"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" he asks quietly, still watching me from the sofa. "Why do you have to be such a dumbass?" I counter. "I'm not being stubborn Jon, I'm not giving up. There's a difference." He nods, standing warily and walking towards me slowly. He picks his bags up and carries them into the bedroom. When he doesn't come straight back out, I follow him. He's staring at the blood on the sheet. "Let me take care of that" I say, stripping the bed quickly. He takes the sheets from me and disappears. I hear him in the kitchen, putting them in the washer. When he comes back I'm sat on the bed waiting for him.
"Hold me" I whisper. He looks at me in horror. "What?" he asks. "Hold me" I repeat. "Please Jon." He shakes his head. "I can't" he says. "I'm sorry Lora, I really am, but I can't." I stare at him, standing up and walking towards him before he can move. "You can" I say, standing in front of him. I take his arms and place them gently around me, his hands resting on my waist. "I love you" I whisper, looking him in the eyes. "Nothing is going to change that. I love you. You are my life. I belong with you." He closes his eyes. "Look at me" I command. His eyes fly open. He catches his breath as I stroke his face. "I love you" I repeat. I move slowly and kiss him gently, keeping hold of his face so he can't pull away. He moans as soon as my lips touch his. I kiss him again. And again. And then he kisses me back. Softly at first, then more demanding, until we're both breathless, staring at each other. "Lora, I..." he starts. I put my finger on his lips quickly, smiling when he kisses it. "No more words, Jon" I say. "Actions. No words." He nods slowly. I smile as he dips his head and kisses me softly. "I'm so tired Lora" he whispers. I nod, taking his hand and leading him to the bed. He climbs on quickly, holding out his arms to me. "Please?" he begs. I don't hesitate. I can't. If I hesitate or turn him down we're gonna be right back at square one. I lie next to him, on my side facing him. He puts his arm around me and kisses my head. I smile and watch as he drifts off to sleep.
Wow. I must have slept too. When I wake it's dark. Jon is breathing softly next to me. I go to get up, just to go to the bathroom, and he whimpers, holding me tighter. "Please don't go" he whispers. "Not with Finn. Stay with me." "Jon" I whisper, shaking him gently. "Babe, I need to go to the bathroom." He opens his eyes quickly. "Lora?" he whispers. "Oh fuck! I had this terrible dream that you left me for Finn..." "I'm going nowhere Jon" I say. "I promise. Well, except to the bathroom. I don't think we need a waterbed, right?" He smiles and kisses me softly before letting me go. "Lora" he says as I get to the bathroom door. I hold on to the doorframe and turn around slowly. "Thank you" he says simply. "What for?" I ask. "Not going" he says. "Not letting me go. Making me believe we can work through this." I nod. "We can" I say. "And we will." He smiles and I go into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.
He's not in bed when I get back out. I rush into the lounge, breathing a sigh of relief when I see him lying on the sofa. He sits up when he sees me. "Hey" he says quietly. "Can we talk?" I nod, sitting opposite him on the other sofa. "Ok" he says. "I'm not going to Joe's, obviously, but I really think that maybe you should consider the separation..." "Not even an option Jon" I say. "I signed up for this, for us, for the long haul. One little blip doesn't mean we erase all traces of the good times. And they have been good, haven't they?" He grins wickedly. "Oh fuck yes" he says. "But I just wanted you to know, I meant what I said earlier. If at any point you want to back out, to leave, I won't argue. I won't fight you. You can have everything I have to give." "Jon" I say. "This sounds as if you're trying to convince me to leave you." "Maybe I am" he says. "Maybe, deep down, we both know it would be for the best, no matter how much it's going to hurt." I shake my head. "Nope" I say. "Not gonna happen. You're stuck with me. For life." He smiles. "Can we give hugging another try?" he asks. "I've missed having my wife in my arms." I nod and walk over to him. He lies down, taking me with him. "I love you" he whispers, kissing my head. I nod. "I love you too" I say. "So can you please not talk anymore about us finishing? Because I couldn't stand that, Jon. I love you so much." "Hey" he whispers, wiping the tears away. "I'm here. For as long as you want me to be. Better or worse, right?" I smile. "Yep" I say, sniffing. "It's in the contract, I have to love you even when you're being an arse." He grins. "That's like, 99 percent of the time lately" he says. "Lora, I didn't believe Joe when he said all that, you know that, don't you?" "I do now" I say. "And I don't want to hear it again. It's done now. We've moved on. Ok?" He nods. "Bed?" he asks. I shake my head. "I'm starving" I say, standing up. "Feed me." He smiles. "What the wife wants, the wife gets" he says, walking into the kitchen. "The wife only wants you" I say. "Don't ever forget it."