Friday,
February 1
Both JoAnna
and I returned home before the boys today – JoAnna by necessity, me by
design. Around 2:30, she called me at
the library.
“I don’t
feel well. I’m taking the rest of the
day off,” she said.
“What time
are you leaving work?” I asked.
“I’m in the
van now,” she answered.
“I was
planning to leave work early myself, which is why I didn’t go home for
lunch. Do me a favor and make sure that
you unlock the side door for the boys.”
She
requested a favor in return.
“Could you
buy me some 7-Up on the way home?”
“Sure. I was planning to stop at Walgreen’s
anyway. I need to drop off a roll of
film for processing.”
I found
JoAnna in bed when I returned home, her hands clutching a comforter to her
neck.
“Here’s
your 7-Up,” I offered, and placed an unopened can on the edge of the dresser by
her side of the bed. “Can I get you
anything else?”
A slow,
side-to-side movement of her head said “No”.
“Where’s
Eddie?” I asked.
It’s
unusual for him not to be home more than 30 minutes after school lets out.
“He called
to say he’s staying at school for awhile,” she answered.
“What’s he
doing there?”
“He’s
sledding with some friends.”
There’s a
small hill at the southern edge of the school property.
“It was
nice that he gave us a call anyway,” I commented.
Andy made a
request as soon as he returned home from school.
“Is it OK
if I go to a movie with friends tonight?”
“I don’t
see why not. Who’s going?”
He didn’t
mention any names, just that there’d be 6 or 7 kids altogether. With patience, I learned that Andy would be
with Mandy, of course, and Cal and his girlfriend were also going along.
Earlier in
the week, JoAnna had suggested going out to the Stamm House for their
outstanding fish fry. (This restaurant,
which operates out of one of Middleton’s oldest buildings, which was originally
a stagecoach stop, is located next door to the apartment complex where JoAnna
and I spent the first 11 months of our married life.) Since a Friday visit usually involves at
least an hour’s wait for a table, we tend to be infrequent diners here. With JoAnna confined to her bed, we had to
develop a Plan B, which shouldn’t be too hard to guess.
“Eddie,
want to come with me to get fish at Crandall’s?” I asked.
“I’m not in
the mood for fish,” he replied.
“What do
you want then?”
“I haven’t
had McDonald’s in awhile,” he replied by way of suggestion.
“OK, we can
swing by Mickey D’s after we pick up the fish.”
“You can
go, Dad.”
“What! You don’t want to come with me?” I exclaimed,
trying to sound as though my feelings were hurt.
“Da-ad,”
Eddie said flatly, and with finality.
JoAnna
didn’t feel like getting out of bed to eat her dinner, so I placed her meal,
styrofoam box and all, on a wooden cutting board the size of the TV tray. She had insisted that the food didn’t need to
be transferred to a plate.
I think I’ll read for awhile now. Last night I started Carl Hiaasen’s new book, BasketCase. He’s one of my favorite authors, and his newest book is just the kind of zippy, entertaining, and funny read I had been looking for.
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