Page 6 of Finding Romance
This woman literally had surgery yesterday and she’s already bossing me around. Hopefully, that’s a good sign.
“Aunt Cornelia, you can’t drink. You’re on painkillers,” I chastise, my hands going to my hips as I walk into the living room. I managed to get her set up on a chair with her leg on the ottoman. She glares at me, and I want to smirk but I’m tired. She may weigh nothing, but damn, it’s hard helping her move around. The friend that brought over their walker that has a little seat on it and wheels also brought over a special chair for the toilet which has been useful. She can’t shower for a few days, so I went and got some more wet wipes for her. At some point last night, she offered to call a nursing service if it was too much. But I can be as stubborn as her, so I told her firmly no.
“I know that. But that doesn’t mean everyone else can’t have some,” she says with a long sigh.
I pat her shoulder. “Sorry. Maybe you’ll be off pain meds by next week.”
“I hope so,” she grumbles as Margie comes in and sets some tea down on the small stand next to her. “What’s that?” she asks as she points to the mug.
“Vanilla red tea. You’ll like it. I added simple syrup,” Margie says with a big smile.
My aunt rolls her eyes, and I turn around to hide my grin.
There’s a knock on the door and I leave the two older women to discuss the plusses and minuses of red tea. I open it and am surprised to see Kasen standing there.
“Oh, hey,” I manage as I look up at him. “Do you need something?”
“No, but I think you need something.” He turns and points to the open door behind him. I peer around him and see a chair.
Frowning, I look back at him. “Uh, I…” I trail off because I have no idea what to say.
“I have one of those chairs that lifts you to help you stand. It also lies flat, well, nearly flat. I thought Cornelia might like to borrow it,” he explains.
“You rang?” a voice calls out as a giant, blond man comes up the stairs.
“Hutch, you want to help carry this,” Kasen asks the man. I feel like I’ve met him before, maybe when I visited a few years ago.
“Oh, hey, you’re Piper, right?” Hutch asks as he extends a hand, well, it’s more a giant mitt. Then it dawns on me. He’s the football player and I did meet him a few years ago but he was sitting down and we only spoke for a few minutes since I had to leave to go attend a friend’s photo exhibit downtown.
“Yep. I think we met a while back, yes?” I ask him, confirming that I’m not making up something in my head, which seems entirely possible because I haven’t exactly slept great since being here. I thought I had to pee a lot but Aunt Cornelia needs to get up at least twice in the night.
He smiles and it puts me at ease. Something is calming about Hutch, like he’s a giant but he wouldn’t hurt a fly. I make a mental note to think of Hutch as a gentle giant. Especially when he picks up what has to be a several-hundred-pound chair with ease and Kasen guides it through the door of my aunt’s apartment. Hutch sets it next to the one Aunt Cornelia is sitting in and then sits down in it.
Patting the armrests, he looks around. “I think you’ll like the view better in this chair,” he states. Then he stands and leans over Aunt Cornelia. “May I?” he asks as he looks from her to the chair.
“Hutch, you better be gentle. I’m old,” she protests.
“Ma’am, I’m always gentle,” he says with a wink as he scoops her up and then, true to his word, cautiously sets her down in the fancy chair.
He presses a button on the remote and the leg rest moves up, supporting the cast on her leg. He leans in and shows her how it works, including a heat option and a massage option.
“This is heaven,” Aunt Cornelia declares as she vibrates with the chair.
We all laugh.
“OK, well, feel free to keep that until you are all recovered,” Kasen says as he walks back over to the door and Hutch joins him.
“Thank you, sweat pea,” Aunt Cornelia says. “But if you think for one minute I’m giving you back this chair, you have another thing coming.”
He chuckles and walks out with Hutch in tow.
“Oh, keep a lookout for my necklace, boys!” she calls out after them.
“We will,” Kasen replies as he shuts the door.
I’m about to bring in a charcuterie board that Margie’s prepared when there’s a knock at the door.
“The ladies are here,” my aunt says, and for the first time in days, I see a real smile grace her lips.
