"Yech. This slop is disgusting! Even the toilet is too good for it."
"Which is a good thing, because you're supposed to eat it, not chuck it." Dr. Beele stood at the end of the bed.
"What's in it, anyway?" Randall picked up a spoonful of the stuff, and poured it back into the bowl.
"Carrots. And added vitamins. Why? Would you rather I hooked you up to that IV again?"
"No way." Cally had taken it out of his hand yesterday and had put a Band-Aid over the wound. It still smarted.
"Well, I could put a tube down your nose, but like I said, you're supposed to feed yourself. Plus, I don't think you'd like it much."
"Hey, how's the puker?" Cally walked in with a vase full of flowers. "It's usually the guy who brings the girl flowers, but I didn't know what else to get you. Besides, this room is pretty, well, white. Like snow. Boring, eh?" She set them down on the table next to the bed.
"He's gained a pound and a half. Which is pretty good for someone who, up until now, was on a liquid diet." Bob made a note on his clipboard.
"Pssst. Hey, uh, Bob, me and Randall want some....alone time. Is that okay?"
"Fine with me. I'm almost done here." He scribbled some more notes. "All right, I'll see you tomorrow Randall. Eat your food and don't hesitate to ask questions about anything you notice." He turned around and walked through the door.
"Okay. Out with it. What do you want to talk to me about?"
"I brought you something."
"I saw the flowers."
"If you were looking closer, you'd notice that they were fake." Cally took the flowers out of the vase and removed a small plastic container.
"What's that?"
"Jell-o." She passed the container to him. "Believe me, I've tasted that glop on your tray before. It's not very nice. The Jell-o is grape. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, sure. I just don't like them so much when they're dried out."
"I've had stomach flu before, and I know Jell-o always makes me feel better when I'm sick." She smiled.
"I like your style. But how are we going to fool him about the vitamins?"
"Pills. They're a lot easier than shots." Randall peeled the lid off the cup. After wiping his spoon off with a napkin, he took a spoonful of Jell-o and ate it.
"Not bad. Not bad at all," he mumbled, with his mouth full. "What're you going to do with the yuck?"
"Flush it, what else?" They both laughed. Randall laughed so hard he choked, spraying Jell-o everywhere and dripping tears from his eyes. Cally had to pat him on the back to get him to stop. Randall's breath shook as he wiped his eyes off.
"I don't think he'll fall for it."
"Honey, I've been here since 1985. Food poisoning from a bad fish sandwich. I did the same thing then, and he didn't know the difference."
Honey.
She called me 'honey'.
Randall just sat there.
"I'll bring the multivitamins and a glass of water later. Say, do you like checkers?"
"Anything with a winner and a loser, I'm game, sweetheart." He meant that as a cool thing to say. Or did he?
"Prepare to meet the Jumpmaster. I've hopped more than a rabbit." She removed a box from the games cart that he hadn't seen a minute ago. "Which do you prefer, black or red?"
"Red. The color of your face when you lose."
"No, your face."
"Yours."
"Yours."
"Nuh-huh, yours."
"Yours infinity."
"That sounds familiar."
"Really?"
"Yup."
Cally gave him the red pieces, and set out the board. He placed his checkers on the board. "Are you sure we have time to play? I mean, don't you have a job?"
"My shift doesn't start for 3 hours, coward." She moved a checker. "Your turn. How about a tournament? Best of 7?"
"You're on." Randall moved his red checker forward.
"How did you do that?"
"Practice. I had 3 brothers who were checker fiends."
Randall stared at the scoreboard. So far it was 3-1 Cally and he didn't stand a chance. "Well, I guess I lose. But, just for the record, I let you win."
"We still have one more game, maybe 3." She looked up at the clock. "10 to 3. Oh no, I'm sorry, it's my shift now. Gotta go." She got up off the bed. "Man,that was intense. A coupla times you really had me there."
"Do you have to?" Randall was having too much fun to stop. "I really want to earn back some dignity. I'm a man. I need to win." He pumped his arms like a body builder.
"Nice try, Schwartzenegger, but the other patients need me. Tell you what. My shift ends at 8 tonight. If you're not asleep, we can play some more. Okay?"
"I vill try to stay avake, Sveetie."
Cally giggled. "Great, it's a date then. See you tonight." She walked out, leaving Randall alone with his thoughts.
"It's a date."
Had he, he, Randall, the real bad guy.............had he just been flirting? The very idea was foreign to him. Cally, she was nice, but, did she feel the same way? She had called him pet names, too, but.........
His stomach rumbled with a warm, weird feeling, like the snake was waltzing now.
It felt good.