"Here you go, baby," Madeline said softly, handing Ken a prescription pain pill and a glass of water. He was propped against a mound of
pillows on the leather couch, having thought the better of climbing the
stairs to his bedroom.
"Thank you, sweetheart," he whispered, in a tone that betrayed his
acute pain, though he tried valiantly to mask it. Maddy had gone out to
the pharmacy to pick up the Darvocet the doctor had phoned in for him,
in spite of his protests against taking medication. Hardly a pill-popper
herself, she'd understood his resistance, though she managed to convince
him that in this case, an MD-approved prescription was warranted.
"No reason to suffer," she smiled, taking the glass and setting it back
down on the coffee table, after he'd chased down his medicine. He stared
at her in the beam of sunlight flooding through the picture window. After
making the decision to stay, Maddy had changed out of her work attire
and was now sporting a comfortable outfit consisting of denim shorts and
a red, cotton-blend cropped top with a v-neck surrounded by gold rivets.
She'd added a gauzy red bow with matching gold flecks to her ponytail, to
complete her look; on her ears she wore her shiny hoops.
Ken took in the sight of her, wanting nothing more than to pull her
onto the couch and smother her with kisses, though his temporary
physical limitation made that impossible.
"Kenny, did you hear me?" she asked, waking him from his stupor.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, what did you say?"
She pretended to be annoyed.
"Geez, the Darvocet couldn't possibly have kicked in already!"
"It's not the Darvocet, sweetheart, it's you," he said sweetly. Maddy
blushed. "You're just not used to sincere compliments, are you? Well,
Madeline Rose, you'd better get used to it. I couldn't have asked for a
more beautiful or conscientious caretaker. Thank you for staying with me
today."
"You're welcome. But as I was saying, I have something else for you."
With that, she presented him with a gift bag, much to his delight and
surprise. And as he pulled out the Jon Secada and Earth, Wind and Fire
CDs she'd bought for his new CD player, a small stuffed teddy bear, a
one-pound bag of plain M&Ms and a chain of authentic Philly soft
pretzels from Wawa, he was visibly touched.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
He reached out for her and she knelt down on the floor to hug him
tightly before they exchanged a few delicious kisses.
"Kenny!" She giggled when he refused to release her. "Come on,
now, you need your rest!"
"I'll sleep so much better if you join me," he teased, sliding over a bit
and then patting the empty space. A slow smile spread across her face as
she carefully snuggled in beside him.