Nuts About You: A Testicular Cancer Anthology

by Anthology

  Lifting Isabel into my arms, I carried her to her room and gently laid her in her bed. Moving quietly through the house I checked the locks and turned off the lights before returning to the bedroom. Stripping down to my boxer briefs, I crawled into bed beside her. Immediately seeking me out and placing her head on my chest, Isabel sighed in contentment. Drawing her in even closer, I kissed the top of her head and allowed myself to fall asleep.

  Now as I lie here, as still as possible while she sleeps, I say a silent prayer that everything goes well today. As the alarm sounds, Isabel begins to stir. Feeling me beneath her, she turns her head and places a kiss on my chest. “Good morning gorgeous girl.”

  “Morning,” she mumbles sleepily, causing me to chuckle.

  One thing I’ve learned is that if Isabel is working, she is the first one up and ready to go. If it happens to be her day off, it practically takes a stick of dynamite to get her out of bed. “Come on beautiful, time to get up,” I coax as I run my hand up and down her back.

  “No, not yet,” she argues as the arm that is across my stomach begins to move lower.

  Quickly stopping her progression, I lace my fingers with hers, “Oh no you don’t,” I gently scold as I kiss her hand. “If these beautiful fingers reach their destination we’ll be late for the appointment.”

  “Ah come on, we aren’t going to be able to have sex for a few weeks,” she pouts while practically whining.

  “Isabel, look at me,” I demand.

  Turning to rest her chin on my chest, her big brown eyes meet mine an exaggerated pout on her mouth. Softening my voice I tell her truthfully, “Baby, if you touch me, it will be too hard for me to control myself. Just thinking about you, is enough to bring my cock to full attention.” Her pout turns to a satisfied smile, so I continue, “But I’ll tell you one thing, once the doctor gives us the okay, I’m going to spend all day buried inside you.”

  A wide grin appears on her face as she asks, “Promise?”

  Quickly flipping her onto her back, she wraps her legs around my waist and I press into her, “Oh baby, that’s a promise I definitely plan on keeping.” Capturing her mouth with mine, I seal my promise with a passionate kiss. Pulling away entirely too soon, with a gentle bite to her bottom lip, I order as I climb off the bed and begin to dress, “Now get that pretty ass of yours moving, we’ve got things to do.”

  “Fine,” she grumbles, clearly frustrated, “I’ll just go shower by myself, but just so you know I’m not at all happy about it.”

  I head to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee while Isabel showers. I chuckle as I take a sip of the steaming hot coffee, knowing Isabel will be even more unhappy, once she realizes she’s being denied her second favorite thing this morning.

  Javier and Maya meet us in the lobby, and ride up in the elevator with us to the outpatient surgical floor. Isabel checks in and after a few minutes is called back to be prepped for the procedure. Before following the nurse, she asks, “Will they be able to come back before the procedure?”

  The nurse gives her a comforting smile and replies, “Yes ma’am. I’m just going to ask you a few questions and let you get changed and I promise I’ll bring them right back to wait with you.”

  Isabel gives her a nervous smile and says thank you before looking back at me. I give her an encouraging wink as she returns a sincere smile before walking through the door.

  Ten minutes later, as promised, the nurse returns to lead the three of us back to Isabel. Dressed in the always-flattering hospital gown, Isabel is nervously chewing on her bottom lip when we step up beside her bed. With Javy and Maya on her left, I move to her right side and immediately take her hand. Lacing our fingers together, I silently offer her the support she needs to calm the butterflies taking flight in her stomach.

  Tightly clinging to her husband’s hand, Maya reaches over and squeezes Isabel’s hand. “Isabel, I know that you are probably tired of hearing me,” turning to smile at Javy she corrects herself, “us, say this, but thank you. If I spent the rest of my life trying to come up with the words to convey what this means to us, I would always come up short.” Maya takes a calming breath, before she continues with tears stream down her face, “Becoming part of this family was the best decision I ever made. Not only did I get a husband that I adore, and who loves me beyond measure. I gained a sister that is willing to sacrifice, to give us the ultimate gift of love.”

  Minutes after Maya finishes, the nurse enters to tell us that they will be taking her back in the next few minutes. Isabel turns to Javy and Maya and ask, “Would you all mind giving us a few minutes?”

  “Yes, of course,” Javy says. Leaning over the rail, he kisses her cheek and whispers, “Thank you Isabel.” Maya also gives her a hug and kisses her cheek, before once again taking Javy’s hand and stepping into the hallway.

  As soon as her eyes meet mine, my hand cups her cheek, “You okay baby?”

  She nods, while giving me a weak smile, “Yeah, I’m good. I just needed a minute alone with you.”

  The idea that she needs me makes my heart skip a beat, “Anytime you need me baby, you just say the word.” Leaning in I place a soft kiss on her lips and rest my forehead against hers.

  “I love you Logan Matthews. Thank you for supporting me in this.”

  “I love you too, and Isabel I will always support you. Don’t ever forget that.”

  The nurse interrupts our moment to announce it’s time to go. Giving her one last kiss, I whisper, “Good luck baby, I’ll be waiting for you.”

  She squeezes my hand and gives me a nervous smile, “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  As Javier, Maya and I return to the waiting room and find a place to sit, we talk about everything from the weather, to sports. Once it seems we have exhausted every topic, Maya asks, “Logan, do you have plans for Thanksgiving?”

  “I usually spend it with my family, but this year, I’m not sure. Isabel and I really haven’t talked about it.”

  Javier and Maya share a knowing smile, before she says, “Well, you are welcome to spend it with us. Javy’s parents and Marco and his family will be there as will my parents.”

  “Plus, unless I’m mistaken,” Javier says with a mischievous grin, “you’re going to officially be family sooner or later, so you might as well get to know everyone.”

  I chuckle nervously, “I may need to convince your sister first.”

  Now it’s Javier’s turn to chuckle, “I don’t think you are going to have to work too hard at that. Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen Isabel as happy as she is when she’s with you.”

  “Thank you, that means a lot to me. I hope you know how much Isabel means to me. I really can’t imagine my life without her.”

  A little over an hour later, Doctor Williams emerges through the heavy double doors leading to the surgical suites. The three of us immediately stand when he enters the room. “Javier, Maya,” he nods as he shakes their hands.

  “Doctor Williams,” Javier says, “you remember Logan, Isabel’s boyfriend?”

  “Yes of course,” he says shaking my hand as well.

  Looking at each of us, he begins to give us the information we have been waiting for. “The procedure went really well. As we discussed we implanted all three embryos.”

  As Javier hugs Maya closer to his side, I ask, “And Isabel?”

  Doctor Williams gives me a comforting smile, “She did great. In fact the nurse will be out shortly to take you back to see her.”

  I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and feel myself relax. As happy as I am that everything went well for Javier and Maya, my only concern is Isabel.

  “When will we know if they…” Maya’s voice trails off unable to complete the thought. Doctor Williams supplies the answer she’s seeking.

  “The discharge nurse will set up two appointments before you leave today. One for a blood test to confirm the pregnancy and another with my office six weeks from now. At that time, we’ll check for a he
artbeat. Depending on our findings, we’ll schedule future appointments at that time. If there are any questions, problems or concerns, please call my office immediately.”

  We all nod and thank him before he turns to exit the waiting room.

  Ten minutes after speaking with the doctor, a nurse calls for us. “Velez family?” Standing from our seats, we move towards her. “Hi, I’m Amy. I’ll be going over all the discharge information, so if you all will follow me,” she says, holding the door for us to walk through.

  Leading us to the curtained bay where a very groggy, but upright Isabel greets us with a sleepy smile from the stretcher. I make my way to the head of the bed, picking up her hand as I go. “Hey there beautiful,” I whisper as I place a tender kiss on her forehead.

  “Hi,” she sleepily replies while leaning towards me.

  “You feeling okay?” Her eyes drift closed but she nods her head in confirmation.

  A few minutes later, Amy returns with Isabel’s discharge instructions, “Who’s going to be taking care of the lovely Miss Isabel today?”

  “That would be me,” I reply proudly as my thumb caresses her hand.

  Amy smiles at me warmly, “Great, as you can probably guess, she’s going to be groggy for a while, so she may require some assistance walking to and from the bathroom. The doctor has given us instructions to give her something for pain before she leaves here, but after that if she experiences any pain or discomfort she can have either acetaminophen or ibuprofen.” I nod in understanding and she continues. “As far as eating, keep her meals light and bland today, soup and crackers would be good, since she may experience some residual nausea from the anesthesia. Lastly, as I’m sure Doctor Williams explained, no sexual intercourse for twelve weeks. Any questions?”

  “I don’t think so,” I reply.

  “Well, if you do think of any later, there is a number for you to call at the bottom of the page, as well as the date and time of the next scheduled appointments.”

  “Great, thank you.”

  She smiles and responds, “You’re welcome. Now, I need to go get the pain medication that the doctor ordered, so we can get you all out of here.”

  She exits the recovery bay and I try again to wake Isabel. “Isabel, can you wake up for me beautiful?” I place another tender kiss on her forehead. “Come on sweetheart; wake up so we can get you home.”

  Her eyes flutter open and she smiles, “Hi.”

  “There she is,” Javier says. “You ready to get out of here kiddo?”

  “Yeah,” she replies as she looks over at Javier and Maya. “Are you two coming over?”

  Maya smiles and squeezes her hand, “No sweetie, Logan has promised to take good care of you and to call us if you need anything.”

  “He will,” she replies, still a little groggily, “he’s the best.”

  I raise our joined hands to my lips and place a kiss on her hand.

  Maya moves forward to give Isabel a hug and whispers something in her ear, followed by Javier, who kisses the top of her head. When they make their way over to me, Maya gives me a hug and reminds me, “You call us if you need anything. I’ll give you a call later to check on her.”

  “I will, I promise. Call any time.”

  As Javier shakes my hand I say, “I’m sure you’ll update your parent’s on how the procedure went,” he nods, looking unsure as to where I’m going with this. “Please tell them they can call any time as well. I’ll be manning the phone, but I’ll be happy to talk to them.”

  Javier gives me a grateful smile, “Thanks Logan, I’ll be sure to let them know.”

  As Javier and Maya leave, Amy reenters with the pain medication. “Oh good you look a little more alert now. How are you feeling?”

  “Still a little tired and sore,” Isabel replies

  “On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain right now?”

  “Maybe a seven,” she replies uncertainly.

  She makes a few notes in the chart and explains, “As I was telling your guests, the doctor ordered you something for pain before we discharge you.” Amy hands Isabel a small plastic cup with a tablet in it, and holds a cup of water for her to take a sip of water to swallow the medication. Checking her blood pressure, pulse and temperature one more time Amy places the stethoscope around her neck and says, “Well Miss Isabel, if we can get this handsome guy of yours over there,” Amy nods in my direction, “to go get the car, we’ll get you dressed and out of here.”

  I snap to attention, “On it.” Leaning over I place a kiss on her temple, “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  As I step into the hallway, my smile widens as I hear Amy say, “That man adores you, you need to hold on to him.” Isabel’s response is too soft for me to hear, but very soon, she’ll know exactly how I feel.

  Pulling into the driveway at Isabel’s, I turn off the engine and look over to find that Isabel has fallen asleep on the drive home. Quietly exiting the vehicle, I unlock and open the front door, and then head back to the car to get Isabel. She startles when I open the door, but I immediately begin to soothe her. “Easy sweetheart, I got you,” I say as I lift her into my arms. Her arms immediately wrap around my neck, as she lays her head on my shoulder. Closing the car door, I carry her inside; kicking the door closed behind me and walk straight to her bedroom. Leaving the bed turned down this morning, I’m able to gently lay her down and pull the blanket over her. I kiss her cheek and she catches my hand, “Stay with me,” she whispers sleepily.

  “Absolutely.” I walk around the bed, kick off my shoes and crawl into bed behind her. Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pull her tightly against me, her back to my chest. She laces her fingers with mine and sighs in contentment. Placing a kiss on her head I whisper, “Just rest baby.” As her breathing evens out, my eyes grow heavy and I drift off to sleep, holding the woman I love tightly in my arms.

  Chapter 9

  Two weeks after the initial procedure, Isabel picked up Maya and returned to the doctor’s office for a blood test. The results confirmed that Isabel was indeed pregnant. Something that I had already guessed, since I had already began to notice subtle changes in her.

  Today we are meeting Javier and Maya at Doctor Williams’ office to hear the heartbeat. Glancing over to the passenger seat, I notice she looks a little pale. “You doing okay over there sweetheart?”

  She looks my way, giving me a weak unconvincing smile, “Yeah, just a little nauseous.” She lets out a nervous laugh, “I guess that’s something I better get used to though, huh?”

  I know the next eight months are going to be hard on her. She will go through so many changes not only physically but emotionally as well. I witnessed firsthand the emotional rollercoaster my sister-in-law rode during both her pregnancies. I also witnessed how my brother supported her through those changes. Now it’s my turn to prove to the woman I love that I will be there for her through all the ups and downs of this journey. I give her a sympathetic, but I hope encouraging smile, “I brought you some saltines, if you need them.”

  “That was really sweet of you. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”

  I raise her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles, “My pleasure, beautiful.”

  Like a moment of déjà vu, we meet Javier and Maya in the lobby. After a round of hugs and handshakes, we enter the elevator and ride up to Doctor Williams’s office. As we wait for our name to be called, Maya asks, “Isabel, how are you feeling?”

  Isabel smiles and answers honestly, “Good. I’m a little nauseous today, but I don’t know if that’s just me being nervous or the pregnancy.”

  Before Maya can respond, the nurse calls for us to come back. Standing we all follow her down the hall and into a room. Before getting on the table, Isabel steps on the scales so the medical assistant can record her weight. After taking her temperature and blood pressure, and telling us the doctor will be with us shortly, she exits the room. I help Isabel onto the table and remain standing beside her as I hold her ha
nd and wait.

  A few minutes later with a warning knock on the door, Doctor Williams enters. He smiles and nods, “Hello everyone. Good to see you all again.” He glances at the chart in his hands before continuing, “Isabel, how are you feeling?”

  I give her hand a squeeze as she says, “Like I told Javier and Maya,” Isabel looks their way and smiles, “I’m a little nauseous today, but I don’t know if that’s just me being nervous or the pregnancy.”

  Doctor Williams pulls a monitor over toward the table as he says, “Well today it’s probably a little of both.” He looks over at Javier and Maya, and then to Isabel, “So how about we find out what we really want to know?” Isabel nods as she grips my hand tighter.

  Glancing over to Javier and Maya standing next to me, I see Javier wrap his arm around his wife and kiss the side of her head. Maya takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, most likely offering up a silent prayer that we hear a heartbeat.

  Doctor Williams lifts Isabel’s top to just under her breasts and pulls the waist band of her yoga pants down just a bit to expose her belly. Carefully moving the instrument over Isabel’s stomach, we are all literally holding our breath waiting to hear the whooshing sound we were told to expect. As seconds tick by, I hear a strangled gasp from Maya, just as the sound we were waiting for fills the room. A bright smile lights up Doctor Williams face as he proclaims, “We have a heartbeat!”

  Tears begin to stream down Isabel’s face as we watch Javier and Maya embrace, tears flowing freely down their faces. Placing a kiss on Isabel’s forehead, I wipe away her tears with my thumb. In the midst of the celebration, Doctor Williams continues to move the wand in search of another heartbeat. When the sound of one heartbeat grows louder, Javier looks to Doctor Williams and asks, “Is that…?”

  Again, he smiles, this time while shaking his head in confirmation, “A second heartbeat. Congratulations Javier and Maya, you’re having twins!”