Chapter 9

After several days of his mother's medicine and soup, which was a medicine in itself, Peter and Neal were starting to feel better and when their fever broke they became eager to get up and move around.

"Where do you think you are going?" Carolyn asked Neal as she met him on the staircase.

"Upstairs…I'm tired of lying down; I want to have meals upstairs again," he said defiantly.

Carolyn handled that suggestion with one smack to his backside, "I told you earlier that you had to stay in bed until you became stronger. Your fever only broke this morning. I will not have any relapses from you…now scoot!"

Neal looked like he might disobey her but the smack reminded him of others that most likely would be coming if he did and he meekly turned around and headed back and got back into bed.

"I'm bored…there isn't anything to do," he whined.

"I'll get El to bring you down something to occupy your time…where is Peter?" Carolyn interrupted herself to ask. She had been so focused on Neal that she hadn't noticed that her son was missing. His fever had broken during the night but still the same instructions had been given to him as she had given to Neal…he was to stay into bed for the next couple of days until he became stronger.

"He left before I did…said something about his not going to take any more of that nasty medicine and headed upstairs to his room to watch some television," Neal said not caring if part of what he said wasn't the whole truth. He was mad that he hadn't been able to escape as successful as Peter had. In fact El had told Peter that if he liked he could come back to their room to recuperate the rest of the time.

"Oh he did, did he…well I will just have to see about that," she muttered angrily as she started back up the stairs while Neal smiled and laid back down.

Peter had been sleeping in his bed and relishing not having to share it with Neal when he woke up and decided that he would watch some television while he waited for lunch to be announced. He was peacefully doing that when his mother found him and lit into him with a vengeance.

"Peter Michael Burke…you disobeyed me by leaving downstairs when I particularly told you to stay until you had become stronger. I had hoped that you would be the one to set the good example but instead I find you upstairs watching television," she scolded.

"Mom let me explain," Peter replied quickly as he saw her hairbrush in her hand.

"Did you disobey me by not staying downstairs like you were ordered?"

"Yes ma'am…but" Peter tried to explain but his mother was too angry to listen and ordered him to turn over which he reluctantly did before she walloped him.

"Owww…Mom….owwww…let me…owww...explain….El…owww…told me ….owwww…I …owwww…could leave the room," he blurted out in between smacks and when Carolyn heard that she stopped.

"You asked El if you could leave."

"Yes ma'am…I was getting tired of sharing a bed with Neal and I know he was tired of sharing his bed with me and my fever had broken as his did a few hours later and knowing we were no longer contagious pleaded with El to let me come back to our bed…and after a few minutes to think it over she agreed and helped me upstairs where I've been sleeping until I woke a few minutes ago and decided to watch some TV until lunch was announced."

"Oh Peter, I'm so sorry…it's just when I saw that you weren't in bed with Neal and

I got mad. I didn't want you to experience a relapse as you did when you were a boy…do you remember? I think you had just gotten over pneumonia and decided to play and got it again only worse. Can you forgive me son?"

Peter smiled and opened his arms and hugged his mother lovingly, "Of course I forgive you; you did it only because you cared…but how did you know I was watching television in my room?"

"Neal told me that you were tired of taking my nasty medicines and were going to watch some television in your room," replied Carolyn not quite understanding why Peter wanted to know.

"He didn't tell you about my asking El or her helping to my room, because he was there and heard the whole conversation," explained Peter as he guessed the truth.

"He wanted me to come up here and spank you…but why?"

"Because I had managed to escape the room and he didn't…I'm guessing that you caught him trying to leave as well?" Peter asked.

"Oh, I see why you are such a great detective…that little imp I'm going to warm his bottom but good for this stunt," Carolyn said as she grabbed her hairbrush and started for the door. She paused before leaving to add, "And don't think that those few licks are going to take the place of the paddling coming to you for not taking the flu shot."

Peter just looked dumbfounded at her…that was of course what he was thinking and groaned.

When Carolyn went downstairs she was relieved to find Neal in bed sleeping and decided to just add this latest incident to his lists of "crimes" and handle it later but also vowed to not to take everything he said as the gospel truth…he had conned her into believing that Peter was at fault when he wasn't.