Hot Cooking Spanker Wanted (6 page)

Thursday
– Woke at seven again. That's when I pretty much always wake up
because the neighbors kids get up then. I will just write the time if
it varies from that. Oatmeal again. It takes a lot for me to get sick
of it. Made meatloaf and potatoes for lunch. I throw in an onion and
a cooked eggplant. Left over meatloaf for supper. Bed at ten, on the
dot. Lights out at quarter after ten.

Friday
– Eggs and ham, not green but normal colored. Spaghetti for lunch.
Fruit started looking like it needed to be used up quickly. Ergo
fruit salad for supper. Bed by eight.

P.S.
Two chocolate chip cookies as a snack in the afternoon with milk
(skim milk). Otherwise I drank water. Lots of water. You know, like
smokers chew gum to replace the missing cigarette, I have been
drinking water to satisfy sipping need.

Saturday
– Oatmeal and a glass of milk. Lunch was chicken and steamed
broccoli. Supper leftover chicken. Bed at six.

Sunday
– Sick just drank water. Stayed in bed.

Monday
– See Sunday.

Tuesday
– A small portion of oatmeal. Lunch a small portion of eggplant
meatloaf that I defrosted in the microwave.

I
still felt sick as I got in my car, but I longed to get out of my
apartment. I drove to his house with my book. He opened the door
right away. I hoped I could sit down again soon. It had been too
early for this kind of trip. I would probably fall asleep on his sofa
again. I hadn't talked to anyone at all this week except the woman at
the cash register at the grocery store on Wednesday. He was the last
real person that I talked to.

“
Come
in.” He gave me an odd look. He looked mad. “Have you been
sleeping at all?” he asked as he closed the door behind us.

“
That's
all I have been doing.” I held out my book to him, as I eyed the
sofa. I wasn't sure how long I could stand. How rude would it be to
just go over to it and lie down.

He
sighed, opened my book, glanced at it and then his hand shot to my
forehead. He walked me to the sofa and sat me down. I leaned into the
back of it and closed my eyes. He could read in peace now, I thought.
I heard him chuckle a little. I wasn't so sure what I had all
written.

“
Do
you want to kick off your shoes and nap a little?” he asked.

“
Okay.”
There was no fight in me today. Boy, did I ever want that.

He
covered me up with a blanket and I was gone, off to dreamland.

It
was dark again when I woke up.

He
was sitting next to me reading a book. He liked to read. We had
something in common. Or maybe he was just reading because he was
afraid to turn the TV on because I was sleeping here.

“
You're
awake.” He moved over to the coffee table, sitting on it as he laid
his hand on my forehead. “Now why were you out when you had a
fever?”

I
looked at him confused. I thought he wanted me to come. “This was
too much for me. I can't follow what you are saying.”

“
Soup?”
His face gave me the impression like he really wanted me to eat the
soup.

“
Okay.”
I pushed the blanket to the side but he replaced it with his much
stronger hands.

“
You
get to eat on the sofa today.” He said this like children say, the
circus is in town.

“
What
if I spill?” Would he punish me for that?

“
I'm
not going to hurt you. I'm going to take care of you.” He left to
get some soup.

I
laid back down as I waited for him to come back.

He
had the bowl in his hands as he came back. He sat down on the coffee
table and put a bit of soup on the spoon.

“
I
don't understand. I was feeling better this morning than I do now. I
even ate like you wanted.”

“
That's
because fevers rise in the evenings.”

“
I
shouldn't be bothering you with this. I'll go now.” I started
moving the blanket off of me again. I felt a chill and shivered.

He
set the bowl down and covered me up again. He easily moved me so I
was sitting up. “If you could even stand up right now that would
impress me,” he mumbled. He brought the spoon to my lips and I took
a sip. He was feeding me.

I
tried to remember driving here. I could remember it. I remembered
parking too. Everything was alright. After five spoonfuls I shook my
head and laid down again. “Just kick me out, when you want me to
go.” I fell asleep again.

I
felt a lot better the next time I woke up. There was a note on the
coffee table along with a plate of food and the remote control for
the TV. I sat up and read the note.

Katherine,
please stay here. I will

be
home soon. You are in no condition

to
drive. I will be back in time to

make
you lunch. Just watch TV.

Ryan

I
got up and searched for a bathroom. I had to go through his bedroom
to get to it. I made sure I left everything the way I found it. I
laid back down on the sofa. I had a bit if a headache. I nibbled on a
piece of toast as I looked for something decent to watch on TV, but I
gave up after finding nothing that interested me. I went back to
sleep.

I
could hear him in the kitchen when I woke the next time. I tried to
sit up again but it was too much work. I looked around the room as my
eyes watered. Ryan had lots of books. He seemed to be a Shakespeare
fan. He probably went to a lot of plays because he had a lot of
theatre programs.

Ryan
came in with another bowl which he set down. He pushed aside my
breakfast things and the remote. Then he helped me so I was sitting
up. He was spoon-feeding me again. “Wait stop. What day is today?”

“
It's
Wednesday. Is there some place you have to be today? Should I call
someone or get you the phone so you can call someone? I don't want to
see a picture of you on the six o'clock news.” He looked so
worried.

“
No
one is going to look for me yet.”

He
looked puzzled by that, but he continued to feed me. Eating was
tiring me out. I napped again.

I
woke an hour later. He was sitting on the sofa with me. My feet were
on his lap and he was still reading his book. Maybe I should
recommend one of my books. My picture wasn't on them. My mom had been
mad about that. She wanted to brag.

“
Now
you do have a good reason to spank me. Talk about your uninvited
guests.”

“
You're
awake. That's great. We can try to get some more food into you. Or do
you have to go to the bathroom again.”

“
Again?”

“
I
noticed that you were in there already.”

I
gave him an odd look. I had been so careful not to disturb anything
while I was in there.

“
You
really were. The towel was moved. I'll help you up.” His strong
hands helped me to my feet. Ryan didn't let go of me as he led me to
the bathroom. He brought me to the counter and let go. He left
closing the door behind him.

I
went as quick as I could. I washed my face and dried it with a towel.
I could see what he meant about the towel. It was folded backwards. I
did it up right this time. I had a feeling that he could be one of
those people who needed to have everything just so.

He
was on the phone when I came out, talking to a doctor about my
condition. He referred to me as his girlfriend. What else could he
say?

He
saw me after he hung up. “I talked to a doctor. He wants you to
drink a lot more water. Come and sit down on the sofa.”

“
I
can't impose on you like this. You have been great, but this is just
asking too much of anyone.” I was leaning on the wall to support
myself.

“
I
love having you here. Don't make me beg you to stay. I really can't
let you go. You are very sick. What would you have done if you didn't
know me?” He was all worried again.

“
I
would have stayed in bed, and drank plenty of water.”

He
gave me a look like, he thought, I would have died. I wouldn't have.
I have been sick before and I had always lived. You just had to force
yourself up and around. Every day a little more. I was used to being
on my own. Living in a different country taught you how to take care
of yourself.

“
Let
me help you to the sofa.” He had given up fighting with me. Once he
had me on the sofa he gave me another odd look. “Do you know anyone
around here other than me?”

He
had hit a sore note. I clenched my teeth. “Not yet.” I debated
leaving, but he had been right about my needing help back to the
sofa. I was deeply embarrassed now. He was asking the same thing that
my cousin had said. She was right too. I had no one. Here I was sick
and the only person I could turn to was the guy who spanked me.

“
I
don't think I have ever met a woman who needed me more.” He sat
down and laid his arm around me.

“
I'll
leave as soon as I can. I'm sorry I am being such a burden to you. I
can't believe I did this to you. You must be completely overwhelmed.”

“
Hey,
I already said I enjoy having you here. What more do I have to say to
make you believe me?”

I
turned away from him. Why was I with him when I should be
concentrating on a normal and healthy relationship? I needed to try
to make friends. That had always been something that I didn't excel
at. I watched people, more than I interacted with them. Then I went
home and wrote about them like I knew what I was talking about. The
critics talked about my insight. I fooled them all. Just him I
couldn't fool.

“
It's
just that I have been working on several projects and I want to see
where they might take me. I don't have that bad of a deadline but I
want to see them realized too. I put the pressure on myself. Maybe
after they are all finished I could take a break.”

“
Please,
take better care of yourself. If you won't do it than let me do it
for you.”

I
didn't know what to say but he looked so worried. I was embarrassed
that I needed help.

“
I
don't want you to feel bad about anything. I even think, that you
were very brave moving someplace new, all by yourself. That takes a
lot of guts. Don't be so hard on yourself.”

“
The
right one is saying that. You believe I need to be spanked at every
turn.”

“
Hey,
just because you are sick doesn't give you the right to be rude to
me. I'm warning you. Don't start in being sarcastic.”

“
See.
You just proved my point.” I leaned into his chest. I felt like
taking a nap on him. I was going crazy. It was official now. I was a
crazy woman.

“
No,
you may not sleep anymore. The doctor said you needed lots of water.”
He reached for a glass from the table. “Drink as much as you can.”

I
took it from him with both of my hands. I drank it down slowly. He
refilled it and made a movement with his hand that I should drink
that one down too. I did. “Can I sleep now?”

“
No,
it's time for my no noodle chicken soup. This will help you regain
your strength.”

He
even let me feed myself today. He turned on the TV and we watched
sitcoms. I had missed them all because they didn't air in Germany.
Americans are so much more funny than Germans. I was laughing so hard
that I was crying.

Ryan
thought that I was cute. He had his arm wrapped around me as we sat
on the sofa. He was probably guessing that I grew up someplace very
sheltered.

The
next day I was feeling a lot better. I couldn't impose on him
anymore. I had to go home and get some work done. I confessed that I
needed to do a little grocery shopping.

He
offered to go with me. I thought that would be funny to go shopping
with a real cook. I laughed and agreed. He looked thrilled.

I
drove behind him to his favorite grocery store. No wonder I had never
seen him out shopping before. This one was a little out of the way.
He parked and I parked my car next to his.

He
gave my car an odd look. I looked at my car too. It was a cute girl
car. “When was the last time you had your car serviced?”

“
Oh,
that stuff. It's not even a year old and it has little lights that –
light up if it needs something. I would take it into the station if
that happened.”

His
eyebrow shot up as I spoke. He looked at me like I was the cutest,
and still the dumbest thing in the world.

“
Do
you even know how to check the oil?”

“
Nope,
couldn't change a tire either.” What was he trying to prove? I had
enough money that I didn't have to worry about those things. I wished
that he wouldn't worry so much. It got to be too much. He wasn't my
husband. And if I hadn't gotten sick I would have never showed up at
his door on Tuesday. I had acted that way because I was feverish, and
a little lonely.

He
fished out a piece of paper and wrote something on it. “Here is my
phone number. Call. I don't want you standing on the side of the road
all by yourself.”