The Gift
Chapter 14
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"Let's do something fun," Brian said.
"Like what?"
"I don't know. You tell me. I know absolutely nothing about this town. Hey, is that... *gasp* an ice skating rink?" Brian laughed.
"Yep. It is. Don't tell me you actually want to ice skate," Lainie giggled.
"I haven't ice skated in so long," Brian said. "Oh, we have to do that."
Lainie sighed. "Oh alright," she said, then smiled at him. "I just have to warn you, though. I'm a terrible skater. I really, really, really suck at it. I fall down on my butt all the time."
"That's ok. I suck at it too," he said. "Come on."
They hopped out of the car and went inside the rink.
"Hey Lainie," the man behind the counter said, a wide grin on his face. "Haven't seen you in here in a long time. How's your mama?"
"She's fine, Chuck. How are Margie and the baby doing?" Lainie answered. Chuck was one of the only people who had been nice to her in high school. He was sort of a nerd, but he had a heart of gold. He owned the ice skating rink now, and was the youth minister at the Baptist Church.
"Oh, they're doing great. Little Ryan's gonna be a month old Friday. I can't believe time's going by so fast!" Chuck said, smiling.
"A month old already? Wow! I'll have to stop by and see them. I've been meaning to get by there, but with Edward and all... well, you know," Lainie said, her voice catching in her throat as she spoke of her friend.
"I was real sorry to hear about that, Laine," Chuck said gently, shaking his head. "I know he was a dear friend to you. You know, he's in a better place now."
"I know," Lainie said, patting Chuck's hand. "He was a good man. Too bad everybody didn't see him like I did." Lainie paused for a second and took a deep breath. "Oh, Chuck, I'm sorry. I am just losing my manners today! This is Brian. Brian, this is Chuck Yancey. He owns the place. I've known him since we were... what?... Two or three?"
"Yeah," Chuck laughed, "about that."
"Nice to meet ya Chuck," Brian said, shaking his hand.
"You too, buddy," Chuck grinned. "Hey, you two have the whole place to yourselves right now. Just go on back and Vernon'll get you some skates."
"How much do I owe you?" Brian asked, pulling out his wallet.
"Not a dime," Chuck said, smiling. "Lainie's a good friend, and I wouldn't dream of taking your money. Just my way of welcoming you to town. Hope you enjoy your visit."
"Well, that's awfully nice," Brian said. "Good luck with that baby."
"Thanks!"
***********************
"Jees Louise," Lainie exclaimed, stumbling on the ice. Brian skated circles around her. Literally. "Brian, you were lying, weren't you? You're great at this. I suck."
"Nah. I'm really not that great at it. I think I'm just athletically inclined or something," he chuckled. "Here, hold my hand." He reached out and she grabbed his hand for support.
"Don't let me pull you down," Lainie warned. "I might squash you."
"You won't squash me," Brian laughed. "I'm used to wrestling with Nick. You think you could possibly squash me?"
"Well, no I guess not."
Chuck watched Lainie and Brian holding hands while they skated around the rink. Lainie and a man... this was great. She needed a man, and this guy seemed really nice. He smiled to himself and switched off the overhead light.
"What the...?" Lainie said, looking up at the disco ball that now had a spotlight shining on it, creating a cool design on the ice as it twirled. Suddenly, the corny skating rink music went off, and was replaced by Faith Hill's Breathe. Lainie rolled her eyes.
"Not funny, Chuck!" she yelled. Chuck couldn't hear her, of course, and the music stayed on.
"I think he's got the wrong idea," Brian said, smiling mischievously.
"Yeah. I'm really sorry," Lainie muttered, very embarrassed.
"It's ok. Really," Brian replied, giving her hand a little squeeze. She had forgotten she was holding his hand for a minute. "Let's play."
"Play what?" she asked, cautiously.
"I don't know. Let's race or something."
"Race? You'll beat me! It won't even be fair," she exclaimed.
"On your mark. Get set. Go!" Brian yelled, letting go of her hand and taking off. She sighed and started skating as fast as she could trying to catch up to him. But he was too fast.
"Slow down!" she yelled.
"Uh uh! Not a chance!" he yelled back. Suddenly, his skate hit a bump, and he fell down onto the ice in a big heap only a few feet in front of Lainie.
"Look out!" she yelled, and tried to stop. It didn't work, and she ended up falling on top of Brian with a thud.
"Owwww," she moaned.
"You ok?" Brian asked, barely able to breathe through his laughter.
"I hit my knee," she whined. She was still laying across Brian, who was now on his back.
"Poor baby. Lemme see," he said, sitting up on his elbows.Lainie pulled the leg of her sweatpants up and exposed her knee. She bent it up so she could get a better look at what was sure to be a nasty bruise later. She could see the beginnings of a big purple spot on her kneecap.
"Owwww it hurts," she moaned, poking out her bottom lip.
"I'll kiss it and make it better, you big wimp," Brian laughed. He kissed her knee softly.
"Oww. That hurt," Lainie said, pulling her pants leg back down.
"Get up, you baby," he laughed, standing up. He grabbed her hand and helped her off the ice.
"Sorry I ruined our skating trip," Lainie said quietly.
"That's ok. It's getting cold anyway. Hey, if they have power here, maybe the power's back on at the house?"
"Doubtful, but we'll see."
They put on their shoes and Lainie drove them back to the house. Brian sighed and rested his head on the back of the seat.
"Ok, the fatigue is catching up with me now," he said, closing his eyes.
"I take it you'll be crashing soon, huh?" she laughed.
"Oh yeah. Very soon."
**************************
Once they got back to the house, they discovered that the power was not on yet. Lainie walked into the living room with Brian close behind. Nick and AJ were sitting in front of the fire in their boxers and t-shirts, trying to keep warm.
"You know, if you two morons would put on some clothes, you might stay warm," she laughed.
Nick turned around and saw Brian. "Hey man!" Nick exclaimed, jumping up. "When did you get here?"
"We got here about 6:15 this morning," Brian replied, hugging Nick.
"We? Who's we?" AJ asked, wrinkling his brow.
"I brought Kev and D. Hope you don't mind."
"Nah. The more the merrier," AJ laughed. "Nick, you don't mind, do ya?"
Nick sighed heavily and sat down on the couch. "No. No problem," he said, but his tone was unconvincing.
"What's wrong?" Brian asked, sitting down beside Nick. "Listen, I'm sorry if you didn't want them come. I just thought..."
"No, really. It's fine," Nick said, sighing. "Hey, you must be tired. Let me show you up to your room."
"Ok," Brian said, unsure of how to react to Nick's weird behavior. Nick always loved it when they did things together. Brian couldn't figure out what Nick's problem was. Brian followed Nick up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. Nick opened the door and saw Howie in the bed.
"Damn," he muttered. He walked to the next room and opened the door. Kevin... "Shit."
"Well, bro. Looks like you'll be sleeping in the cold room," Nick said. "Sorry. I know you don't want to sleep in Uncle Ed's room. It's kinda creepy in there with that hospital bed and all. And the other room is full of books and stuff."
"It's ok," Brian said, smiling. "I can handle a little cold. Just pile on the blankets."
Nick nodded and showed Brian to the other room. Brian fell down on the bed and put his hands behind his head. He stared up at Nick for a minute, then a smile came over his lips.
"I missed you," Brian said quietly.
"I know. I missed you, too. I'm sorry we fought," Nick replied, looking sheepishly at the floor.
"Me too. Let's never fight again, ok?"
"Ok. Deal." Nick sat down on the end of the bed. "So what did you and Lainie do?"
"Oh, we got some breakfast and went ice skating."
"Ice skating?" Nick chuckled. "Why?"
"Just something to do," Brian said, shrugging.
"Hmmm. Ok."
"You like her, don't you?" Brian chided, kicking Nick a little.
"No," Nick said, trying not to smile.
"You like her Nickolas Gene. You can't lie to me. You can lie to anybody else in the world, but I know you better than they do. You like her," Brian kidded.
"Ok, ok. Yeah. I like her. But I'm afraid she doesn't like me," Nick said, looking a little sad.
"Why would she not like you?"
"Because. I... Never mind," Nick said, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it. I fucked up. That's all. Maybe I can fix it, maybe not. I don't know."
"Well, let me know if I can help," Brian said.
"Ok. You get some rest, man. We'll go out to dinner tonight. You've GOT to try this little place at the airport. It's incredible."
"Airport? Ooooo-K." Brian kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his pants. Nick got up and started out the door.
"Hey, Rok," Nick said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Do you like her?"
"She's great," Brian said, smiling brightly. Nick knew that look. This was not good. Not good at all...
***********************
Lainie limped into the living room and sat down on the couch. She propped her let up on the coffee table and pulled up her pants leg. Her knee was swollen and purplish.
"What's wrong?" AJ asked, still huddled by the fire.
"I hurt my knee. What does it look like," Lainie replied grouchily.
"Well you don't have to bite my head off," AJ muttered. "I'm not the one who hurt your knee for you."
"Sorry," Lainie said. "I'm just a little tired and grouchy today."
"Why?"
"Didn't get much sleep last night," she said softly, not looking at him. She tried to keep concentrating on her knee. Had to keep looking at her knee so she wouldn't look at those brown eyes... or those tattoos... or...ARRGGGGHHH!!!!
AJ moved beside her on the couch. "Lainie, I'm sorry about last night," he said quietly. "That was wrong. Nick and I shouldn't have..."
"Stop," Lainie said, looking up at him. "Let's not talk about it, ok? Let's never, ever speak of what happened again, ok? It was a big mistake. A monumental mistake. I'm embarrassed and humiliated, and... Let's just forget it ever happened."
"Ok," AJ said, nodding. "Sorry. I won't mention it again."
"Good. Now I need to get an ice pack for my knee. It's really hurting."
"Let me get it for you," AJ said, hopping up. "Where is it?"
"In the kitchen. In the drawer under the microwave."
AJ jumped up and ran into the kitchen. "Uh, Lainie," he called.
"Yeah?"
"We don't have any ice. It's all melted," he said.
"Damn. Oh well. I'll survive without it, I guess," she sighed. She laid back on the couch and stretched her legs out in front of her on the table. AJ sat beside her and covered her up with a blanket.
"Thanks," she said, not opening her eyes.
"Welcome," he replied. They sat silently for several minutes. Lainie could hear Kevin upstairs throwing up violently.
"I'd better go check on him," she said.
"Who?"
"Kevin. He's sick."
"Ohhh. Ok. He's puking, right?"
"Yep. Brian said it must have been something he ate," Lainie said, hoisting herself up off the couch.
"Yeah right," AJ muttered skeptically, pulling the blanket over himself. Lainie ignored him and hopped up the stairs on one foot, hanging onto the rail tightly. She knocked softly on Kevin's door.
"Come in," he moaned. She walked in and found him lying face down on the bed.
"Are you ok?" she asked, making her way to his side.
"Noooo, I think I'm dying," he moaned. Lainie sat down on the edge of the bed. She could feel the heat from his body before she even touched him. She placed her cool hand on his forehead, and found that he was burning up. She pulled on the skin on his hand to check for dehydration. He looked to be somewhat dehydrated.
"Roll over, Kevin," she said softly. He did as she asked, and rolled onto his back. She pulled up his shirt and felt his abdomen. God what a beautiful stomach... Stop it Lainie, he's sick... Fevered, most definitely. She pressed on his lower right quadrant of his stomach to rule out possible appendicitis.
"Does that hurt?"
"No," he replied.
"How about up here?" she asked, pressing on the area around his spleen and gall bladder.
"No."
"Is your throat sore" she said gently.
"No."
"Do you ache?"
"Yes."
"Did you eat anything that Brian or Howie didn't eat in the last 24 hours?"
"Uh uh," he answered.
"Sounds like you have a stomach flu, sweetie," she said. "Let me call my friend Andi. She's a doctor. We'll see what we can do to make you better."
"Are you a nurse?" Kevin asked, opening one eye.
"Yep. I'm the nurse," she said, smiling gently.
"Good. I need a nurse. Take care of me," he moaned.
"Ok, sweetheart. We'll see what we can do. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Lainie went to the phone and called her friend, Dr. Andi Kirkland at the emergency room of the local hospital.
"Hey Laines. What's up?" Andy asked.
"Hey Andi. I've got a sick friend here. He's got a stomach bug and he's vomiting a lot. I've checked him out and ruled out gall stones and appendicitis. He's got a fever. Can't tell for sure, but it seems to be around 101 or 102. Starting to show some signs of dehydration. Looks like a classic stomach bug. Can you call in some phenergan and come by on your way home to check on him?"
"Sure sweets. Why don't you just bring him here, though?" Andi replied.
"Because he's exhausted and he's a Backstreet Boy," Lainie snickered. "Can't you do a house-call for a Backstreet Boy?"
"Oh hell yeah," Andi exclaimed. "Listen babe, I'll be there about 3:15, ok. I'll bring an IV setup just in case."
"Sounds good, hon. I'll see you in a bit."
Lainie returned to Kevin. "Sweetie, I'm gonna run to the drug store. Dr. Kirkland is calling in something for your nausea, and she's gonna stop by to check on your in a few hours, ok?"
"Thank you, Lainie. You're sweet," Kevin said, trying to smile. "Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick again." He jumped off the bed and barely made it to the bathroom before he threw up.
Lainie made her way painfully down the stairs and grabbed her keys off the counter.
"Where ya going?" AJ asked from the couch.
"To the drug store to get Kevin some medicine. My doctor friend called him in something."
"Can I go?" he asked, hopefully.
"You want to go to the drugstore?" she laughed.
"Anywhere with you, baby," he said, his voice filled with mock sarcasm.
Lainie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You're gonna freeze if you don't put on some clothes, though."
"Ok, gimme 2 minutes," he said, running up the stairs. He came back down in blue jeans, a sweater, and a backwards baseball cap. "Let me drive please."
"Let you drive? Why?"
"Because I never get to drive anywhere," he said, smiling. "Nobody likes my driving for some reason."
"Ok, I'm probably gonna regret this, but you can drive," she said, shaking her head.
"Cool. Let me get the keys to the rental." AJ ran to the kitchen and grabbed the keys, then grabbed her hand and walked outside. They were greeted by a sight that shocked Lainie... girls... everywhere.... on her lawn. They all squealed as one when they saw AJ.
"Oh shit," AJ muttered, his eyes growing wide. "I knew I should have brought Marcus."
************************
Lainie sized up the situation. There were probably 25 girls. All local. Lainie recognized most of them. This shouldn't be too hard to handle. She walked forward and took charge of the situation.
"AJ, you go back inside for a minute, ok? I can deal with this better if they're not so distracted."
"You think I'm a distraction?" AJ said, smiling slyly. "Why? Do I distract you?"
"Shut up and go back in the house," she said, pushing him back in the door and closing it.
"Hailey," Lainie said, "Hailey Newsome! You are trampling my begonias!"
"Sorry Lainie," Hailey said sheepishly, backing off the flower bed.
"Now you girls stop screaming and listen to me for just a minute, ok?" Lainie yelled over the noise. Gradually the noise died down. "Thank you. Now I know you girls love the Backstreet Boys, but this is my HOME. They came here to get away from everything. They need a vacation, ok? Do you want them to think our town is rude and leave? Let's show them that we're hospitable, ok? Besides, Kevin's not feeling good, and he's not gonna be able to sleep if you girls are out here screaming all day.
You wouldn't want to make him miserable, would you? No, I didn't think so. Now, if you'll come back, say... around 5 or so, maybe we can get them out here and you can meet them. Now y'all go home before I have to call your mamas and tell them you're skipping school to hang out in my front yard."
The girls all mumbled amongst themselves, but they dispersed quickly. Lainie stuck her head back inside and called for AJ.
"You're pretty good at that crowd dispersion thing," he laughed, as they walked down to the car.
"Thank you. Now let's get to the drug store," she said.
AJ drove down main street slowly, looking at all the old-fashioned store fronts and the monument in the middle of town.
"This place is soooo Mayberry," he laughed.
"Yeah, but I love it here."
"Why? I mean, those people were so mean to you when you were a kid," AJ said quietly.
"I know, but there are a lot of nice people here, too." she said, smiling over at him. "This is my home. I love it. I don't know if I could ever live anywhere else."
AJ reached over and held her hand. His hand was warm and comforting, so she didn't pull away. AJ really was a nice guy, even if he did try to seduce her. Wait, hadn't she begged him to make love to her the night before? OH, how embarrassing. He had turned her down, too! Even MORE embarrassing. Lainie blushed and looked out the window.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing. Just thinking."
"Thinking about something that made you blush," he chuckled. "Could it be..."
"Hey!" she exclaimed, stopping him in mid-sentence, "We agreed we would never speak of that again."
"Ok, ok. But you're the one who mentioned it, not me. I was gonna say I think you like me, but you had to go bringing up last night," he laughed.
Lainie didn't answer him. He gave her hand a little squeeze, and she looked over at him. He smiled brightly, and she had to smile back. It was impossible not to. AJ was just such a sweet guy... once you got to know him. Or appreciate him, as he was so fond of saying.
*********************
Lainie limped up the stairs with Kevin's medicine in hand. She knocked softly and waited for him to answer.
"Come in," he said weakly. She opened the door, and found him sprawled out spread eagle on his stomach.
"I'm dying," he groaned. "I've got ebola or something."
"Have you been throwing up what looks like coffee grounds and bleeding from the eyes?" she asked, laughing.
"No."
"Then you don't have ebola. Now sit up and take this medicine."
Kevin slowly sat up and opened his mouth. Lainie poured a teaspoon of Phenergan into his mouth and he swallowed. He made a face. It tasted like really strong licorice. Yuck!
"Now," she said. "You'd better keep that down, or we'll have to give you a suppository."
Kevin's eyes got huge. "A what?"
"A suppository. You know... a rectal rocket. If you can't keep this medicine down, we'll have to give it to you rectally," she laughed.
"You're joking, right?" he asked, trying not to laugh.
"Nope. I've given many a rectal rocket in my career. Believe me, once you've seen one ass, you've seen them all."
"You're NOT sticking anything up my ass," Kevin said, shaking his head.
"Ok, then I guess you'd better not throw that medicine up," she laughed. "Now, it's going to make you really, really sleepy, so just be prepared."
"Ok," he said, lying back down. Lainie felt his forehead again. Still hot.
"Let me get you some Tylenol, sweetheart," she said, walking into her bathroom. She returned with two Tylenol and a book. "Here. Now if we have to, I can get some tylenol rectal rockets, too."
"That won't be necessary," Kevin said, swallowing the Tylenol.
"Kevin, it's not the worst thing in the world if you have to have one. I mean, it beats having to go into the hospital and have Helga the Hun shove her fist up there," Lainie laughed. "I'm very gentle. I promise."
"Go away," Kevin groaned, pulling a pillow over his head.
"No. I think I'll sit here with you for a little bit and make sure you keep that stuff down," she said, sitting in the chair in the corner. She began to read quietly, as Kevin got very sleepy.
"You're sweet," Kevin said, smiling a drunk smile in her direction. "I like you."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," she laughed. "Now, go to sleep."
"Will you scratch my back?" Kevin asked, rolling over onto his stomach.
"Scratch your back?" Lainie chuckled. "Damn, that medicine has you really loopy, doesn't it?"
"Yeah it does. Please scratch my back," Kevin murmured.
Lainie sighed and sat down on the bed beside him. She pulled up the back of his shirt and scratched his back lightly.
"Mmmmm that feels so niiiice," Kevin purred. His southern drawl was much more pronounced when he was under the influence of the medication. Lainie's fingers grazed over Kevin's soft skin. He was tanned, and his skin was so smooth, it just cried out to be kissed. STOP IT, LAINIE! He's a sick man! He's drunk on phenergan. She shook her head, wishing she could slap some sense into herself. Within a few minutes, Kevin was asleep. Thank God.
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15