to Jared not knowing what to expect. “What are you doing? Be careful, you don’t want to overdue it,” she said, surprised to see Jared looking so alert.
“Where’s my cat?” Jared asked, his voice stronger and projecting deeper than Marta had heard before.
“Oh, your friend the nurse, who was in the accident with you, she has your cat for now. Don’t worry,” she said, fluffing his pillows and guiding him back to a more relaxed position.
“Who has Isabella?” Jared asked, puzzled.
“The lady you were with, the nurse. She has your cat.” Marta said, stroking his face with cool fingers.
Jared recoiled from her touch. “Don’t,” he said, pulling abruptly back, looking angry. He wasn’t sure what was making him feel so agitated with her, but somewhere deep in his gut, he felt the wrongness of her touch.
“I want my cat here with me,” Jared said harsher than he intended, and then tried to soften his voice. “Where’s my phone? I need to make some calls.”
“It’s okay, darling. You’ve forgotten because of the accident. Here, let me get your medicine. You mustn’t get too excited,” Marta said. She went to the prescription bottles arranged neatly on top of the dresser across the room.
“I don’t want medicine. I want my cell phone. I have to make some calls. I have work to do. Get me my cell phone, please, and I want my cat!” Now he was yelling.
“Here you go,” Marta pushed a pill into his mouth with a glass of water, a straw immediately following.
Jared spit the pill out. “I don’t want a pill! I want my cell phone and my cat,” he said, his jaw clenched shut.
“What’s going on?” Fred suddenly appeared.
“Jared’s having an episode,” Marta said softly. “He’s agitated from his head injury. I need help to make him swallow this pill. Otherwise, I’ll have to give him an injection. You don’t want a shot do you, Jared?”
“No,” Jared mumbled, feeling penitent. “I want my phone and my cat…”
Fred reached behind Jared’s shoulders and used his strength to hold him upright, while Marta used a spoon to push the little blue pill back through his lips.
“I’m sorry,” Jared said, realizing that he was being difficult when his caregivers were only trying to help.
Chapter Fifteen
Bradley Lawton peeked in on his twin daughters as they knelt side by side in front of June’s single bed. The twin girls, June and Janet were dressed identically in yellow baby doll pajamas, each looking little an angel, their golden hair haloed around their heads. Kelly, his wife, knelt between the girls, guiding them in the nightly ritual of learning their prayers.
“Sissy says her own words and not the ones from church,” Janet said, her blue eyes pleading with her mother for a chance to deviate from memorizing the boring Our Father.
Kelly, a staunch, old-school Catholic wanted the girls to know at least three main prayers before they started kindergarten at the parochial school next year. So far, the girls weren’t particularly interested in learning rote prayers despite Kelly’s persistence. Bradley really didn’t care if the girls learned the prayers or not. He’d agreed to let them be raised in the church as a condition of being allowed to marry Kelly despite his lack of religious affiliation.
“What would you say to God if you prayed in your own works?” Kelly asked finally, her patience tried. “June, you go first, you’ve done better prayers than Janet tonight.”
Bradley, about to walk away from the doorway where he’d remained unnoticed, turned back when he heard his young daughter’s plea. “Please God, find Uncle Jared. He missed Janet’s and my birthday. He said he’d bring us our own Damselfly Nymph computer game, but he didn’t come.”
“That’s my prayer, too!” Janet chimed. “Uncle Jared
“Where’s my cat?” Jared asked, his voice stronger and projecting deeper than Marta had heard before.
“Oh, your friend the nurse, who was in the accident with you, she has your cat for now. Don’t worry,” she said, fluffing his pillows and guiding him back to a more relaxed position.
“Who has Isabella?” Jared asked, puzzled.
“The lady you were with, the nurse. She has your cat.” Marta said, stroking his face with cool fingers.
Jared recoiled from her touch. “Don’t,” he said, pulling abruptly back, looking angry. He wasn’t sure what was making him feel so agitated with her, but somewhere deep in his gut, he felt the wrongness of her touch.
“I want my cat here with me,” Jared said harsher than he intended, and then tried to soften his voice. “Where’s my phone? I need to make some calls.”
“It’s okay, darling. You’ve forgotten because of the accident. Here, let me get your medicine. You mustn’t get too excited,” Marta said. She went to the prescription bottles arranged neatly on top of the dresser across the room.
“I don’t want medicine. I want my cell phone. I have to make some calls. I have work to do. Get me my cell phone, please, and I want my cat!” Now he was yelling.
“Here you go,” Marta pushed a pill into his mouth with a glass of water, a straw immediately following.
Jared spit the pill out. “I don’t want a pill! I want my cell phone and my cat,” he said, his jaw clenched shut.
“What’s going on?” Fred suddenly appeared.
“Jared’s having an episode,” Marta said softly. “He’s agitated from his head injury. I need help to make him swallow this pill. Otherwise, I’ll have to give him an injection. You don’t want a shot do you, Jared?”
“No,” Jared mumbled, feeling penitent. “I want my phone and my cat…”
Fred reached behind Jared’s shoulders and used his strength to hold him upright, while Marta used a spoon to push the little blue pill back through his lips.
“I’m sorry,” Jared said, realizing that he was being difficult when his caregivers were only trying to help.
Chapter Fifteen
Bradley Lawton peeked in on his twin daughters as they knelt side by side in front of June’s single bed. The twin girls, June and Janet were dressed identically in yellow baby doll pajamas, each looking little an angel, their golden hair haloed around their heads. Kelly, his wife, knelt between the girls, guiding them in the nightly ritual of learning their prayers.
“Sissy says her own words and not the ones from church,” Janet said, her blue eyes pleading with her mother for a chance to deviate from memorizing the boring Our Father.
Kelly, a staunch, old-school Catholic wanted the girls to know at least three main prayers before they started kindergarten at the parochial school next year. So far, the girls weren’t particularly interested in learning rote prayers despite Kelly’s persistence. Bradley really didn’t care if the girls learned the prayers or not. He’d agreed to let them be raised in the church as a condition of being allowed to marry Kelly despite his lack of religious affiliation.
“What would you say to God if you prayed in your own works?” Kelly asked finally, her patience tried. “June, you go first, you’ve done better prayers than Janet tonight.”
Bradley, about to walk away from the doorway where he’d remained unnoticed, turned back when he heard his young daughter’s plea. “Please God, find Uncle Jared. He missed Janet’s and my birthday. He said he’d bring us our own Damselfly Nymph computer game, but he didn’t come.”
“That’s my prayer, too!” Janet chimed. “Uncle Jared
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