The Venus Fix

Sixty-Eight

I stood by the bed and Noah undressed me-slowly, without any suggestion of sexuality, but with extreme tenderness. He pulled my sweater over my head and then smoothed down my hair where it had gotten ruffled. His hand soothed me like a lullaby. “Where’s your nightgown?”

I pointed to the bathroom. “Back of the door.” I stepped out of my shoes.

He came back with it and laid it on the edge of the bed. He undid the button and the zipper on my slacks. I started to tug at them with my one good hand, but Noah pushed my hand away and pulled them down. He held my left arm up by the elbow and I stepped out of my pants. I knew I should object and tell him that I could do all this alone, that I didn’t need anyone to help me. I meant to say it. But while I was thinking about it, he knelt down and pulled the sock off my right foot, and then my left. It wasn’t so bad having him help me.

Standing behind me, he unhooked my bra and helped me pull it over the cast on my right arm. I slipped it off my left. He did not touch my skin with his fingers, but I felt his breath on the back of my neck and felt the rough fabric of his jeans where his left leg touched mine, seemingly inadvertently.

He stayed behind me and lowered the nightgown over my head, holding it while I maneuvered my right arm through the sleeve, and then pulling it down for me.

“Now,” he said, folding the comforter back, “get in.”

Noah pulled the covers up, then found the remote, turned on the TV and surfed through the channels until he found what he was looking for.

“Perfect,” he said, even before I knew what it was.

He was right, though.

Roman Holiday, with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck.

It was exactly the right movie for a night when everything is complicated and there don’t seem to be any solutions.

“Before I fall asleep, can you hand me the phone? I need to call Dulcie. I need to start getting this straightened out.”

“What are you going to say?”

“I’m going to explain how I feel about-”

“Can I make a suggestion?”

“You can try.”

“Tell her you miss her and you are picking her up on Sunday after her performance and that she’s coming home with you.”

“That might not be the best way to deal with-”

“Morgan, you have spent so much time trying to handle Dulcie and analyze just the right way to deal with her. Some rules won’t hurt her. And one of them is that you are the mama and she does what you say. Call.”

I started to argue, but there was something so simple about what Noah was saying. He wasn’t overthinking it. Wasn’t worried about ramifications and psychological issues. Just the truth: I am your mother and there are some things you have to do.

I called.

Noah got up and stood by the window, watching out for me, I thought, as I kept my eyes on his back and shoulders until my daughter got on the phone.

Dulcie asked me how I felt. I said I was fine. I didn’t want to tell her about my accident over the phone. I’d ask Mitch to tell her. Or I’d wait until I saw her. We talked for a few minutes about how her performances had been going. She didn’t bring up the television audition. She was a little distant, but agreed to come home without any argument.

“I’m exhausted,” I said to Noah when I hung up the phone.

“I bet you are.” He walked over to the bedside table, turned off the light, took the remote, set the timer so that the TV would shut off when the movie ended, and then pulled the covers to my chin. “Time to go to sleep now, darlin’.”

“Are you going home?”

“No, I’m going to stay in the living room. The couch there is more comfortable than a lot of beds I’ve slept in. I’ll be fine.”

“No, that’s crazy. Why don’t you-”

“Shh. I don’t want to roll over and smash into your wrist. Don’t worry about me. Just go to sleep. No alarm, no ugly buzzer set to wake you up. I’ll do it, just tell me what time, and I’ll do it.”

I closed my eyes and listened to the movie soundtrack. My wrist still hurt, just enough that I was aware of it, and it was awkward to find the right position for the cast, but I fell asleep more easily than I had in a long time.