Chapter 57

Jill and I sat in the back of John's car on the way to school.

"You didn't have this parked at the airport, did you?"

"No, I caught a shuttle home. I was lucky. There were three of us and I got dropped off first."

"So how was Houston?"

"Hot and muggy. A lot of the people there hadn't seen a doctor in years. Some were in pretty bad shape. I felt bad leaving them but there wasn't much I could do."

All this time Jill had been hanging onto my arm with a goofy smile on her face.

"What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just happy."

"Any particular reason?"

"I heard what you said to Sara."

"I know. You were sitting next to me."

"Before that."

"I don't remember when you sat down."

"You told her that you were in love with me. And that you didn't want to do anything with any other women. And to stop messing with you."

"Oh. So you liked that?"

She pulled my head toward her and showed me how much she liked it. By the time I came up for air we'd stopped in front of my school.

"We'll see you tonight, Jack. I'm going to take care of some things so I won't be going in to work today. Have a good day at school."

"Thanks, John. I will."

Jill gave me another kiss to send me on my way.

School was school. Nothing special. I caught myself drifting off a couple of times. That's what you get for not getting enough sleep. It was worth it as far as I was concerned.

My work in the gym went quickly. As long as I didn't slack off, each day was pretty simple. I knew I was doing a better job than Coach had because I had to work a lot harder the first couple of days. Fridays were the toughest because of Thursday's swim meets. But they weren't as bad as the first time I did it.

I was a little surprised that it was getting dark on the walk home. The clocks would be changing soon. Halloween would be right after that. And then Jill's birthday. I had to save my money to get her something special.

I was home before I knew it. Sara was in the kitchen helping Mary make supper. They were yapping a mile a minute and didn't notice me. There was something different about Sara. That godawful bandage was gone. Just Sara.

"Good evening, ladies."

They both turned around.

"Sara, that looks good on you."

"What?"

"That smile."

She lit up even more. It was good to see that. It had been absent much of the time since she'd moved in with us. The smile faded as a look of indecision came over her face.

"What's wrong?"

"I want to do something but I don't know if it's OK."

"What?"

"Give you a hug."

"It all depends on how you do it. If you do it like a friend or a sister, that's fine. If you want more than that, no thanks."

She came over and put her arms around me.

"Be careful. My ribs still hurt."

I hugged her, taking care not to hurt her.

"Well, you must have gotten your bath. You don't stink near as bad as you did this morning."

"Stop it. I couldn't help it."

"Have you still got your bandages?"

"Nope. They gave me a big Ace bandage and I can take it off the take a bath whenever I want. And I've already talked to Mary about helping me take it off and put it on."

"That's good. How fragile are you?"

"I still have to be careful how I move and I can't lift anything. But I'm not nearly as stiff as I was before."

"Good. You look a lot better."

"I feel better. I needed you to kick me in the butt. I didn't know what a real family was like. I don't think either of my parents ever heard of helping anybody with anything."

"That's sad. Wait till you do a load of laundry or something for Mom while she's at work and she gives you a hug when she gets home. There's no feeling like it."

"I feel pretty good just helping make dinner."

"Good. What are we having?"

"Breaded pork chops, green beans, salad."

"Sounds good."

Sara went back to the stove and Mary turned around.

"Mary. What did the dentist say?"

"I'm gonna get implants!"

"New tits?"

"No, Silly. They can put false teeth into your jawbone so they work just like the real thing."

You mean you won't be able to take them out?"

"Nope."

"That's too bad. A lot of guys like gum jobs. You'd be real popular."

"God, Jack. You're awful."

"You look like something's on your mind. What's up?"

"I saw Charlie today."

"How was it?"

"I was so scared at first. He got hurt a lot more than me and it was because he tried to stop those guys from hurting me."

"That's what guys do for women they love, Mary. It's not your fault."

"That's what he told me. Oh, Jack. He was so sweet. He apologized for making me feel bad. He lost an eye and he feels bad because I'm uncomfortable."

"Charlie's a pretty special guy. Were you comfortable being with him?"

"Yeah, I was. I didn't think I would be. But he saw me and he smiled and it was like the first time I saw him. We kissed for the first time today."

"How was that?"

"Fantastic. Wonderful. Awkward."

"Are you going to see him when he gets out?"

"I think so. I told him I'm not ready to date but I think we'll become good friends. Who knows. Maybe some day I'll be ready for more."

"I'm glad you saw him. And I'm glad you're feeling good about it.

"Me, too. I wasn't going to. I went up to see Thelma and that was it. She started in about 'that poor boy' being down there all by himself and he needed a friend and before I knew what was happening I was knocking on his door."

"Yeah, that Thelma's something else. She just seems to know what people need."

The doorbell rang and I went to answer it. Jill jumped in my arms as John stood on the step, smiling.

"Come on, you two. Move out of the way so I can get in the house."

I backed up, dragging Jill with me, and John was able to make it through. He went in the kitchen and I could hear him talking to the girls, teasing and praising them for the work they were doing.