Talk to Me
| Chapter 13 “Hey man. Not much, just sitting with Evelynn and watching TV.” AJ glanced over at the young girl before continuing his conversation with Nick on the phone. He did note that she seemed to be staring through the television rather than at it. It was a little after noon and she had only been awake a few minutes. He had hoped to try to get her to talk but gave up after a couple of minutes when she even refused to look his way. “Yeah still pretty much the same.” Nick was home with his family and enjoying the warmer weather of the Keys for the holiday. AJ looked at Evie and thought about how terrible it was going to be for her to be cooped up in a hospital room for weeks on end. Even after she would be released she would be in a wheelchair while the broken bone in her thigh healed and she went through physical therapy to build the strength back in her muscles. She wouldn’t be getting out-and-about like she used to for months. Hell it could take 6 months or more for her to be able to walk normal again, since the fracture injured the muscles in her leg so severely. AJ had gotten lost in his thoughts and had forgotten that Nick was talking to him on the phone. “I’m sorry man, what’d you ask me?” Nick laughed, “It’s okay, I guess everyone’s mind is a bit out of it lately. I asked since you were at the hospital if you’d let me talk with Kristyne?” “I would, but she’s not here.” “What? She working?” Nick wanted to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving but was afraid to call the hospital and wake Evelynn. “No, not yet anyway. I kicked her out. Told her I wanted to spend some time with Evie alone. She looked tired and I tried to get her to go home, but she wouldn’t do it. These two are stubborn personified.” Nick laughed at AJ’s analogy. “I think she went to the beach for a while, but she has to work tonight. She’ll probably stop by here before heading to work. Want me to tell her you called?” “Ummm?” He hesitated. “I tell ya what. I’ll just tell her I spoke with you and that you said hello and Happy Turkey Day and all that? How’s that sound?” Just then a nurse came in carrying a tray with Evie’s lunch on it. “Oh boy, it’s lunch time.” AJ made sure to put extra enthusiasm in his voice just for Evie’s benefit. She appeared to have not even heard him. “What they serving?” Nick asked. AJ made a big show of looking over the tray. “Lets see here, It’s Thanksgiving so what do you think they would serve? We have mashed potatoes with gravy, some sort of soup, maybe chicken noodle without the noodles, sliced bread with butter, apple sauce, Jell-O, and, and, what! No turkey! No turkey! How can you have Thanksgiving without turkey?” He was mortified. “Aje man, they have her on some sort of easy diet or soft diet, I can’t remember what it is called. Kris explained why but I don’t remember at the moment. Doesn’t matter anyway, she won’t eat.” “I wouldn’t eat either if they were serving me this…” “AJ!” Nick cut him off. “Is Evie awake? Don’t say stuff to upset her. Just go along with the program.” “What ever man. But seriously how do they expect her to eat if they don’t give her REAL food?” “Once she starts eating they’ll change her diet. Don’t you listen? I know Kris and the doctors have talked about this when we’ve been up there.” And Nick thought he was the one who had problems paying attention sometimes. “I listen. It’s just been so much I can’t keep track of everything I keep hearing. I don’t know how Kristyne and these doctors and nurses remember all this medical…stuff…Going over everything I’ve heard these past few weeks is like playing a game of mind twister.” There was commotion on the Carter end of the phone. After a minute Nick came back on the line laughing and yelling at Aaron to leave him alone. “I’ll only be a few more minutes air-boy. Anyway, I know Aje. I know. Listen, I gotta go. Aaron’s sitting here waiting for me to beat his skinny but in basketball.” There was more bickering on the other end of the line then Nick went on, “ANYWAY, I need to go. You have fun up there and tell your mom I said hello and Happy Thanksgiving.” “I will, same to your family. Go show that kids who’s the boss.” After hanging up with Nick, AJ looked from the tray to Evie and back to the tray. **Sigh** This should be interesting. “Well I heard that last night’s dinner made a damn good floor decoration.” He started. She didn’t move, didn’t even seem to blink. “Well, I know you slept all morning and didn’t eat breakfast. The best I can figure you should be pret-ty hungry by now. So, what do you say we eat some of this, um, lunch and maybe it will make you feel like talking?” Evie turned her head away from AJ to look at the door. “Oh, so you can hear me. I was beginning to think you had gone deaf.” He lifted the spoon and played eenie, meenie, minie, mo, then picked what he thought would be the most appetizing food of the bunch, the Jell-O and lifted a small portion to her mouth. “Come on Evie all you have to eat is a little bit.” Evie’s lips were pursed together so tightly they showed only a thin line of flesh. He tried touching the spoon to her mouth and she jerked her head the other way hitting the spoon in the process and causing the Jell-O to spill onto the bed. “Evelynn, do we really have to play these kid games?” As soon as he said the words he immediately regretted them. For one it was just a frustration he felt and he really didn’t mean to vocalize it because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. But also because those words seemed to have done that very thing, and she flung her good arm up banging the bedside table, catching the edge of the tray, which was hanging just over the end of the table, and sent the entire contents flying directly on top of AJ. He let loose a barrage of profanity directed at no one in particular, forced his chair backwards, and stomped into the bathroom to clean up the confetti of hospital food he was now wearing. What he didn’t notice in his ranting was the ever so small smile playing across Evie’s face.
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