Page 8 of Summer Message

My mom motions for me to sit down in the chair. I have my leg stretched out, resting on the coffee table on one of the couch pillows she grabbed.

“How are you doing, really?”

“My head hurts.” I sigh.

My phone beeps with a text message. I pull it out and see it’s Kristina.I feel the smile start to form at seeing her name on the phone. I shimmy down the chair a little bit to get into a comfortable position, laying my head on the back of the chair.

Kristina: How are you feeling today?

Me: Sore. How are you doing?

Kristina: I have some bruises. A step on my stairs gave and I went right through it. Scraped up my leg.

Me: Quite the pair already. Lol

Kristina: Tell me about it. But I’m back to painting and cleaning today

Me: My mom came to town for the weekend

Kristina: So soup in bed? Lol

Me: Lasagna on the couch.

I laugh at my phone. My mom looks up from her list with a raised eyebrow.

“What? I read a funny text message,” I scoff at her with a smile on my face.

“If you say so. You might want to get rid of that blush on your face before Al comes down from the shower, dear.” She walks into the kitchen laughing.

I roll my eyes.”I don’t blush. I’m a man,” I mumble to myself.

I put my phone down even though I got a notification about a message. My eyes start to close, and my head keeps drooping.

“Mom,” I yell into the kitchen. She hustles over to me. “I’m going upstairs to sleep a little bit. I’m fighting to keep my eyes open. Is that okay?”

My mom drives me crazy with the smothering, especially since my accident, but I’m secretly happy she’s here. I’d never tell her that because I do have an image to uphold as the difficult child.

“Yes, sweetheart. I’m going to be cooking all afternoon, but I’ll wake you up in a couple of hours, okay?”

I nod and stand up. Suddenly dizzy, I grab for the wall to keep myself from falling. Mom runs over, her arms immediately going around me.

“I stood up too fast, mom. I’m okay, I promise.”

She backs away just a bit. “Tomorrow we call the doctor to get you looked at,” she warns me.

“Okay.” I don’t have the energy to argue right now.

I climb up the stairs, slowly and carefully, and crawl into my nice comfortable bed.Then I remember I need to respond to Kristina’s text.

Me: I’m going to sleep for a little bit. I have a slight headache.

Kristina: Get plenty of rest.

I shut off my phone and sleep until I feel someone shaking me awake. I open my eyes to see my mom standing over me.

“Dinner is ready. Are you hungry?”

“Starving.” I smile up at her. I get out of bed and head to the bathroom to run water over my face. I glance at the bruising on my face in the mirror. The swelling is down. “What am I going to do for my job interview?” I ask myself out loud.

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