I buzz for the nurse and inform her that my TV isn’t working. She says someone will be right in to check it out. Minutes later, my favorite nurse walks through the door.
She nods toward the TV. “Hey. I heard something about a busted TV.”
I point at it. “Yeah, it just went out.”
She walks over to it, looking upward to inspect it. “I can’t see any loose wires or anything and I’m not a cable technician so I can’t tell if it’s the TV itself or the cable connection. Best thing I can do is get a tech to come out tomorrow. Is that all right?”
I groan. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
She walks up next to the bed and notices my full plate of food. “I see you haven’t eaten yet. You know, the less you eat, the more malnourished you’ll be, and the longer you’ll need to stay here.”
I flash a smile. “Do you have any cookies left?”
She laughs. “You sound like my goddaughter. Do I need to play airplane with you too?”
I shake my head. “No, I’ll eat. I just don’t have anything to do.”
She takes my fork and chops up the chicken into little pieces. “Why don’t you read a book?”
My face frowns. “A book? I don’t have any and I don’t read much anyway.”
She gasps. “You don’t read? Why not?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know, I just never got into it. The only books I read in school were for homework.”
“Hmm. You could watch TV on your phone.”
I look at my phone. “True, but that would kill my data plan.”
She stabs a piece of chicken with the fork and motions for me to open my mouth. “Open.”
I twist my face with an amused expression. “Are you really going to feed me right now?”
She insists. “It’s the only way I’ll know for sure that you’ve eaten. Now open up and let’s make th
is quick.”
I huff at her, but oblige, letting her feed the rest of the chicken to me. In a way, it’s relaxing and insightful to see her in her element, caring for someone and loving her job. I’m certainly glad that I’m the one she’s caring for, but is she doing it because she wants to or because she has to? She doesn’t force me to eat the rice because that is not happening anyway and disposes of the tray once I gobble up the peas.
She returns a half hour later, after completing the rotation with her other patients. She sits in the empty chair and clasps her hand. “So, how’s your aunt?”
“She’s well, but busy. They’ve been getting a lot of cake orders and usually I would help her, so she’s a little overwhelmed at the moment.”
I see her eyes drift off as a blank stare descends upon her face. “You okay?”
She shakes away the weird look. “Yeah I…I just remembered the day I went to get the custom order of éclairs and you were covered in flour.”
That same volt surges through me and I look away, trying to think of anything to change the subject. “So, you play charades?”
She stares at me with a lost look. “Charades? Yes, I’ve played before.”
“Okay, let’s play. It’ll be my entertainment for this evening.”
She looks at me, confused. “You want me to play charades? Right now?”
I smile. “Sure, why not?”
A low snicker comes out of her as she stands up and thinks about her first challenge. “Okay, I’m only doing movies.”