

AJ used he cell phone to call the airport and arrange to get them on a dinner flight, as he was hanging up, he felt her arms come around him from behind. "Afternoon, sleepyhead," he grinned as he turned to kiss her.

"You shouldn't have let me sleep so long!" she protested.

"You needed your rest, and I was busy, you would only have been in the way, woman!"

She looked around the room and saw all that he had done while she slept, "You really are in a hurry to get us out of here aren't you?"

To be continued…