FINDING A CHURCH
part 14
by Poet
They were awakened by the sound of Katica's loud and insistent
meowing. *I
want fed! NOW!*
Little Luka began crying so Roza took him in her arms.
"Shush," she whispered. She looked over at
Luka and sighed. "You might as well feed her now
before she wakes up the whole neighborhood."
Luka was reluctant to get up. He looked at the clock and
then at the cat. "It's ONLY 5:30 in the morning,"
he grumbled as he stood up. "You'd better be quiet
once I feed you."
She lightly pranced into the kitchen and stood in front of her
food dish, meowing a little quieter. *Hurry up!*
Roza followed them into the kitchen and said, "I'll put
Little Luka to bed."
"All right," he said as he got out the cat food and
dumped some into Katica's dish. "There. Are you
satisfied, huh?"
"I think she is," Roza commented. She touched his
hand. "Come on back to bed, Luka."
He yawned and followed her into the bedroom, making sure that the
door was firmly shut. "Did I tell you last night that
I love you?" he asked.
She finished tucking Little Luka into the carrier and turned to
face him. "No, you were pretty tired last night.
But I know you meant to say it."
"Then I'll say it now. Roza, I love you," Luka
said softly, brushing back her hair. He lay down on the bed
and pulled her down beside him, covering them with the blankets.
"I love you," she replied and took his hand, leaning
over to kiss his cheek. "Sleep now."
When Luka woke up again, he saw that the sun was shining in the
window and Roza was sitting beside him with Little Luka in her
arms. "Good morning," he said and yawned.
"When did you wake up?"
"About an hour ago. I've already bathed and fed Little
Luka and had a shower. But you were sleeping so soundly
that I hated to wake you up," she answered and leaned over
to kiss him.
"What time is it?" he asked, yawning and stretching.
"Almost 8:30. Why don't you get dressed while I fix
breakfast?" Roza suggested.
"Good idea. Did you talk to the children this
morning," Luka asked, swinging his feet to the floor.
"I didn't get a chance. I'll call this evening.
We have a lot to do today," she replied, tucking the
baby into the carrier.
"Like finding a church," Luka commented as he headed
for the bathroom. He quickly showered and shaved, feeling
more awake by the time he finished. Wrapping a towel around
himself, he returned to the bedroom, quickly getting dressed in
jeans and a navy blue long sleeved shirt.
Roza was busily cooking when he entered the kitchen. He
snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and
quickly kissing her check. "Something sure smells
wonderful," he said with a grin, "and I don't mean
breakfast."
"Luka! You startled me!" Roza scolded, playfully
slapping at him with the spatula. "Are you going to do
this every time I cook?"
"Maybe," he said as he reached up to grab her the
spatula. "What are you cooking?"
"Omelets. If you don't quit it, they'll burn,"
she warned him.
"So, we'll just stop and get something to eat later."
He managed to get a hold of the spatula. "Now,
just sit down while I finish breakfast."
"While you're doing that, I'll call the minister Reverend
James recommended," Roza said and headed for the phone.
"All right." He took her place at the stove.
Roza reached in her pocket for the slip of paper with the phone
number and address for the Midtown Baptist Church. Reaching
for the phone, she quickly dialed the number.
A cheerful voice said, "This is Midtown Baptist Church.
How may I help you?"
"I'd like to speak with Reverend Randy Sheptner." Roza
said.
"Just a moment," the secretary said. She pushed
the intercom button. "A call for you on line
three."
"Thank you, Brenda," the reverend said and picked up
the phone. "Hello?"
"Reverend Sheptner, my name is Rozalija Lukovic.
Reverend Thomas James at Liberty Baptist Church in St.
Louis recommended you to me. My fiance and I are looking
for a church to be married in. I was wondering if we could meet
with you sometime today if possible. I need to go back to
St. Louis tomorrow," Roza explained.
"Let me check my appointment book," the reverend said
and quickly looked over the day's schedule. "I see to
be free at 11:30. Is that all right with you?"
"That will be fine with us." "Thank you,
Reverend Sheptner."
"You're welcome. I will see you both at 11:30,"
he replied and hung up the phone.
Roza returned to the kitchen to see that Luka had poured the
juice and set two plates of omelets on the table. She sat
down and said, "We need to be at the Midtown Baptist Church
at 11:30."
"All right. We can grab a quick lunch and then order
the invitations if we decide on the church."
"What about wedding colors?"
"I thought we could let the children help us decide.
They do, after all, have a part in the ceremony," Roza
said and picked up her juice glass.
"Just as long as they don't choose any wild color
combinations," Luka pointed out.
"You and I WILL have the final say. We can also decide
on the flowers then."
At 11:25, Luka parked his car by the Midtown Baptist Church and
helped Roza out. Then he unstrapped Little Luka.
Slinging the diaper bag over his shoulder, he took a firm
grasp of the baby carrier. Taking each other's hand, they
entered the building. Following the signs, they headed for
the reverend's office.
Brenda was in her office next door when they approached.
She looked up from the church bulletin she was designing to
ask, "May I help you?"
"Yes. I called earlier this morning to speak to
Reverend Sheptner," Roza said.
"Oh, yes. He's waiting for you. Just knock on
the door," Brenda replied.
"Thank you," Luka said as they made their way to the
reverend's office.
"Come in," Reverend Sheptner said when he heard the
knock on the door. He studied the couple as they walked in,
still holding tightly to each other's hand, the baby carrier in
the man's hand. "Take a seat."
Little Luka began fussing so Luka sat down on the couch and
placed the carrier on the floor. He picked up the baby and
whispered, "What's wrong, Moja Mala? Don't want to be
here, huh?"
"I'm Rozalija Lukovic and this is my fiance Luka
Kovac," the young woman said as she took a seat beside Luka.
Sheptner pulled his chair around so that he was seated, facing
the couch. "What a handsome boy. May I ask how
old he is?"
"He'll be five months old on the 30th," Roza said
proudly.
"He must be a handful. But wait until he gets older.
I have three girls--triplets--all turning teenagers,"
the Reverend commented.
"Oh, I know how much children can be when they get older--I
have four other children," she replied.
"So, what exactly can I do for you?" Sheptner asked.
"We're looking for a church to be married in. I VERY
rarely attend services and Roza has been living in St. Louis.
But she and her children are moving back to Chicago this
summer," Luka explained.
"Let's take a look around,shall we?" Sheptner suggested
as he got to his
feet.
Luka replaced the baby in the carrier and picked it up.
"We'll also need a minister to perform the
ceremony."
"I have to tell you that marriage is something to be entered
into lightly. I'm sure you've given your decision to get
married much thought."
"We have. We've each been married before. Roza's
husband was killed last summer. And my--wife and
children--died years ago," Luka said, hesitating as he
mentioned his own family. Even after so much time, he often
found it hard to talk about them.
Roza reached out to quickly squeeze Luka's hand and smile up at
him. "Luka and I knew each other years ago in Croatia.
My husband recently met up with Luka about a month before
he was killed. Afterwards, Luka started spending time with
me and my children and we sort of fell in love," she
explained.
Sheptner nodded, understanding the couple he was dealing with,
that their wedding vows had been broken by death.
"There is a main sanctuary that seats 850 and we have
services televised from there on Sunday mornings."
"Our guest list will probably be less than 75, so the
sanctuary seems a bit large," Roza told him.
"We have an annex across the street. It has a chapel
with seating for 100. There's also a fellowship/dining hall
with a kitchen, a gymnasium and a lounge area," he
explained.
"That sounds like what we're looking for," Luka
commented. He tightened his grip on Roza's hand.
"Come with me and I'll show you the place," the
Reverend said. He looked closely at Luka. "Now,
that I hear you speak, I swear I've seen you somewhere
before."
"I'm a doctor in the ER at Cook County General
Hospital," Luka told him.
"That's it! I fill in twice a month there as a chaplin
and occasionally I'm summoned to the ER," Sheptner replied.
"As soon as we look the annex over, I need to check
and see what days it's already booked.
"Our wedding date is June 9th," Roza said.
"I know that on Saturday mornings, a women's Bible
study/prayer group meets in the lounge area. They're
usually finished by 10:30. What time of day are you
planning to have the ceremony?"
"We haven't decided on an exact time, but it will probably
be in the afternoon," Luka replied.
"The chapel will be free so you can get set up for the
ceremony," Sheptner said as he led the way to the parking
lot. "I thought it might be easier to drive over
instead of trying to cross the street."
As soon as Little Luka was strapped in the backseat, Luka got in
beside him. Roza got in front and looked back at Luka
"Is he all settled in?" she asked.
"Yeah. We're okay," Luka replied.
"We call this place 'Calvary Hall', " Sheptner said,
parking the car in front of the annex. "I'll show you
the chapel first."
They entered the chapel with the stained glass windows
overlooking the altar. "It's beautiful," Roza
said, turning to Luka.
"It is," Luka agreed. "But you will be more
beautiful."
"Right past the chapel, are the lounge areas and restrooms.
I'll show you the lounge in a minute," Sheptner said.
He pointed off to one side of the alter.
"There's a small choir room where you and your best
man could wait until the ceremony starts."
The lounge area contained a couch, coffee table and several arm
chairs scattered about. "This would make a good
changing room," Roza decided as they looked it over.
"Yes, it would," Luka agreed. He turned to
Sheptner. "Can we see the gymnasium now?"
"Certainly. It's just across the hall from the chapel.
You can set up tables and chairs for your
reception.""
"What about dancing?" Luka asked.
"Well, I don't usually allow dancing so I really can't say.
Why do you ask?"
"Roza and I danced at our first weddings and we'd like to do
it again. We wouldn't have anything objectionable in
either the type of dances or our choice of music," Luka
explained.
"I don't see why not. You can set up tables and chairs
in half of the gym," the Reverend said as he opened the
gymnasium door.
"That sounds like an idea," Luka commented. He
turned to Roza. "Do you think this is the place for us
to be married in? Or shall we look elsewhere?"
"I think this is a good place, Luka," she replied,
taking his hand.
"Then this will be the place," he agreed and turned to
Sheptner. "We would like to be married here."
"All right. I'll just check and make sure that
nobody's already booked June 9th. Do you have a minister in
mind?"
"No. We would be honored if you'd consent to
performing the ceremony," Luka answered.
"And I will be honored to do it. Let's get back to my
office and decide on a time."
"Thank you," Roza said as she took the baby carrier
from Luka.
Back in the office, Sheptner quickly checked the calendar and
said, "You're in luck. Except for the group I
mentioned-- there's nobody else using the annex on June 9th.
What time of day are you planning to get marred at?"
Luka turned to Roza and asked, "How does 3:30 sound to you?
It'll give us time to get set up after the women's group
leaves."
"It's all right with me."
"3:30, it is," Luka said.
Sheptner quickly wrote down the time and said, "I'd like to
meet with you again before the ceremony and do some counseling
and other discussion. What would be a good time for us to
get together again?"
"I'll be back here in Chicago in April from the 13th to the
22nd," Roza replied.
"How about we meet on the 17th about 7:30 in the
evening?" Sheptner suggested,
"I'll be working days in the ER and if I can't get the day
off, I'll at least get off early," Luka replied. He
shook Sheptner's hand. "Thank you for all your help,
Reverend."
"It's been my pleasure. I'll see you on the
17th."
Luka took Roza by the hand as they left the office. After
leaving the church, they drove directly to a nearby restaurant to
order lunch. As soon as they'd given the server their
order, Roza pulled out a pen and paper from her purse.
"Now, we can decide on what to put on our wedding
invitations," she said.
"What was it that Zelika suggested?" Luka asked.
Roza quickly flipped through the notepad until she found what
she'd written down. "'The children of Rozalija Jelena
Lukovic request your presence as she is united in marriage with
Dr. Luka Alen Kovac'" she read.
"At 3:30pm on June 9th, 2001 at Calvary Hall, Midtown
Baptist Church," Luka added. "Reception to
follow."
Roza thought for a moment and quickly wrote down, 'The children
of Rozalija Jelena Lukovic request your presence as she is united
in marriage with Dr. Luka Alen Kovac at 3:30pm on June 9th, 2001
at Calvary Hall, Midtown Baptist Church. Reception to
follow.' She passed the paper to Luka. "How's
that?"
He quickly read it over and said, "That'll do great."
"Good. We can order the invitations. Then
Marjorie and I will get them addressed during Spring Break while
you work," she said.
"June 9th is a LONG way off," Luka sighed.
"I know it is. But April 13th is a LOT sooner,"
she reminded him. "Even though I have to leave
tomorrow--we'll ALL be back on the 13th."
"And I'll be counting the days."
"Here you are," the server said as she brought their
meal.
"Thank you," Roza told her.
"As soon as we get the invitations ordered, I want to get
back home and lie down until about 5:30," Luka said as they
began eating.
"All right. I"ll try and keep your cat quiet and
have supper ready."
"You try and keep her quiet," Luka said and laughed.
When they were ready to leave, Luka paid for the meal and left a
tip. Picking up the baby carrier, he took Roza by the hand and
headed for the door. "Anything you need to get before
we go home?" he asked.
"I need to buy some diapers and baby formula. But I'll
get that later."
"I checked the phone book for the address of a printer
that's not too far
away," he said.
The print shop was only a few blocks from the restaurant.
As they entered, the sales clerk asked, "Can I help
you with anything?"
"Yes. We're here to look over wedding
invitations," Roza answered.
"Right this way," the sales clerk said and led them
over to a table with several thick books and two chairs.
"Just take your time and let we know what you
decide."
"Thank you," Luka said. He looked at Roza.
"Since we don't know about colors, something very
simple should be nice."
"How about an ivory paper with deep gold or black ink?"
she suggested as they looked through a book, studying various
papers and writing styles.
"That sounds fine. So much to do before we get
married."
"We'll get it done," she assured him. "Next
month we'll have the wedding colors and flowers decided on...I'll
have my wedding dress and the children's clothing...We'll have
the invitations sent out..."
"At least we found a church--and a minister," Luka
interrupted.
"How about this?" Roza asked, indicating a textured
ivory invitation with scalloped edges.
"It's very nice. Whatever you chose, will be all right
with me."
"The deep gold ink will look perfect," she decided.
"I'll go tell the sales
clerk that we've made our choice."
"How many invitations do we want?" Luka asked.
"75. That'll give us a few extra in case there's a
mistake addressing them."
As soon as they ordered the invitations, Luka picked up the baby
carrier took Roza's hand. When they got out to the car, he
asked. "do you want to stop at the store?"
"No. I'll do that later. You said that you
wanted to go home and sleep," she replied.
"Yeah. I'd better since I'll be on all night."
"I think I need to get used to the fact that you sometimes
work days and sometimes nights."
"And sometimes I end up working a double shift. I'll
try not to do very many after we get married," he told her.
When they got back to the house, Luka brought in the baby carrier
and set it by the couch. He kissed Roza and headed for the
bedroom, firmly shutting the door after making sure Katica was
not in it. He set the alarm clock for 5:30 and lay down,
shutting the curtains against the light.
After making sure that Luka was sound asleep, Roza slung her
purse and the diaper bag over her shoulder. Picking up the
baby carrier, she headed out to the van. She planned to go
buy diapers and some other baby necessities as well as something
to fix Luka for supper.
As soon as he was in place in the van, Little Luka began fussing.
Roza leaned over him and said, "We won't be gone too
long, Bebe. I just need to get you some more diapers.
You're going through them TOO fast." She got
behind the wheel of the van.
At the store, Roza parked close to the entrance and got out.
Unstrapping the baby carrier, she picked it up and headed
inside. Passing by a display of pet snacks, she decided to
get some kitty treats for Katica. After getting the baby
necessities, she went to select salad ingredients and a pasta
dish. "That should make a good meal," she told
herself.
The shopping done, she glanced at the clock and noted that it was
2:00. She knew that Luka would probably sleep for a couple
of hours yet so there was no hurry getting home. Since
nothing she'd bought required immediate refrigeration, she
decided to stop by the school and pay a visit to Andrew McKray.
She'd only seen him a few times since Viktor's funeral and
she wanted to let him know about her upcoming wedding.
"Can I help you?" the school secretary asked as Roza,
baby carrier in hand, entered the office.
"Hello, Ms. Williams," Roza replied. "I
thought I'd see if Andrew Mckray was free. He's never met
my youngest child."
"Yes, this is his free period. He should be in his
classroom," Ms. Williams replied. She looked up
at Roza. "We all miss Professor Lukovic."
"I miss Viktor. I wish he'd lived to know Little
Luka," she said quietly and smiled slightly. "I
named him after an old friend of Viktor's."
Andrew Mckray was in his classroom, trying to grade papers.
But his mind kept wandering to Kelli and his upcoming
wedding. When the knock sounded on his door, he said,
"Come in," without looking up.
"Hello, Andrew," Roza said as she entered the
classroom.
"Mrs. Lukovic! So good to see you," Andrew said,
quickly getting to his feet. He hurried over to take the
baby carrier from her. "What brings you here?"
"We've been in Chicago for the past few days, staying with
Luka Kovac. He's my fiance."
"The doc that was with Viktor the night he died?"
Andrew asked, recognizing the name. "You're getting
married?"
"Yes--in June. The children and I are moving back
here. I want you to meet my youngest son--Little Luka.
He'll be five months old the 30th."
"Well, congratulations. Kelli and I are getting
married in July. She'll be between rotations at medical
school. In a couple of weeks, she goes back to working in
the ER," Andrew announced.
"Congratulations to you, Andrew. I wanted to let you
know we'd be sending you an invitation to our wedding."
"So is Dr. Kovac still at County General? Kelli said
that he was a good instructor during her previous ER
rotation."
"Luka's still working in the ER. He's got the night
shift tonight. I just stopped by for a moment before
heading back to his house," Roza explained.
"Kelli and I will be sending you an invitation to our
wedding. We're getting married on July 21st."
"Good thing we didn't pick the same day. I'll tell
Luka so he can take the day off. Goodbye, Andrew,"
Roza said. She picked up the baby carrier and headed for
the door.
Andrew quickly got ahead of her so he could open it. Take
care, Mrs. Lukovic," he said.
"Thank you, very much, Andrew," she said and stepped
out the door.
"From what I've heard about the Doc, he'll make a good
husband and father," Andrew told her. He returned to
his desk and grading papers.
Roza was only a few blocks from Luka's house when she stopped for
a red light. The car behind her was following TOO closely
and slid into the back of her van. The impact pushed her
several feet into the intersection as she hit the brakes.
Little Luka began wailing so she quickly leaned over to
look at him. To her relief, she saw that he was still
safely belted in.
"Don't cry, Bebe. We'll be home in a few
minutes," she assured him.
The car that had hit her, pulled ahead as the light changed.
She watched it speed off, too late to get the liscence
plate number. Putting her van in gear, she continued on her
way to the house. There didn't seem to be much damage and
she hoped that she'd be able to get back to St. Louis okay.
As soon as she got home, she carried in Little Luka and her
purchases. "Be quiet for now, Bebe, so Luka can
sleep," she said quietly and got him occupied with his
favorite toy.
"The alarm went off at 5:30, waking Luka up. He yawned
and stretched, feeling rested and ready to face the night.
From the kitchen came the aroma of something good and it
reminded him that he was hungry. He smiled, got up and
headed for the bathroom to shower and shave.
The shower finished, Luka shaved and made his way to the bedroom
to get dressed. He pulled on a pair of dark grey slacks and
a green shirt, leaving the tie and jacket off until after he ate.
After putting on shoes and socks, he started for the
kitchen.
Roza was standing at the stove so he crept up behind her.
He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to give her
a kiss. "I think I know what I've going to miss when
you go back to St. Louis," he teased.
"Luka! Stop doing that!" Roza scolded, but she
was barely suppressing a laugh as she let him kiss her.
"What?"
"Your cooking. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to
mine," Luka replied and laughed. "What are you
fixing?"
"Penne pasta with spaghetti sauce and a garden salad,"
she answered.
"Sounds good. I have to admit that I keep wishing I
could call Kerry and tell her I can't come in tonight," he
commented.
"Try and be off on July 21st--that's when Andrew McKray is
getting married."
"The teacher that brought Viktor to the ER? He's
marrying that med student--Kelli?" Luka asked as he sat down
at the table.
"Yes. Andrew said that she'll be back in your ER in a
few weeks."
"If Andrew hadn't brought Viktor in that day...I wouldnt
have known you were here in Chicago," Luka said slowly.
"And Viktor wouldn't have gotten killed..."
*He still blames himself for that!* Roza realized. She
turned away from the stove to wrap her arms around him.
"Luka, it was never YOUR fault that he died. I
told you so many times that it wasn't," she sais softly.
"I know. I keep telling myself that," he replied.
She touched his face. "Eat your supper so you can
finish getting ready for work."
"Yeah. I guess I'd better do that," he said and
managed a slight smile.
"I don't want you to get thin like you were before,"
she said and set the food on the table in front of him.
As soon as supper was over, Luka headed to the bedroom to finish
getting dressed. He was standing in front of his mirror,
knotting his tie when he saw her enter. "What time are
you going to bed?" he asked.
"Probably by 9:00. I have to pack up tonight.
We'll leave after you get home in the morning."
"Then I'll try and call before 9:00 if I don't get TOO
busy," Luka said. His tie knotted to his satisfaction, he
pulled on his jacket and leaned over to kiss her. "I
love you."
"I love you, too, Luka," she said softly.
"Be careful tonight."
In the living room, Luka stopped by the baby carrier and reached
down to pick up Little Luka. "Goodnight, Moja Mala.
Be a good boy for your mama, huh?" he said and tickled
the baby's cheek.
"He is," she said and took her son from Luka.
Luka made sure he had his car keys with him as he stepped out the
door. He was back inside almost immediately.
"Roza! What happened to the van?" he
anxiously asked.
"It's nothing, Luka. I was stopped at a red light and
a car hit me from behind. We were both belted in so neither
of us got hurt. I couldn't get the liscence plate number
and all I can tell you is that it was a grey car," Roza said
reassuringly.
"You both could have be hurt--or killed!" he pointed
out.
"Luka, calm down and go to work. Please? Call me
every hour if you're worried but we're both OKAY."
"All right," he gave in and bent to give her a kiss.
Then he headed out the door, clearly not wanting to go to
work.
Kerry and Mark were both waiting to run the board with Luka.
They could tell that he appeared preoccupied as he
listened. Kerry pulled him aside and asked, "Did you
hear a word we said?"
"Yes, Kerry. I heard what was said. Exam 4--Mr.
Karlin--prken ankle, awaiting on films," he said and
proceeded to repeat back the board.
"Okay! Luka, now tell me what's bothering you."
she said quietly.
He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Roza was rearended
today. She and Little Luka were belted in so no injuries.
I guess I'd just like to get my hands on the driver that
hit them," he answered.
"Like you did the hit-and-run driver last year?" Kerry
asked.
"Yeah. Something like that," he told her, not
wanting to admit to his temper.
"I'll see you in the morning, Luka," Kerry said and
headed for the lounge.
Just before 9:00, Luka got a free moment and headed for the
lounge to make a private phone call. He quickly dialed his
home phone number.
Roza was sitting on the couch with a magazine and Katica curled
up beside her. She finally gotten Little Luka to sleep and
was waiting for Luka to call. When the phone rang, she
picked it up, saying, Luka Kovac residence."
"Roza, how are you doing?" Luka asked.
"We're fine, Luka. Just waiting for your phone
call," she replied. "How has your evening
been?"
"Busy. The usual--MVAs, GSWs and an MI."
"I think you'll have to teach me your medical
shorthand," she said with a laugh.
"Okay. MVA is motor vehicle accident; GSW is gunshot
wound; and MI is myocardial infarction or heart attack,"
Luka patiently explained. "Seriously, it has been busy
and I'm definitely looking forward to getting home in the
morning."
"And I'm looking forward to you getting home."
"Well, I'd better get back to work. I love you,
Roza."
"I love you, Luka. Goodnight," Roza said and hung
up the phone. She picked up now wide awake Little Luka.
"Time to go sleepy bye, Bebe."
It was 3:00am when paramedics brought in an obviously drunk young
man. "Got a good one for you, Dr. Kovac," Doris
said as they wheeled in the gurney. "19 year old
suicide attempt. Said he swallowed about half a dozen
nitroglycerin pills."
"Why all the bruises?" Luka asked as opened the
patient's shirt.
"Said he kept rammimg himself into a wall to try and get the
nitro pills to explode."
"Explode?"
"Yeah. Nitro's an explosive in some forms. See
you later," Doris replied.
"Chem 7, BAL..." Luka began giving orders.
No sooner had his suicide patient been admitted to psych, than he
was called away to treat someone else. By 7:00, he was more
than ready to turn the ER over to Mark and Kerry!
"Go home and get some sleep," Kerry said as soon as
he'd finished running the board. "I'll see you
tonight."
"Yeah. Sure," Luka mumbled as he headed for the
lounge to grab his jacket. He felt almost TOO tired to
drive home.
Roza had fixed a simple breakfast and was waiting when she heard
the front door open. "Luka? Is that you?"
"It's me," came the tired reply as he stumbled into the
kitchen. Without his usual embrace, he sank down at the
table and covered his eyes with one hand, resting his head on it.
"You all right?" Roza asked as she set a plate of toast
in front of him.
"Yeah. Just tired--and a headache. Busy
night," he replied and uncovered his eyes to push away the
plate of food.
"I'll get you some aspirin." She got to her feet
and hurried out. Returning a minute later with the bottle
of aspirin, she poured a glass of water and set them both in
front of him. "You go onto bed and then we'll leave.
Call me tonight. Okay?"
"Okay," Luka said and opened the aspirin bottle,
quickly swallowing three tablets. He took a sip of water
and got to his feet. "I'll be fine after I get some
sleep." He gave her a kiss.
Roza followed him to the bedroom and watched as he undressed down
to boxers and T-shirt. "I love you," she said
softly.
"Ilove you." He lay down and pulled the blanket
over him, falling asleep within minutes.
Roza watched him for a few minutes, a tender expression on her
face. Silently, she left the bedroom and went to clean up the
kitchen. When she finished, she picked up the baby carrier
and her purse. "Time to go home, Bebe. But we'll
be back VERY soon," she said softly as she carrid her son
out to the van.
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