“See how stupid treatment plans are?” Dash murmured. Seconds later, he began to snore, deep puffs of breath tickling my chest hair.
I placed the folder on the nightstand and tucked my hand around his head, my thumb gently swiping over his hair. Sea Springs had several new and trendy plant-based restaurants and stores, and a meal prep company to order from. There was also one that fascinated me, because it sold different levels of mineral water. My kind of store.
Dixie came to the edge of the bed. It was funny how they still asked to go outside when the doggie door was feet away. I motioned her out, trying to envision what the next few months looked like for us.
“Alexa, turnoff the bedroom lamps,” I whispered, the room went dark. I stared at the ceiling, wishing for sleep to take my mind off what the future looked like.
Dash
Six days later
Thanksgiving parade
The silence inside my empty home always gave an eerie vibe. Before I broke all of Beau’s overstated rules, I locked the dogs out of the house to keep them from getting underfoot, confining them to the backyard.
For the most part, I felt steady on my feet, managing to walk short distances on my own from my bed to the bathroom. But I regularly found myself out of breath, needing frequent rest periods before I started again. And stubbornly I refused to use this silly walker when anyone else was home.
Today, though, I conserved my energy. Dressed in their finest Thanksgiving costumes, the girls and the rest of the family had left for their school performance. They were beyond thrilled to celebrate a holiday they hadn’t known existed until weeks ago. Though, they did wish the holiday had gift giving associated with it. And they weren’t a hundred percent clear on why we give thanks, after all, according to everything they knew to this point, the Native Americans and pilgrims needed to thank each other for their friendship. Boy, learning that truth was going to hit hard.
But the turkey thawing in the refrigerator was officially given the name George by Amelia, and had regular eyes checking on its status of defrost. The girls loved the entire process.
I was on my sixth full lap around the kitchen table, weaving through the living room and making a turn through the bedroom. When fatigue overwhelmed me, I rested for no more than five minutes. I also relied on the breathing techniques I had learned to help my lungs to continue to expand properly, without giving out. Other than that, I gripped the walker as if it were an extension of my body.
As my feet changed gait to include a shuffle, I’d take a tumble if I didn’t take another break. But thanks to my superior time management skills, I anticipated my clan arriving home soon with pizza in hand. Which meant I needed to get back to bed before Beau went berserk because he thought I was overdoing it.
Like clockwork, the headlights of the Tahoe circled the inside wall of the living room. They pulled into the front of the house. A bead of sweat trickled down my temple as I hurried to stash the walker and open the doggie door for the two greeters to meet the rest of the family.
With a brief glance in the bathroom mirror, I caught my reflection and quickly tucked the longer strands behind my ears. There wasn’t much of a style, but the grown-out pieces didn’t look bad. The dark roots weren’t near as dark as I remembered. Maybe I had a new look.
As for the rest of me, I still appeared gaunt, too skinny, and looked old, but not as bad as before.
“Daddy! We’re home. Paw got us pizza as a treat,” Ava called from across the house, her flat-footed run clomping toward me. Duke and Dixie’s claws clicked on the tile floor keeping stride with her.
“We got cheese pizza for us,” Mia yelled louder. “And pepperoni for everyone else.”
The level of excitement meant this pizza dinner, which Beau had contrived with no pushing from me, was really something special. Finally, he understood the excitement of breaking the rules now and then.
“And apple juice boxes,” Livie shouted, probably with the most excited voice of all three. “Paw said you talked him into giving us treats every so often and I believe our parade is often.”
West tossed out incoherent babble, not to be outdone by his sisters. Ava met me at the bedroom door, still in her brightly-colored costume, her face beaming at me. “Do you want to watch the performance in your room, or the living room? Paw said we can eat in here with you if we sit still and not spill,” she explained. “Gigi’s gonna give West a bath. He spilled down his shirt. Abuela’s gonna watch her shows.”
What was happening inside this home? Beau never allowed meals outside of the kitchen. Ava read me like a book, shrugging. “Paw’s being different. At the end of the show, Paw gave us a bunch of flowers from you and him, and you weren’t there to hear thank you.”
Joy filled my heart with her reasoning. “That’s nice. I’m glad we did that for y’all,” I said, gripping onto the doorframe. My legs wobbled. “Y’all can come in here. That’ll be fun.”
She dashed away, squealing at the top of her lungs. “Paw! He said yes.”
As I started for the bed, I heard the pounding of their tennis shoes, a flat-footed run from across the house. I climbed in, readying myself for the onslaught.
“Paw, bring the pizza.”
Within seconds, Ava’s shoes were flung to the side, and she sat crisscrossed in the middle of the bed.
“I have the plates and napkins!” Mia hollered as she burst into the bedroom like a whirlwind.
“Mia, get a big towel for the bed,” I said, settling into my place on the mattress. Tonight, it felt good to be off my feet. She bounded onto the bed, left the plates and napkins in Ava’s care, and rolled off the other side, disappearing inside the bathroom.
Everyone else entered the room at the same time. Beau held pizza boxes, napkins, and a six pack of apple juice boxes. We never had apple juice, because Beau worried about their teeth. Mia tossed the towel at me as she climbed on the bed, kicking her shoes off. They flew in different directions. Livie still wore her head gear, flowers, apples, and corn stalks popped out the top of the headband.
