48 Hours-Part 3
By Ginny (vkinneman@aol.com)
See part one for notes and stuff.
The rest of the series can be found at www.gkinneman.com under the Really Miscellaneous Stories section.
Thanks for the reviews.
**************************
The next morning Ella was up early. Elizabeth's eyes popped open when she heard the little patter of feet on the hardwood floor. "Wob, Wob," called Ella as she made a beeline for Robert's side of the bed. Elizabeth's arm snaked out from under the covers and she caught Ella before she could launch herself at Robert's sleeping form.
"Robert's tired Ella, let him sleep. You can play later," Elizabeth said as she wiped her eyes and threw on her robe. She pulled the quilt back up around Robert and kissed his forehead. Elizabeth made some pancakes and while Ella ate she called Dorothy to ask her if she could run over to Robert's house and let Gretel out. Dorothy offered to bring Gretel over to Elizabeth's house, an idea that got Ella very excited.
Dorothy came by a while later, bringing a very excited dog with her. Ella flew to the front door and was nearly knocked over by Gretel. Dorothy made her way past the pair and headed to the kitchen where Elizabeth pouring some coffee. "Thanks so much for bringing Gretel over. One less thing I have to worry about today."
"It's no problem. I was on my way over to the house to pick up the dry cleaning anyway. So where is he?" Dorothy asked as she took the mug of coffee Elizabeth offered her.
"Sleeping. He wandered over here last night. I was pretty sure that would happen."
"Drunk?" Dorothy asked with a sigh.
"No, he wasn't. He was tired and sad. Didn't say anything and basically cried himself to sleep."
Dorothy shook her head and sighed again. "It's just not fair."
"No, it's not," agreed Elizabeth sadly. "I imagine he's going to want to mope around for a while."
"I'm sure. Keep an eye on him or he'll mope with a bottle of scotch."
"I know. I'll give him 48 hours and then boot him back out into the world. Put him in charge of finishing the Christmas shopping or something like that."
"Yeah, I can just picture Robbie at Toys R Us," chuckled Dorothy as she took the final sip of her coffee. "I should get going. Call me if you need anything. Gretel's food and stuff is on the front porch. And I grabbed some clothes and stuff for him. It's all on the bench in the foyer."
"Thank you so much," said Elizabeth as she gave Dorothy a quick hug of gratitude. Elizabeth took a quick shower and got dressed. She also dressed Ella and set her in front of a DVD while she went back up to check on Robert. He was still asleep but starting to stir. "Hey sleepy head," Elizabeth teased as she sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over to kiss Robert.
"What time is it?" he muttered as he ran his hand over his beard.
"About 11. Dorothy dropped Gretel off a little while ago. You plan on getting up this morning?" asked Elizabeth trying to keep the tone in her voice indifferent. Robert merely shrugged his shoulders. "Time for Let's Make a Deal", Elizabeth thought to herself. "You can stay in bed if you want to. You have 48 hours," she said as Gretel bounded up the stairs and came into the room.
"48 hours for what Lizzie?" asked Robert, thoroughly confused as he sat up a little, petted Gretel and reached for the glass of water on the night stand.
"To mope around. Come Monday morning the pity party is over. Until then, feel free to lie around in your pajamas," she said, teasing him just a little as she gave him a playful poke in the chest for emphasis. The teasing fell flat as Robert backed away from her just a little. Elizabeth switched gears instantly and reached for his hand. "Do you want to talk?" she asked as she kicked off her shoes and stretched out next to him. Robert just shook his head and looked out the window, clearly avoiding Elizabeth's gaze. She took a few seconds to get a good look at him. His eyes were still red and puffy from the night before and despite all the sleep he'd gotten he still looked exhausted. Elizabeth didn't know how to help him and she knew the quickest way to get him to shut down was to push him. "I'm going to take Ella and Gretel out for a walk. Why don't you get some more sleep," she suggested as she reached to rub his left shoulder. Robert flinched and Elizabeth pulled her hand away quickly. From experience she took that to mean he was in pain, phantom or otherwise. She leaned over and pulled the heating pad from where it had been shoved under his side of the bed a few nights earlier. She flicked the switch on and silently handed it to him. With a heavy sigh he wrapped it gingerly around his shoulder and settled back down under the quilt. Elizabeth kissed his forehead and tucked him in. "I'll have my phone. Call me if you need me."
"Thank you," Robert whispered as she turned to leave the room. Elizabeth acknowledged it with a sad smile as she shut the door behind her.
Elizabeth and Ella set off with Gretel for a walk to the nearby park. The weather was unseasonably warm and they were looking forward to taking advantage of it before the dreaded Chicago winter set in.
Robert tossed and turned for a while, unable to fall back to sleep. His shoulder was stiff and he was getting the vague uncomfortable feeling that was usually a precursor to full blown episode of phantom pain. The phantom pain didn't happen often, usually once or twice a month. But being a doctor it was really hard for Robert to handle as there wasn't one sure fire thing that made him feel better. Sometimes heat worked, sometimes ice, sometimes nothing really helped much at all.
Finally a little after noon Robert dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. He let the hot water run over his shoulder for a long time in the faint hope that the phantom pain would fade away before completely taking hold. It didn't work and by the time he got out of the shower he was about ready to crawl back in bed and hide. He took some Advil hoping to get rid of the headache that had also taken hold. By the time Elizabeth and Ella returned he was miserable. Elizabeth found him in the kitchen pacing around the island, an ice pack against the stump.
"Wob, Wob," yelled Ella as she launched herself at him. Robert winced and dropped the ice pack as he ignored the pain and picked her up.
"How was the park?" he asked as he kissed her cheek and sat down at the kitchen table with Ella in his lap. Elizabeth slipped off Ella's coat and casually took her off his lap and put her in her booster seat. Robert gave her a grateful look and took the ice pack she offered him. Ella told Robert all about their trip to the park while Elizabeth made lunch and Gretel rested her head on his knee.
Ella ate an entire bowl of macaroni and cheese and an apple while Robert just picked at his food. Elizabeth said nothing, living up to her promise of given him 48 hours of moping. She just cleared away the dishes and took Ella up for a nap. Robert loaded the dishwasher, turned on the burner under the teakettle and paced around again. Elizabeth was back down a few minutes later, watching him as he wore a path between the back door and the refrigerator.
"Anything I can do?" she asked from the doorway as she pointed to his left side. Robert just shook his head. "Worse than usual?" asked Elizabeth as she poured the tea.
"Yeah. I don't know why."
"You're physically exhausted, you're emotionally worn out. It's not that surprising it flared up."
Robert nodded in agreement as he slid onto the stool at the island and absently stirred his tea. He and Elizabeth chatted for a while. Not about anything of importance but more to just keep his mind off his pain.
"Well, apparently ice wasn't the answer this time," Robert mumbled as he tossed the ice pack back in the freezer.
"Would you like me to warm up a blanket in the dryer," asked Elizabeth, wanting nothing more than to be able to provide him some kind of comfort.
"Yeah," whispered Robert as he slid off the stool and wandered into the living room. Elizabeth joined him a few minutes later. She gently wrapped one of Ella's blankets around his shoulder. She hesitated before joining him on the couch. Most times when the phantom pain flared he preferred to be alone. But he slid over to give her room on the couch. Elizabeth stretched out the length of the couch and pulled Robert back against her. She planted a kiss on the top of his head and just held him.
Robert did his best to try and relax but it just wasn't working. He sighed in frustration and paced around. Elizabeth decided to just let him be and she headed to do some paperwork that she'd brought home with her the night before. A while later she heard him filling the tub in the master bathroom.
"Come in," he said quietly when she knocked on the bathroom door ten minutes later.
Robert was chin deep in the water, surrounded by the cranky baby bath bubbles. Elizabeth pushed up the sleeves of her sweater and knelt down next to the tub. "Better?" she asked as she swished her hand through the bubbles.
"Could be. You want to come in?" he asked with the first smile of the day. Granted the tub at her house wasn't quite as big as the one at his house but it was a decent size, big enough for the two of them. Elizabeth nodded silently as she pulled her sweater off over her head and slipped out of her jeans. Robert scooted forward so she could climb in behind him. He settled back against Elizabeth as she tentatively reached to rub his shoulder. Flinching at first he eventually managed to relax as Elizabeth gently manipulated the stump, stretching out the muscles. When the water started to grow cold neither one wanted to get out. Robert leaned forward to turn the taps back on to add more hot water. "Think we could just hide in here until Monday morning?" he asked with a little chuckle.
"I think Ella would probably get a little mad," Elizabeth teased. She was thrilled to hear him laugh for the first time in what seemed like weeks.
By the time they had gotten out of the tub and gotten dressed again Ella decided it was time to get up from a shorter than usual nap. Robert read to her for a while and then they colored at the kitchen table while Elizabeth folded a load of laundry and straightened up a few things. Elizabeth suggested they go out to dinner but Robert vetoed that idea. He just didn't feel like going out. She respected the decision and didn't push. Nor did she get on his case when he ate very little dinner. After the meal was done and Ella was down for the night Elizabeth tried to get Robert interested in talking, watching television, playing a game....anything. But her efforts came up short and she eventually went upstairs to read, leaving Robert in the kitchen with a bottle of beer and his thoughts.
Three beers later Robert stumbled up the stairs with Gretel at his heels. He brushed his teeth and went to check on Ella. He covered her up and sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes watching her sleep. It was windy outside and the shadows from the trees danced across the room, flickering over Ella's face. SHe rolled over and opened her eyes just a crack. Muttering Robert's name she reached for his hand, tucking it in her own little hands. It brought a true smile to his face and for just a minute things seemed right.
"Robert," Elizabeth whispered from the doorway. The sound of her voice startled him. He quickly wiped his hand over his eyes before turning around. "Are you ok?" she asked quietly as she walked over to him, dropping a kiss on the top of his head. Robert shook his head and stood up, brushing past Elizabeth on his way to bed. With a sigh she kissed Ella and followed him.
TBC
By Ginny (vkinneman@aol.com)
See part one for notes and stuff.
The rest of the series can be found at www.gkinneman.com under the Really Miscellaneous Stories section.
Thanks for the reviews.
**************************
The next morning Ella was up early. Elizabeth's eyes popped open when she heard the little patter of feet on the hardwood floor. "Wob, Wob," called Ella as she made a beeline for Robert's side of the bed. Elizabeth's arm snaked out from under the covers and she caught Ella before she could launch herself at Robert's sleeping form.
"Robert's tired Ella, let him sleep. You can play later," Elizabeth said as she wiped her eyes and threw on her robe. She pulled the quilt back up around Robert and kissed his forehead. Elizabeth made some pancakes and while Ella ate she called Dorothy to ask her if she could run over to Robert's house and let Gretel out. Dorothy offered to bring Gretel over to Elizabeth's house, an idea that got Ella very excited.
Dorothy came by a while later, bringing a very excited dog with her. Ella flew to the front door and was nearly knocked over by Gretel. Dorothy made her way past the pair and headed to the kitchen where Elizabeth pouring some coffee. "Thanks so much for bringing Gretel over. One less thing I have to worry about today."
"It's no problem. I was on my way over to the house to pick up the dry cleaning anyway. So where is he?" Dorothy asked as she took the mug of coffee Elizabeth offered her.
"Sleeping. He wandered over here last night. I was pretty sure that would happen."
"Drunk?" Dorothy asked with a sigh.
"No, he wasn't. He was tired and sad. Didn't say anything and basically cried himself to sleep."
Dorothy shook her head and sighed again. "It's just not fair."
"No, it's not," agreed Elizabeth sadly. "I imagine he's going to want to mope around for a while."
"I'm sure. Keep an eye on him or he'll mope with a bottle of scotch."
"I know. I'll give him 48 hours and then boot him back out into the world. Put him in charge of finishing the Christmas shopping or something like that."
"Yeah, I can just picture Robbie at Toys R Us," chuckled Dorothy as she took the final sip of her coffee. "I should get going. Call me if you need anything. Gretel's food and stuff is on the front porch. And I grabbed some clothes and stuff for him. It's all on the bench in the foyer."
"Thank you so much," said Elizabeth as she gave Dorothy a quick hug of gratitude. Elizabeth took a quick shower and got dressed. She also dressed Ella and set her in front of a DVD while she went back up to check on Robert. He was still asleep but starting to stir. "Hey sleepy head," Elizabeth teased as she sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over to kiss Robert.
"What time is it?" he muttered as he ran his hand over his beard.
"About 11. Dorothy dropped Gretel off a little while ago. You plan on getting up this morning?" asked Elizabeth trying to keep the tone in her voice indifferent. Robert merely shrugged his shoulders. "Time for Let's Make a Deal", Elizabeth thought to herself. "You can stay in bed if you want to. You have 48 hours," she said as Gretel bounded up the stairs and came into the room.
"48 hours for what Lizzie?" asked Robert, thoroughly confused as he sat up a little, petted Gretel and reached for the glass of water on the night stand.
"To mope around. Come Monday morning the pity party is over. Until then, feel free to lie around in your pajamas," she said, teasing him just a little as she gave him a playful poke in the chest for emphasis. The teasing fell flat as Robert backed away from her just a little. Elizabeth switched gears instantly and reached for his hand. "Do you want to talk?" she asked as she kicked off her shoes and stretched out next to him. Robert just shook his head and looked out the window, clearly avoiding Elizabeth's gaze. She took a few seconds to get a good look at him. His eyes were still red and puffy from the night before and despite all the sleep he'd gotten he still looked exhausted. Elizabeth didn't know how to help him and she knew the quickest way to get him to shut down was to push him. "I'm going to take Ella and Gretel out for a walk. Why don't you get some more sleep," she suggested as she reached to rub his left shoulder. Robert flinched and Elizabeth pulled her hand away quickly. From experience she took that to mean he was in pain, phantom or otherwise. She leaned over and pulled the heating pad from where it had been shoved under his side of the bed a few nights earlier. She flicked the switch on and silently handed it to him. With a heavy sigh he wrapped it gingerly around his shoulder and settled back down under the quilt. Elizabeth kissed his forehead and tucked him in. "I'll have my phone. Call me if you need me."
"Thank you," Robert whispered as she turned to leave the room. Elizabeth acknowledged it with a sad smile as she shut the door behind her.
Elizabeth and Ella set off with Gretel for a walk to the nearby park. The weather was unseasonably warm and they were looking forward to taking advantage of it before the dreaded Chicago winter set in.
Robert tossed and turned for a while, unable to fall back to sleep. His shoulder was stiff and he was getting the vague uncomfortable feeling that was usually a precursor to full blown episode of phantom pain. The phantom pain didn't happen often, usually once or twice a month. But being a doctor it was really hard for Robert to handle as there wasn't one sure fire thing that made him feel better. Sometimes heat worked, sometimes ice, sometimes nothing really helped much at all.
Finally a little after noon Robert dragged himself out of bed and into the shower. He let the hot water run over his shoulder for a long time in the faint hope that the phantom pain would fade away before completely taking hold. It didn't work and by the time he got out of the shower he was about ready to crawl back in bed and hide. He took some Advil hoping to get rid of the headache that had also taken hold. By the time Elizabeth and Ella returned he was miserable. Elizabeth found him in the kitchen pacing around the island, an ice pack against the stump.
"Wob, Wob," yelled Ella as she launched herself at him. Robert winced and dropped the ice pack as he ignored the pain and picked her up.
"How was the park?" he asked as he kissed her cheek and sat down at the kitchen table with Ella in his lap. Elizabeth slipped off Ella's coat and casually took her off his lap and put her in her booster seat. Robert gave her a grateful look and took the ice pack she offered him. Ella told Robert all about their trip to the park while Elizabeth made lunch and Gretel rested her head on his knee.
Ella ate an entire bowl of macaroni and cheese and an apple while Robert just picked at his food. Elizabeth said nothing, living up to her promise of given him 48 hours of moping. She just cleared away the dishes and took Ella up for a nap. Robert loaded the dishwasher, turned on the burner under the teakettle and paced around again. Elizabeth was back down a few minutes later, watching him as he wore a path between the back door and the refrigerator.
"Anything I can do?" she asked from the doorway as she pointed to his left side. Robert just shook his head. "Worse than usual?" asked Elizabeth as she poured the tea.
"Yeah. I don't know why."
"You're physically exhausted, you're emotionally worn out. It's not that surprising it flared up."
Robert nodded in agreement as he slid onto the stool at the island and absently stirred his tea. He and Elizabeth chatted for a while. Not about anything of importance but more to just keep his mind off his pain.
"Well, apparently ice wasn't the answer this time," Robert mumbled as he tossed the ice pack back in the freezer.
"Would you like me to warm up a blanket in the dryer," asked Elizabeth, wanting nothing more than to be able to provide him some kind of comfort.
"Yeah," whispered Robert as he slid off the stool and wandered into the living room. Elizabeth joined him a few minutes later. She gently wrapped one of Ella's blankets around his shoulder. She hesitated before joining him on the couch. Most times when the phantom pain flared he preferred to be alone. But he slid over to give her room on the couch. Elizabeth stretched out the length of the couch and pulled Robert back against her. She planted a kiss on the top of his head and just held him.
Robert did his best to try and relax but it just wasn't working. He sighed in frustration and paced around. Elizabeth decided to just let him be and she headed to do some paperwork that she'd brought home with her the night before. A while later she heard him filling the tub in the master bathroom.
"Come in," he said quietly when she knocked on the bathroom door ten minutes later.
Robert was chin deep in the water, surrounded by the cranky baby bath bubbles. Elizabeth pushed up the sleeves of her sweater and knelt down next to the tub. "Better?" she asked as she swished her hand through the bubbles.
"Could be. You want to come in?" he asked with the first smile of the day. Granted the tub at her house wasn't quite as big as the one at his house but it was a decent size, big enough for the two of them. Elizabeth nodded silently as she pulled her sweater off over her head and slipped out of her jeans. Robert scooted forward so she could climb in behind him. He settled back against Elizabeth as she tentatively reached to rub his shoulder. Flinching at first he eventually managed to relax as Elizabeth gently manipulated the stump, stretching out the muscles. When the water started to grow cold neither one wanted to get out. Robert leaned forward to turn the taps back on to add more hot water. "Think we could just hide in here until Monday morning?" he asked with a little chuckle.
"I think Ella would probably get a little mad," Elizabeth teased. She was thrilled to hear him laugh for the first time in what seemed like weeks.
By the time they had gotten out of the tub and gotten dressed again Ella decided it was time to get up from a shorter than usual nap. Robert read to her for a while and then they colored at the kitchen table while Elizabeth folded a load of laundry and straightened up a few things. Elizabeth suggested they go out to dinner but Robert vetoed that idea. He just didn't feel like going out. She respected the decision and didn't push. Nor did she get on his case when he ate very little dinner. After the meal was done and Ella was down for the night Elizabeth tried to get Robert interested in talking, watching television, playing a game....anything. But her efforts came up short and she eventually went upstairs to read, leaving Robert in the kitchen with a bottle of beer and his thoughts.
Three beers later Robert stumbled up the stairs with Gretel at his heels. He brushed his teeth and went to check on Ella. He covered her up and sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes watching her sleep. It was windy outside and the shadows from the trees danced across the room, flickering over Ella's face. SHe rolled over and opened her eyes just a crack. Muttering Robert's name she reached for his hand, tucking it in her own little hands. It brought a true smile to his face and for just a minute things seemed right.
"Robert," Elizabeth whispered from the doorway. The sound of her voice startled him. He quickly wiped his hand over his eyes before turning around. "Are you ok?" she asked quietly as she walked over to him, dropping a kiss on the top of his head. Robert shook his head and stood up, brushing past Elizabeth on his way to bed. With a sigh she kissed Ella and followed him.
TBC