I froze. “Mel?”
“In the flesh.”
I was confused. “What day is it?”
“Saturday. Did you sleep at all?”
I shrugged. “A little.”
“Do you want to try and sleep some more or are you ready for a coffee infusion?” she asked with a laugh.
I smirked. “I was thinking more along the lines of a sledgehammer to my head. I need someone to knock me out.”
“I could do that.”
“Coffee, please,” I murmured. My head was pounding, and I ached all over. I was both cold and hot and completely miserable. I wasn’t sick. I knew I wasn’t sick, but I felt like hell.
“Right in front of you,” she said, a minute later. I took the cup and found a stool to sit on. “Where is Luke?” I finally asked the question that had been on my mind since I first woke up.
“He is hopefully sleeping. I spoke with him yesterday and we agreed I would hang out with you today. Give him some time to sleep and recover. You are a handful.”
She was teasing me. I knew it, but in my sleepless condition, I felt raw. Her words hurt. They shouldn’t have, but they did. I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “I know.”
“Hey,” she said, her arm going around me. “You know I was teasing. I had to practically drag him away from you. He didn’t want to leave. I insisted.”
I nodded, using the heel of my hand to wipe my tears. “I know. He’s such a good man. He stayed with me all night again. He’s got to be exhausted.”
“Want to tell me what’s on your mind?” she gently asked. “Something has you worked up. You don’t get like this unless you’ve got something big going on in that head of yours.”
I sighed, shaking my head. “I really don’t know what the problem is. I was fine and then Tuesday, I met Luke’s mom. She doesn’t like me.”
“Luke gave me a recap, but whatever that woman’s problem is, it isn’t you.”
“She said some stuff that made me think about my life. I have done nothing. I’m twenty-five and I haven’t done anything all that great. I don’t work. I don’t do anything. It’s no wonder she doesn’t want her son saddled with me.”
“He isn’t saddled with you,” she answered. “And you were always on the go before the accident. You barely sat down long enough to eat. She doesn’t understand who you are or our lifestyle. It isn’t for everyone, but don’t you dare feel guilty for being born into the family you were. You did more volunteer work than anyone I know. You are only twenty-five. You are just getting started with life.”
I shook my head. “I think about all that wasted time. I had years to work and find something I was good at. If I don’t ever get my sight back, I’ll never know.”
“But you might get your sight back and you are good at many things.”
“Art,” I scoffed. “Fat lot of good that’s going to do me when I’m blind as a bat.”
She laughed. “You are in a horrible mood. Let’s get you fed, bathed and then back to bed.”
I was being awful. It was no wonder Luke had fled. I didn’t want to be around me, either. “I’m so tired.”
“I know you are hon; I know you are. We’ve been through this before. Let’s stuff your belly and knock you out.”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry.”
“But you’re going to eat anyway.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You don’t know how to cook.”
“Hey, I can cook pancakes and eggs like nobody’s business. When a man stays over, I have to impress him with my cooking skills. No one needs to know they don’t extend beyond basic breakfast dishes.”
I laughed. “I think that could be a little deceitful and misleading.”