GRAHAM
"Merrill!" I yelled. "He's not allergic to bees!" I put Bo down as I rushed to him. Morgan was panicking. "It's only a sting honey, you'll be fine." I tried to persuade him and ushered him to the picnic table so I could see if the stinger was still there. I checked the sting for a stinger and saw none. Merrill came darting out of the house with Morgan's inhaler and epinephrine shot.
"Here." Merrill said handing them to me. He was panicked himself, and looked scared out of his mind.
"He's not allergic to bees." I chuckled. I don't know why I found it funny. Maybe because it was the one thing he wasn't allergic to. Merrill must have thought I was crazy.
"But it's swelling up." Merrill said to me, taking a look at it.
"That's normal." I said. "He's fine." I looked at Morgan. He was looking at his arm, and I could tell he was in pain. "Come on, we'll go inside and put some ice on it." He got up and I wordlessly ushered him into the house.
"Here." Merrill handed me Morgan's medicines. I put them in my jean shirt pocket. "Are you in the mood for ice cream Bo?" She nodded happily and smiled. "I'll bring back some for you and Morgan. Vanilla with sprinkles for him, and strawberry for you, right?"
"Yeah. That's fine. Thanks." I took a ten out of my back pocket and handed it to Merrill who handed it back. I placed it into my pocket again.
"My treat." He smiled, picked up Bo, and walked around to the front of the house. Morgan and me went up the back steps. As I went to the freezer to get some ice, he went straight to the living room. I put some ice in a plastic bag and grabbed the dishtowel on the oven handle. When I reached the living room, I handed Morgan the ice. He didn't look too good. His face was all pale and he looked exhausted. I stared at him for a few seconds. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just really tired." He placed the ice on his arm and lowered himself down onto the couch slowly. "I'm going to take a nap." And he did. I walked back to the kitchen, hoping I could start the dishes. But I couldn't. I was worried about Morgan. Not because he didn't look good. But because lately he had been so out of it. He was usually the observant one, pointing things out and being on alert. But after the attacks, he quieted down. Morgan was no longer open with me. He seemed to have secrets. Maybe he was just growing up. Starting to like girls, starting to realize who he was. I didn't really like it. Maybe if Colleen was here, it wouldn't seem so sudden. She would know what to do. What to say to him. I missed her so much. For a moment I felt like I was going to fall, so I grabbed the chair in front of me. I had gotten a bit dizzy, which usually happened when I thought of Colleen now. Thinking of her made me lose my balance, my breath, and made me feel like I was going to see stars. I gripped the chair harder as I battled against tears. I had to close my eyes. Just relax. Take a deep breath. Don't cry. There's no reason to cry. That's it. My hands loosened their grip on the chair, and I trusted myself enough to walk around the kitchen and start the dishes. Just as soon as I had grabbed the sponge, there was a knock on my door. I walked towards it, only to see a woman I didn't recognize. She was young, and her hair was a sandy color. She was thin, not too short, but not tall. I smiled and opened the screen door. "Hello, can I help you?" Her eyes stood out next, being a bright blue.
"Yes, my name is Linda Janison and I couldn't help notice that you have a large piece of land down the road from your house. This is going to sound really weird, but I am planning on buying some land to build a house on. There was a sign over there, but the number was blurry and smeared. Do you know if it is still for sale, and who would be able to tell me about it?" She was holding a newspaper in her hand.
"Actually, this may sound even weirder, but yes, I do. My name is Graham by the way. Graham Hess." I put my hand out for her to shake it. I was smiling. Maybe because she had nice strawberry blonde hair and the nicest blue eyes. I wasn't interested in her, but she seemed so sweet. Her maroon top and regular jeans gave me the impression that she was telling the truth. "Do you want to come in for some lemonade or something? I have to find Carl Markinson's number. Carl owns the land." I was hoping she would come in. She was a nice lady, it seemed. She was alone too. Well, alone shopping for land.
"Lemonade sounds great." she smiled and took the door from me as she followed me into the house. "Oh my goodness, your house is gorgeous!" She looked around in wonder. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she whispered. I turned around to look at her, wondering why she said sorry. "Your son is sleeping, I didn't know." She pointed to him and quietly laughed to herself.
"That's my son Morgan. My daughter Bo is out with my brother Merrill for ice cream. They should be back soon. Anyways, take a seat and I will get you some lemonade." I poured each of us a glass and headed for my phone book.
"What's your wife's name?" She said, taking a sip of her lemonade. I kind of paused for a moment, about to feel as I had before all over again. I stopped myself and then started to flip through my phone book. Why did she want to know about Colleen?
"Colleen." My voice cracked.
"Is she out shopping? I'd love to meet her."
"She's no longer with us." I kept flipping pages.
"Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bring it up." she said, and seemed to feel so guilty about bringing it up that she stopped talking. I found the number and took the book to the table she was at.
"Here it is, I just need a piece of paper and a pen." I said, going through my pockets. I took out Morgan's medicine and shot and placed them on the table. They had been weighing my shirt down. Linda looked at me funny. I laughed to myself aloud, probably looking like an idiot. "My son is asthmatic. We thought he needed his medicine before. But he's alright."
"Are you sure? Because I'm a nurse, if you want me to check on him." She said.
"He's fine, just got stung by a bee is all. Thank you though. That's very kind of you." I looked through my phone book and found an old paper. She handed me a pen from her purse. I tore the paper in half and wrote Carl's number on the back. "Here. Do you want my number too?" Whoa, where did that come from? My number?
"Um, sure." She smiled.
"So, why do you want to move here?" I asked.
"Well, I used to live in New York city. I loved it there, but then we were attacked, it was too much chaos. So I decided to move out here. It's quieter and much simpler. Plus I got offered a job at the hospital. I also think that it's a good time to move out of my parent's house. Seeing as I planned to move out as soon as I graduated from college. But that was two years ago. And I'm rambling. I'm so sorry." Her cheeks turned a dark red chrisom and she laughed.
"Oh no, it's alright." I chuckled.
"Dad?" It was Morgan, and he was walking into the kitchen holding his bag of ice and dishtowel.
"This is your son Morgan, right?" Linda said.
"Yes, it is. Morgan, this is Linda, she might build a house down the street on the land there." I tried to explain. I didn't want him to think I was dating women or looking into any. That would crush him. And I wasn't ready for anyone else yet. I didn't think I ever would. Besides, she was Merrill's age. Morgan looked at me funny. Probably thinking the wrong thing.
"I just came to ask for the number for Mr. Markinson." She turned her attention to the door as Merrill was walking up the steps, Bo on his hip and a white paper bag in his hand.
"Hello." He said as he put Bo down. But the hello wasn't towards me. It was towards Linda. He slowly came up and looked straight at her. Oh yeah, he was in love. I quickly glanced at my watch. It was almost five. "Here's the ice cream." He handed her the bag. She then handed it to me. I placed it on the table and Morgan went for it, taking out his cup and a spoon.
"This is Linda Janison. She wants to buy Carl's land down the street. Linda, this is my brother Merrill." Silence filled the room. Merrill extended his hand to Linda. She grabbed his hand and they shook. She smiled. "She's a nurse and she is moving from New York." I added.
"Well it's nice to meet you Linda." He said, finally letting go of her hand.
"It was nice to meet you too." She seemed stuck in the moment too.
"Daddy, I want my ice cream." Bo said quietly. Linda laughed, coming out of the moment. She squatted down and looked at Bo.
"Is this your daughter?" She said.
"Yes, that's Bo."
"Oh she is so adorable!" Linda squealed with delight. Bo walked up to the table and took her cup of ice cream as well as a spoon.
"Dad, when are we going to Aunt Cary's and Uncle James's house?" Morgan said.
"We leave tomorrow." He turned towards Linda. We're staying for the fourth of July. They live out on Long Island, in New York."
"That's a trip." She said, smiling at Merrill. "I don't mean to be rude, but I have to go. It's a trip back to the city and I have work tomorrow. Thank you so much for the number. And the lemonade, it was very kind. It was nice meeting all of you. I'll see you around. Bye." She got up from her chair, waved, and walked out the door with the paper in her hand.
"Alright guys, here's the plan for tonight. I want you to eat your ice cream and then we will go upstairs and pack. After we all pack I will cook dinner. We leave at six tomorrow morning. We should be there by nine thirty. Alright, lets get moving." I opened the white bag, took out my ice cream and grabbed a spoon. One mouthful of the strawberry goodness and I was gone.