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Chapter Eight
At
the sound of Jedidiah’s voice the cat screeched and flew out the door, past the
dog and down the hall.
Jedidiah
sat up in slow motion, checking his surroundings for any hint the devilish
beast might return. When he was sure all was safe, his head swung to his
‘loyal’ dog standing in the doorway watching him with curiosity. “Really,
Hairy? You let the cat pass you as if you weren’t even there?” He got up,
dusted his pants off and stomped past the dog and down the hall in the same
direction the cat had taken.
The
dog whined, whimpered, and then slunk after his master.
Without
turning around Jedidiah harrumphed and said, “That’s right, you better be
sorry.” He saw a switch on the wall and slid it upward. Nothing. “Of course
there isn’t any electricity. What was I thinking? I wonder if she has food.
It’s gonna spoil in this heat.” He walked to the fridge and pulled the freezer
door open, groaned, and then pulled the fridge door. “Why on earth does one
person have so much food? Probably because she owns a restaurant,” He answered
his own question. With a definite plan, he headed to the front door. “Come on
Hairy, we have to try to find some ice and some Styrofoam coolers for this
stuff.”
The
dog wagged his tail, seeming happy his master wasn’t angry anymore.
Jedidiah’s
face throbbed as soon as the damp air hit it. His hands went up to his cheeks
and came back red. “I’m bleeding.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and
swiped at the painful streaks. “…And that’s why I don’t like cats.”
Hairy
barked in agreement.
“That’s
right. About time you came back to my side.” He gave the dog a pat and a
scratch behind the ears as they reached the car. “How am I going to explain
being in her house? She’s gonna want to know who put her food in coolers.” He
started the car, mentally preparing himself for another slow, tedious drive
through the devastated community. He sat straight up in attention when a
thought hit him. “I can tell her I saw her file lying on the table at the
hospital, because I did. Even a good Samaritan would go check things out,
wouldn’t they?” He gave Hairy a questioning look, as if the dog actually knew
what he was talking about. “Yep, that’s what I’ll do.”
The
place was packed. It hadn’t even crossed his mind that people would be out and
about, let alone at the small department store he stopped at.
He
got a cart and grabbed four stacked Styrofoam coolers, all that was left, and
four huge bags of ice. He could pour some in the kitchen sink and use that if
he had to…A horrible thought struck him…did she have a deep freezer? He shook his
head. It didn’t matter. If she did he would just pour some ice down in it. It
should stay cold long enough for them to get the electricity back on.
He
was in the dog aisle looking for a treat for Hairy when a whistle caught his
attention. He looked up; right into the face of a beautiful, black-haired woman.
He guessed she was close to his age.
“What a mighty fine tall drink of water,
Sherry,” She said as her gaze slid momentarily toward the woman standing beside
her.
Jedidiah
was surprised at his immediate feeling of distaste. Just a few months ago such
a reaction from a beautiful woman would’ve been more than welcome. He moved his
eyes away from the obvious interest in hers and ducked his head as he passed
by.
“I
haven’t seen you around here,” She called in a flirty tone.
“I
haven’t been around long,” He mumbled as he grabbed a huge dog bone from the
shelf and threw it into the cart. He pushed the buggy further down the aisle
and picked up a can, totally oblivious to what it was.
Look
Sherry, he has a cat,” the woman told her friend in a mock-whisper. “I bet
that’s how he got those scratches.”
Jedidiah
shook his head, already denying the accusation. “I don’t have a…” He looked
down at the can in his hand and stopped his protest. Tuna-flavored cat food. He
started to put it back, but halfway to the shelf he stopped. There was the big
white beast...It was probably hungry. It
scratched me. His mind argued. Besides,
she probably has cat food. You can’t go through her cupboards, man, His
disloyal brain impressed upon him as he threw the can into the cart and shoved
it down the aisle, away from the two nosy women.
Jedidiah
made his way to the counter, picking things up and tossing them into his
rapidly-filling cart as he went. The Styrofoam containers were shoved to one
corner, taking up most of the buggy, but he’d used their emptiness for other
items and shoved smaller ones around the edges.
“I
need to get out of here.” He pushed the heavy metal cart to the counter and
stood waiting in impatience while the harried cashier rung up the people in
front of him.
Back
outside, Hairy had taken his absence as a license to stick his big head out the
window. To his dismay, the two women from the store were petting him. They both
giggled when he walked up to the car.
“Is
this your dog?” Sherry asked.
“You
really shouldn’t walk up to strange animals,” he returned, cringing at his own rudeness.
The
flirty one shrugged her shoulders as if she hadn’t noticed. “Does he bite?”
“I
don’t think so. I’ve never known him to,” he answered. He walked around to the
back and shoved his purchases inside and then deposited the empty cart into the
rack beside his vehicle.
“What’s
his name?” Sherry asked.
“Hairy.”
He didn’t feel compelled to give them the cute spelling of his name like he
normally would’ve. What was wrong with him? Was it his newfound faith, the
service, or the woman lying in a hospital bed who’d taken away his own flirty
and suggestive personality? He guessed it was a little of all three.
“If
you ladies will excuse me, I’ve got some things I need to attend to.”
“Oh…we’re
sorry,” Sherry replied.
The
flirty woman looked chagrined. “Are you a victim of the tornado?”
“No,
but someone I know is, and I have to get this ice back before all her food
ruins.”
The
one named Sherry widened her eyes. “We’ll let you go then. I hope everything
turns out okay for you.”
“I
do too, thank you.” I shouldn’t have been
so rude. They seem nice.
Jedidiah
drove back to Janna’s house and made quick work of putting her food on ice.
When he finished he looked all over the house, and finally out in the garage. When
he opened the door, the first thing he saw was a mid-sized deep freezer sitting
in the corner. He walked over and dumped the ice in and wadded up the bag.
A
few minutes later, food taken care of and cat fed, he and his dog were on the
way back to the hospital. He stopped to grab some take-out and made it back to
Janna’s room by noon.
He
walked in, bags rattling a bit, and sat them on her table. He went over to
check on the little guy and his heart squeezed. He was sleeping, drool flowing
from the corner of his mouth. He grabbed a tissue from the table and swiped
gently at the corner of his lips. “It’ll be okay Champ. I’ll make sure it is.”
He
turned to throw away the moist tissues and stopped short. She was watching him.
It was reminiscent of this morning. “Are you hungry?” He gestured to the bags
with his eyes, sitting down in the chair next to her. He was trying not to show
how nervous he was. There was just something about her. He couldn’t put his
finger on it, but he was intimidated.
“A
lit..hu…um.” She cleared her throat. “A bit.”
“I
got hamburgers and fries. I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s
good. Did you…huu…uhm.” She cleared her throat once more. “Sorry, I feel like I
swallowed a frog.”
He
laughed. She was beautiful. “Did I what?”
She
looked at him in confusion for a moment, and then her mind seemed to clear. “Oh
yeah, did you happen to get drinks?”
He
exhaled in disappointment, hanging his head, shaking it from side to side. He
hadn’t. “I’ll run down to the cafeteria and get you something.”
“Thank
you.”
He
could see tears come to her eyes, and felt his water in answer. He liked it
that she hadn’t declined a drink. Most women he knew would have, even if they
were thirsty. It was nice to be around a woman that knew what she wanted and
wasn’t afraid to ask. “You’re welcome. I’ll be right back.” He walked out the
door, back-tracked and asked, “Anything else?”
“Chocolate?”
A small smile formed on her shapely lips.
He
threw his head back and laughed. Yes, she was going to be fine. “I’ll grab you
something. Back in a flash.”
