Page 12 of You Chive Me Crazy
Before I could get an answer out of Lucas, Dr. Bonebrake entered the room and handed him a few papers. “Here’s everything you need to know about taking care of Zoe.”
“This is like twenty-four-hour care.” Lucas flipped through the papers, his mouth hanging open. “I can’t spend this much time with her. The woman will eat me alive.”
I faked a laugh, trying to play it off. “Very funny,honey. You’re such a jokester.”
Dr. Bonebrake’s gaze popped back and forth between the two of us. “That is wonderful to see. A sense of humor always helps in these situations. And the good news is the CT scan did not show any structural injuries, but Zoe could have a mild concussion. It’s not a hundred percent, but it is better to err on the safe side. Foremost, it's important that she doesn’t sleep for long periods. You’ll need to wake her up every few hours and ask her basic questions like her name, where she is, the date, anything to get her thinking. This will help you monitor her level of consciousness. You can also ask her about any of those special moments you’ve shared in your marriage and things you have done together in the past.”
I turned to Lucas. “That sounds easy, doesn’t it, dear?” I widened my eyes to give him aplease-play-alonglook.
Lucas flared his nostrils at me. “Easy like Sunday morning.”
The tic in Lucas’ jaw along with the vein in his neck told me he was not happy with the situation and was most likely contemplating strangling me with Dr. Bonebrake’s stethoscope.
I watched as he took a deep breath, held it a few seconds, gave a big exhale, and then announced, “I can handle it.” This was a far cry from the way I remembered him handling things in school.
“Good,” Dr. Bonebrake said. “Because I wanted to keep her overnight for observation, but she fought me all the way. She’s a determined woman.”
“Tell me about it,” Lucas said. “I’m surprised she got a concussion, considering how hard-headed she is.”
Dr. Bonebrake laughed and glanced at me. “He must be so fun to be around.”
“Like a barrel of monkeys,” I mumbled.
“Make sure Zoe takes it easy and doesn’t take part in anything too strenuous, physically or mentally. No driving. No stress. No sex.”
Lucas snorted.
“No loud music. Try to limit your screen time, if you can. The main thing is to keep an eye out for signs of worsening symptoms that are listed on that first page.” He indicated the paper in Lucas’s hands. “Confusion, concentration, balance issues, irritability . . .”
“How can I tell if her irritability gets worse if it’s a permanent personality trait?” Lucas said, laughing.
Dr. Bonebrake laughed along with him. “That, I can’t help you with. You know her better than anyone else. But if you notice something out of the ordinary, bring her back to the ER immediately. Take it easy and everything will be just fine. As long as you promise to follow my protocol, that is.”
Lucas didn’t hesitate this time. “You got it, Doc. I promise.”
We walked in silence through the corridor toward the front of the building, but Lita stopped us at the reception desk. “Axel said your food truck is an easy fix. He’s already on it.”
“Who’s Axel?” I asked.
“Lita’s brother—he owns the car repair shop across the street,” Lucas said.
“I can’t believe he’s already working on it,” I said.
Lucas shrugged. “I told him to take care of whatever needed to be done, so you could get the truck back ASAP.”
“So, you didn’t get an estimate?”
“No,” he said. “I trust him.”
“Axel is our hometown version of Mother Teresa, so you don’t have to worry,” Lita smiled proudly. “He once found a hundred-dollar bill and went around town asking everyone if they had lost it. Unfortunately, everyone he asked kept saying yes, so he just donated the money to charity.” She laughed. “The parts are local, so Axel said he won’t need the truck for more than a day or so.”
“That’s such a relief—you have no idea,” I said, turning to Lucas with a feeling of gratitude. “Thank you for taking care of that.”
Lucas looked at me warily. “You’re welcome, my dear.”
At least he was good at playing along.
Once we got out to the parking lot, I glanced down at his leg and the ice pack in his hand. “Why are you limping?”
