by J. L. Salter
“Kevin said it was punitive.”
“Not really. I think part of it was temporary insanity — a frantic couple of weeks at a crazy job with a lunatic boss. I went a little nuts, I guess.” Amanda thought for a moment. “But there was also an element of curiosity. You know, whether Christine’s strategy would actually work.” She rolled her eyes. “We could never figure out why you put up with it. You could have left at any time.”
“I kept thinking some tiny villagers would pour a bucket of water on Christine and she’d melt into the castle floor. With the evil witch destroyed, I figured you’d come to your senses and comfort me, a little.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t comfort you. But I felt I had to blast you out of my apartment since you wouldn’t leave on your own. Nursing a sick man is very high maintenance.” Amanda went silent for a moment. “I feel positively awful about being so rotten to you. ’Specially with the way you’re taking such good care of me now.”
He looked around like a mysterious light had just turned on. “Am I taking good care of you?”
“Yes, you are, and I really appreciate it.” Amanda searched his face. “Speaking of… why are you treating me so nicely? I mean, since you got here last night.”
Jason gave her a long look. “I’ve always wanted to treat you real nice, but usually you’ve already decided what’s going to happen, or you’re busy with something, or dashing off somewhere. What’s different now is that you can’t run away.”
Amanda’s eyes filled. She stroked Jason’s tousled hair and rested her hand on the nape of his neck. “Your mother said the only reason you stuck it out was your mule-headed stubbornness.”
“Mom said I was mule-headed?”
“Among other things.”
“What else did she tell you?”
Amanda considered how much to reveal. “She suggested I bake you some brownies.”
“Do you bake?”
“Here’s my phone. Order the pizza.”
———
After supper they both watched television.
Jason took a long sip of his beer. “You know, I probably would have starved to death if it hadn’t been for those Oreos.” He clearly struggled to suppress a grin.
“Oreos! Finally an explanation for the mysterious tiny black crumbs I kept finding.” She turned and faced him. “Where the heck did you get Oreos?”
Jason chuckled. “In a corner of your garage, in a grocery sack. Along with a dozen eggs, a quart of milk, and a loaf of bread.”
“Impossible! Christine swept my garage with a fine-tooth comb.”
“Well, she must have walked right by that bag. It was in the corner, in plain sight.”
“So you dined on eggs and milk and bread, and Oreos?”
“Nope, just the Oreos. Bread was moldy, green and black. Milk was rancid and clumpy. And eggs without refrigeration spoil really fast. Sam-and-ella, you know.”
She winced at his pronunciation. “I don’t remember missing any of those groceries.” Amanda closed her eyes briefly.
“There were twenty-something items listed on the receipt, but only those four in that particular bag.”
“Wonder how long they sat there?”
“Receipt was dated middle-June.” Jason took a final swig of his beer.
“Middle of June. Oh, that’s when my sister was here with two of her husband’s nephews. The Oreos were to keep those boys from climbing my drapes. I wondered what happened to those other items. I figured the bagger just screwed up and gave them to the customer behind me.” Amanda winced. “They stayed an entire weekend with me and nearly drove… me… out… of… my… mind.”
If Jason wondered how much trouble it could be to entertain and feed three people for two days, he wisely remained silent.
“So the milk, eggs, and bread were inedible. How were the Oreos after two months in that corner?”
“Pretty bad, actually. Summer… hot garage. The white centers had mostly melted and the black wafers had wallowed apart. The half which kept most of the remaining melted white stuff wasn’t too bad, though awful chewy.”
“Yeah, I’d expect crisp would leave that hot bag after the first week.” She looked around. “So, where’d you hide them?”
“Well, I gave that considerable thought. If I’d been at my own apartment, they would’ve gone straight to the underwear drawer of my dresser.”
“I can imagine they’d be relatively safe there.”
“But since I was a stranger in a strange land, so to speak, I couldn’t think of any hiding places. So, I left them in the bag in the corner of the garage. You know, hide in plain sight. You’d been overlooking them since mid-June and the evil witch Christine didn’t find them in her sweep. I figured they were safe right there.”
“You left the whole bag of Oreos out there?”
“Well, I ate nearly half the bag that first day I found them. Then I got to thinking I might ought to ration them out a bit. So I ate five cookies a day over the next four days. Then I ran out. Nearly cried.”
“I’ve read that prisoners form attachments to certain things.”
Jason shrugged.
“But at least you’ve trimmed down that waist a little. You’re looking very fit, after your crash diet.”
“That’s what my mom said. I didn’t realize everybody thought I was so fat before.”
Amanda struggled with the proper response. “You’re not fat. But all your snack choices go to the same spot.” She poked the area of his former paunch.
Jason just looked down at that area of his body like he’d never noticed it before.
Chapter 24
Amanda got up on her crutches and hobbled toward her bedroom. “I really need a shower.”
Jason rose from the couch and followed her. “Need any help?” He sounded tentative.
“The doctor said I can’t get these bandages wet.” She pointed to her right foot. “Could you get this boot off? I can loosen the straps, but I can’t pull it off without brushing against my toes.” She sat on the bed and extended her right leg.
Jason went down on one knee like he was about to propose. He gently cradled her calf with his forearm and carefully removed the boot. In truth, he did lightly graze one of her injured toes and Amanda struggled to keep from yelping.
“Okay?”
She let out her breath. “Yeah, thanks.”
“What else do you need?”
“Could you bring me a gallon freezer bag and some tape?”
“Sure.” He jumped up and hurried down the hallway, but returned immediately. “Where are the freezer bags?”
“Drawer next to the fridge.”
“Makes sense.” He dashed away and came back with two bags. “In case the first one doesn’t fit.”
Two identical gallon freezer bags would be exactly the same size, but she didn’t mention that minor detail. “Did you find the tape?”
“Oh, tape. Where do you hide it?”
“Drawer next to the silverware.”
He sped off.
Amanda heard him turn in the hallway and she called out, “Silverware’s to the left of the sink. Tape’s in the next drawer over.” She heard the silverware drawer open, so he evidently had to establish a point of reference. Then the other drawer opened and closed.
“Got it,” he hollered from the distance.
Amanda’s drawer held at least four sizes and types of tape. Jason came back with the largest: duct tape, two inches wide. “I figured a quart bag would use the small tape, so the gallon bags probably need the big stuff.”
“Wise choice. Thanks.”
“You want me to put the bag on?”
Not totally certain it was a good idea to involve him, she still replied, “Please.”
When she extended her leg, he cradled it again. Amanda liked the feel of his arm under her calf, and she yearned to feel his touch higher on her legs. Much higher. Of course, she’d want to shave first — right now she had three and a half days of stubble.
She closed her eyes.
He obviously took great care to keep the bag from touching her toes. “How’s that?” Jason gently let her leg come to rest against the side of the bed until her heel barely touched the floor.
She opened her eyes and examined the temporary transparent bootie. “If I hold the edges over, could you run a bit of tape around it for me?”
“Sure. How many wraps?” He probably envisioned the ankles of NFL linemen… with perhaps a dozen layers.
“Uh, I think one will be sufficient. Thanks.” She liked having him hover around her legs and wished she could think of another related chore. She couldn’t.
Jason did, however. “Can you get into the shower okay? Need help stepping over the ledge? I don’t think you’re supposed to take the crutches in there… might slip. Plus the wood could warp and those wing nuts can rust.”
Good thinking. “You’re right, no crutches in the shower. Yeah, I could use a hand getting in and out.” This could be dicey.
———
Jason scanned her bedroom. “Uh, what are you wearing after you dry off?”
“There’s some cotton nightdresses in that drawer.” She pointed.
He reached toward the dresser and then looked over his shoulder. “This one?” He’d been taught never to look inside a lady’s drawers.
“Yeah, that’s the drawer. Nightdresses on the right. I’ll take whatever’s on top.”
“It’s pinkish.”
“Pink’s fine.” Amanda closed her eyes as she mentally walked through the process. “Let me get into the bathroom and I’ll take off my things.” She wore cargo shorts and panties, plus tee-shirt and bra. “Then I’ll call you to help me get in the shower.”
“Okay.” Jason rubbed his palms on the sides of his jeans and waited.
Unless that was a crutch hitting the wall, Amanda bumped her elbows as she disrobed. She yelped once — panties probably snagged on the toe splints. The toilet flushed. Then she announced, “Okay, I could use some strong arms now.”
Jason approached her bathroom with as much nervousness as the first time he’d made out in high school. “Should I close my eyes or something?”
“Only if you want to smack into the doorframe.” She giggled. “Jason, you’ve seen me naked before.”
“I know, but that’s only been right before we…” He strained for the remaining words.
No matter, she certainly understood. “Well, I’m injured now, so just think of me as a patient. You won’t even notice my body.”
Jason knew that was a lie. He began moving with his eyes closed, but smacked into the doorframe. When Jason reopened his eyes, his mouth fell open as well. He definitely noticed her lovely naked form. It was as though he’d never before seen her in the flesh. Amanda had goose pimples over 80 per cent of her body, and Jason could see nearly 60 per cent of those.
“I’m ready to get in now.”
“Huh?” His brain couldn’t process any possible activity besides caressing her skin and kissing her lips. But somewhere, somehow, he found an override switch. “Okay, am I holding you or are you gripping me?”
“Let’s try it both ways before I get in. We’ll see which seems more steady.”
Jason reached his left arm behind her back and that hand brushed against the side of her breast before he found her upper arm. His right hand held her near forearm. “Okay, that’s with me holding you.” He was perspiring and could feel a very slight tremor in his limbs. “If we both move sideways about two feet, you’d be in the shower.”
Amanda acted like she didn’t want his arms to move, and she sighed heavily. “Okay.”
He figured that was the signal to drop his arms.
“Right. So, now I’ll hold onto you.” She leaned into his left side, with her right arm around his back and her left hand clutching his belt buckle. “I don’t think this works as well. It has me backing into the shower. Let’s use the first one.”
“Amanda, we better get your nekkid body in that water before I jump in there with you. This is agony.”
“I’m sorry.” She probably wasn’t, but she touched his shoulder softly. “Okay, the first position was best. You hold onto me and we’ll move slowly to my left.”
It was not elegant, but their movements eventually got her into the shower where the water was already running. Jason closed the curtain, backed out of the bathroom, went down the hall, and washed his face in cool water at the kitchen sink. Amanda was a beautiful woman and Jason found it difficult to witness her wearing nothing but a freezer bag… without taking the next logical steps.
After drying his own face on a dining napkin and locating clean towels in the hall closet, Jason returned to her bedroom. He sat on her bed with two large towels in his lap and waited.
Amanda took her time in the shower. She’d said it was her first full wash since Wednesday morning… not counting the spit baths on Thursday and Friday.
Jason heard Amanda humming something, but couldn’t quite make it out. Parts of it sounded like Carly Simon’s Anticipation. But other portions resembled Mitzi Gaynor’s shower song in South Pacific. When the water stopped, so did Amanda’s medley.
She pulled back the curtain and called out, “Sorry it took so long. I had to wash my hair twice and shave my legs. My heel kept slipping with this plastic bag on my foot.” She tapped on the wall. “If you’re nearby, I’m ready to dry off and get out.”
He jumped up and reached into the bathroom. The steam and herbal shampoo aroma was nearly overwhelming. “Here’s two clean towels. Call me when you’re dry.”
“Uh, wait. I’m going to need some more help. I’ve only got one drying hand. I have to hold on to this rack to steady myself.” She returned one of the towels. “I think I can get most of my front, but I need you at my back.”
Jason groaned, but competitive sports had taught him to keep going when the going got tough. He dried her neck, shoulders, arms, and upper back. Alrighty. Then he toweled her ankles, calves and knees. He paused before touching her mid-back, buttocks, and thighs. “This is the red zone, Amanda. Once I get inside the 20-yard-line, I usually want to score.”
“Injury… patient. Remember? A doctor shouldn’t score with an injured patient.” She seemed to enjoy this too much; it clearly pleased her to know she still excited him.
Jason closed his eyes and rubbed her posterior, from mid-back all the way to mid-thighs. Sweat poured from his forehead and he held the damp towel near his belt buckle. “That dry enough? Let’s get you out of there.”
“Okay.” She turned and faced him.
His eyes grew large and there was another slight tremble in his hands. “Me holding you, or you holding me?”
“Coming out, I think I can hold onto you. If you’ll come a bit closer, that is.”
He moved slowly. She reached behind his back with her right arm and clutched his belt buckle again with her left hand. As she did, the damp towel fell away and Amanda could see why he’d held it there.
Very awkwardly, he helped her step over the shower ledge and take two more short steps to the center of the bathmat. “Here’s your crutches and your nightie thing. I need to step outside and get some air.”
Amanda’s smile had a dreamy look about it and she kissed his cheek lightly. “Thanks for all your help.”
“No problemo.” He left hurriedly, but his gait was affected.
———
Looking into the large mirror, Amanda realized she had not felt that alive in years. As she slipped the cotton nightdress over her damp hair, she thought she heard a tennis ball banging into the wall of the laundry house. Surely not the no-neck kid, not at that time of evening! She hobbled to her bedroom window and peeked out. Jason was taking out his frustration on the unsympathetic bricks.
He banged on those bricks for a good ten minutes while Amanda dried her hair and found her left slipper. She was seated on the couch when Jason came back inside.
“Thanks for your help, Jason. I’m sorry if it was awkward
.” She wasn’t really.
He panted from the outside exertion. “I just want to ask you one thing.”
“Shoot.”
“When your foot heals up, we’re both going to get in that shower, together. Okay?”
It was more of a declaration than a question, but she nodded. “Sure.”
“And then you dry me off — back and front.”
Amanda just smiled slyly.
Jason pointed to the gallon bag still covering Amanda’s foot, and she nodded. He knelt down and gently peeled off the duct tape. After carefully removing the freezer bag, he softly dabbed a dishtowel around the top of her foot where some moisture had crept in.
“Did my bandages get wet?”
He leaned way over and peered closely. “Looks dry to me.” From that same position, he looked up at her face. “Do you have to put the boot back on?”
She nodded again. “Supposed to.”
“I think we left it in the bedroom. Be right back.” He returned with the blue canvas plank and very carefully placed it back on her right foot. He cradled her newly shaven calf for a few moments before apparently realizing his boot task was already complete. Amanda didn’t mention it.
They settled on the couch and watched the very end of a dramatic romance; then Amanda handed him the remote. “I think I’ll read for a bit. Anything you want to see?”
“I think there’s a pre-season NFL game this evening. Maybe the Titans are playing. No college football ’til September 5th.” He reached for the remote slowly, as though he thought she might jerk it back at the last moment. She didn’t. “You sure you don’t mind me changing?”
“No, I want you to change.” She’d answered a different question. “I mean… it’s fine. Go ahead and watch the game. I like watching you watch ballgames.” White lie.
“You do?”
“Sure. It’s interesting to see you get so riled up at the refs.” That part was true.
Jason surfed until he found the game. It took two complete runs through the entire sequence because a commercial was playing the first time he hit the correct channel.
By 10:30, Amanda was ready for bed. It had been a very long day.