Chapter 5 – On the Couch



With my help Jill made herself comfortable on the couch. I propped her casted leg on a stool, stole a glance at her toes and handed her the remote control. She looked at it as if she wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“What am I supposed to do now, watching TV?” she said indignantly.

“You are supposed to rest. You decide how to do that.”

She kicked her pump off and rested her right leg on the couch, then glared angrily at the cast.

“I have to go to the drugstore to buy the prescribed medicines. What do you want to eat?” I said.

“I am not hungry.”

“Jill, you have to eat!”

“You started treating me like a baby!” she said with subdued anger.

“I just want to make you feel better.”

“I cannot stand myself today,” she said and knitted her fingers together.

I bent over and kissed her cheek, then walked out, leaving her alone.

Making the necessary purchases took no more than half an hour. After buying some Chinese food, I hurried to get back. Jill had been crying. Turning aside, she tried to hide her tears from me, but I saw them.

“Jill! Is the pain bad?”

“No,” she answered and quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“What’s the problem? Can I do something for you?”

“This is absolutely unbearable,” she said irritably and burst into tears again.

“What?”

“Can’t you see?” she mumbled, glaring at me.

Then I noticed that she had tried to put on a pair of panties over the cast. They were stuck at the top of her casted thigh.

“Impossible,” she complained, “the cast is too big.”

“I think you should stop worrying about it,” I replied.

“Do you know how uncomfortable it is to be bare “down there”?”

“Nice rhyme,” I said with a smile.

She threw her pump at me. I manage to catch it.

“Are you angry at me?” I asked cautiously.

“No, I developed the habit of throwing my shoes when I’m calm.”

I helped her get the useless panties off and sat beside her on the couch. She put her hand around my shoulder, then pulled me towards her.

“George!”

I looked at her, drowning in her blue eyes.

“What are you really thinking?” she asked.

“About what?”

“About my predicament.”

“I like this predicament of yours,” I said and knocked on the cast.

“Really! Why?”

“You can’t run away from me.”

She tensed visibly.

“I know you can’t forgive me,” she said and withdrew her hand.

“Well, let’s not talk about the past,” I said.

“You avoided my question,” her eyes pinned me again.

“I think you need someone to take care of you. I want that someone to be me.”

“So, you will stay with me?”

“Yes!”

“Great! Give a kiss to your broken girl now!”

I complied, trying not to be too eager.

“My toes are itchy,” she said wiggling them.

“That’s just what I expected. I think I can help you.”

“Do something, please! I can’t reach them.”

I ran my hand over the hard surface of the cast and kneeled on the floor to rub her toes.

“They are all yours,” she said.

“Yes, I know what to do.”

Chapter 6 – Bath



We ate on the couch, watching TV. Jill looked much calmer than an hour ago. She seemed to be lost in thought, but I could tell she was trying to hide it from me. She avoided looking at the cast, as if she wanted to ignore it, and to forget the accident. But the cast was there, huge and white, mercilessly immobilizing her entire left leg and hip, and rendering her vulnerable and dependent.

I carried the dishes to the kitchen and washed them. When I returned, I saw her trying to stand up. Balancing on her good leg and swaying precariously, she tucked the crutches under her arms. Her casted leg jutted out in front of her, looking grotesquely large compared to Jill’s slender body.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Do I have to explain all my actions?” she said, glancing at me with a raised eyebrow.

“No, I thought you might need a hand.”

“I have to pee,” she said matter-of-factly, “and I don’t need help with this”.

I nodded, watching her unsteady movements. Her graceful gait was completely wiped out by the hip spica cast. She looked nice though, my little broken doll. So painfully fragile, and so mouthy.

“What are you staring at?” she asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Your graceful gait.”

She stopped and slumped on the crutches to free her hands. Then, she wagged her forefinger at me which she accompanied with a broad smile. Her smile evaporated as she realized that the crutches were about to slip down. She managed to grasp them just in time to prevent the fall. I noticed I had jumped to my feet.

“Sorry,” she said, looking at my face.

“Jill, please be cautious!”

“Ok.”

She reached the bathroom door without breaking another bone. I ran to the door and open it for her.

“Thank you,” she said with an unfamiliar seriousness.

A minute later, she flushed the water. I waited for her to come out. She didn’t. Instead, I heard empty vessels rattling. Then, I could hear water pouring into the tube.

“Jill, you must protect the cast,” I cried out.

“I am giving myself a sponge bath,” she cried out.

“Do you need something?”

“Nooo,” her voice echoed in the bathroom.

“Do you want me to rub your back? I said loudly.

I heard her saying, “I don’t hear you.”

Some time later, she called me.

“Bring me a t-shirt to change into.” she said through the closed door, “A big one.”

I went to the bedroom, opened her wardrobe and rummage through her clothes. Then, I choose a light blue t-shirt and got back to the bathroom. Her hand was groping blindly in the slot between the partially opened door and the door frame.

“George, how long do I have to wait?” she said just before I handed her the t-shirt.

Five minutes later, she appeared, leaning on her crutches, and dressed only with a t-shirt and a cast.

“I’m so deadly tired,” she mumbled, then slowly crutched past me.

“Are you going to bed?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“Call me if you need something.”

“By the way, we can both sleep in my bed tonight. This couch can be used only as a torturing device,” she said mildly.

“Are you sure …”

“Oh, come on George! Don’t be silly!” she said, and her casted toes curled up as if to convey some kind of emotion.

“You will need much more space than before.”

“We can fit in.”

“Ok.”

She crutched toward the bedroom, her bare right foot squelching on the floor. I followed her.