Fix My Feet When They're Stumblin'

Chapter 50

    "Brandon? Honey, wake up," Tana whispered, touching her husband's shoulder gently. His forehead wrinkled, but his eyelids didn't even twitch. She tried again, shaking his shoulder.

    "Baby, wake up."

    He blinked drowsily up at her, and she smiled hesitantly. He might not even remember what happened with his meds, he might not have meant it that way, he might've just not been thinking straight...act normal.

    "Do you want to try to take a shower and have breakfast before Ronnie and the kids come back?"

    His eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Come b-back...back f-from where?"

    "Ronnie and Liv took the kids out to breakfast earlier. Do you want to try to take a shower before they come back?"

    He blinked slowly at her for a minute, then struggled to sit up. "Oh...um...yeah. I c-can...yeah."

    "Can I help you take your sling off, Brandon?"

    He looked down at his arm for a moment and nodded. She reached for the velcro strap on his other shoulder and unfastened it, gently removing the sling.

    "How does your shoulder feel, baby?"

    He gave a little half-shrug, testing the arm. "It's a-always...it - it hurts. It's okay."

    She bit her lip. How can I make this easier for him? Remembering his absolute refusal of her help earlier, she took a deep breath. "Do you want...would it be helpful if I labeled the bottles for you with a Sharpie before you go shower? So it's easier to read?"

    Brandon nodded, and she offered another tentative smile and reached out to squeeze his shoulder gently. "Okay, I'll go do that and put out some of your clothes in the bathroom so you don't have to sort through the whole suitcase, okay?" He just smiled slightly at her in response, but the smile wilted a little as she turned away and he sat on the edge of the bed, watching her work.

    "Okay, Brandon, you can come take a shower now," she called softly as she finished, slipping out of the bathroom after turning the water to a comfortably warm temperature.

    He lurched to his feet, his hand trailing along the bedspread for balance, and she noticed as he approached that his gait was significantly steadier now than it had been in the hallway the night before. God, how did we miss how tired he was? How did we not question if he needed more medicine? It's pretty damn obvious how he feels, all you have to do is look.

    "Let me know if you want help with anything, baby - be careful, take your time, okay?" Brandon nodded, and she caught his hand in her own as he drew near, squeezing firmly. "I love you," she whispered, looking up at him in time to catch a glimpse of worry in his eyes as he looked down at their hands. What's that about?

     He smiled at her briefly, then let her hand go, and she stepped out of the way. Brandon slipped inside and closed the door quietly, and Tana let out a soft sigh of relief. She crossed the room and settled back onto the bed, returning to her newspaper.

    Nearly fifteen minutes passed before the water turned off, and then almost twice that time before the door opened and he emerged with damp, unruly hair. She noticed with a burst of surprise that he had avoided choosing the Killers shirt she had laid out as one of his choices and picked a faded old red shirt instead.

    "Hi," she said brightly, rising to her feet and crossing the room to the miniature refrigerator. "Are you hungry, Brandon? We picked up some yogurt for you on our way back yesterday, if you want it."