Waiting on Sarah Grace

Disgruntled Members

I know she has to be miserable. Having to sit with her leg in that brace and keep her leg stiff. At least I can fix her a hot bath and she can soak her muscles tomorrow morning. The sun is setting behind us as we continue east, we crossed the Florida line about two hours ago and we should be in Tallahassee any time now, we'll stop for gas when we get through the city. I need to wake her up and see if she wants to eat. We'll be in Jacksonville around eight thirty and home by ten or so. I'll be glad to get home, of course, by the time we get there the Friday night party will be in full swing, at least our new room is in the center and it's a little quieter; maybe we can sleep. I really hope that mattress is decent on Tank's old bed

Fortunately, I haven't noticed anything cars or people out of the ordinary. I've seen some odd people but didn't seem like anyone was looking for us. I will do everything in my power to keep her safe, no one will take her away from me; I just got her in my life, I'm not letting her go anytime soon.

"Baby? Baby. Come on wake up. Do you want to eat or just sleep all the way?" I get a mumbled answer, that makes no sense. I keep trying. "Baby." I reach over and give her shoulder a nudge and she starts waking up. She sits up slowly and stretches as best she can, I know her ribs are still tender. She looks over at me, her face is so cute when she looks like a confused angry kitten.

"Come on love, wake up. We're going to stop somewhere and eat soon. What do you want to eat?" I really don't know why I ask such a ridiculous question; she can never make up her mind. She hasn't been eating much since the wreck, I'll be glad when she gets her appetite back. She's always been so tiny, but the steroid medication they gave her made her swell. It's starting to go down; as soon as she can be more active, I know she'll be right back to her tiny size. I don't care what size she is, as long as she's healthy and safe that's all I care about.

"I don't' care, I just want to stop and move around. How about waffle house? I'm sure there's one around here somewhere."

"Good idea. Next one I come to I'll stop."

I drive for another thirty minutes before we get to Waffle House. I'll get gas next door first. I pull in and park in front of the pump.

"Wait here baby, I'm gonna fill up with gas first then we'll go eat."

She nods her head and turns to the backseat to check on her cat. That cat has surprised me, hasn't said a word since we've been on the road. He must know something is up. I remember that we didn't bring a litter box, so I shoot Greaser a text and ask him to run out and get one real quick. He tells me the rooms got switched and he'll go right now and get the box and some litter. We get to the restaurant and I'm still carrying her from place to place, I know she's getting tired of this. She ask me to carry her to the bathroom, so I wait outside the door until I hear water running, then take her to a booth, I slide her in so she can rest her leg on the bench seat. We order our drinks and then stare at the menu, just in case it's changed in the last century, it never changes. She orders an omelet with a side of hash browns and bacon and I order enough food for myself to feed both of us.  We eat quickly, wanting to get back on the road. I'm trying to look out the window and keep an eye on the parking lot, but she catches me. She doesn't say anything, just a quirk of her eyebrow and a questioning look. Either I'm losing skill, or she knows me well. I'm going with she knows me well, I have too much man pride to admit I'm losing my edge. I just smile and step up to pay, when she's ready I carry her back to the truck and we're on the road and home in a few hours. I check my watch and it's a little later than I thought, seven twenty, that should put us getting there around elevenish. I'm ready to stop for the night. I call Tank and let him know where we're at and that we will be a little later since we stopped for food. She rests her head back against the seat and settles in for the rest of the trip, we may have to stop for gas one more time but that should be the last time. The sun has set by now and I keep driving east into the darkening night.