Father and Son
Colton Browning easily lifted his father from the bed and settled him gently in a wheelchair. It surprised him every time, how little his father weighed. As a child Colton had seen the man as being bigger than life. To his eyes, his dad had been the strongest person there was, capable of handling anything life threw at him. Since his stroke a year ago, his father’s balance had diminished, that’s how they’d ended up at the hospital. His obstinate father had tried going down the stairs without his cane and fallen. One hip replacement later and they were on the road to recovery.
The doctors warned, however, that his father would never again be the same strong, virile man he remembered. His lungs were weakening, as well as his heart. He wasn’t just going home with a new hip but also with a new machine to help him breathe. His father’s ill health was a constant reminder that life was short, you had to live it. While the nurse explained the discharge summary, his mind wandered.
Callie. The first time he’d seen her she was setting up his father’s new bi-pap machine. She was explaining how it created a positive pressure, opening his airway so he could breathe easier and then switched to a low pressure to aid his lungs in breathing out. He’d come into the room behind her while she’d been leaning over explaining the gauge and how to trouble shoot any problems. Her scrubs had pulled taut across her backside, her hair, a dark mass of soft curls woven through with candy-apple-red highlights, had been pulled back into a messy bun, a few tendrils escaping to caress her neck.
He’d stood there watching the way she moved, listening to the sound of her voice, soft with a slight Spanish accent. She was nothing like the women he dated. Tall, slender blondes, all of them elegant and refined. When she turned and caught him starring, he flushed, actually stuttered. It had been years since anyone had elicited such a reaction from him.
The sparkle in her eyes made him suspect she knew he was checking her out. The more he got to know her, however, he realized she had no idea. She didn’t seem to realize her impact on people. Her smile could cause heart failure, her laugh could hypnotize. At the very least, she should be required to wear a sign: warning dangerous curves approaching. The sparkle he had mistaken for sexual understanding was simply her joy for what she did.
“Sir?” Crap, he’d been day dreaming again.
“Ah, yes, what was that?”
The nurse repeated her instructions about after care and let him know a machine would be delivered to his home later that day. “They will set everything up and show you what to do.”
He nodded, signed the paper work, and they were finally allowed to leave. He released the brake on his father’s wheelchair and they were on their way. Colt surreptitiously glanced around hoping for one last look, one last smile or laugh from Callie. He frowned when he realized she wasn’t on the floor. Damn it, he’d wanted to see her, just one more time.
When the elevator opened on the ground floor, they headed out to the parking garage.
“Dad, how’re you feeling?” Colton spoke to fill the silence.
“Okay.”
“You want to get something to eat, or straight home?”
“Home.”
His father had once been a verbose man with plenty to say. Since the stroke he’d been reduced to answering questions with as few words as possible. Colton longed for the time when they would stay up for hours debating music, politics, or books.
“Home it is.” His dad reached up and placed his hand over Colt’s where he grasped the wheelchair handle. His strength was not what it used to be, but Colt felt the small squeeze before he dropped his hand back to his lap.
“I know Dad, I love you too.”
Rebecca Lamprey 