When Sparks Fly

“I’ll help you out of the hoodie,” I tell Avery. “Jerome, can you get me a wet cloth, please?”

Getting Avery out of the hoodie isn’t particularly easy, and the orange juice that hasn’t soaked in yet ends up dripping all over the blanket in her lap. Under the hoodie she’s wearing one of her long nightshirts, and she’s braless, as evidenced by the fact that her nipples are visible against the fabric.

I pull my own hoodie over my head and help her into it while Mark grabs a different blanket and Jerome brings a wet cloth so Avery can wipe her hands and anything else that’s bound to be sticky.

Once she’s cleaned up, I go in search of a straw and a cup, preferably with a lid. She has a bunch of those reusable ones with the metal straws. I’m a little worried she’s going to bite it and chip a tooth, but I can’t find any paper straws.

She drains the entire glass in thirty seconds and asks for a refill. “Where’s my phone? If Declan won’t video me, I’ll do it myself.”

“We’re not recording this for your recovery journal,” I tell her as I fill her glass.

“I know that, silly.” She rolls her eyes exaggeratedly. “I just want to record it for me. I have all these thoughts, and I want to get them out before I forget them.”

Mark is about to reach for her phone, but I shake my head. “Fine. I’ll use my phone.”

I pass her the glass of juice and pull mine out of my pocket.

“Are you recording?” she asks around the straw.

“Yup.” I’m not, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“No, you’re not. Hit the record button.”

“Fine.” I give in, because I know she’s not going to give up until I do. Tomorrow I can show her the evidence, and she’ll thank me for not letting her video herself.

She slurps her orange juice and waits for me to follow through. Halfway through the glass, she makes a face. “Don’t we have any of the other bendy straws? Can you check for one, Deck? My head is so heavy and it’s really hard to drink like this.”

She slumps down in the cushions. I can’t imagine it’s comfortable. “I can’t get you a bendy straw and record you at the same time.”

“Oh, hmm. Yeah. That’s true.”

“Want me to put a pillow behind your head?” Mark offers.

“Sure, maybe that’ll help.”

Mark grabs one of the throw cushions that ended up on the floor, and Avery struggles to lift her head off the cushion. I grab her juice so she doesn’t drop it.

“Seriously, why is my head so freaking heavy? Is it magnetic and the cushion is keeping it pinned? I can’t even lift it. Mark, you need to try to slide it behind my head, ’kay?”

“Dude, she’s a mess,” Jerome mutters.

I lower the phone, but Avery points at me. “Hey! I have things I need to say!”

“We could voice record.” I hit a button, intending to stop recording.

“It needs to be a video,” she insists.

Mark is still trying to get the cushion behind Avery’s head. “Ave, you’re literally pushing your head back into the couch, just relax.”

“But I’m not! It’s really this heavy. I think there’s a magnetic field. I’m like Magneto head right now. What if I can’t ever get up off this couch because my head is stuck?” Her eyes go wide.

I keep holding the phone up, so she at least thinks I’m recording. “Hey, Ave, I have your orange juice.”

“Oh! Yay!”

I hold it far enough away that she has to lean forward to get it, giving Mark enough room to put the pillow behind her. When she leans back, she slides even farther down the couch and her chin meets her chest.

“I don’t think this is going to work. I’m going to end up with a neck crick.” Avery tries to get the straw to her mouth, but it’s facing the wrong way. “This is the worst! Who designed this? My head feels like a boulder. How much does a head weigh, Deck? Mine is like two hundred pounds right now. I feel like I’m sinking into the couch. Do you think the couch is made of quicksand? What if I become part of the couch?”

“You’re not going to become part of the couch, Ave. I promise none of us would let that happen.” I sit on the edge of the chaise lounge and turn the straw around to face the other way. “Here, try this.”

“Ooh! That’s better. I don’t know why they make these straws so tricky. The paper ones are the worst. I miss plastic bendy straws. Like I get it, they’re not good for the environment, but you can’t chew on the paper ones, and they start to disintegrate almost right away, which is super annoying because no one wants paper bits in their orange juice.”