Chapter 2 #2
Nelly looked over at him and said, “Dennis, this is Zander, our newest resident.”
Dennis’s eyebrows shot up. “Hey, you’re Xavier’s friend.”
“That I am.” Zander grinned. “I don’t know what you fed him, but, man, I want some.”
At that, a booming laugh filled the cafeteria. Everybody had big smiles on their faces, and something was just so infectious about people so obviously happy with life and their role in it.
Zander looked up at Nelly and asked, “So what do I get to eat?”
She turned to Dennis and stated, “Maximum nutrition at all times for Zander. He’s got quite a weak immune system, catches everything flying around, and he definitely needs to build a ton of muscle—but first and foremost we need to give him the ultimate in nutritional support.”
Dennis nodded. “Is he the young man I just helped with that green shake?”
She nodded. “Yeah, and we added a lot of amino acids and a couple other things to it.”
Dennis nodded. “Good enough.” He looked down at Zander and asked, “So, red meat, fish, or chicken?”
“Red meat,” Zander replied instantly.
And, with that, Dennis cut him several thick slices of roast beef that had Zander’s stomach already gurgling.
“Gravy?” Dennis asked, looking over at Zander.
Zander nodded almost mutely, as he watched as hot gravy was poured over the roast beef.
And then Dennis moved over to the roasted veggies.
“Now I would say a ton of roasted veggies for you too.” Dennis scooped up a good pile on the side.
“Plus some potatoes because you need a bit of carbs. And how about a nice Caesar salad on the side?” He looked over at Zander and added, “You have to tell me when to stop.”
“Can I ask you to increase?” Zander replied. “I could use twice those veggies.”
With a happy smile Dennis complied, handed over the plate, and then grabbed up a fresh plate and served him a big serving of Caesar salad, grating fresh parmesan on top. He handed that over and asked Nelly, “That suit?”
Nelly nodded. “If he can get that down, it’ll be a good start.”
“You just watch me,” Zander stated. He slowly moved down the line and saw a huge array of desserts and drinks. “Okay, so now I know what you’re talking about, and I’m in trouble.”
“You eat your dinner first,” she replied, “and we’ll talk.”
He noted that her servings were about half the size of his and her Caesar salad was served in a small bowl, instead of a big dinner plate. He asked, “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Sure, but this will do me just fine.” Then she laughed. “And remember that I eat here every day.”
He nodded as he stared down at the tray of dishes resting on his knees. “A ton of food is here on my lap. Yet a ton more is on offer here. It’s pretty amazing. I had visions of typical hospital food.”
She laughed. “How about I grab you some water, and then we’ll talk about dessert after you’re done.
” She also grabbed cutlery for them and slowly led the way to a table that was mostly empty.
Sitting at the end so that he could just pull his wheelchair right up, she helped unload everything on his tray and hers.
Then she handed him a knife and fork and said, “Go to town.”
He laughed. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” He cut into the roast beef. He picked up a bite and savored it with closed eyes. “Oh, wow,” he muttered, as he went back for several more bites. “I should gain weight on this.”
“It’s not weight that we need,” she clarified in a serene tone. “It’s healthy muscle and healed tissue, a chance to regrow and to rebuild. We can’t get you back on your feet if we don’t have the strong structure in place.”
He nodded but wondered at just how absolutely different that mentality was to what he had experienced before. “I was never starved before,” he explained, “but I was always left wanting more.”
“That’ll never happen here,” she stated, “but, what you take, you eat.”
“Got it.” He nodded and spent the next half hour plowing happily through his food.
Dennis stopped by once and brought him a second bottle of cold water, checked that he was eating, nodded approvingly, and took off.
“He cares, doesn’t he?” Zander whispered. He was just about done with his beef and veggies plate and spied his Caesar salad. A big fat smile crossed his face. He grabbed his salad and pointed to his empty dinner plate. “Now, I can dig into this.”
She laughed. “Most of the guys don’t enjoy their vegetables quite so much.”
“I’m not most of the guys ,” he declared.
“I spent a lot of time where we had no fresh vegetables, and I really like them. Roasted vegetables, skewered vegetables, raw vegetables, I don’t care.
” He shrugged. “Vegetables are good.” And he tucked into the Caesar salad with the same aplomb he’d applied to his dinner of roast and veggies.
When he was done, he looked over to see that her plate was empty too.
He frowned and asked, “Were you waiting for me?”
“Nope, not waiting for anything. Now we’ll let that settle and see how your stomach is.”
“It hasn’t been very touchy,” he noted cautiously. “I know I put a lot in it just now.” He patted his stomach. “Yet I’m feeling pretty good.” He shifted in the wheelchair, trying to ease up his lower back and ribs. “I tend to slouch really badly. It’s hard for me to sit up straight for long.”
“Got it.” She nodded. “How about a coffee and a dessert?”
His face lit up, as he looked back at the big dessert display. “Are you serious? I can have something?”
“Absolutely. What do you want though?”
“That cheesecake,” he replied instantly. “The one with all the chocolate across the top.”
She chuckled. And almost magically, right at his side, Dennis appeared and put a piece of cheesecake in front of him.
Zander looked up and frowned at him. “How did you know?”
“Are you kidding?” Dennis said, with a smile. “I saw you as you rolled past. I already earmarked a good-size piece for you. Now I’ll go grab you a coffee. Just enjoy. And welcome to Hathaway House.”