Klaus was always an early riser. He usually had to be at work before seven and was a creature of habit. He should've slept longer. His eyes felt gritty and swollen and his limbs heavy. Silently, not willing to wake the lump of blankets that was his sister, he rummaged through his suitcase to find some clothes and his toothbrush, thinking that he would probably be staying long enough that he should unpack, but that could wait for later. Right now he would settle for the distraction of a book and a cup of coffee.
Downstairs, the state of the living room could leave no doubt as to what had taken place the night before. Cold mugs of coffee, barely touched from the night before, sat on the end table. The photo album had landed crookedly on the ground, pages all askew, and bits of Violet's clothing littered the floor in a telltale trail. It didn't take long to straighten up, then making a fresh pot of coffee, he took his book to the sofa. Reading was an escape, as books had been his whole life, from thinking too hard on the subject at hand when the subject at hand was too hard to think on. He couldn't afford any more breakdowns like the one he'd experienced last night when he was alone in the bathroom.
After an hour or so of reading, the sun had risen a little more, sending its warm rays shining through the windows. The long squares of light that had reflected on the wooden floorboards shortened, inch by inch, as the sun rose higher in the sky, and Klaus's stomach began to growl with breakfast on his mind. Being more than familiar with Violet's kitchen (having recently spent many days there cooking for them both) he assembled eggs and sausage and bread, which were all easy enough, but Violet loved french toast best. He cracked several eggs into milk for the batter, sprinkling a little cinnamon in, and put the sausage in the pan to fry.
He'd just tracked down an unopened bottle of maple syrup in the pantry when he sensed Violet peering at him from the kitchen door. He quickly took in the sight of her, assessing her appearance as well as her mood. She was obviously doing the same, trying to watch Klaus, waiting for him to notice her. He wondered how long she'd been standing there. She was dressed only in his button up shirt from the evening before; as it had previously lain on the floor in his room where Violet had thrown it last night, and he was unsure how he felt about seeing her in so little clothing this morning.
"Good morning," he said when he saw her. He smiled and held out a hand to her, inviting her to come in to him, an assurance that all was well between them. She grinned but tried to conceal it behind her fingers, trying to hide how pleased she actually was. Yesterday had been an emotional rollercoaster, sadness to the point of despair, but also excitement, contentment, and even happiness to a degree. The sex had been good; the crying not so great. His feelings towards Violet, to say the least, were complicated.
At first glance, she'd looked a little shy, so Klaus was more than surprised when Violet practically jumped into his arms, nearly making him drop the bottle of syrup. If he thought all she'd wanted was a one time experience, that presumption was quickly knocked out of the ring by the way she wound her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers for a sensual kiss that almost made him forget about his breakfast cooking on the stove.
"Violet?" he asked, not knowing what to do, or at least undecided about what to do…at least he told himself that. It was very hard to concentrate on anything with the way she had him pressed up against the refrigerator, her lips dragging across his collar bone. Her hands under his tee shirt slid over his stomach and he unconsciously copied her, feeling up under her shirt the smooth rounded bumps of her spine and shoulder blades, then back down to cup her butt cheeks, finding that she wore no underwear.
"Again, Klaus," she breathed. "More. Please." Klaus's return kiss had Violet backed up against the kitchen island where Klaus plopped the syrup, and lifted her to sit on its wooden surface. He left her there, only for half a second to turn off the stove, before attending to her needy mouth once more. How quickly he went from feeling ambiguous to knowing exactly what he wanted for Violet. Certainly, he wanted to keep that sweet, tremulous, unexacting happiness on her face. A happiness that he was able to give her.
He bent over her, making her lean back on her elbows, kissing and licking down her neck, unbuttoning a few buttons at the top of the shirt so he could suck her nipple into his mouth. Her little sounds of pleasure were inhibited and quiet, but he was hoping for more than that. He'd bunched the shirt around her waist and his hands were full of her buttocks and thigh when he let her breast fall out of his mouth with a small pop. He turned his attention to the apex of her spread legs, pulling one of her knees over his shoulder and squeezing the thigh of the other, bending her leg so her foot rested on the edge of the counter.
The sensation of his first lick over the opening of her vagina caused her legs to tremble, but it was nothing compared to the way she called his name when he gently sucked her clitoris into his mouth. Violet totally forgot herself as he continued his ministrations to her sweet spot, and by the time she climaxed her voice rang through he kitchen, a mix of moans and encouragement, telling Klaus how good it was and how good he was and to please never stop.
Afterward, he buried his face in her stomach, his nose in her belly button, and she absently ran her fingers through his hair, laying totally relaxed now, like some wanton goddess, like some special snack, on the kitchen counter. She began to laugh, a joyful laugh, if a bit bemused and he could hear as well as feel her laughter through her belly.
"Are you hungry?" he said, earning him more laughter. "I'm making breakfast."
"Starving," she answered, making no move to get up.
It took several minutes of just being close to her, his cheek on her skin, before he felt like actually finishing breakfast. He stood and pulled her by the hand to sit up. Catching a glimpse of the microwave clock behind him, she shouted out a very unexpected, "Oh my God! Is that the time?"
Klaus shrugged. The digital clock read 8:45. "Why?" he grinned. "Are you late for a hot date?" It was an old joke between them and Violet ignored him.
"The hospice nurse will be here in thirty minutes." She looked down at herself, then at Klaus, a hot blush creeping up her neck to her cheeks. It was the most color he'd seen on her in weeks. It looked good on her and made him want to carry Violet back up to his bed and maybe forget about breakfast for a couple more hours. He'd obviously been too distracted by his own lustful thoughts because he didn't understand a word of what she was saying.
"Klaus! Quick!" Violet was saying.
"What?" he asked, sort of stupidly.
"Help me clean up. The hospice nurse is coming this morning and God! Look at the state of me. Do you think they'll suspect?"
"Suspect what?" He grinned devilishly, then taking Violet's face in his hands, he kissed her, quick and soft, mostly to get her to shut up. "Listen. The living room is clean. I'll finish breakfast while you go take a shower. The hospice nurse is coming, you say?" She nodded. This was news to him; the first he'd heard of it and he didn't much like the sound of it. He lifted her from the counter letting his hands linger on her bottom before giving it a playful smack to send her on her way. "Go get cleaned up so you can eat. I'm making your favorite."
At the kitchen door she turned to give him a grateful smile. "Thanks."
The doorbell rang while they were eating. Violet immediately looked flustered and Klaus smirked at her. "Shut up," she said, even though he hadn't said anything. He pushed back his chair to answer the door.
The words 'hospice nurse' had conjured up in his mind a picture of an older woman with graying hair pulled tightly into a bun and dressed in dowdy clothes, motherly and stern, but the person standing on the other side of the door made Klaus's jaw drop in surprise.
"Hello," said a young man who was tanned and tall with blond hair. "I'm Bodhi, with Quality Hospice." He held out a muscled arm in greeting and Klaus shook his hand, enduring a very firm grip. This nurse, dressed in jeans and collared polo, could have walked out of a magazine, or maybe out of the ocean carrying his surfboard and shaking droplets of water from his hair in slow mo. Klaus was not out of shape, his own body thin with lean muscles, but he looked like dough and cake next to the muscles of this guy. He was a beautiful man, if Klaus did say so himself, with a beautiful smile and teeth so straight and white he could have been an orthodontist's poster child. Needless to say, Klaus didn't like him.
"I'm Klaus," he finally managed to say. "Nice to meet you."
"Ah," said Bodhi genially. "You must be Violet's brother. She said you were coming to stay. I'm glad to see she'll have some help in the coming weeks."
Klaus could only nod grimly at that and stood aside to let Bodhi in. By that time Violet was coming out of the kitchen, all smiles and flirty laughter.
"Hi," she greeted. "We were just eating breakfast. Klaus is a decent cook. There's a little left if you want something," she said, leading Bodhi into the kitchen with Klaus following behind. Bodhi had a stethoscope looped around his neck and a small tote bag with a clipboard peeking out.
"No, thank you, though it smells wonderful." Violet pulled out a seat for him at the table.
"Well, then. Coffee?"
Bodhi grinned. "I might take a little coffee. Thanks." Violet looked meaningfully at Klaus and he took a mug from the cabinet and poured Bodhi a cup of coffee, bringing with him the cream and sugar and a clean spoon.
"Thanks, man," Bodhi said, sounding exactly like the surfer dude that he appeared to be.
They made small talk while Violet finished her breakfast, both men watching her carefully. Klaus took her plate when she finished and Bodhi started in on his examination. It mostly consisted of a series of questions about medications, pain management, eating, and bowels. He took her temperature and her blood pressure, felt her pulse in her wrist, and lastly palpated under her ribs, feeling for the edges of her liver. Klaus saw her wince, the first pain he'd noticed her having since he'd arrived. He reminded himself to be more careful with her.
"How are you on your pain medication? Do you have enough or do you want me to get you a prescription from Dr. Chen?" asked the nurse while he made notes on his clipboard.
"I have half a bottle left," Violet said.
"I'll go ahead and get you another. Remember, you can take two tablets every four hours. Let me know if that isn't helping, okay? Call me anytime." He looked at Klaus. "Do you have my number?"
"It's on the fridge," Violet offered.
"Any questions?" Violet shook her head and looked to Klaus. Klaus had so many questions he didn't know where to start.
"So, I guess I'm not totally clear about what exactly it means to be in hospice," Klaus admitted.
"Right," started Bodhi. "Violet has decided that she would like to spend the end of her life at home and not at a hospital. It means that she is declining any major life saving procedures and that when the time comes she'll pass away... here at home. I'm here to make sure she is as comfortable as possible for as long as possible. Now, I know that paints a pretty peaceful picture, but the road ahead is going to get tough. I can see that Violet is feeling pretty good right now, but unfortunately, it probably won't last very long. Over the next few weeks we can expect a lot of fatigue, loss of appetite, dehydration and maybe some shortness of breath. Pain can be a major issue, but let me know, like I said, if it gets to be too bad."
Violet was nodding away, apparently already having heard all of this before. "So, who do I call if Violet needs to go to the hospital?"
Bodhi and Violet were shaking their heads. "Klaus," she said helplessly, looking at Bodhi.
"Like I said before, Violet is declining any life saving procedures. You can call me anytime you need me. I'll try to come if you need help, but there isn't anything we can do but be there for Violet and try to control any pain she might be experiencing." He put his hand on Violet's shoulder. "Does that sound about right?"
Violet nodded. Klaus felt an acute sense of betrayal at all of this. How could Violet have made all of these decisions without once checking to see if any of it was okay with him? How in the world did she think he could just sit here and watch her die and not be able to do a single damn thing about it? He felt his face burning and heard a ringing in his ears. Bodhi was reaching out to shake his hand again and Klaus went through the motions without really meaning to, stuck to the kitchen chair in shock. He vaguely heard Violet say, "See you next week," and before he knew it, Bodhi was out the door and Violet was standing behind him, hands on his shoulders.
"How could you not tell me?" Klaus asked incredulously.
"I forgot he was coming until just this morning," she answered defensively.
"No. I mean about the whole hospice thing. I don't think I can do this."
Violet removed her hands from him and instead busied herself at the sink. "I understand," she said after a while. "It's okay if you don't want to stay." There was another long pause. As much as Klaus hated the idea of sitting here while Violet died a painful death in front of him, he also couldn't imagine leaving her to deal with it all alone. Absolutely not. "It's just that," she continued, "I'm going to die, no matter what. Nothing at the hospital can save me or cure me. I just want to be here. In my home. Can you understand that?"
Didn't Klaus promise himself no more breakdowns just this morning? He was surely having a hard time keeping that promise now. He scrubbed his palms over his face, again and again, until he could pack away his acute anxiety into a deep box in the back of his mind. Violet was the epitome of calm, standing tall with her back to him, simply washing dishes, and he thought she was probably braver than anyone he'd ever known. He stood up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and told her so.
Later that evening, Klaus excused himself to his room, saying that he wanted to shower, but needing to make a phone call first. He dialed the familiar number and hoped for an answer.
"Hey, it's me. How are you?" Klaus asked on his end of the line when she answered. "Yeah, I'm at Violet's…Actually, I was thinking maybe you should come out here for the weekend." He paused, listening, then explaining. "Truthfully, she doesn't have very much time left and I'd like for you to come and say…you know…goodbye, I guess." There were questions and he answered as best he could. "You can drive if you want, but flying would be quicker and easier for you. I can get you a ticket…Yeah? Okay. No problem. See you Friday afternoon then. Yeah. Love you, too. Bye."