Occasionally throughout my nap, the ringing phone woke me up. Fortunately, though, it was so far down the hall, in my parents’ bedroom, that I could barely hear it and I was able to fall back asleep almost instantly. It helped, too, that I was drugged. I figured most of the calls were to see how I was doing.
A few hours later, I awoke to a kiss on the forehead. When I started to stir, I heard a voice say, quietly, “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”
“What time is it?” I asked, groggily.
“About ten after eight.”
After a moment, I began to recognize the voice. “Steve?”
“Shh. Try not to talk,” he replied.
I opened my eyes. There, on my right, sat Steve, in the other recliner. I leaned forward a bit to look around and to readjust the pillow behind me, and he got back up.
“Here, let me help with that.”
As he readjusted the pillow, I started to ask why he was there and where my parents were, but he cut me off again.
“Try not to talk; you might pull out your stitches,” he said.
I sighed and leaned back.
“Is that better?” he asked.
I nodded my head yes.
Sitting there, I thought, This is just great! I can't talk! How am I supposed to communicate? Then it dawned on me, and I started looking for my cell phone. Once I found it, I texted Steve.
“What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” he said, after reading it, and looking up at me.
I nodded my head.
“Why? Do you not want me here?”
I shook my head and started to type again and he stopped me.
“I know what you meant.” He smirked. “I called a few hours ago, and your parents gave me directions.”
“Where are they anyway?”
“They went to get something to eat.”
“Oh, okay. When?”
“When I got here, about an hour ago.”
“I didn't even hear you guys.”
“You were dead asleep.”
I looked up and tried to smile.
“Are my parents bringing you back anything?”
“No, I ate before I came. Are you hungry?”
I nodded.
“Do you want Jell-O or mashed potatoes?”
“Mashed potatoes, please.”
“Okay.” He put his phone on the little wooden table between the recliners and got up.
While Steve got the mashed potatoes and something for me to drink, I readjusted myself and turned on the TV. He pulled a dining room chair next to the recliner, sat down, and put a small glass of Sprite next to him on the floor.
“Easy,” he reminded me, leaning in to feed me a bite.
I leaned toward him a little and started to open my mouth. Unfortunately, when I did, it was so painful that my eyes started to water and I let out a gasp.
“Okay, okay,” he said, putting the spoon back in the bowl. “Just lean back and we'll try again in a few minutes.”
I picked up my phone, and he leaned in to see what I was typing.
“I'm really sorry!”
“It's okay.”
“I would’ve taken a bite, but it really, really hurt... :(!”
“I know, and it's okay. We'll just try again in a little while... no big deal.”
About fifteen minutes later, Steve tried to feed me again, and this time he was successful. However, the success was short-lived, as the pain of opening my mouth became too hard to bear and I had to stop. Without saying a word, he nodded and put the bowl on the floor then picked my glass up and helped me take a sip. I leaned back on the pillow and he reached across and placed the glass on the table between the recliners then placed a kiss on my forehead before picking up the bowl and taking it back into the kitchen.
An hour later, I was sitting there watching TV and just about to doze off again when I heard the garage door open. A few seconds later, the kitchen door opened and I turned my head very slowly. Looking at Mom, I smiled slightly, and put my finger to my lips, and she just smiled back and gave a silent ‘okay’.
Before heading down the hall to her bedroom, she kissed me on the head and whispered into my ear, “Are you doing okay?”
I nodded my head.
“Do you need anything?”
I shook my head.
“Has he been out very long?”
“No... only about thirty minutes.” I used my phone to tell her.
“Okay. I think I'm gonna get him a blanket.”
After placing the blanket over Steve, she came back over to me.
“Try to get some sleep. I think you'll start feeling better in the morning,” she whispered.
I nodded.
“And somehow I knew you would find a way to keep talking,” she added, her lips quirking up, looking down at my phone.
I just grinned the best I could, and she kissed my head again before going to bed. As she left the room, I shut off the TV and drifted off to sleep again.
The next morning, I woke to the smell of coffee and people talking. When I looked around I didn’t see anyone beside me so I decided to text Steve. Within a few seconds, I heard him get up from the dining room table and come to me, and my parents headed down the hall. When I saw him, he had his chair in one hand and his coffee in the other. After setting the chair down, he leaned in and gave me a kiss on the forehead then sat back down and took a sip of coffee.
“Did we wake you?”
I shook my head.
“Did you sleep okay?”
“Yeah, for the most part. It took me awhile after I ate, but once I did, I slept all night.”
“That's good.”
“Did you?” I asked, trying to smile.
“Yeah, I actually did,” he replied, smiling back.
“You looked so cute with your head on the arm of the chair.”
“Really?” he asked, a little embarrassed, as he sipped his coffee. I could see a little blush start to show on his cheeks. “Do you feel any better today?” he asked, after a long moment.
“Actually, yeah, I do. I'm still in pain, but I don't feel as drowsy.”
“Well, that's better than nothing, right?”
I nodded my head.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yeah.”
“Jell-O or mashed potatoes?”
“I think I'll go with Jell-O this time...”
“Okay.” He smiled, and put his coffee cup down next to him. “I'll be right back.”
As Steve went into the kitchen, his phone rang.
“Hello?” he answered. I heard him opening the cabinet to get a bowl then going over to the refrigerator to get the Jell-O. He continued to talk as he scooped some into the bowl. “Oh, hi Brian. What's up? ...Oh, sorry I can't. I've already got plans. Ask Dave ...Alright ...You too, man. Bye.”
Before putting the Jell-O back in the refrigerator, I heard him close his phone and I assumed put it back in his back pocket. Then I heard him get a small glass, and what I figured was ibuprofen, out of the cabinet. After putting the Jell-O away, I heard him open the bottle of Sprite and pour some in the glass and put it back. He headed back into the living room a moment later.
“Okay, I'm back. Sorry that took so long.” He sat back down and put the bowl on the floor.
“That's okay.”
Leaning toward me, he had the glass of Sprite in one hand and—I was right—ibuprofen in the other. “Here take these. I figure by the time you're done eating, your mouth will be really sore, so I'm hoping these will kick in and help with the pain.”
When I finished taking them, I suddenly remembered I needed to take my medicine.
“Hey, I need to take my medicine. It's in the organizer on the counter.”
“Oh, okay. Be right back.”
Before he got up, I added, “It’s the only pill in today’s slot.”
“Got
cha.”
While Steve went to get the pill, I hoped he wouldn’t ask what it was for. It was different than the one I took the other night. Being groggy and in a lot of pain, not to mention how new everything was, that was a conversation I wasn’t ready to have.
“Here you go.” He held out his hand as he sat down.
My lips turned up, slightly, in thanks, and I took the pill from his hand. He brought my glass to my lips.
After making sure I didn’t need another drink, he put the glass on the floor and took another drink of coffee before picking up the bowl. Before he started to help me eat, I decided to ask him about the phone call.
“I know I'm being nosy, but who was that on the phone?”
“Oh, that was a guy I work with at The Spaghetti Factory, Brian. And you're not being nosy.”
“Oh, okay. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, he’s just going out of town for New Year’s and wanted to know if I could cover the last few hours of his shift, that's all, but I told him I'm busy.”
“Oh, okay. You know, you could.”
“I could what?”
“Work for him.”
“How?”
“What do you mean ‘how’? You just call him back and tell him that you’ll cover him, and then you walk into the restaurant when it's time.”
“Ha, ha, that's funny,” he replied, sarcastically, but with a grin. “I know that, but what about you?”
“What about me?”
He tilted his head and gave me the “you know what” look, and said, “Open up nice and easy so I can give you a bite.”
I did what he asked.
“You need to be taken care of.”
“I know I need to be taken care of, but I have my parents. It's no big deal.”
“What are you saying? Are you saying you don't like me being here?”
“God no! I love having you here and love the fact that you want to be here! :)”
“Then what are you saying?”
“What I'm saying is as much as I want you to be here with me, I know, and you probably do too, that you're going to be absolutely bored just sitting around here all day doing nothing.”
“We wouldn't be doing nothing, not necessarily, anyway. We can watch TV and spend time together.”
“Oh, like last night?” I typed, my lips turning up slightly.
“Yeah, but—”
“But what? You were tired? Just give it up. You know I'm right. :) Plus, it's only for a few hours anyway. It's not like it's all day.”
“I know,” he agreed, sounding slightly defeated.
“Okay then. Call your buddy back and tell him you'll do it.”
“Okay,” he said, and tried to give me a bite, but I pulled back. “What?” he asked.
I just looked at him.
“Now?”
“Yes now, before he finds someone else.”
“Oh, alright. Here.” He laughed lightly, putting the Jell-O in my mouth.
As he took out his phone and dialed, I couldn’t do anything to hide the satisfied smile on my face.
A half an hour later, with Steve gone to get ready for work, Mom at the store, and Matt working in the garage; I found myself alone so I decided to watch TV until lunch. Unfortunately, that didn’t work. Within five minutes of finding something somewhat interesting, I began to nod off. I didn’t wake up until I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Beth, you need to wake up,” Mom told me, quietly.
I stirred a bit and tried to look at her.
“What time is it?” I mumbled.
“Almost noon. What do you want for lunch?”
“I think I’ll try soup.”
“Okay, do you need to go to the bathroom or any ibuprofen?”
I shook my head and she headed into the kitchen, but I stopped her before she got too far.
“Yes?”
“Happy Birthday.”
“Thanks,” she said, with a warm smile. “Now quit talking before you tear your stitches.”
“Okay,” I replied, with the biggest smile I could muster, then she went to fix my lunch.
Lunch was interesting, to say the least. I decided to get up and eat at the table since I was feeling a little better. I soon realized, however, I should’ve just stayed in the recliner. Not only was my mouth extremely sore, but so was my entire body. As I slowly got in my chair, Mom tried to rub some of my soreness away. When I was as comfortable as I was going to get, I drove up to the table to eat. It was only then that I realized how much it hurt to open my mouth. While I’d been in considerable pain for the last twenty-four hours, none of it compared to what I was feeling right then. Not even the ibuprofen seemed to be dulling the pain. Opening my mouth just enough to barely put the spoon on my lips made me want to cry.
After eating half the soup, I couldn’t take the pain anymore and had to stop. All I wanted to do was get back in the recliner, wrap up in the blanket, and cuddle up with Will. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn’t do that quite yet because I had to take a shower. Despite my reluctance, I knew it would be good for my sore muscles.
After a very quick, but relaxing, shower, I hurried and put on a clean pair of pajamas and got back in the recliner. Once the blanket was comfortably tucked around me, Mom put Will down on the recliner and he curled up between my legs. With both of us comfortable, I found myself falling back to sleep.
The smell of coffee woke me up, and I started to wonder just how long I had been asleep. Wiping my eyes, I felt a weight on my feet and looked to see Will lying there. Noticing it was still quiet, I looked around and saw the sun peeking through the blinds, so I assumed it was early evening. After a few minutes, however, it dawned on me that it couldn’t be. If it was, there wouldn’t be coffee brewing, unless there was company coming.
Deciding not to confuse myself any further, I started looking for the clock to see what time it was. Realizing the clock was out of view unless I wanted to break my neck, I grabbed my phone and opened it. My eyes widen when I saw 7:00 a.m.
“7:00 a.m.,” I said, “I can’t believe they let me sleep that long.”
Not wanting to bother my parents, in case they were still sleeping, I looked around again for the remote. Not seeing it, I decided not to worry about watching TV and just sat back and relaxed, feeling well rested and not as sore for the first time in two days. As I sat there thinking, I heard Will snore, and I couldn’t help but snicker and look at him. He looked so peaceful and I couldn’t help but thank God for bringing him into our lives. He had made our lives so much better.
After a few minutes, I realized I needed to think about something else before I made myself cry. Grabbing my phone, I went down my list and sent a text, hoping I wasn’t waking him.
Me: Hey.
Steve: Morning, beautiful! :) How are you feeling?”
Me: A little better. Not as sleepy.
Steve: Well that’s good.
Me: Yeah, I slept from about noon yesterday ‘til about seven this morning.
Steve: Really?
Me: Yeah.
Steve: Wow! I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t stop by after work, huh?
Me: Yeah, you would’ve been so bored. How was work anyway?
Steve: Boring as hell.
Me: Awww, I’m sorry. At least you got paid.
Steve: True, but that’s the only good thing about it.
Me: See, something good came out of your boredom.
Steve: Ha-ha.
Me: :) Hey, I know it’s a little late to be asking, but did I wake you?
Steve: No, you didn’t wake me.
Me: Really? Cause if I did you can just text me back later, it’s okay.
Steve: No, really, you didn’t wake me up. I’ve been up for about 20 minutes.
Me: Really? Why? Isn’t that kinda early for you? ;)
Steve: LOL... yeah, it is, but I’m at my parents.
Me: Oh... What are you doin
g there?
Steve: Well, my dad called as I was getting off work yesterday, and asked if I could come over to help.
Me: Get ready for the party tonight?
Steve: Yeah. It takes a lot of work.
Me: I bet. Are they getting excited?
Steve: My mom is. My dad isn’t at the moment, but he will be by the time people start getting here. He’s just more focused on getting everything done.
Me: That’s understandable. Are you excited?
Steve: Yeah.
Me: That’s not very convincing. What’s wrong? I have it on very good authority that it’s supposed to be one hell of a party! ;)
Steve: Oh, believe me, it will be. I’m just not going, that’s all.
Me: What? Why?
Steve: Because I have other plans.
Me: Other plans?
Steve: Yeah, I plan on spending the evening with a girl with long brown hair, blue eyes, glasses, and the sweetest smile you’ll ever see.
As I read Steve’s text I couldn’t help but grin as a blush creeped up my cheeks, but just as quickly I felt sad.
Me: Awww, that’s so sweet, but you don’t have to.
Steve: What?
Me: It’s really sweet, but you shouldn’t miss your parents’ party just for me.
Steve: Oh, you thought I was talking about you? Oops, my bad!
Me: Oh... that was SO wrong! I sent, trying not to laugh too hard so my mouth didn’t start hurting more.
Steve: :P
Before I could respond, I got another text.
Steve: Seriously, though, why not?
Me: Cause all I’m gonna be doing is laying in the recliner.
Steve: So you don’t want to see me... I get it now.
Me: Ah man, you caught me!
Steve: Oh, that hurt.
Me: :P
Steve: :)
Me: But seriously, you will be so bored here. Your parents’ party will be much more fun!!
Steve: Oh, alright, but I’m still gonna text you later.
Me: Okay, but if I don’t answer right away that probably means you woke me up.
Steve: Okay. Sorry, gotta go, breakfast is ready.
Me: Okay. I think I hear my parents anyway.
Steve: Try to have a good day, okay?
Something New & Unexpected Page 8
