Chapter 16

6/6/2041

It had been three weeks since Luca and Elena had moved in with Tyree and Alicia. Luca still hadn't said anything, but the good news was that he was paying attention to Elena. His hazel eyes were empty. They showed no signs of emotion. Alicia noticed the change and approached her father.

"Daddy, will Mr. Luca get better?" she wondered.

"Do you remember when he was in the hospital with Tyson?" he inquired.

"Yes, daddy," she nodded.

"Sit with daddy," he said, motioning her to the couch. Alicia hopped onto the couch and scooted next to Tyree. "I need to tell you something, and it might make you sad," he explained.

Alicia noticed that Tyree's chocolate brown eyes were filled with tears.

"Daddy, what's the matter?" she inquired.

Tyree explained, "Your daddy is sad because Luca is sad."

"What makes Luca sad?" Alicia inquired. Tyree deliberated his response before responding to her.

"Do you remember when Fuzzy (her cat) was sick?" he inquired.

"Kitty went to heaven," she said with a nod.

"Well, Luca and Daddy are sad because Tyson has gone to heaven," he explained. That's when Alicia's emerald eyes welled up with tears. She sobbed as she hugged him. When Alicia wiped her eyes, she noticed Luca standing in the corridor. When Luca crumpled to the floor and sobbed, Tyree rushed over. His first emotion since everything happened

Tyree knelt and held Luca close as Alicia stood in the corner.

"My baby," Luca sobbed. "My baby boy is gone," he sobbed even more. Alicia noticed her father fighting back tears.

"If Daddy needs to cry, Daddy should cry," she said. The tears then streamed down his cheeks.

"You are a courageous young lady," he said, his voice breaking. Alicia approached them, knelt, and hugged her father and Luca.

"Don't be sad," she said, "Baby brother is now with God." Luca sobbed uncontrollably until he couldn't anymore. Luca curled up into a ball and dozed off.

"Baby, play with Dolly while papa takes Luca to his room," he instructed.

"All right, daddy," she said as she exited the room.

Tyree held Luca in his arms, but he became concerned when his fingers touched Luca's abbs. He could feel the bones through Luca's hoodie.

"He shouldn't be this thin," Tyree reasoned. Tyree entered the bedroom, laid Luca on the bed, and removed his hoodie. What he had feared had become a reality. Luca's body mass had decreased, and his ribs could be seen. The virus had destroyed the nutrients that had been given to him. Luca was significantly underweight. Tyree took out his laptop, turned it on, and launched the video conferencing application. He needed to know what was going on and what he could do about it.

Tyree entered the hallway and sat in a chair. He left the door open in case Luca showed signs of awakening. When Dr. Newton appeared, Tyree made himself comfortable in the chair.

"Hello, Mr. Richards," she said. "How is Mr. Hodges?" she inquired.

"Well, he showed emotion today," Tyree explained. "He sobbed and cried," he explained.

"That's good," said the doctor. "It shows that he's healing," he explained.

"I'm worried, doctor," Tyree said.

"What are your worries?" she inquired.

"I was able to feel his rib bones today when I picked him up," he said. "I laid him down, removed his shirt, and noticed how underweight he was," Tyree explained.

Tyree noticed that this information concerned Dr. Newton.

"Because we don't know much about the virus, we're not sure what effects it had on his body," she explained. "Weight loss may be an unintended consequence," Dr. Newton explained.

"What should we do now?" Tyree inquired.

"He needs to eat something, including snacks," she explained. "Make certain that he takes his medications," the doctor advised. "Let me warn you," she said, "he might throw up for a while until his body can handle food."

"Thank you for the information, doctor," he said. "I was just concerned," Tyree explained.

"You have every reason to be concerned," said the doctor. Tyree walked into the bedroom after finishing the conversation.

Tyree tucked his laptop away and slid into bed next to Luca, who had rolled onto his side. Tyree hugged his boyfriend close and gently wrapped his arms around him.

"I'll make sure you get better," he said quietly, so Luca wouldn't wake up. Tyree closed his brown eyes and focused his attention on Luca's shallow breathing. Tyree fell asleep once he was confident that Luca would be fine. A small hand shook Tyree's shoulder a couple of hours later. He slowly opened his eyes to find Alicia standing beside the bed, holding her doll.

"What is it, baby?" he asked as he sat up.

"I'm hungry, daddy," the youngster said.

"I am as well." "How about I make us something?" he suggested.

Alicia began to walk over to Luca, but Tyree stopped her.

"Let him sleep," he said, "and we'll wake him when lunch is ready."

"OK, papa," she said quietly. Alicia followed her father into the kitchen from the bedroom.

"What are we going to have?" Alicia inquired, taking a seat at the table.

"Soup because Luca isn't able to eat anything hard right now," Tyree explained.

"Why?" she inquired.

"Because it will irritate his stomach," he explained.

"Oh, okay," Alicia responded. Tyree prepared the soup while Alicia entertained herself with her doll.

"Wait here and don't touch anything until I get Luca," he instructed.

"All right, daddy," she said.

Tyree walked into the bedroom and over to Luca's side of the bed.

"Wake up, babe," he said, gently touching Luca's shoulder. Luca sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. "I made us some soup," Tyree explained. Luca rose from his bed, glanced at Elena, who was sound asleep, and followed Tyree to the kitchen. Tyree brought over their bowls while Luca sat down at the table. They ate the tomato soup after saying a brief prayer. Tyree observed Luca finish half of the bowl before sliding it away.

"Are you full?" he inquired. Luca nodded slightly. "We'll store it so you can eat the rest later," Tyree said as he stood up and went to get a storage container. "Elena should be waking soon, so I'll warm up her bottle," Tyree said. Luca smiled for the first time and headed to their room.

"Daddy, he smiled," Alicia said.

"I noticed it too," he said.