back. As I lifted the soaked rags, I looked over to see her hands shaking.
Her calm nerves had become as shattered as mine. This was all too much for the
both of us. I offered to sew him up for her, but the request snapped her back
into reality, and she declined, smiling. That was a relief to me, since I could
barely do a cross stitch and make it look anything like the sample picture. Who
knows what his side would end up looking like when I was through with it.
She
could have fooled me that she had never done this before. She was so quick and
precise with each stitch, and it looked like she had performed this operation a
hundred times over. As each one went in and was pulled tight, the blood flow
was cut off at that point. After the seventh one, it had stopped entirely. She
continued sewing up the shredded edges of the gash, keeping them close to each
other in case one didn’t hold as well as the others. Fifteen in all.
After
she covered it with a large bandage and taped it into place, she stood up and
took a deep breath, looking over what she had accomplished. The whole ordeal was
bittersweet. Sally had successfully repaired his visual injuries, yet there was
the possibility that there were more hidden that we would miss.
The
remaining cuts and bruises seemed superficial in comparison, and didn’t require
stitches or realignment. Most were cleaned out and left as they were so that
they could scab over and heal on their own. The gash over his eye wasn’t deep
enough for stitches, but Sally had butterfly bandages she placed over it, just
in case it was to split again. After we cleaned up the mess of destroyed clothing
and bloodied towels, he looked just as good as he might have if he were in a
hospital – without all the beeping machines and cords hooked up to every part
of his exposed skin. He was resting as easy as could be expected. He would be
left to spend the rest of the night fighting for his life.
For
me, it was a relief to know it was over. All that was left was the matter of
getting him out of my house and returning him to his rightful owner where he
belonged, so I could move on.
4.
Reaching
the top of the stairs, itfelt good to get out of that stuffy
little room for a while. The walled off half of the basement was too small of a
space for so many bodies to occupy at once. There were no windows in there, and
the air could barely reach it. My hands were cramped from squeezing, pressing,
and pushing. I could feel a slow ache in my lower back from being hunched over
for most of the duration. My arms and legs were still sore from the heaving of
a heavy body and the bouncing around, holding him in place. I could only think
of how nice it would be to just lie down in my bed and sleep through tomorrow –
sleep through the next few tomorrows. I had to be up early for morning check
outs and was hoping I could use this as an excuse to Sally to take a day off.
The
kitchen lights were so much brighter than the ones in the basement. Blinking
hard, it took my eyes some time to adjust. My once clean Formica counters were
now lined with empty bottles of water. They would need to go out for recycling,
but for now they could sit there. A trash bag on the floor, filled with towels
and scraps of clothing, sat waiting for trash day. I had tied it up tight to
keep the smell from permeating the house.
In
the living room adjacent to the kitchen, I could see Chase from the back. He had
already made himself comfortable on the couch, with the throw blanket over him.
He had forgotten again to take off his shoes before putting his feet up,
leaving pieces of dead grass and mud stuck to the cushions. As much as I wanted
to smack him in the head and tell him to clean up, I had no energy left to even
raise my voice, let alone my hand. It wasn’t worth the effort. I wanted to sit
down on the soft couch, but for the moment I could relax at the kitchen table.
Sally was right behind me and had the same idea.
“I
just don’t get why
Her calm nerves had become as shattered as mine. This was all too much for the
both of us. I offered to sew him up for her, but the request snapped her back
into reality, and she declined, smiling. That was a relief to me, since I could
barely do a cross stitch and make it look anything like the sample picture. Who
knows what his side would end up looking like when I was through with it.
She
could have fooled me that she had never done this before. She was so quick and
precise with each stitch, and it looked like she had performed this operation a
hundred times over. As each one went in and was pulled tight, the blood flow
was cut off at that point. After the seventh one, it had stopped entirely. She
continued sewing up the shredded edges of the gash, keeping them close to each
other in case one didn’t hold as well as the others. Fifteen in all.
After
she covered it with a large bandage and taped it into place, she stood up and
took a deep breath, looking over what she had accomplished. The whole ordeal was
bittersweet. Sally had successfully repaired his visual injuries, yet there was
the possibility that there were more hidden that we would miss.
The
remaining cuts and bruises seemed superficial in comparison, and didn’t require
stitches or realignment. Most were cleaned out and left as they were so that
they could scab over and heal on their own. The gash over his eye wasn’t deep
enough for stitches, but Sally had butterfly bandages she placed over it, just
in case it was to split again. After we cleaned up the mess of destroyed clothing
and bloodied towels, he looked just as good as he might have if he were in a
hospital – without all the beeping machines and cords hooked up to every part
of his exposed skin. He was resting as easy as could be expected. He would be
left to spend the rest of the night fighting for his life.
For
me, it was a relief to know it was over. All that was left was the matter of
getting him out of my house and returning him to his rightful owner where he
belonged, so I could move on.
4.
Reaching
the top of the stairs, itfelt good to get out of that stuffy
little room for a while. The walled off half of the basement was too small of a
space for so many bodies to occupy at once. There were no windows in there, and
the air could barely reach it. My hands were cramped from squeezing, pressing,
and pushing. I could feel a slow ache in my lower back from being hunched over
for most of the duration. My arms and legs were still sore from the heaving of
a heavy body and the bouncing around, holding him in place. I could only think
of how nice it would be to just lie down in my bed and sleep through tomorrow –
sleep through the next few tomorrows. I had to be up early for morning check
outs and was hoping I could use this as an excuse to Sally to take a day off.
The
kitchen lights were so much brighter than the ones in the basement. Blinking
hard, it took my eyes some time to adjust. My once clean Formica counters were
now lined with empty bottles of water. They would need to go out for recycling,
but for now they could sit there. A trash bag on the floor, filled with towels
and scraps of clothing, sat waiting for trash day. I had tied it up tight to
keep the smell from permeating the house.
In
the living room adjacent to the kitchen, I could see Chase from the back. He had
already made himself comfortable on the couch, with the throw blanket over him.
He had forgotten again to take off his shoes before putting his feet up,
leaving pieces of dead grass and mud stuck to the cushions. As much as I wanted
to smack him in the head and tell him to clean up, I had no energy left to even
raise my voice, let alone my hand. It wasn’t worth the effort. I wanted to sit
down on the soft couch, but for the moment I could relax at the kitchen table.
Sally was right behind me and had the same idea.
“I
just don’t get why
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