Chapter 11

Joey

The Flu Part 2

I’m as sick as a dog. It hit me the day after taking Emma to the doctor. I’ve been in bed ever since, other than a quick trip to urgent care to see a doctor myself and get a prescription.

Blake pops his head in my doorway, keeping his distance in case I’m still contagious. “Emma will be here in thirty minutes. I’ve got to run to practice, so you’ll need to watch the kids.”

I reply, my voice sounding as rough as sandpaper. “Thanks for picking them up from school.” Calling the school to give my teammate approval to pick up the kids took all my strength. “What are they doing right now?” I struggle into a sitting position.

“Scott is playing a game on your iPad and Katie’s watching a cartoon on TV.”

Chelsea wouldn’t approve of all this screen time, but what am I to do?

“Tell Coach I’ll be back at practice tomorrow,” I grumble, grouchy over missing today’s session.

“What?! Joey, you look like a strong wind would blow you over. I doubt you’ll be able to attend practice this week.”

I grunt. He’s right, I’m kidding myself. It’s rather embarrassing how quickly Emma bounced back from the flu and I’m still feeling crummy after two days in. A healthy athletic guy like me should be able to fight off an illness faster than everyone else. Apparently not.

I need to accept the fact that Blake will be the starting goalie in tomorrow’s game. Bummer. My perfect streak of starting every game this season is broken because of the flu.

Blake heads off to practice. A few minutes later, I painfully make my way toward the living room moving like a ninety-year-old man. Every bone in my body aches.

“Uncle Joey! Are you feeling better?” Katie squeals, making my already throbbing head hurt worse. She bounces across the floor and wraps her arms around my legs, nearly toppling me over.

I pat her on the back, “Don’t get too close. I might still be contagious.”

“Contagus?”

Scott glances up from his game but thankfully doesn’t make a snide comment. I couldn’t handle a Katie meltdown right now.

“It means I’m still spreading germs, and you could get sick.”

She releases me as if I just burst into flames. “Sit over there,” she points to the stuffed chair on the other side of the room while holding her nose. I’m contagious, not stinky. Right?

I plop down and she resumes watching TV. Otto’s fish swim around in the aquarium, giving me something to watch. After he and Mia eloped, they moved into a tiny apartment and there wasn’t room for the fish. I’ve been the caretaker of Pete, Bambi, and their offspring ever since.

The chair is so comfortable, maybe I’ll just rest until Emma gets here. Closing my eyes, I drift off...

Ding! Dong!

The bell jolts me awake. My eyes pop open and my jaw drops at the site before me. There are cookies and crumbs spread out all over the coffee table, along with a spilled glass of chocolate milk and an open bag of M&M’s. Looks like the kids decided to have a snack while I was napping. How long was I out?

Katie and Scott run to the door and fling it open without any regard for who’s on the other side. I start to stand, but when I hear Katie shout, “Emma!” I slump back down. Chelsea needs to teach the kids about checking who’s at the door first before opening it.

I hear chatter between Emma and the kids, their voices getting louder as they approach.

Emma surveys the room as she enters. She stares at the mess on the coffee table. “Whoa! What happened here?” Then she notices me, “Joey, you look awful.”

“Gee, thanks,” I snort. Her comment brings out my Grumpy Gus and I shoot her my patented goalie glare. Despite my grumpiness, my heart responds to her beauty with an odd little flip. Those tight blue jeans mold her every curve. I’d love to tug her into a hug and kiss her senseless. I better not spread my germs.

She laughs, making my grouchy attitude escalate even further.

“You shouldn’t kick a guy when he’s down,” I grouse.

“Uncle Joey’s crabby,” Katie says as she tugs on Emma’s sweatshirt to get her attention. “And he smells bad.”

I sniff my armpit surreptitiously, then grimace. When was the last time I showered?

“He even tooted a couple times when he was sleeping.” Scott adds.

Emma’s eyes fly to mine, and she claps her hand over her mouth to stifle a bout of giggles. My face turns a dark shade of crimson. Any hope of maintaining my smooth and debonair male mystique with my girlfriend has just been blown to smithereens by my niece and nephew. Can’t a guy have some privacy when he’s down and out?

Emma turns her attention back to the coffee table. “I’ll clean up this mess and then fix some dinner.” I wish I could crawl in a hole. She doesn’t make eye contact with me as she picks up the cookie remains and milk glass, then shoos the kids off to the kitchen. When they’re out of sight, I get out of the chair and shuffle off to my bedroom where I can stink and pass gas in peace.

~*~

After another nap, I’m feeling much better! The medicine must have finally kicked in. I take a quick shower and change clothes so maybe Katie won’t call me smelly any longer.

When I get to the kitchen doorway, I pause. My heart squeezes at the sweet sight. Scott is putting a puzzle together at the kitchen table while Emma and Katie bake cookies. The two females are laughing as they form cookie dough into balls and place them on a cookie sheet. Delectable aromas of cinnamon, vanilla, and fresh baked treats hit my nostrils and my stomach rumbles.

Emma glances up, a bright smile lights up her pretty face. “You’re up! And you’re looking better. Are you feeling any better?”

“Marginally,” I reply in a gravelly voice.

“We’re baking cookies!” Katie announces as she twirls around my legs. This kid has more energy than that pink bunny on the TV commercial.

“I see that.”

My nephew nods, then returns to his puzzle. He is a man of few words.

“I’ve had two already! They’re snickerdoodles. Do you want one?” Katie stops twirling, anxiously waiting for my answer.

Emma grins as she wipes her hands on a paper towel. “How about we let Uncle Joey eat dinner first? Then he can have a cookie.” She goes to the fridge and retrieves a plastic wrapped covered plate. “We saved you some Mac and Cheese and a few chicken nuggets. Do you feel like eating?”

Suddenly my legs feel wobbly and my head a little woozy. I slump into a chair across from Scott. “I’ll try to eat something,” I mutter. This illness has zapped all my energy. It’s embarrassing how much it has taken out of me.

Emma’s expression turns concerned. “When was the last time you took your medicine?”

“Before lunch.”

“Okay, I’ll heat this up. You eat, then you can take your next dose.” Emma darts over to the microwave and pops the plate inside. Within seconds, the aroma of hot food hits my nostrils.

“A cookie will make you feel better,” Katie says as she carefully places a cookie on the other side of the table, as far away from me as possible. She waves and dances back across the room.

“Thank you, Katie,” I croak. My voice sounds gruff, like I haven’t used it for days.

A glass of water appears, and I take a sip. The cool beverage slides down my dry throat making it feel much better. Emma brings over silverware, then the steaming plate, and slides it in front of me. She even produces a napkin. “Enjoy! Do you need ketchup for your nuggets?”

I shake my head in a negative fashion, grab the fork, and dig in. I’m hungrier than I thought. The food tastes delicious and brings back memories of my childhood. The Mac and Cheese is just the right cheesiness. The nuggets are just the right temperature but missing something . “Guess I could use some of that ketchup.”

Laughing, Emma heads to the fridge and brings back the bottle. “Everything’s better with ketchup,” she says with a wink.

“Thanks.” The bottle feels like it weighs fifty pounds as I squirt a glob of ketchup on my plate. There’s no way I can play goalie tomorrow.

“My mom likes mustard on her nuggets,” Scott says.

“I remember that! Dad and I always kidded her and told her she was weird.”

Giggling for a few beats, my nephew says, “Mom’s a weirdo.”

“What’s a weirdo?” Katie asks from her perch beside Emma at the island.

“Well—” I shoot Emma a “please help me out” look, but she arches an eyebrow and waits for my response. Bummer. I dug this hole, so now I’ve got to dig myself out of it.

“It means she’s weird,” Scott supplies helpfully. Katie’s lips tremble and it looks like she’s going to burst into tears.

I hold up my hand to cut off this discussion. “Your mom isn’t weird even though using mustard on nuggets is odd. But everyone has different tastes.” My chest swells with pride at my politically correct answer.

“Is using chocolate syrup on nuggets weird?” Katie asks. “That sounds yummy to me.”

“That’s weird,” Scott replies. “No one puts something sweet on nuggets,” he scoffs.

BBQ sauce comes to mind, but I don’t make that suggestion.

“I shouldn’t have said weird. Everyone can have whatever they want on their nuggets,” I add in a parental-sounding tone, hoping to end this line of conversation.

Katie bounces on her feet and raises her hand.

“Yes?”

“I want grape jelly on my nuggets next time!” she says excitedly.

Emma smirks at me over my niece’s blonde head as she waits for my reply.

“I’ll buy a bunch of different toppings, and we’ll try all of them. When I’m feeling better, you both can go to the grocery and help me select them.”

“Spaghetti sauce,” Scott suggests.

“Honey!” Katie chimes in.

“Salsa,” My nephew adds.

“Sprinkles!” I’m surprised Katie didn’t lead with that one.

“We’ll go wild and crazy and try them all,” I say.

Thankfully, that satisfies both kids. Scott returns to his puzzle and Katie to the cookies. The chair scrapes the floor as I stand and lumber over to the fridge. I retrieve a jar and return to my seat.

“That grape jelly suggestion sounded good,” I say as I put a scoop on my plate and dip my nugget in it. After I chew and swallow, I add, “Delicious!” Katie beams and sticks her tongue out at her brother.

I return to my meal. Emma and Katie chatter and laugh as they continue baking cookies. Scott smiles as he adds another piece to his puzzle.

My heart brims with happiness. What would it be like to have a family like this? Could I have a future with the beautiful baker?

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