Craig hurt. Just sitting quietly, watching TV at home alone, his shoulder kept reminding him that there was a hole all the way through it. The pain medication helped, but he hated taking it. It made him sleepy, so he was sleeping most of the time, but it also made his head feel like it was stuffed with cotton. Either way, he avoided taking it as much as he could which also meant he was in pain most of the time too.
He shook his head to wake himself up and opened his eyes wide, adjusting his seat in the big living room easy chair. He tried to concentrate on the TV but found it difficult to do. It was an old black and white episode of The Lone Ranger. For a 1950’s show it wasn’t bad. There were a lot of commercials though, and he’d already gone through all of the old-time pirate movies on Netflix.
He sighed. The bank gave him an entire month of paid vacation to recuperate at home, for which he was grateful, but he never realized just how boring it was to sit for a week at home and do nothing. They also gave him an award for his “heroic action.” He looked at the plaque hanging on the living room wall and hung his head in guilt – again. He wasn’t a hero. He just walked out of his office is all to find out what was going on. He just wished he could go back to work, and everything was back to normal.
Getting back to normal again with Nanine though would be the greatest of all. She was attentive to his needs, but Criag could tell that there was something wrong more than there was before. She seemed even more distant and distracted, as if there were something else bothering her. What it was, he didn’t know. He tried asking her what the matter was, but she only smiled tersely and found something else to do in the kitchen.
There was a slight noise at the back door, and Criag turned slightly in the chair. The door opened and Jimmy and Alice burst in.
“Daddy!” They both shouted and ran to him.
“How are you, Daddy? Are you better?” Jimmy hugged his good shoulder.
“You still have a boo-boo?” Alice asked climbing into his lap. She hugged him around his neck.
“I’m getting better,” he said and kissed them both. “How was school today?”
“Great!” Jimmy said. “We learned a lot about all the planets ‘sides Earth.”
“I drawed you a picture.” Alice handed him a rumpled drawing in crayon. It was a picture of him sitting in the chair frowning with a hurt shoulder, and then another one of him standing next to it with a huge smile. The words “All Better,” appeared above his head.
“Oh, that’s great!” Craig kissed Alice again. “Thank-you. I do feel better already.”
Both Alice and Jimmy hugged him around his neck. They sat in his lap and watched the old black and white TV show until finally Nanine called them in to supper and they ran out. When Nanine brought him his meal on a small tray, she put it in his lap without a word.
“Thank-you, honey,” he said and turned to smile at her, but she wouldn’t even look at him. She went back out into the kitchen and closed the door.
This is a new book that I’m writing here on Facebook. Each week I post a new installment and you can actually read it as I’m writing it. Not even I know what’s going to happen yet! Come back each Thursday night and see how it turns out. You can read my other published books at www.aperrinauthor.com
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