Only in Your Dreams Chapter 12
Jan was putting the finishing touches on Joey and Lance�s plates. She had decided to go pretty light on most of the makings of the straw hat since she wasn�t really sure how strong either boy�s stomachs were at that point and time.
Justin had come downstairs about ten minutes earlier to let her know that Joey had showered and Lance was just finishing up his own shower and that they were ready to eat something so that they could go ahead and take more of their medications.
He, Chris and JC watched Jan fix Joey and Lance�s supper before they began building their own Mexican straw hats.
�Watch the master,� said Justin as he began building his straw hat. He received some snickers from JC and Chris with that remark, but he just let it slide. Justin began by putting some Fritos on his plate, then, added some grated cheese to them before pouring some chili on top. Then he added lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole. He had decided to pass up the onions and black olives for the first round. He�d hit them the second time around.
JC and Chris watched Justin all of two seconds before getting busy with their own building. A few minutes later, JC realized that he had overdone it just a bit and he had not even begun to add all the extras to the chili, Fritos, and cheese.
�It sure does grow fast Jan,� said JC as he looked at his now full plate, realizing that his eyes had been larger than the plate sitting before him.
�You have to pace yourself honey. Go easy on the chips and go on from there.�
�Should have watched the master,� kidded Justin before taking his first bite. Justin�s remark earned him a Frito thrown in his direction from JC.
�This is just like a taco salad,� said Chris, digging into his meal.
Justin took time in between bites to comment. �It�s been a long time since I�ve eaten this Jan and it�s just as good as the last time.�
�Thanks sweetie. I�m going to take supper up to the dynamic duo.� Jan indicated toward the general direction of the stairs as she lifted up the now full tray off the kitchen counter.
�Want me to carry that Jan?�
�No, but thanks for asking JC. You better eat it while it�s hot. I�ll be back down in a while.�
�I didn�t see you fix yourself a plate Jan,� said Chris stopping his eating long enough to stand up and take a look at the tray.
�I�ll eat in a little bit. I�ll just snack off their plates to hold me over.� That remark earned her some grins but no comments since all three mouths were full at the same time.
�Wow. If I keep your faces full during my entire visit, I just might get some peace and quiet.�
Jan dodged a Frito thrown in her direction.
�You�ll pick that up Justin and uh, there�s plenty over there,� Jan said as she indicated in the general direction of the stove. �Don�t be shy in filling up your plates, but do leave this old woman a tiny morsel, okay?�
�Sure thing, granny.� That remark earned Chris a thump on the head from both Justin and JC.
�Better watch it, man,� Justin warned Chris. �If you want her to cook anymore of her stuff, you better lay off the old lady stuff.�
Jan snickered as she left the room. She made her way through the living room and up the stairs toward the bedroom being occupied by Joey and Lance.
�Knock, knock,� she said to the slightly opened door.
�Come on in Jan,� answered Joey.
Jan pushed the door open with her foot and entered the room. She saw that Joey was sitting up in his bed reading a comic book. He put a finger in front of his mouth and pointed with the other hand towards the lump under the covers in the next bed. Jan looked where Joey was pointing to and saw just the top of Lance�s head sticking out from under the covers.
�Hey, let me help you with that,� whispered Joey as he started to scoot off the bed.
�No, no, no. I�m fine babe. Let me just put this down so that I can have a good ole Italian hug.�
Jan very quietly placed the tray on the dresser and crossed the room to the now standing Joey who quickly pulled Jan into his strong embrace. Jan always thought that Joey gave the best hugs in the whole group. They reminded her so much of her husband�s hugs.
�How are you doing Joey?� Jan whispered into his ear.
�Fine, Jan. Just fine.� Joey�s reply was muffled against Jan�s shoulder. Jan, of course, could tell that Joey was not being 100% truthful at the moment, but decided to just go along with the answer for now. She�d be able to find out more from him later after a good night�s rest. Jan was hoping that tonight would definitely prove restful for the whole group.
�Let me look at you,� said Jan as she gently pushed away from Joey, taking his face into her hands.
Jan looked into his eyes and saw so many emotions flash before her. There was sadness, fear and maybe, just maybe, a glimmer of hope hidden beneath.
�You look great Joey.� Jan looked at the tired eyes staring at her. She couldn�t help but notice how bloodshot they were and how the dark circles under his usually bright eyes gave him a sunken appearance. She did her best not to show her concern at that moment, but she had been told never to play poker because her face always gave her away.
�No I don�t Jan,� said Joey in a small voice.
Jan cocked her head to the right and shook her head sadly as she spoke.
�I�ll admit that you have definitely looked better on other occasions sweetheart, but your Aunt Jan is going to stick around until she has the chance to see improvement in the looks department, okay.�
�You�re going to be able to stay that long Jan?� Joey said, with a hint of sadness in his voice that reached his eyes. Jan had to take a deep breath in order to keep her emotions in check when she saw and heard Joey�s sadness.
�Oh sweetie. I can stay for as long as it takes. I can guarantee that.� Jan pulled Joey back toward her and embraced him. She could tell that this was not going to be one of those �Brady Bunch kind� of problems where everything starts out horrific and is eventually hunky dory 30 minutes later. This was definitely going to take some work and time, but for her boys, Jan felt like she could move mountains if she had to.
�Hey, supper is getting cold and we need to wake up sleeping beauty over there. You both need to get something on your stomachs so that you can take your pills.�
Joey released his hold on Jan and made a face at her.
�I really didn�t like how that shot made me feel and I�m kinda worried about the pills doing the same thing.�
�They might not act like the same thing Joey. It�ll be okay.� Jan crossed the room and took one of the plates off the tray along with a glass of water, napkins and fork. Joey sat back down on his bed and leaned against several pillows that were against the headboard. Jan handed him the plate and set the other items on the nightstand before sitting down on Lance�s bed in an effort to wake him. She slowly pulled the covers down to reveal Lance lying on his stomach asleep. Jan ran her hand over Lance�s hair, which was still damp from his shower as she quietly began speaking to him in an effort to awaken him.
�Lance? Lance? Honey, it�s time to eat some supper.�
�Hmm?� Lance shifted in the bed until he was lying on his back. He opened his eyes slightly and looked up at Jan.
�Hi Jan,� he mumbled, still not fully awake. He reached out one of his hands, which Jan took in both of her hands.
�How�s it going Missy?� asked Jan, using her favorite nickname for Lance. She had fallen in love with his deep southern accent years ago when she first met Lance and had quickly given him the nickname Missy in honor of his home state, Mississippi.
�Pretty good Jan.� Lance had a very tired look on his face. Jan knew that he had been carrying the burden of Joey�s nightmares on his shoulders alone for almost three weeks. Jan smiled at the young man before getting up to get his plate from the tray.
�I brought you some supper, sweetie. You need to eat something so that you can take some medication.�
Lance slowly sat up, pushing pillows back behind him, against the headboard of his bed. He scooted back until he was able rest against the pillows. Jan returned with the tray and saw that Lance had once again fallen asleep, but this time sitting up.
�Boy, whatever the good doctor gave Lance really has knocked him for a loop,� Jan said to Joeyas she carefully laid the plate on Joey�s bed before trying once again to rouse Lance from his sleep. Joey looked over at Lance and snickered. He thought that he had the hard stuff as far as the medications went, but now he guessed that he was wrong.
�I think the shower must have done him in,� said Joey, before popping a fork full of food in his mouth.
�Must have,� said Jan as put her hand on Lance�s shoulder to gently shake him as she spoke. �Lance, honey?�
Lance�s eyes slowly opened but didn�t seem completely focused as he looked at Jan.
�Huh?�
�We need to get something on your stomach. I think it�ll help you out, okay?�
�Yeah,� he replied groggily.
Jan decided that the best thing for her to do was just to spoon feed Lance the first few bites to just get him awake and then let him take over from there.
�Open up Lance,� Jan said as she brought the first fork full up to Lance�s mouth. He opened his mouth, allowing Jan to feed him without any protest. Jan watched Lance chew and then swallow before giving him the next bite. After repeating the process several more times, Lance was finally able to take over the job.
In between bites, Lance made his apologies. �I�m sorry Jan. I don�t know what Dr. Shannon gave me, but I�m completely numb from head to toe.�
�Got anymore of that stuff?� asked Joey as he finished his last bite of supper. Jan gave him an exasperated look as she reached over and thumped Joey on the head, before speaking once again to Lance.
�He gave you some Vicodin. It�s pretty powerful if you�re not accustomed to taking any kind of strong pain medication. You also need to realize that you had been pretty exhausted to begin with from touring, helping a friend, and the incident last night.� Jan watched as Lance put his fork down, picked up the plate and put it to the side of his bed. She could tell that her remarks must have hit a nerve by the sudden silence from Joey and the fact that Lance had not even finished half of what little was on his plate, but she wasn�t going to apologize at the moment.
�That was great Jan. I don�t think I could eat another bite.� Lance looked up at Jan with his piercing, green eyes and she could see how tired, physically and emotionally, the young man was. Jan bit her tongue deciding not to pursue any more matters concerning the dreams or last night until tomorrow after everyone had rested more and was thinking clearly.
�Thanks. Do you need to get up before you take your next pill?�
�Yeah�I better.� Lance sighed and scooted his body down the pillows until he was lying once again on his back on the bed.
�Let me go get one of the others to help you out, okay?� Jan could barely stifle a laugh as she watched laid back Lance, completely laid out.
�Sure�whatever�� Lance answered, not really caring about anything at that point in time.
Jan stifled a giggle as she quickly picked up discarded plates. She placed them on the tray before picking it up to leave for the kitchen.
�I�ll be right back boys,� she said as she looked over her shoulder.
She got a waved response from Joey as he once again buried his nose in his comic book, but she received no response from Lance who had turned his back to the door and had seemingly fallen asleep once again.
With a sigh, Jan knew that she had her work cut out for her in trying to help her boys, but she was always up for any new challenge that happened to drop in her lap. With that thought in mind, she quickly entered the hallway and made her way down the stairs to the kitchen. Her next problem at hand would be to get the brave volunteer or volunteers in Lance�s case, since he would need at least two people to hold him up in order for him to make it to the bathroom without falling flat on his face. Jan said a silent prayer of thanks that she was not qualified in that department as she chuckled at the thought of what she would say to get the boys to carry out the necessary duty.