Wheels of Steel, Book 1 by Pepper Pace

cream and sugar in mine, and I’m going to the restroom.” He disappeared and Robin made up their coffee. He used a tall plastic traveler’s mug and she made sure to put the lid on carefully. All she needed was for him to burn himself and get mad at her.
     
     
    Then, while he was still in the restroom she did the dishes hoping that he wouldn’t get pissed or expect her to do them all of the time. The thing is, she felt that if he left dishes in the sink then one day she’d walk into the kitchen and there would be roaches and that was something that she just couldn’t tolerate.
     
     
    In the bathroom, Jason was in front of the mirror, struggling with the hairbrush. His hair, dampened by his morning bath, was impossibly tangled. Some days he worked the knots out, some days he didn’t. It was a chore to maintain his shoulder length curls but he wouldn’t cut it. He needed his hair long in order to show his mother that he was man enough to make his own decisions. She hated his hair long and therefore he wanted it this way.
     
     
    He had a brush that had a velcro strap that went around his fist so that he wouldn’t constantly drop it but he still managed to pull out more knots then he managed to work through. Eventually Robin made her way to the bathroom when he didn’t return to the kitchen and the clock was ticking. She stood in the open doorway and watched him struggle.
     
     
    Fatigue took away much of her inhibitions. “Let me have that brush.” He gave her a mean look but when she didn’t retreat he handed it to her and grumbled under his breath. She realized that much of his annoyance wasn’t directed at anyone in particular; he was just a grumbler. She gripped a handful of damp curls and quickly brushed them smooth. When she had the ends tangle free, she gently worked the brush from scalp to end. She had his hair smooth in about five minutes.
     
     
    “You did that quick.” She met his eyes in the mirror and then she quickly swept off her cap. Her tight curls sprung out from beneath it. “Ahh.” He said in understanding. She had hair about as unruly as his. She handed him back the brush and then quickly pulled the cap back on her head. She looked over at the toilet.
     
     
    “Did you already…?”
     
     
    “Yep. All taken care of.” He wheeled out of the bathroom. “I’m going to eat breakfast and then you can help me shave. After that we can hit the road.” He ate Cheerios again and was equally as messy. Robin sat at the table sipping her coffee and watching him with steadily drooping eyes. He read the paper and ignored her. When he coughed she sat up straight and stared at him as if she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar. If he noticed he didn’t mention it.
     
     
    Just so that she wouldn’t feel the desire to continue to doze off she told him about the class. “Mary Louise set up my seizure emergency class for this Saturday.” He peeked at her over his paper.
     
     
    “Yeah. She left me a message.” He folded his paper neatly. “I made you a schedule of my classes. Tomorrow is Friday and I only have two so you won’t have to get here until eight.” She almost wanted to drop to the floor and kiss his feet. “But I have massage therapy and I’ll need you to get me there and back. Still it will be a fairly short day.”
     
     
    “Okay.” She wondered something. “Jason, you don’t have an aid for the evening, do you?”
     
     
    “Currently, no.”
     
     
    “Well…don’t you need one?”
     
     
    “At dinnertime and at bedtime, yes. But most times I just have a shake or soup so I don’t have to worry about choking.” He wasn’t a hermit so if people came over or he went out then he could risk heavier food. Bathing still required some effort; not the actual washing himself, but getting in and out of the tub without killing himself. And it would be much more efficient if he had an aid that could help him with the bathroom, but he already knew that