A few hours later, Inez was taking a break, and watching TV. " i'm exhausted. I hope this flu ends soon" she frowned. The extra amount of work was starting to cause pulled muscles.
Jackie texted Inez to see how things were going. " how are you holding up? I'd be surprised if you weren't running yourself into the ground". " i'm managing, but i'm sore. I guess i never knew how much work Matt does around here" texted Inez. " don't you usually do stuff when he's down for the count?" Asked Jackie. " yeah, but not quite this mutch" replied Inez.
" Bob never gets sick, so i'm rarely juggling. I also don't juggle chores like you do" texted Jackie.
" true, and Bob never hurts himself either" texted Inez. " yeah, i'm lucky in that department. How is everything today?" Asked Jackie. " last i checked, both Matt and Junior were awake. I'm hoping things don't take a bad turn" replied Inez. " well, i gotta go drop Laura off at preschool. Don't work too hard" texted Jackie.
Inez put down her phone to check on Matt and Junior. Matt was sound asleep, while Junior was playing with a paddle ball. " be careful with that paddle ball, Junior" warned Inez. At that second, the string holding the ball snapped, and after taking a few bounces off things, it smacked Matt in the head. " wow, he didn't even notice" said a surprised Inez. Junior was bored since his toy was broken. Inez laughed when Junior randomly pinched Matt's nose to see what would happen. Matt would snort and grumble, then once pressure was removed, he'd resume snoring.
" nobody believes me at first when i mention how hard it is to wake up your father, then when they are exposed to it, they're shocked" laughed Inez. " mommy, daddy looks warmer than yesterday" said Junior.
Inez noticed all the sweat on Matt's face and became concerned. " hmm, you're right, Junior. Let's try to wake him up" frowned Inez.
After 10 minutes, Inez got Matt at least halfway awake. " 5 more minutes, mommy" mumbled Matt. Inez rolled her eyes and smiled. " you're an adult now, and your wife wants to check your temperature". Matt mumbled a little bit, then he fell asleep again. " i guess i'll have to check his temperature while he's not awake" Inez said. " i feel better" smiled Junior. " i'm glad you're feeling better. I'll check your temperature in a minute after i check daddy" smiled Inez.
After 20 seconds Inez checked the thermometer. " well, it's not as bad as i thought, but it's still higher than 101. If he starts to become confused, we'll need to be constantly checking on him" explained Inez. " ok, mommy. Do you want me to help?" Asked Junior. " that would be very helpful" replied Inez.
Inez checked Junior's temperature next. After hearing the beep, she smiled. " am i better?" Asked Junior. " you're almost at normal temperature, and should be ready to play in the mud again in a couple days" replied Inez.
" is daddy almost better?" Asked Junior. " not yet, but I'm sure he'll be fine in a few days" smiled Inez. " can I run around the house?" Asked Junior. " well, you can't go outside, but as long as you stay inside, you should be ok" smiled Inez.
Junior immediately grabbed his blocks and ran downstairs to play. Inez smiled as he ran past her with the blocks. " I bet the block tower will only last 5 minutes before it falls down" she thought to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted when Matt started coughing. " I hate when he gets sick. It's always worse than what normal people get" Inez groaned.
After a couple of minutes, the coughing stopped. This woke up Matt, who started to get up. Inez pushed him back down onto the bed. " you're not going anywhere until you feel better" explained Inez. " but I hate being flat on my back" complained Matt. " I know, but it's only for a few days" smiled Inez. " why is everything wet?" Asked Matt. " you're covered in sweat" replied Inez. " that actually makes sense. I dreamed your head was on Hacker's body. It was so weird, and I'm hoping it was just a weird regular dream" frowned Matt. " it was a regular dream because you certainly would have put up a fight to avoid any part of medical treatment you don't like" smiled Inez. " good point" agreed Matt. " now, I'm gonna open the window so you get some fresh air. I don't want you to move a muscle unless it involves the bathroom, or there is a fire" explained Inez. " ok, I guess I can stand it for a few days. Let me know if any farm chore gets messy" said Matt.
" don't worry about chores. I'm managing them, but you need to take it easy. I don't need you to develop a higher fever" smiled Inez. " ok, i'll listen" smiled Matt. " good, now if you need anything, just text me" said Inez.
The worst of things were yet to come.
After finishing a round of chores, Inez decided to check on her family. Junior was playing with a couple toy cars, and was enjoying himself. " well, you seem to be feeling better" smiled Inez. " yeah, can I go play outside now?" Asked Junior. " only if your body temperature is below 99° " replied Inez.
" can we check it now?" Asked Junior. " sure" smiled Inez. After 20 seconds the thermometer beeped. " 98.6, congratulations, Junior. You are officially all better" smiled Inez. " yay! Can I go play now?" Asked Junior. " stay close to the house. I want you within view of the kitchen" smiled Inez. Junior ran outside.
After doing some housework, Inez started on Matt's lunch. Since Junior was 100%, he could have solid food, but not Matt. " ok, here's some leftover chicken broth and some water" she checked. After Inez brought stuff up, she checked if anything had changed. " are you ready for lunch?" Asked Inez. Matt unfortunately barely looked alert. This concerned Inez
" are you feeling any better?" She asked. Not really" replied Matt. " well, I have your lunch, are you hungry?" Asked Inez. " sure, if you pull, I should be able to sit up" replied Matt. After a little effort, Matt was sitting up. " you should be able to keep this down, it's chicken broth and water" said Inez.
" ok, can you hand me the TV remote? The baseball game is on" Asked Matt. " sure, but try not to yell at the umpires" replied Inez. Matt finished his lunch, and watched the game. " ok, before I do anything else, and you get wrapped up in the game, it's time for a temperature check" smiled Inez. " ok, it's where you left it. I figured you'd check it every few hours, and all I need to know is I feel lousy" replied Matt.
" well, I predict that your temperature 🌡 hasn't changed" said Inez. " well, I don't feel worse" smiled Matt. " you barely looked alert when I walked in. Once we get a reading, I'll make sure you get a little peace and quiet" smiled Inez. " ok, hopefully I make it through this game" smiled Matt. The thermometer beeped, and Inez read the results. " it's still at 104°" said Inez. " well, I'm not getting worse, so that's something " said Matt. " well, I'm going to get your empty lunch dishes out of the way. Try not to get too excited during the game" smiled Inez. Matt settled in to watch the game, and Inez left the room.
