“These,” he handed her the smaller of the bags, “are your pain killers. This,” he shook the other bag, “is lunch.”
“Ooh, whatcha get?” She reached for the bag, and he handed it to her. “I am hungry. Thanks. And remind me by the way,” she said, pulling out the container. “I forgot to give you money for my medicine, and I’ll need to pay you for this too, as well as your gas and time.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, pulling the chair by her dresser closer to the bed and sat down. “Your insurance covered most of it, and I told you I’m around the corner. So no worries about my gas either. As for my time, you’re nuts if you think I’m gonna let you pay me for that.”
Regina was staring at the label on the container. “Grilled chicken salad, no tomatoes or eggs, with light thousand.”
She looked up at him, her mouth falling slightly open, and he knew what she was thinking, so he cleared his throat. “I also got you a turkey sub and some chips in case you’re hungry for more than just a salad.”
“You remembered,” she said, ignoring his comment about the sub and chips.
He shrugged, pulling out the Coke Zero from the last bag he’d been left holding and his iced tea. He handed her the soda. “Did I get it right?” he asked as if he didn’t already know he’d been spot on.
The smile on her face now was going to make his deadpan expression crack if he didn’t stop looking at her, so he reached for the bag she’d set aside. “I got a tuna melt,” he said, beginning to feel like a real sap now. He hadn’t even noticed the lady place the order on the container the way he very specifically had ordered her salad. “We can switch if you prefer that to turkey. I can go for either.”
“I’m good with the salad,” she said, still smiling when he dared glance at her. “It’s exactly how I would’ve ordered it.”
Great. He was definitely going to make her chump list. Desperate to change the subject now, he pointed at the top of her bad foot. “Why’d you take off the wrap? Didn’t the doc at the ER say you’re supposed to wear it for a few weeks?”
She frowned, opening the lid to her salad. “It got wet when I took a shower, so I tried to change it with a dry one, but it was such a pain I gave up.”
Brandon stared at the tattoo curiously. He’d already appointed himself as her caregiver for the day. And since things had gotten pretty personal last night, he figured how bad could it be to ask. “What’s that mean? Boot and Uni?”
Her frown softened into a small smile. “I got it years ago in honor of my late grandpa, Boot.”
A bit relieved to hear the heart was for her grandpa and not some dude, he was still confused. “His name was Boot?”
“No,” she laughed softly but stared down at the tattoo thoughtfully. “That’s just what I called him.”
Brandon un-wrapped his sandwich, even more curious now, and well aware this was personal, but talking about her dead grandpa seemed harmless. “Okay, why?
“One summer when I was too young to attend summer camp with my older siblings, my grandparents decided to help out by keeping me and my younger sister, who was just a baby, during the week for the entire summer. My grandmother tended to my sister most of the time while my granddad entertained me.” She smiled bigger now. “One of my favorite things to do and what we did together every morning was watch Sesame Street. My absolute favorites were Bert and Ernie only I couldn’t pronounce my r’s so it sounded more like Boot and Uni. By the time summer was up, I was his Uni, and my grandpa was my Boot.” She waved her hands in front of her flooding eyes. “It’s been years since he passed, and I can’t believe I still get choked up.”
She cleared her throat as the emotion seemed to pass, and she continued, “I always knew the bond between my grandpa and me was special.” She laughed again, wiping what was left of a tear at the corner of her eye with her finger. “My grandma used to scold him when he’d call me his favorite, but everybody knew it. When he passed, I took it especially hard.” Her lips quivered now, and she frowned. “Jesus!”
Swatting this time at the tears that had started up again, she looked genuinely angry all of a sudden.
“It’s okay,” Brandon said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“No, it’s not.”
She leaned over to the box of tissue on her nightstand and yanked tissue out, dabbing her eyes in an annoyed way. Even though Brandon couldn’t really relate personally, he’d had enough training and experience dealing with new recruits, who could be very emotional at times, so he gave it a stab.
“It is okay to feel emotional, even after all this time. If you guys were that tight, then of course you’ll always get choked up thinking of him.”
She shook her head defiantly but didn’t offer anything more. Brandon knew all about not wanting to talk about certain subjects. Obviously, while she started off talking about her grandpa willingly enough, she didn’t want to anymore. So he figured it was best to change the subject.
“I can help you get that ankle dressed again when you’re done eating.”
She nodded but said nothing, and they continued eating in silence for a few minutes until she spoke up again. “I’ve never dealt well with loss,” she whispered, staring at her salad.
“Most people don’t,” he said, shoving the last of his sandwich in his mouth and sat back taking a swig of his bottled iced tea.