Fix My Feet When They're Stumblin'

Chapter 53

    In the back of the rental van as it rumbled down the Kansas highway, Ronnie smiled. Brandon sat beside him, pressed close against his side, his head resting on his shoulder. In front of them, the boys' muffled voices and giggles trickled back - they were playing a game of I Spy, but they were trying so hard to keep their voices down that Ronnie couldn't tell much more than that.

    "Is it the...um...w-water...um...oh, th-that thing?" Brandon murmured into his ear as Henry continually rejected his brothers' guesses as to what 'something white' could be, giggling hysterically at each wrong answer. He waved vaguely out of their window, and Ronnie grinned, leaning his head gently against Brandon's in acknowledgment.

    "Hey, Henry - Brandon thinks it's the water tower there," he called softly to the row of seats in front of them, tapping on the back of Gunnar's seat.

    "Water tower...thanks," Brandon whispered gratefully, settling his head more firmly into Ronnie's shoulder with a quiet sigh. There was a moment of stunned silence, and then Henry's renewed giggles floated back to them. He craned his head over the top of his seat, trying to look back at his dad, beaming in excitement.

    "Daddy, you got it!"

    Brandon offered a tentative, half-hearted smile to his youngest son, and the boys returned to their game, giggling quietly. Ronnie couldn't even make out more than the barest fraction of their words, but several minutes later, Brandon pointed through the window at a passing billboard far in the distance and whispered in his ear again: "The...the s-sign, there - it's red."

    "Brandon wants to know if it's the billboard to the right all the way over there, guys - the air conditioning company."

    "Oh my God, dad! Yeah!"

    All three boys' heads popped up over the tops of their seats, staring in frank amazement. "Yeah, dad..." Ammon said slowly, gaping at them both. "How did you...? That's amazing! Nobody could get it. I was gonna just give up and tell them!"

     Ronnie chuckled, nudging him as the kids turned away again. "You must have superhuman hearing now, Bran - I couldn't even hear what they were supposed to be looking for. Maybe super vision too, if none of them could find it." Brandon smiled up at him, shrugging silently.

     Ronnie's phone vibrated in the pouch on the back of Gunnar's seat, the screen lighting up. Ronnie blinked at it for a moment, confused, and reached for it, checking the screen and silencing the alarm.

    "Oh, B - that's our cue. It's time for your meds." Brandon groaned, but sat up obediently, and Ronnie stretched his long arm across Brandon's torso to unfasten his seatbelt, making it easier for his friend to face him.

    Ronnie settled the phone onto his lap, fished the bag of pills from the pocket as well, and grabbed the unopened water bottle from his cupholder, twisting the cap open in one smooth motion.

    Turning his phone on, he quickly consulted the medication schedule he had copied into his memos and deftly sorted through the bag, examining labels and pulling various bottles, emptying their contents into his hand.

    "Okay, B. Ready?" He held up the first pill and Brandon opened his own hand in response. Ronnie placed the pill in his palm and watched as Brandon took it, giving him the water - one, then two pills gone in a couple of minutes, but he held up his hand to stave off the next one and slumped in his seat, breathing hard, staring sadly down at his own trembling hand.

    "Okay, let's take a break. Take your time. Just let me know when you're ready for more, okay?" Brandon only smiled softly, leaning heavily against his shoulder. A few minutes later, he sat up again, his eyes fixed on the pills in Ronnie's hand, and held out his own again. Three, four pills down. Finally, he sighed and shook his head as Ronnie offered the last one, biting his lip nervously.