Chapter two
hundred and forty-two:
Jen was lying in
bed when she heard the phone ring. Luke had practically forbidden her to move,
and she was bored out of her mind.
Several minutes
later, Luke came back into the bedroom. “Jen?” He
asked softly.
She lifted her
head off the mountain of pillows behind her to look up at him. “I’m still
awake.”
“That was
Jen knew
immediately what he had phoned for.
“He wanted to
remind me to change your bandage. He said you could fill me in on how to do
it.”
“But it really
doesn’t need it.” She argued. “I checked and it seems okay. I think I could go
another couple of hours…”
Luke smiled.
“What?” She
asked in surprise.
“He told me you
would say that.”
Jen sighed. “So
there’s no getting out of it?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, go and
wash your hands.” She instructed. She reached the necessary medical supplies
from her make-up bag on the nightstand.
Luke returned.
“Okay, what do I do?” He carefully sat on the edge of the bed.
She handed him
the antiseptic ointment, the gauze padding and the roll of tape, which he laid
out neatly on the bed.
He helped her
push up her t-shirt to expose the old bandage. She was breathing heavily, and
her ribs showed prominently.
He swallowed and
muttered “Jesus.”
“You have to be
careful.” She instructed. “Sometimes it sticks to the stitches and it hurts…”
“I’ll be careful
okay?” He promised. “I just pull this off?”
She nodded.
He gently peeled
back the tape and lifted one edge of the gauze. She recoiled in pain, and
gasped.
“Sorry! Sorry.”
He placed a warm hand on her stomach. “It’s okay, I almost have it.”
“Ow,” She sobbed. “It’s stuck.”
“I got it, it’s okay.” He urged, removing the old bandage completely
and tossing it in the trash.
He quickly
applied the antibiotic cream and taped a new bandage. Before he could even fix
her t-shirt, her arms were around his neck tightly.
“Oh, love, it’s okay.” He held her tightly. “I’m sorry…”
She sobbed. “I
hate this. I hate feeling so useless…” She cried.
“You aren’t
useless… and you’re going to get better.” He soothed.
She nodded and
slowly released him, wiping her eyes with her hands.
“I made you some
vegetable soup. Are you hungry?” He
offered.
She wasn’t, but
she also wasn’t about to admit that to him, knowing it would probably grant her
a lecture. She nodded.
“Okay.” He smiled.
“Want to come out to the table or do you want me to bring it in here?”
“I’ll come out.”
She replied.
“Okay. Let me
help you.” He carefully scooped her up and carried her to the main room.