Chapter 6
I decided to take a shower after Martha left my room. The hot water felt so good—both refreshing and soothing. I realized how tired I was and how sore my muscles were—a combination of many restless nights and whatever flu bug this was that I didn't seem to be able to kick. I was just twisting my hair into a towel as Clark returned with my relief kit.
I settled down at the small table I'd been using as a desk and savored the delicious broth. I was so hungry that I actually felt as though this was the most delicious chicken soup I had ever tasted. As I ate, Clark began to pack my clothing, as he wanted to get an early start in the morning. Star City was a long drive from Washington, DC.
"Lois, what are these? Do they have anything to do with your being sick?" He held up a pill bottle that he had taken out of the medicine cabinet.
"They're antibiotics. I was taking them for that sinus infection I had right before Chloe and Jimmys' wedding."
"And you still have some left? That was over a month ago."
"I felt better so I stopped taking them. No big deal."
"It is a big deal. Antibiotics lose their efficacy if you don't finish them. Your body builds resistance to the infection and it's that much harder to heal the next time. "
"You are such a boy scout! Are you going to rat me out to the prescription police?"
He rolled his eyes at me and said; "Do you want me to pack them or not?"
"Not."
"Okay." He tossed them in the trash can and continued to root through the medicine cabinet, carefully gathering my things. I was happy to not have to pack my own stuff. I hate packing.
~*~*~
The morning sun streamed hard and bright through the large picture window of the room, and I rolled away from the offending brightness.
"C'mon sleepy head, time to get up."
"Ugh, go away. Who turned on the sun so early?" I pulled the duvet cover over my head and snuggled deeper down, trying to block out the intrusive sun. I didn't remember going to bed—only that I was sleepy.
"Lois, we've got to get going. We have a long drive ahead of us."
"Five more minutes?"
"You've been asking for five more minutes for the last half-an-hour. You can sleep in the car."
"Pleaaaase. Just five more." I pleaded.
"Ok. I'm loading the car. When I get back, you're getting up or I'm dragging you out of bed."
~*~*~
We stopped into a diner about two hours in to have breakfast. One of those retro joints stuffed with vibrant washes of pink and teal, against a black-and-white tiled floor in a checkerboard pattern. There was a neon juke box in the corner and glass cases displaying home-made pies on the counter. It reminded me of something out of a sit-com and I half expected a waitress dressed in pink with a neck scarf, attitude and a southern drawl to saunter over and take our orders. Instead a young girl in her early twenties came to take our orders.
Clark asked me to order first, but I was undecided so I asked him to go. All the while, our waitress—'Sandy' (probably not her real name) openly ogled him. He ordered orange juice, and the lumberjack breakfast, which looked like it would be an incredible amount of food, even by Clark standards. I ordered orange juice and a cheeseburger with onions.
"Lo-is?" Clark sing-songed.
"What?"
"Orange juice and a cheeseburger together? Yuk."
"I need vitamin C."
"it's no wonder that you are throwing up, if you are going to eat like that."
"Shut-up."
I don't think an hour had passed before we were pulled over and I was emptying the contents of my stomach into the tall grass along the roadside. I'll be damned if he wasn't right.
"Don't say it." I groaned out to him as he crouched behind me, keeping me steady.
"Say what?'
"I told you so."
"I wasn't going to say that."
"OH really? I know you were going to say something.--Spit it out, Smallville."
"I was going to say that you need to see a doctor."
"I hate going to the doctor." I groaned.
"I know, but I'm worried about you. I know I teased you earlier about the cheeseburger and the OJ, but you always eat that way. This is getting serious. "
"Okay," I said as I wiped at my mouth. "I'll go. But I want to see Chloe first."