Losing Leah

I digested his words, but my knowledge on the subject was limited. Judy always kept me on a strict diet, but clearly that was for her own purposes. I couldn’t imagine deliberately depriving yourself of something if you had a choice.

“How did you two even get together?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t getting too personal.

“I don’t know. I think I was her charity case for the semester,” he said, grinning.

My tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of my mouth. Did people do that? Unsure of how to answer, I scooted back into my shell.

Gunner wouldn’t allow me to retreat though. He moved to a different subject before I could even begin to feel awkward.

“Well, it’s good you’re not watching your weight. I’ve arranged for a little surprise. It should be here any minute.”

“You got me a s-s-surprise?” I stuttered out. For me, surprises only came twice a year, once for Christmas and once for my birthday, and only if I was good. My voice shook with emotion.

“Sure. It’s no big deal though,” he said. “I just sent a nurse on a little errand. Ah. I think I hear her footsteps now.”

I quirked my head to the side, trying to see what he was talking about. Only when someone stopped in my doorway did I finally hear the clicking of her shoes on the hard flooring. I spotted a woman who looked noticeably older than Mom. Her hair was completely gray and pulled up into a tight knot on her head. She had a wide smile on her face and seemed to be full of energy judging by how quickly she was moving.

“I got your order, but you better eat quickly before they melt.” She sat the small brown bag on the table and then turned on her heel to leave. “I gotta go check on Mr. Schultz. He’s demanding my attention. Don’t make yourself sick now.”

Gunner didn’t seem concerned as he handed me a cold container.

I pried the lid off my container and dug my plastic spoon into the ice cream. Even though he couldn’t see me, I noticed that Gunner paused while I brought a spoonful of the ice cream up to my lips.

I was unprepared for the taste sensation that exploded in my mouth. Ice cream lived up to its name. It was rich and creamy and literally melted in my mouth. Maybe now I had a new favorite treat.

“Oh, wow,” I proclaimed, shoving another spoonful in my mouth.

Gunner laughed, digging into his own container. “It’s Chocolate Lovers’. It’s one of my weaknesses. I guarantee if you eat enough it’ll put some pounds on you.”

I would have agreed with him but I was too busy shoveling spoonfuls of ice cream into my mouth.

“Stick with me, kid, and I’ll have you trying so many new things your head’ll spin.” He grinned at me, taking an oversize bite of his ice cream. “Hey, did I get any on me?” he asked, looking at me as melted ice cream drizzled from the corners of his mouth and down his chin.

I couldn’t help but smile as a warm feeling of joy coursed through my veins. I liked Gunner. A lot. “Gross.” I laughed, trying to keep my own bite of ice cream from running out of my mouth.

“What? You’re the one who dripped on your shirt,” Gunner said, pointing toward my arm.

“Where?” I asked, turning my arm over to inspect my sleeve. “I don’t see anything.”

“Right there,” he answered just as a glob of ice cream landed on my chest. I looked up to see Gunner holding an empty spoon. “Oops, did I do that?” he asked with a devilish grin on his face.

I felt more shocked than anything and unsure of how to react. Mother used to punish me severely if I ever spilled food. Not that Gunner would have known that. It wasn’t his fault that she was so strict. I watched as he dug into his ice cream container again, holding up a large spoonful as it melted down his arm. “You better not,” I said, idly threatening him.

“Yeah? What are you gonna do?” He tossed the ice cream at me again and it landed in a small pile on my lap. We both launched into a fit of laughter and I joined him as we began pelting each other with spoonfuls of ice cream until the containers were empty. We made an absolute mess of my room, but I didn’t care. I had never had so much fun in my life. Not that I had ever had any friends, but Gunner was already the coolest person I had ever met.

The following day he showed up in my room with his hands full, trying to juggle his walking stick and whatever it was he was carrying. He searched for the edge of the door with his foot and covertly closed it behind him as he entered.

I held my breath and stood apprehensively from my bed. Since I arrived at the hospital, I insisted on keeping the door open at least a crack at all times. Having it closed reminded me too much of the basement prison I had escaped from. My eyes locked on the door. I was torn and fighting back the shriek that burned in my throat, but the last thing I wanted to do was drive my new friend away.

“What’s up? I’ve got another surprise for you, but figured you’d prefer the door closed for this,” Gunner said intuitively.

Curiosity got the better of me as my eyes moved reluctantly from the closed door.

“Okay, so actually, I’m the one who prefers the door closed,” he said wryly when I didn’t respond. He dropped his walking stick to the side and placed the items in his hands on the small, round table. “What we’re about to do may not be fit for the eyes of others.”

“Really?” I squeaked out like a mouse, wondering what exactly he had in mind.

“Trust me,” he said, fiddling with the stuff on the table.