"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" A too loud and too cheerful male voice said.
The blinds from the window opened and Steve groaned and pulled the covers over his head as the sunshine hit his closed eye.
"Oh, no, no, no," said the voice. "It is time to rise and shine!" A hand pulled down the covers. "How about you open up your lid and let me see that baby blue of yours?"
Steve groaned. He had finally fallen asleep at 4:30 a.m. last night. It was 9:00 a.m. All he wanted to do was sleep.
"C'mon, you can do it," the voice encouraged him.
Steve opened his eye and saw a large black man standing over him. Standing next to the door was Carla, watching and looking very amused.
"There it is! There's that baby blue!"
Steve grimaced. "Who are you?"
"My name is Richie Rich," he replied. "Yeah, my parents had a wicked sense of humor when they named me, but they, unfortunately, weren't rich. Nope. They were dirt poor."
Steve frowned and looked at Carla. "Can you do anything about this?"
Carla tried not to laugh. "Sorry."
"Now you and I are going to be great friends, Colonel," Richie said as he pushed the button to raise the head of the bed. "You know, I'm a big fan of yours! I watched you walk on the moon. That was something else!"
Steve had dealt with fans before, but he had never had one wake him up while he was in bed sleeping. "I think there must be some mistake."
"No. No, mistake, Colonel. I am your physical and occupational therapist. And I am pleased to meet you," Richie said as he extended his left hand for a shake.
"You've got to be kidding," Steve replied, irritated.
"No, I'm not kidding. I want you to shake my hand."
Steve ignored his outstretched hand. "You're my therapist?"
"Yes, I am. I have doctorates in both physical and occupational therapy, and twelve years of experience working with disabled veterans. My specialties are physical and prosthetics rehabilitation. Now, shake my hand."
Steve just stared at him in disbelief.
"Didn't your momma teach you that it's rude to ignore a handshake?"
Steve frowned, extended his hand, and shook Richie's hand.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Colonel Austin," Richie said with a smile. "Squeeze my hand."
"What?"
"Squeeze my hand."
Steve stared at him in confusion.
"C'mon, squeeze my hand!"
Steve was sure Richie had a few screws loose but he did what he was told and squeezed Richie's hand.
"Oh, c'mon, you can squeeze harder than that!"
"You want me to…?"
"Yes, Man! Give it everything you've got!"
"Okay. You asked for it." Steve squeezed as hard as he could.
Richie frowned. "Hmm, looks like we've got some work to do. But don't feel bad. You've been in this bed for quite a while. It's normal to lose some strength."
Carla interrupted. "Well, I'll let you two get acquainted. I'll go get some breakfast for you, Colonel."
Carla walked out the door and Richie leaned over and stared at her as she left.
"Mmm, mmm, that is one fine-looking woman! You made a move on that yet?" Richie asked Steve.
"No! She's my nurse."
"And she's a woman. You still got one good eye. You're telling me you didn't notice the hot momma taking care of you?"
"Well, yes, but no!" Steve was getting annoyed. "Besides, I'm not exactly a prize catch."
"What you talking about? You're the stud who made the top 50 list of eligible bachelors in People magazine! Wasn't you like number nine on the list?"
"Number six, and I wouldn't qualify for that list now," Steve said glumly.
"What? Just because you have a few parts missing? C'mon, you're still a beautiful man. And I've read you're medical chart. You still have the parts that count."
Steve was pissed off now. "Really? You think any woman would want this?" Steve defiantly threw off the covers and lifted up his hospital gown, showing his disfigured naked form to Richie.
Richie was unfazed as he pulled the covers up and covered Steve. "Yes, I do. I've seen a lot worse. Even with all of that, you still won the genetic lottery. But you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself."
The door opened and Carla walked into the room pushing a cart. "Breakfast is here! I hope you're hungry."
Carla placed the tray on the over-bed table and rolled it into place. There was a quiet uncomfortable feeling hanging in the air and Carla noticed it. She looked at Steve who was refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Richie finally spoke up. "Thank you, Sugar."
"I'm not hungry."
"He'll eat," Richie assured her.
Carla raised her eyebrows. "Good luck," she said and then she left.
Richie lifted the lid off of the plate of food. "Now let's see what we have here."
"I told you, I'm not hungry."
"Now what kind of appreciation is that for the food she brought you? How you gonna get with her when you won't even eat the food she brought you?"
"I'm not getting with her!"
"Uh huh…like I said, Colonel, you and I are going to be great friends. You know why? Because I tell it like it is. And you need somebody like me in your life. And I need you so that I can brag to my momma that I have an astronaut as a friend."
Steve looked at Richie incredulously, then a smile formed on his face and he chuckled.
