Chapter 28

I nodded off again on the couch after breakfast, and Aunt Joan kindly, and quietly did the dishes. I woke up about 1 pm feeling really hungry.

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

“Still here?”

“Yup, should I order delivery, or are you up to making something?”

“This town doesn’t have doordash or grubhub does it?”

“No, but the Subway manager will deliver if I ask.”

I thought about it. I could make a better sandwich than Subway, but not by much. I truly didn’t feel like I was up to the task either.

“Ok, I’ll take delivery. Do you use the app to place the order?”

She gave me a funny look, “No, I just call him.”

“Ok, call him and ask for delivery, and let him know we will order with the app.”

“How will I know what I want, if he doesn’t name off all the ingredients?”

I sighed. “How about we just order on the app, and drive down and pick it up? It’s nice out, we could go to the park or something.”

“No, I’m supposed to stay here and look after you. Why don’t you tell me what you want, and I’ll just order it.”

I surrendered, and told her what I wanted, then I wrote it down for her. I went upstairs to use the bathroom while she called, I didn’t want to have to listen to her flirt on the phone.

“Thanks Jim, see you in twenty? No, store customers come first.”

She hung up and looked at me, “It’ll be about 25 minutes.”

“Did you flirt with him, or used to date him to get him to deliver?” I asked.

“I hired him,” she said.

“I don’t understand.”

“I own the Subway franchise. The old owner wanted to retire, so I hired Jim to manage it. He does a great job, I pay him well, plus a little profit share, and so as long as the store isn’t too busy, he delivers.”

“Ok, sorry. I kind of got the impression that every guy in town knows who you are because you used to date them, or they wanted to date you.”

She laughed, “That’s not the only reason I know everybody.”

I collapsed back on the couch, and she felt my forehead. “You might be getting warm again.”

“I don’t know where the thermometer is, if you want to be sure.”

“Oh, it’s on your desk, I’ll go get it, you stay here.”

‘Adam, what is going on with me?’ I subvocalized as she left the room.

‘The Orb really likes you, so it’s making you better.’

‘What the hell does that mean?’

‘Expect more stinky sweat, and another bathroom purge before it’s finished.’

‘Oh God, when will it finish?’

‘Before midnight. Good luck!’ Adam chuckled.

I moaned, and grabbed a blanket, pulling it up over myself, and stretching out on the couch.

I felt the thermometer swipe across my forehead, “100.1” Aunt Joan reported.

I just relaxed into another nap.

I could hear a soft voice as I woke again.

“He’s sleeping on the couch.”

“How high is the fever? It got to 101.2 before dropping.”

“The pizza sub is in the fridge. I didn’t even know we did a pizza sub.”

“I’ve seen your steaks in the fridge, I’m jealous.”

“I understand, I can stay all night if I have to.”

There was a beep, and I felt a hand in my head. I opened an eye.

“Would you like orange juice, or water?”

“Water,” I rasped.

A moment later she handed me a bottle of water. I struggled out of the blankets, there were several, and opened the top, taking big gulps.

“What time is it?”

“About 430.”

“Where’s Dad?”

“Working. He’s ready to quit, he’s so mad.”

“Why is he mad? He’s the low guy at work, the one they expect to fill in for everybody else.”

“The guy that was out sick, isn’t coming back, he quit. The department is down two people, and doesn’t plan to hire anyone else until the new year because of budget issues.”

“So the double shifts are going to keep going for the next four months? That guys paternity leave was supposed to be up mid September.”

“They wouldn’t give him paternity leave, he had to use his vacation time, and so resigned as well. That’s why they are now down two.”

“Where are these guys getting jobs at?”

“Summerville or further. The prison is the largest single employer in town, but everybody needs workers now with the baby boomers taking early retirement.”

“I know there were signs up at the school offering part time jobs to students over 16 starting at 15.50 an hour.”

“We aren’t getting the winter rush of Canadian migrant retail workers anymore. Their economy has finally pulled out of the recession.”

“They shouldn’t have ever banned Chinese imports,” I told her.

“It was the one thing they could do that would get Chinese fishing fleets out of their waters,” Aunt Joan explained.

“I’m just glad that’s over, I remember when they were talking about war, and which side the US would pick.”

“Yeah that was weird, like we could pick either side, they’ve both been our most important allies since the end of the war.”

“Ok, thanks for the water, but I’m feeling the need to find a bathroom.”

“Maybe consider another shower? You were sweating like a pig. A stinky pig.”

I made it to the bathroom just in time. The second bout was less horrible, but still bad.

My second shower of the day was refreshing, but I could see the water going down the drain was tinted dark, like I’d been out in the mud.