Later when they
came home, Mommy and Daddy helped Jake over to the couch to lie down. His foot
was all wrapped up in some bumpy-looking cloths all the way up to his knee.
They said he broke his ankle in two places. I wasn’t sure which part the ankle
was, but Jake felt horrible. He gritted his teeth, then moaned loud when Daddy
lifted the hurt leg on the couch.
Ruthie was over at
a friend’s house when Jake fell. When she got home, she ran over to him and
wanted to jump on top of him—the way she always did—but Mommy made her stop.
“Jake, are you
going to get a cast?” Ruthie asked. She sounded excited.
“Yeah, I guess
so,” Jake said. He didn’t sound very happy about it.
“Oooohh, that’ll
be fun. Can I draw on it? Remember when Uncle Darrin had a cast?” Ruthie
bounced up and down. “He got it changed a couple times, and he got to choose
different colors. Can I go with you when you get a cast? Can I help you choose
the color?”
“Sure. That will
be great.” Jake didn’t sound like he thought it would be great.
“Honey, let’s
leave Jake alone so he can rest,” Mommy said, taking hold of Ruthie’s hand.
“His foot hurts.”
“Okay. I’m sorry,
Jakey.” Ruthie rubbed his face with her hand. “Do you want me to read a book to
you, like you do for me when I’m sick?”
“Not right now,
baby.” Jake tried to smile at her. “I just want to rest. Dad has some pills
from the doctor that should help it not hurt so much, and hopefully, I’ll be
able to sleep.” Jake made a scrunched-up look with his face. “Maybe you could
read to me later, okay?”
“Okay.” Ruthie
kissed him. “I’m sorry you’re hurt. How come you don’t go to your bed to
sleep?”
“I can’t climb the
stairs to my room. I’ll get crutches later, but for now, I guess I’ll stay
here.”
“Oh. Crutches.”
Ruthie puckered her face. “I remember when Uncle Darrin had those. They were
kind of scary. Do you remember one time he fell down the stairs when he was
using them?”
Jake squeezed her
hand. “I’ll be careful. It’ll be okay. Go on now, baby. I’ll talk to you later.
I love you.”
Ruthie kissed him
again. “I love you, too.”
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