CHAPTER 10: Welcome Home, Part Two
When we pulled into the driveway of the big house—after making a quick stop at the Wendy's drive-thru so Daddy could get a chicken sandwich and a Diet Coke for his lunch—we saw Kristy and Jason sitting on the lounge chairs that were right next to the porch swing. I got out of the car and ran to them. "Slow down, Karen!" Daddy called, but I was so glad to be home that I just ignored him.
"Hi," Jason said.
"Feeling better?" Kristy asked. I nodded.
I went up on the porch and sat down the swing, and Andrew joined me a minute later. "Hi, Karen," he said, and I just smiled at him. "Can't you talk?"
"She just had her tonsils out, honey," Kristy explained. "It may be hard for her to talk for a while."
"Oh."
A minute later, Daddy carried my duffel bag onto the porch. I guess I was so excited to be home that I completely forgot I had it. "Let's go inside, okay?" he suggested.
Jason put his arm across my shoulders and led me into the house. Daddy and Krsity followed us, and Andrew brought up the rear, lugging my duffel bag. Now that I think about it, seeing that poor kid dragging that big duffel bag made me wish I had my camera, but at the same time, I also think I should've helped him with it. I hope he's not too upset with me.
Thankfully, it wasn't that heavy.
"Hi, Professor," David Michael said when I came inside.
"Hi, Karen!" Emily exclaimed, running up and throwing her arms around my waist, just like she'd done when we came home from Washington. And you know what? For the first time in my life, I understood what Jason meant when he said that Andrew and I always knocked the wind out of him. I'm just glad it was my tonsils that got taken out and not my appendix!
I decided I wanted some dessert, so I went to the kitchen while Andrew took my bag to my room. When I came into the kitchen, I saw Nannie surrounded by all the ice cream in the house. "Hi, Karen," she said. "What's your pleasure?"
I picked up the carton of cherry vanilla and handed it to her. "Okay, one cherry vanilla Nannie surprise coming right up," she said. The rest of us got a good laugh. I would've joined right in—not that it wasn't funny, of course—but my throat was still so sore.
A cherry vanilla Nannie surprise, as she'd called it, consisted of not only the entire carton, but also enough sprinkles, chocolate chips, nuts, whipped cream, strawberries, pineapple chunks and hot fudge to make Claudia Kishi, one of Kristy's friends, jump for joy. Stacey McGill and Dawn Schafer, on the other hand, would've both taken turns lecturing us on how unhealthy it was. (Remember, Stacey has diabetes and Dawn refuses to touch sweets with a ten-foot pole; so of course they wouldn't be okay with it. They prefer frozen yogurt. And plain, I might add. What a bore!)
After I finished my ice cream (and yes, I shared with everybody), I motioned that I was going to my room to rest. "We understand," Elizabeth said.
On my way out, I tugged on Jason's arm and motioned for him to follow me. I really needed to talk to him.