"I actually have started getting compliments about my weight now," James stated as Greg shrugged him off and allowed him to lie down on the bed.
"That's because they don't know what's going on behind the scenes," Greg growled.
"There isn't anything going on behind the scenes, I'm just on a diet. That's all," James countered, "Lisa was right before, I had gotten really fat and dangerously obese because I wasn't watching what I was eating, but now that's changed,"
"James, you've told me yourself that this is anorexia. The reason that other people who aren't living in this house and living with you and watching you struggle with every single mealtime think you're looking healthier is because as of right now, you aren't yet emaciated. You outwardly look like you probably live a healthy lifestyle; but you don't. You have to know that you don't, and while you're not emaciated yet, you will be soon. We're all just so concerned about you James," Greg said in frustration, as he flopped down next to James on the bed, "and it isn't just affecting me and you, you can clearly see how terrified Rob and Tyson are when they watch you struggle to eat, and when you do things like pass out on the staircase. Josie used to cry about it every day when she'd see you struggle,"
"Why is Tyson so terrified of what's going on? I get that he's smart and observant, but he's only five, this should all fly over his head. He shouldn't know anything about anorexia," James questioned, "and he always brings up that his mother died to me,"
"You're right, he shouldn't know what anorexia is, or how it progresses, but he does. You know how Jennifer, my cousin, died, don't you?" Greg asked.
"No, I assumed that she died from something, but I never pressed the issue as everyone was still very much in mourning when we met them and when we moved in," James frowned.
"She had anorexia and bulimia. It killed her in the end. Tyson was old enough to remember it, that's why he's so terrified for you. He's terrified to watch another adult who he looks up to like a parent to die the same way, he probably thinks that you don't know this, which is why he brings it up so much," Greg answered flatly looking over at James, "that's why I've pointed out to you multiple times that this is traumatic for Tyson to see,"
"Oh God," James groaned, his eyes going wide in horror, thinking back to all the times were Tyson had talked to him about how scared he was that James was going to die if he didn't start eating healthily.
"Yeah," Greg continued, "it's probably a reason why he gravitates more towards me, he's too scared to get too close to a parental figure who is struggling with the same thing that killed his mother, because he's convinced that you're going to die too. Jennifer had a cardiac arrest in her sleep. Her heart just gave out, and Tyson was the one who found her and couldn't wake her up,"
"Shit," James muttered, "that poor kid,"
"Your heart will do the same, James. Today should have been a warning to you. You did the tiniest bit of exertion, and you had palpations so severe that you pass out on the stairs. If you stop now, then you should be okay, if you don't… then well, that's what will happen one day, sooner rather than later. Even if it doesn't; your heart might still become irreparably damaged," Greg knew that he was being blunt, but couldn't think of another way to effectively get this across to James.
James just relaxed back, thinking hard, when his phone began buzzing on the side table, "I'm on call this evening," James reminded Greg as he reached over to answer it, and Greg could tell from the conversation that James was being called back to the hospital.
"Are you sure that you're well enough to go back to work?" Greg frowned, watching James get changed.
"I have to be, I'm on call and one of my patients is starting to go south," he shrugged, "I'll be back in an hour and a half, two hours at the latest, I'll see you soon baby," he leant forward to give Greg a quick kiss and headed up the stairs, shouting out that to Rob that he was called back to work and would be back soon, and to keep his dinner in the fridge for him if he's not home by then; hoping that Tyson heard that he'd be eating once again.
Greg then reached over and grabbed his own phone once he heard the front door shut and then the car starting up in the driveway and driving off. His thumb hovered hesitantly over the contact before pressing it and holding the phone up to his ear; "hi Lisa, it's Greg,"
Back in Princeton, Lisa sat bolt upright at the unexpected voice on the other end of the phoneline, she hadn't heard or spoken to Greg ever since the fight in the hotel back in Detroit, and aside from a quick, very professional and distant phone call from James months and months ago where he asked her to forward on a reference on to a major hospital in Detroit, and that they had decided to stay in Michigan; she hadn't heard from either of them. "Greg? How is everything? What's been going on? I can't believe that I'm actually saying this; but I've missed you. It's been so quiet at PPTH without you and Wilson,"
"Things are alright for now, I want to bury the hatchet; both of us said and did things that we probably regret, but I need your help. James and I are still together; but I need you to have a talk with him, if you're willing to help me and him," Greg confessed, "a lot of the words that you said to James have really affected him negatively. You know that James has struggled before with eating disorders, remember back how he looked shortly after you first met him?"
Lisa combed back through her memories, until she finally uncovered how James had looked back in the early days; when he looked almost skeletal, and gasped; "oh my God, don't tell me that some of the things I said in the heat of the moment have caused a relapse," she gasped in terror.
Greg nodded as he was on the phone when Rob appeared halfway down the stairs and dangled his keys, indicating that he was heading out, and that Greg could please watch the kids while he was gone, so he grabbed his cane and headed back up to the main floor. "Well, they have, and his anorexia is back with a vengeance; he's lost a scary amount of weight, and every meal I'm sitting with him for at least an hour trying to get him to eat even a child's sized portion. I think that you need to call him, not tell him that I've talked to you; but that those words were a mistake," Greg added.
"I said those things purely out of anger and frustration," Lisa groaned on the other side of the phone, "if I had any idea that it would be detrimental to his health, and cause a relapse, I would have never said anything,"
"I know," Greg said kindly, "but I think that he needs to hear it from you. He's at work at the moment; he got called in for some kind of emergency; but he'll be home in probably a couple of hours…" Greg paused, "actually, maybe if you leave it until tomorrow or Sunday; because as soon as he gets home, I know that I'm going to be sat there trying to get him to eat until late,"
"I promise I'll give him a ring, maybe mid afternoon tomorrow, does that sound good?" Lisa asked, and Greg confirmed and thanked her, "how are you going? I never heard back from you after our fight until now, not even for a work reference, are you not working?"
"I'm a stay-at-home dad," Greg laughed, "completely domesticated. It actually suits me well, my pain has been much better, and it's a lot easier to cope day-to-day. I was laughing with James about that the other night, that you suggested that he might be able to domesticate me; and he didn't believe it at the time,"
"Greg, you can't just get a dog or a cat and call yourself a stay-at-home dad," Lisa joked, "you're a house husband,"
"No, no, actual human children," Greg laughed back.
"Someone gave you and James a child? A real, human child?" Lisa sounded astonished.
"Not exactly, they're my cousin's children. Their fathers aren't in the picture, and my cousin passed away a few months before we moved in, and my Aunt recently passed away suddenly from a heart attack," Greg responded distractedly, watching Tyson and Charlie play that was beginning to escalate, when Tyson shoved Charlie down and she screamed, "hang on," Greg muttered down the phone, "Tyson! Don't you shove your sister! Go and stand in the corner and face the wall! Face the wall! I don't want to hear another peep out of you before dinner!" as Greg awkwardly bent down and picked Charlie up.
"Bu-bu-but…" Tyson whimpered.
"Buh-buh-buh-but nothing, Tyson! You don't push or touch Charlie like that. Get in the corner!" Greg snapped, as he stared Tyson down, who stared back defiantly, before conceding and facing the wall.
"Sorry about that, Lisa, he's five going on fifteen. Absolute little troublemaker he is," Greg said half-jokingly, as he held an angry, crying Charlie to his chest, "shush, Charlie, shush," as she slowly began to wind down; "it's an absolute zoo here," Greg laughed. "Aside from all the things I mentioned before, which I'm trying to get James help with… as in real, professional help… counselling, things here are going pretty well. How's Princeton? And PPTH?"
Lisa smiled sadly as she thought about then answered over the phone, "honestly? It's not quite the same without you and James being here. My work all gets done in a normal timeframe that I'd forgotten even existed without the constant distractions and babysitting you; I don't have to worry about pranks, what crazy scheme you're currently up to, lawsuits, fighting, reckless behaviour, any of that. I could hold a work meeting the other day without worrying about something like a laser pointer shining around the room, a drone being flown around in the lobby causing chaos, or a bottle rocket shooting through my office and through a window… but at the same time, I don't know, it's like something is missing here. It's so quiet and runs so smoothly, I miss the craziness sometimes, I truly do, which is something that I'd never imagined myself to say. I even drove by your old apartment the other day and there's new people living in it, I don't know why, but it made me feel really sad,"
"Well, you know what, Lisa? Provided that it's fine with James, which I don't see why it wouldn't be once you apologise, if you ever miss us and want to experience some of the drama that happens, where I'm the Captain of the ship, you're always welcome to come and stay for as long as you like, until we drive you crazy again," Greg laughed, and Lisa felt her heart skip a beat, how much she'd missed that laugh.
"That'd be great," she smiled, "I might just follow you up on that,"
"And who knows?" Greg continued, "there may even be the sounds of wedding bells sooner rather than later," he teased. He and Lisa talked for a little while later, and Greg then avoided mentioning anything more about a potential wedding as to not 'jinx it', but rather mostly listened to some of the latest drama from PPTH involving people that they both knew. Greg thought about how he had missed Lisa; while they hadn't been always good together, they were both good people deep down.
"You know what? I have several days coming up that I'm off work, and I'll be talking about my job at the University of Michigan as a former student to the medical students; there's no reason why we can't meet up then… it's in a couple of weeks," Lisa offered.
"Yeah, that sounds good, provided that its okay with James, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't be once you explain everything that happened to him," Greg offered.
"I will be ecstatic to see you two again, and you guys can meet Lucas,"
"Lucas? Who is Lucas? Did someone finally give you a kid?" Greg joked, spotting Tyson sneaking away from the corner, "Ty, I see you. Don't think you can be sneaky around me," and watched as Tyson slunk back to the corner and sat down.
"Lucas is the guy I'm seeing," Lisa added. "He's a great guy, really,"
Lisa heard a sharp intake of breath through Greg's teeth, "the thing is Lisa, we're happy to have you stay here, because we know you, and call it sexist or whatever, but you're also a woman. But there's a very strict policy that we don't let men aside from myself, James, and Uncle Rob to stay or even come here. Not with the kids… I don't even let my poker buddies come around, I go to their places, and I know them all quite well. I'm sure you could understand why we have this rule," Greg pointed out gently.
"Greg, Lucas isn't a paedophile. I understand why you might be apprehensive…" Lisa started and then Greg cut her off.
"I'm sure he's fine, Lisa, but I'm not going to risk it for these kids to suffer like I did. Even a single event could easily damage them for life. It's not a risk I'm willing to take. I'm sorry, but that is the rule, and we don't bend it for anyone. I don't care if it's a one in a million chance that Ty or Charlie get hurt, it's not a risk I'm willing to take. I'm sorry," Greg stated firmly.
Lisa took in a deep breath, "okay, I totally respect that, these are your kids, Greg, and it's yours and James' decisions. Lucas is a stranger to you guys, and it is your home. He might be busy then anyway, I'll have to have a talk with him later on. If he's busy and not able to come, I would love to see you and James again. I've missed you guys, you crazy boys…"
"Yeah, we've missed you too, Lisa. Look, I'm really sorry, I've got to go and get these kids fed and the little one ready for bed, she's getting fussy and tired, so I think it's nearly bedtime for her. And the older one needs a talking to about the right way to treat his sister," Greg shot a pointed look at Tyson who turned his head away and faced the corner again, "goodnight, Lisa,"
"Goodnight Greg," and she sighed deeply once the phone line cut off and went dead. They're never coming back here. It's over, finished. The encore is done, and the concert hall is emptying. They're gone. The end of an era that will never happen again, that will never come back.