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He sighs. “Forgiveness is a brave thing, son. A man becomes strongest when he bears no malice.”
“I don’t want your words of wisdom. I’m not ready to bury that hatchet.”
* * *
“Jesus Christ,Dad, what the hell are you doing up there?”
My head is tilted back to gain a better view of him on the roof, tinkering with the satellite dish. It looks almost comical when I eye his oxygen tank following behind him while he moves the dish in different angles and directions.
He grunts and catches a deep breath before answering, “Dang satellite dish is actin’ up again. I’ve already missed fifteen minutes of the game.”
“And you thought it was a killer idea to climb on the roof with your tank?”
How he managed to pull it off is beyond me.
He shoots me a stony stare—the same one he gives when I stop him from doing physical work that is too hard on his body. “I’m a grown man who’s climbed atop rooftops and buildings taller than this. I’m capable of fixing stuff myself.”
Accepting his limitations on doing manual labor has been difficult for him. His health is deteriorating, and his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is progressing. The COPD makes it harder for him to complete his daily tasks.
“You’re asickgrown man,” I correct, hating that I have to remind him and hoping he doesn’t see it as an insult. I stalk over to his old, rusted ladder settled on the side of the house and wiggle it, double-checking it’s at least halfway steady before I climb up. “Let me help you down, and then I’ll take a look at it.”
He stomps my way, wheeling his tank behind him, and stumbles in front of me when I make it to the top of the ladder. “I got this. Stop treating me as if I were a child!”
I grit my teeth. “No, you don’tgot it. Now, let me help you down.”
He teeters forward at the same time I reach for him. My arms fly out in an attempt to catch him, but it only sends me down with him, taking the ladder with us.
Three
Lauren
“Nurse Barnes,treatment room three, patient fell off a ladder,” Natasha, the nursing director, tells me when I stroll into the ER after my brief dinner break.
The hospital has been short-staffed since I started three years ago, and I work more than I sleep. Not that I mind it, especially now, given that I’m homeless and I need all the overtime hours I can manage.
“How serious?” I ask.
Ladder falls can range from minor to pretty damn ugly. You can walk in to find a patient suffering from a broken arm or one needing facial reconstruction surgery.
Welcome to ER life. You never know what will be thrown at you each shift.
“Nothing too gory,” she answers. “I’m guessing only stitches. Guy was helping his dad off a roof. Dad fell and took them both down. Melanie is treating the father.” She grins and elbows me in the side, her voice changing into an annoying bubbly tone. “I stuck you with the son in case you’re in need of some delicious eye candy … or a date.”
I smack her shoulder. “You know it’s frowned upon to date patients.”Not that I ever would, even if it wasn’t.
She winks. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
“Stitches. Got it.” Stitches are easy-peasy.
“Ask him if he wants to grab some drinks with those stitches!” she yells to my back when I turn around.
I shake my head, blowing off her comment, and knock on the exam room door before entering. Work has taken my mind off Gage’s being back, and giving people stitches is relaxing to me, like yoga is to some people. I got certified in suturing instead of learning how to meditate.
The voice on the other side yells for me to come in, and I don’t hesitate before turning the handle and walking in, my self-proclaimed perfect nurse smile on my face.
My smile falls as I shuffle back. The door slams behind me, and I steady myself against it.
You’ve got to be kidding me! Is the universe against me this week?
