The Long Road, Part 4
"Keith…"
Someone was shaking his shoulder, and in his daze, Keith moaned, having the nightmare of the past few days rise up and envelop him. Where was he? In the bus, with the sore throat? In the hospital? At the fair, in the dressing room? Sightless, in his mother's arms?
"Keith!" Shirley's voice was almost on the verge of hysteria. Did he dare open his eyes and discover only darkness? What would he do? No, he told himself. Just sleep…escape.
"Keith!" She sounded really agitated, now, and he relented, coming awake. He felt her hands cradling his face. "Open your eyes, Keith…can you see me, honey?"
He forced his eyes open and…saw light. He blinked her into focus; she was smiling so hopefully, tears glistening in her eyes. He smiled back tiredly. "Hi."
"You can see?" Her voice rose three octaves.
"Yeah…" he said, to cheers.
She pulled him forward in a bear hug and he blinked sleepily, checking out his surroundings. They were in the hotel room; he was on the bed. It was dark out; the drapes were open, and a lamp in the corner glowed warmly. Reuben and the kids surrounded him. Danny and Chris joined their brother on the bed, slapping at him happily, and he laughed for the first time in a long time, glancing up at Laurie. She stood with both hands over her mouth, her eyes shining in the light and he reached toward her.
She came forward and he hugged her, too, pecking her cheek. "Thanks, Laur."
She patted his face, looking down at him with such love in her eyes, it almost make him cry.
"Okay," Reuben said, relief evident in his gruff voice. "Let's decide on where to go from here. We have Colorado Springs in two days. What do you want to do?"
"Reuben, please…he's just getting over this trauma…"
Keith squeezed Shirley's hand. "It's okay, Mom. It's important, I know." He looked up at the manager, trying to read his face. "How much trouble would it be to cancel?"
"No more than what I've already done…" Reuben forced out the truth.
Keith took a deep breath. "I want to see how I feel in the morning. If everything's goin' pretty good, we'll head North; if not…" He shrugged, his voice trailing off.
Reuben nodded. "Fair enough."
Shirley smiled. "We'll go, so you can get some sleep."
Keith glanced at his brothers. "Sleep. With Heckle and Jeckle here?" He kicked Danny in the back with his foot, nearly knocking him off the bed.
"I will ignore that, Keith, only because of your recent illness. If you weren't so sickly, I'd challenge you to a pillow fight." Danny said, his nose in the air.
"Do you want Reuben to take the boys for the night?" Shirley asked, taking a peek at the manager.
"Oh, hey, now wait a minute…" Reuben was immediately defensive.
Keith laughed at Reuben's panicked expression. "No, that's okay. I'm pretty used to their antics by now. Usually, I just ignore them."
Shirley's hand swept his cheek. "All right, darling, then…we'll see you in the morning."
He smiled. "'Night, Mom, Laurie…Tracy. I'll let you know first thing, Reuben."
"Yeah, if you hear him screaming, it means the tour's over," Danny grinned.
"Don't even say such a thing!" Laurie pinched her younger brother's shoulder as she passed him on the way out.
"Sweet dreams, fellas," Shirley told her sons as she followed Tracy, Laurie and Reuben out the door.
As the door clicked shut, Danny was bombed with a pillow to the head. Surprised, he turned to find Keith looking hard at him.
"Hey!" Danny frowned.
"Who you calling sickly, huh?" Keith demanded, trying hard, and failing, to look stern.
Danny snatched up the pillow, holding it high. "You, you big wimp!"
Keith sat up, grabbing the lone pillow beneath his head. Chris dived off the bed, getting out of the middle of this standoff.
"Take that back, or you're gonna get it," Keith said warningly.
"No, I won't take it back, because that's what you are," Danny cracked, ready to deliver the first blow.
Suddenly, Keith closed his eyes, putting a hand to his head. "Oh, no…not again…" he moaned, lying back.
Danny lowered the pillow, swallowing. "Keith? You okay?" He moved toward his brother.
The pillow came completely unexpectedly, catching Danny on his shoulder and sending him head over heels off the bed. As he hit the floor, he heard Keith laugh triumphantly. "Call ME a wimp!" he crowed.
Danny scrambled first to get his bearings, then the pillow. The fight was on.
The morning dawned actually a little chilly, and Danny could see his breath as he stepped outside the hotel to help pack the bus with the Partridges' belongings. As far as they knew, they would be heading up to Colorado as planned, to Reuben's delight. Keith had seemed tired after his bout with the virus yesterday, but Danny attributed it to the all night boys' version of a slumber party. He, Keith and Chris had stayed awake until 3 a.m., talking, joking, pillow fighting. THAT, Danny claimed to have won, though Keith would dispute it to anyone who overheard Danny's victory speech. It was a great night; the three of them acting like uncontrollable adolescents, laughing uproariously at just about any subject that came up. Keith must have felt exceptionally well, because even Danny's relentless teasing didn't seem to ruffle his feathers. And Chris, well, he was just happy to be included in this bonding process…that's what Laurie called it, and Danny could see in her eyes that she was just a tiny bit jealous of the brothers' camaraderie.
"Let's go, let's go," Reuben, standing in the bus' doorway, waved Danny on. "How much more is there?"
"A lot. We could use some help, you know," Danny said as he passed the manager on the bus' stairs.
"You know, you're right. Sorry, I wasn't thinking," Reuben smiled as Danny tossed the suitcase he was carrying into an empty seat.
Danny looked a little surprised at the manager. With his history of back problems, Reuben Kincaid was actually going to help load the bus? An historic event, if ever there was one!
He followed Reuben back into the hotel, where a pile of the Partridges' luggage and instruments waited with Chris and Tracy standing guard. Reuben strode over to the front desk. "Could I have a bell porter take this stuff out for us?"
Danny's admiration of Reuben's sudden change of heart fizzled to a complete and utter standstill. A bell hop? Why didn't HE think of that? He knew why: bell hops wanted tips, and Danny Partridge was a miser, that's why!
"Where's your Mom, Laurie and Keith?" Reuben came back over to the children.
"Still upstairs, I guess. Mom and Laurie are double checking the rooms to make sure no one left anything, and I guess Keith's helping," Danny shrugged. "Or maybe he's fixing his hair. He's only been up for two hours. Takes him that long to comb it."
"But he's okay, right? I mean, physically. He's feeling all right?" Reuben did his best not to sound jittery.
"Relax, Mr. Kincaid. He told you at breakfast he was okay. I doubt anything's happened to change that." Danny rolled his eyes.
If Keith had tried to feel any better, he couldn't. He'd been down with that virus for so long, he'd nearly forgotten what it was like to NOT to be sick. But, for now, he was feeling exceptionally well, and frankly, it worried him a bit. Dr. Carter had warned him it would be like a rollercoaster ride; one moment he could be up and flying high, and the next minute, his health could plummet. There was no leveling out with this disease, whatever it was. He knew he had to take advantage of every little second he felt good, because, in the end, the bad times would outweigh the good, and he needed to prepare himself and those around him for such times.
"Keith? You ready to go?" Shirley looked in the room.
He was sitting cross-legged on the edge of one of the unmade beds, his guitar in his hands, strumming it softly. His mother had not allowed him to do any of the packing and subsequent transporting of the luggage. She was still being cautious of his condition and had ignored his cries of protest as he watched even little Tracy haul out bags nearly twice her size. It had provoked Danny into calling him a sickly wimp again, but even in jest, Keith felt embarrassed. He was supposed to be the man of the family! But Shirley had not relented and he finally relinquished himself to tooling around with the guitar as everyone around him worked their behinds off. Yet, no one, with the exception of Danny, of course, had spoken any ill of the situation and let him get the rest his mother had wanted him to. After all, she told him, he would need to rest up for the next venue, anyway, and it was never too soon to start doing just that.
Keith looked up at his mother. "Can I bring this, or should I call for help?" he smiled, indicating the guitar in his hands.
Shirley wrinkled her nose at him. "I'm sorry, honey…I just didn't want you wearing yourself out."
He slid off the bed. "You," he said, slipping his arm around her shoulders, "Are a worry wart."
"Wait until you have children," she smiled, putting her arm around his waist.
"Why, so they can wait on me, too?" He grinned as she pulled him closer.
"Just go downstairs so Reuben doesn't get an ulcer."
He kissed her cheek. "Coming?"
"Laurie and I will be down in a jiffy. We just need to check under all the beds. Remember, last time, we found Tracy's favorite doll wedged between the wall and the bed?"
"Yeah, and I think I remember a certain blond brother admitting he put it there, just to see what she'd do." Keith laughed. "I'm glad Laurie and I were never that mean to each other."
"Oh, I wouldn't exactly say that, either," Shirley batted his rear. "Now, go!"
He avoided her swat with perfect timing, laughing and going out the door.
The four hour trip up to Colorado Springs was a complete delight for all seven passengers aboard the Partridge's wildly painted limo. Shirley and Reuben took turns driving, while Laurie and Danny played a card game and Keith read out loud to Chris and Tracy; a virtual first for him in that capacity. Usually they bugged Laurie to read to them, but when Tracy brought out a large book of Fairy Tales and climbed up into the seat where Keith was, there was no turning back for him. Chris soon joined them and with Laurie and Shirley watching with great amusement, Keith read them story after story, mimicking the characters with great gusto, making the children laugh delightedly.
As he started in on what had to be the hundredth story, he found his audience had more than doubled, for Laurie, Danny and Shirley gathered around him, listening, too. A little self-conscious at first, he finally settled back into the task at hand and soon he had the entire family nearly rolling in the aisles.
They weren't aware of the bus having slowed down, when Reuben called from up front: "Gas and goodies break!"
"Aw, Mr. Kincaid, Keith was just getting to the good part…" Danny moaned over his shoulder.
"Well, I'm sorry, but we're almost out of gas and my stomach's growling," Reuben answered, pulling the huge monster into a filling station just off of the highway.
"We need to let Keith rest his voice, anyway…he has to sing tomorrow," Shirley smiled, patting his hand as the bus slowed and came to a stop.
"That was great, Keith…I never heard the Three Bears like that before," Chris grinned.
"Yeah, Keith, that was neato!" Tracy said, giving her oldest brother a thankful hug.
"You should look into being a teacher," Laurie said, seriously.
"Really. I'd love to have you teach one of my classes," Danny nodded. "I'd get A's for sure!"
"You think so, huh?" Keith smirked, closing the book as the kids and Shirley meandered their ways to the front of the bus.
"Well, sure. It goes without saying," Danny continued, moving so Keith could get up, too. "I mean, we ARE brothers, flesh and blood. You couldn't fail me; you'd let the Family down."
Keith laughed, stepping into the aisle behind his red-headed brother. "I don't think you have much to worry about, Danny…"
Danny jumped out of the bus, skipping the stairs per his usual habit. It had gotten warmer with the advancing afternoon and he took a deep breath, hauling in all the clean air.
Keith stepped out, heading for the men's room while the others checked out the vending machines. Inside the small room, he stopped at the sink as he caught his reflection in the mirror. He looked tired; the virus had really taken a lot out of him thus far… Wondering what was next, he got his answer immediately as he noticed a stream of blood starting out of his left nostril. He instinctively reached up grabbing a paper towel and dabbing at the blood as it flowed heavier.
Coughing, he leaned hard over the sink. Now he was dizzy and he gripped the counter with one hand while pressing the towel to his face with the other. He could feel the blood seeping through the paper onto his hand, and he grabbed several more towels out of the container, coughing again as the room spun around him. He closed his eyes tightly, wishing the lightheadedness away, opening them only when he heard the door behind him squeak.
"Keith!" It was Reuben, and he was at Keith's side in an instant, his face bunched in worry.
"I'm okay," Keith said, sounding a little muffled through the paper towels. "It's just a nosebleed."
Reuben took his arm as Keith coughed hard again, the blood now making its way down the back of his throat. "You sure? You look like you're gonna pass out."
Keith shook his head, leaning it back, the paper towels scrunched hard in his hand. "It's slowing down…" he said rather tiredly.
Reuben grabbed more towels from the container on the wall and moistened them with water from the sink. He gently took the bloodied ones from Keith's hand, replacing them with the wet ones. "That's good…pinch your upper lip; that might stop it quicker."
Nodding, Keith did as he was told and Reuben watched him anxiously. After a minute, Keith slowly, carefully moved the towels away from his face. Reuben didn't relax until Keith said, "It's stopped."
Blowing out a breath, the older man put a heavy hand on Keith's shoulder. "That's a relief. Must've been the virus acting up again, huh?"
"Guess so." Keith tossed the used towels into the trash bin and washed his hands. He was still a little lightheaded, but Reuben didn't need to know that.
"You're okay, though, right? I mean, you're not in any pain or anything, are you?" Reuben fidgeted.
Keith gave him a weary smile. "I'm fine, Reuben, don't worry."
"Well, it's just that you…well, you just looked so darned pale. And don't tell me not to worry. I get paid to worry!" It would have sounded serious without Reuben's smile of relief.
Keith laughed, in spite of the fear striking his heart. "Okay, okay. But do me a favor and not mention this to anyone. Mom and the kids DON'T get paid to worry."
Reuben nodded.
to be continued...
"Keith…"
Someone was shaking his shoulder, and in his daze, Keith moaned, having the nightmare of the past few days rise up and envelop him. Where was he? In the bus, with the sore throat? In the hospital? At the fair, in the dressing room? Sightless, in his mother's arms?
"Keith!" Shirley's voice was almost on the verge of hysteria. Did he dare open his eyes and discover only darkness? What would he do? No, he told himself. Just sleep…escape.
"Keith!" She sounded really agitated, now, and he relented, coming awake. He felt her hands cradling his face. "Open your eyes, Keith…can you see me, honey?"
He forced his eyes open and…saw light. He blinked her into focus; she was smiling so hopefully, tears glistening in her eyes. He smiled back tiredly. "Hi."
"You can see?" Her voice rose three octaves.
"Yeah…" he said, to cheers.
She pulled him forward in a bear hug and he blinked sleepily, checking out his surroundings. They were in the hotel room; he was on the bed. It was dark out; the drapes were open, and a lamp in the corner glowed warmly. Reuben and the kids surrounded him. Danny and Chris joined their brother on the bed, slapping at him happily, and he laughed for the first time in a long time, glancing up at Laurie. She stood with both hands over her mouth, her eyes shining in the light and he reached toward her.
She came forward and he hugged her, too, pecking her cheek. "Thanks, Laur."
She patted his face, looking down at him with such love in her eyes, it almost make him cry.
"Okay," Reuben said, relief evident in his gruff voice. "Let's decide on where to go from here. We have Colorado Springs in two days. What do you want to do?"
"Reuben, please…he's just getting over this trauma…"
Keith squeezed Shirley's hand. "It's okay, Mom. It's important, I know." He looked up at the manager, trying to read his face. "How much trouble would it be to cancel?"
"No more than what I've already done…" Reuben forced out the truth.
Keith took a deep breath. "I want to see how I feel in the morning. If everything's goin' pretty good, we'll head North; if not…" He shrugged, his voice trailing off.
Reuben nodded. "Fair enough."
Shirley smiled. "We'll go, so you can get some sleep."
Keith glanced at his brothers. "Sleep. With Heckle and Jeckle here?" He kicked Danny in the back with his foot, nearly knocking him off the bed.
"I will ignore that, Keith, only because of your recent illness. If you weren't so sickly, I'd challenge you to a pillow fight." Danny said, his nose in the air.
"Do you want Reuben to take the boys for the night?" Shirley asked, taking a peek at the manager.
"Oh, hey, now wait a minute…" Reuben was immediately defensive.
Keith laughed at Reuben's panicked expression. "No, that's okay. I'm pretty used to their antics by now. Usually, I just ignore them."
Shirley's hand swept his cheek. "All right, darling, then…we'll see you in the morning."
He smiled. "'Night, Mom, Laurie…Tracy. I'll let you know first thing, Reuben."
"Yeah, if you hear him screaming, it means the tour's over," Danny grinned.
"Don't even say such a thing!" Laurie pinched her younger brother's shoulder as she passed him on the way out.
"Sweet dreams, fellas," Shirley told her sons as she followed Tracy, Laurie and Reuben out the door.
As the door clicked shut, Danny was bombed with a pillow to the head. Surprised, he turned to find Keith looking hard at him.
"Hey!" Danny frowned.
"Who you calling sickly, huh?" Keith demanded, trying hard, and failing, to look stern.
Danny snatched up the pillow, holding it high. "You, you big wimp!"
Keith sat up, grabbing the lone pillow beneath his head. Chris dived off the bed, getting out of the middle of this standoff.
"Take that back, or you're gonna get it," Keith said warningly.
"No, I won't take it back, because that's what you are," Danny cracked, ready to deliver the first blow.
Suddenly, Keith closed his eyes, putting a hand to his head. "Oh, no…not again…" he moaned, lying back.
Danny lowered the pillow, swallowing. "Keith? You okay?" He moved toward his brother.
The pillow came completely unexpectedly, catching Danny on his shoulder and sending him head over heels off the bed. As he hit the floor, he heard Keith laugh triumphantly. "Call ME a wimp!" he crowed.
Danny scrambled first to get his bearings, then the pillow. The fight was on.
The morning dawned actually a little chilly, and Danny could see his breath as he stepped outside the hotel to help pack the bus with the Partridges' belongings. As far as they knew, they would be heading up to Colorado as planned, to Reuben's delight. Keith had seemed tired after his bout with the virus yesterday, but Danny attributed it to the all night boys' version of a slumber party. He, Keith and Chris had stayed awake until 3 a.m., talking, joking, pillow fighting. THAT, Danny claimed to have won, though Keith would dispute it to anyone who overheard Danny's victory speech. It was a great night; the three of them acting like uncontrollable adolescents, laughing uproariously at just about any subject that came up. Keith must have felt exceptionally well, because even Danny's relentless teasing didn't seem to ruffle his feathers. And Chris, well, he was just happy to be included in this bonding process…that's what Laurie called it, and Danny could see in her eyes that she was just a tiny bit jealous of the brothers' camaraderie.
"Let's go, let's go," Reuben, standing in the bus' doorway, waved Danny on. "How much more is there?"
"A lot. We could use some help, you know," Danny said as he passed the manager on the bus' stairs.
"You know, you're right. Sorry, I wasn't thinking," Reuben smiled as Danny tossed the suitcase he was carrying into an empty seat.
Danny looked a little surprised at the manager. With his history of back problems, Reuben Kincaid was actually going to help load the bus? An historic event, if ever there was one!
He followed Reuben back into the hotel, where a pile of the Partridges' luggage and instruments waited with Chris and Tracy standing guard. Reuben strode over to the front desk. "Could I have a bell porter take this stuff out for us?"
Danny's admiration of Reuben's sudden change of heart fizzled to a complete and utter standstill. A bell hop? Why didn't HE think of that? He knew why: bell hops wanted tips, and Danny Partridge was a miser, that's why!
"Where's your Mom, Laurie and Keith?" Reuben came back over to the children.
"Still upstairs, I guess. Mom and Laurie are double checking the rooms to make sure no one left anything, and I guess Keith's helping," Danny shrugged. "Or maybe he's fixing his hair. He's only been up for two hours. Takes him that long to comb it."
"But he's okay, right? I mean, physically. He's feeling all right?" Reuben did his best not to sound jittery.
"Relax, Mr. Kincaid. He told you at breakfast he was okay. I doubt anything's happened to change that." Danny rolled his eyes.
If Keith had tried to feel any better, he couldn't. He'd been down with that virus for so long, he'd nearly forgotten what it was like to NOT to be sick. But, for now, he was feeling exceptionally well, and frankly, it worried him a bit. Dr. Carter had warned him it would be like a rollercoaster ride; one moment he could be up and flying high, and the next minute, his health could plummet. There was no leveling out with this disease, whatever it was. He knew he had to take advantage of every little second he felt good, because, in the end, the bad times would outweigh the good, and he needed to prepare himself and those around him for such times.
"Keith? You ready to go?" Shirley looked in the room.
He was sitting cross-legged on the edge of one of the unmade beds, his guitar in his hands, strumming it softly. His mother had not allowed him to do any of the packing and subsequent transporting of the luggage. She was still being cautious of his condition and had ignored his cries of protest as he watched even little Tracy haul out bags nearly twice her size. It had provoked Danny into calling him a sickly wimp again, but even in jest, Keith felt embarrassed. He was supposed to be the man of the family! But Shirley had not relented and he finally relinquished himself to tooling around with the guitar as everyone around him worked their behinds off. Yet, no one, with the exception of Danny, of course, had spoken any ill of the situation and let him get the rest his mother had wanted him to. After all, she told him, he would need to rest up for the next venue, anyway, and it was never too soon to start doing just that.
Keith looked up at his mother. "Can I bring this, or should I call for help?" he smiled, indicating the guitar in his hands.
Shirley wrinkled her nose at him. "I'm sorry, honey…I just didn't want you wearing yourself out."
He slid off the bed. "You," he said, slipping his arm around her shoulders, "Are a worry wart."
"Wait until you have children," she smiled, putting her arm around his waist.
"Why, so they can wait on me, too?" He grinned as she pulled him closer.
"Just go downstairs so Reuben doesn't get an ulcer."
He kissed her cheek. "Coming?"
"Laurie and I will be down in a jiffy. We just need to check under all the beds. Remember, last time, we found Tracy's favorite doll wedged between the wall and the bed?"
"Yeah, and I think I remember a certain blond brother admitting he put it there, just to see what she'd do." Keith laughed. "I'm glad Laurie and I were never that mean to each other."
"Oh, I wouldn't exactly say that, either," Shirley batted his rear. "Now, go!"
He avoided her swat with perfect timing, laughing and going out the door.
The four hour trip up to Colorado Springs was a complete delight for all seven passengers aboard the Partridge's wildly painted limo. Shirley and Reuben took turns driving, while Laurie and Danny played a card game and Keith read out loud to Chris and Tracy; a virtual first for him in that capacity. Usually they bugged Laurie to read to them, but when Tracy brought out a large book of Fairy Tales and climbed up into the seat where Keith was, there was no turning back for him. Chris soon joined them and with Laurie and Shirley watching with great amusement, Keith read them story after story, mimicking the characters with great gusto, making the children laugh delightedly.
As he started in on what had to be the hundredth story, he found his audience had more than doubled, for Laurie, Danny and Shirley gathered around him, listening, too. A little self-conscious at first, he finally settled back into the task at hand and soon he had the entire family nearly rolling in the aisles.
They weren't aware of the bus having slowed down, when Reuben called from up front: "Gas and goodies break!"
"Aw, Mr. Kincaid, Keith was just getting to the good part…" Danny moaned over his shoulder.
"Well, I'm sorry, but we're almost out of gas and my stomach's growling," Reuben answered, pulling the huge monster into a filling station just off of the highway.
"We need to let Keith rest his voice, anyway…he has to sing tomorrow," Shirley smiled, patting his hand as the bus slowed and came to a stop.
"That was great, Keith…I never heard the Three Bears like that before," Chris grinned.
"Yeah, Keith, that was neato!" Tracy said, giving her oldest brother a thankful hug.
"You should look into being a teacher," Laurie said, seriously.
"Really. I'd love to have you teach one of my classes," Danny nodded. "I'd get A's for sure!"
"You think so, huh?" Keith smirked, closing the book as the kids and Shirley meandered their ways to the front of the bus.
"Well, sure. It goes without saying," Danny continued, moving so Keith could get up, too. "I mean, we ARE brothers, flesh and blood. You couldn't fail me; you'd let the Family down."
Keith laughed, stepping into the aisle behind his red-headed brother. "I don't think you have much to worry about, Danny…"
Danny jumped out of the bus, skipping the stairs per his usual habit. It had gotten warmer with the advancing afternoon and he took a deep breath, hauling in all the clean air.
Keith stepped out, heading for the men's room while the others checked out the vending machines. Inside the small room, he stopped at the sink as he caught his reflection in the mirror. He looked tired; the virus had really taken a lot out of him thus far… Wondering what was next, he got his answer immediately as he noticed a stream of blood starting out of his left nostril. He instinctively reached up grabbing a paper towel and dabbing at the blood as it flowed heavier.
Coughing, he leaned hard over the sink. Now he was dizzy and he gripped the counter with one hand while pressing the towel to his face with the other. He could feel the blood seeping through the paper onto his hand, and he grabbed several more towels out of the container, coughing again as the room spun around him. He closed his eyes tightly, wishing the lightheadedness away, opening them only when he heard the door behind him squeak.
"Keith!" It was Reuben, and he was at Keith's side in an instant, his face bunched in worry.
"I'm okay," Keith said, sounding a little muffled through the paper towels. "It's just a nosebleed."
Reuben took his arm as Keith coughed hard again, the blood now making its way down the back of his throat. "You sure? You look like you're gonna pass out."
Keith shook his head, leaning it back, the paper towels scrunched hard in his hand. "It's slowing down…" he said rather tiredly.
Reuben grabbed more towels from the container on the wall and moistened them with water from the sink. He gently took the bloodied ones from Keith's hand, replacing them with the wet ones. "That's good…pinch your upper lip; that might stop it quicker."
Nodding, Keith did as he was told and Reuben watched him anxiously. After a minute, Keith slowly, carefully moved the towels away from his face. Reuben didn't relax until Keith said, "It's stopped."
Blowing out a breath, the older man put a heavy hand on Keith's shoulder. "That's a relief. Must've been the virus acting up again, huh?"
"Guess so." Keith tossed the used towels into the trash bin and washed his hands. He was still a little lightheaded, but Reuben didn't need to know that.
"You're okay, though, right? I mean, you're not in any pain or anything, are you?" Reuben fidgeted.
Keith gave him a weary smile. "I'm fine, Reuben, don't worry."
"Well, it's just that you…well, you just looked so darned pale. And don't tell me not to worry. I get paid to worry!" It would have sounded serious without Reuben's smile of relief.
Keith laughed, in spite of the fear striking his heart. "Okay, okay. But do me a favor and not mention this to anyone. Mom and the kids DON'T get paid to worry."
Reuben nodded.
to be continued...