Wishing for Someday Soon (19 page)

I headed to the bathroom to clean up with my drink in hand. My reflection in the mirror told the whole story. With dried blood throughout my hair and down my neck, I looked like I had stepped out of some horror movie. Reaching in to start the shower, I gasped when I saw rust colored water inside the tub.

“MOM!” I yelled, forgetting she was giving me the silent treatment. “MOM!”

“What?” she said, obviously aggravated I had interrupted her vow of silence.

“There’s something wrong with the shower,” I said, pointing at the inch high smelly water that sat in the tub.

Without saying anything, she twisted the knob at the sink, but nothing came out.

“Did we not pay the water bill?” I asked confused.

“No, the pipes are frozen.”

 
“Get out, seriously?” I asked.

“Yeah, it happened when we lived in Colorado when you were a baby.”

“What do we do? Do you need to call the landlord?”

“Um, no,” she said, heading out of the bathroom.

“Why not?” I asked, sensing she was hiding something from me. “I’m sure he’d send someone out to fix it,” I said, stating the obvious.

“Because, Miss Know-It-All, we still owe this month’s rent,” she said, stomping down the hall.

“Are we going to pay it?” I asked, thinking I was playing with fire again.

“Not unless you have some hidden stash of money I don’t know about,” she said in a snarky voice as she sat on the couch and lit up another cigarette.

“I thought we didn’t have to pay rent here for a while?” I asked, grasping at straws.

“It was for two months,” she said, taking a long draw on her cigarette. “God, Katelyn, stop being a worrywart, we’ve been in worse situations than this. They’ll release Jim on Monday, and he’ll find another job.”

I sat down heavily on the coffee table, trying to digest her words. “What do we do about the pipes?” I finally asked as she stubbed out her cigarette.

“Nothing we can do. You need to run over and get a plunger from the grocery store, so we can take care of the mess in the tub. I’d stop at the gas station first to clean up if I were you,” she said, not taking responsibility for the blood that caked my hair.

“Whatever,” I mumbled, standing up.

I woke Kevin once I returned to my room so he could go with me to the gas station to use the bathroom.

“Why do we have to pee there?” Kevin asked as we pulled our heavy coats on.

“Because the pipes are frozen here,” I said. “Frozen pipes mean no water, which means no water to flush a toilet,” I added, pulling his hat down over his ears.

“Can’t I just pee outside?” he asked logically.

“You could, but I figured we might as well brush our teeth and wash up so we both don’t have to do it later,” I said, holding up the bag of toiletries I had packed.

“Grrr, I thought we wouldn’t have to use gas station bathrooms as long as we lived here,” he grumbled, pulling on his gloves.

“I know pal, me too. Such is our life, though.”

Kevin trailed behind me, still grumpy about leaving the somewhat warmth of the trailer. I opened the door and gasped as a frigid breeze blew through the door.

“Holy crapinoli, it’s cold out here,” Kevin grumbled as we walked against the breeze.

“Let’s hurry,” I said, agreeing with him. I grasped his hand, dragging him along as we fought the wind that seemed hell-bent on pushing us back.

“Katelyn, it’s too cold,” Kevin complained through chattering teeth as we approached the small intersection.

“We’re almost there,” I said loudly over the howling wind and swirling snow that was being blown recklessly around our faces.

Kevin slipped right after we stepped into the road. The momentum of his fall dragged me down and made me land smartly on my backside.

I struggled to catch my breath as Kevin started to giggle beside me.

“Not funny, punk,” I said, trying to rise without slipping again. “We’re in the middle of the road,” I scolded him, trying to be the mature one.

“Hehehe, not like it matters,”” he said, still laughing. “We’re the only stupid ones out here,” he said, indicating the deserted roads.

He had a point. The wind had blown the snow into huge drifts in some areas while other areas were left completely barren and not a single soul was around. If not for the light shining behind the ice-covered window of the gas station with Old Man Wither behind the counter, I would have believed we were the only people left on Earth.

“Well, it doesn’t mean we should hang out in the middle of the road like buffoons,” I said, dragging him the rest of the way across the street.

Old Man Wither, as everyone liked to call him, greeted us with astonishment as we burst through the door, anxious to escape the treacherous conditions outside. “What in the blazes are you youngsters doing out there?” he asked, coming around the counter to see us.

“Our pipes froze,” Kevin said, scurrying off to use the bathroom.

“Frozen pipes? That’s a tough one. Did you folks forget to leave a tap running?” he asked, pouring a tall cup of hot chocolate and handing it to me.

“Oh no, I can’t,” I said, trying to decline the beverage.

“It’s on the house, young lady. You young’uns shouldn’t be out in this weather. I told Meryl not to even come in today.”

“So, if you run water your pipes won’t freeze?” I asked, returning to his earlier question.

“Most times it works,” he said, leaning back against a waist-high soda cooler that sat in the middle of the floor. “Hey, that’s a pretty nasty cut you have on your head there,” he added, studying me intently.

“Um, yeah, I tripped and hit it on the coffee table,” I lied, mentally kicking myself for neglecting to pull my hood up over my head.

“I’m sure. I had plenty of those injuries myself when I was growing up,” he said, looking at me knowingly.

“She thinks she had a concassion,” Kevin said, closing the bathroom door behind him.

“Concussion,” I corrected him, wishing he’d kept that information to himself.

“Did you blackout?” Old Man Wither asked.

I nodded my head. “For a few minutes.”

“Sick to your stomach?” He asked, stepping closer to inspect my wound.

I nodded my head again.

“Yep, sounds like you gave yourself a fine one,” he said, gently probing at my head. “Young man,” he said, looking at Kevin. “I keep a first aid kit behind the counter. Can you grab it for me?”

“Sure,” Kevin asked, delighted to help out.

“Really, I’m fine,” I started to protest.

“I’m sure you are, missy, but an injury like this needs to be taken care of, unless you rather I run you up to the hospital,” he said, making his point clear.

“No, that’s okay,” I replied, stepping closer so he could see my injury better.

“Kevin, grab me a bottle of water too from that stack over there,” he said, pointing to a display of water sitting off to the side of the counter.

I watched as he opened the first aid kit and removed a large gauze pad. Using his teeth, he tore the corner off the package and extracted the sterile pad. He used the water to douse the pad before gently applying it to my head.

My eyes watered as the pad touched the injury.

“I know it stings, but we need to see what we’re dealing with,” he said, cleaning the area as gently as possible. “Looks like you could use some stitches,” he said, studying my head critically. “You sure you don’t want me to run you up to the county hospital?”

“I’m sure,” I said earnestly, looking at Kevin possessively.

He followed my gaze. “I see,” he said. “Well, let’s see what I can do.”

I sighed in relief as he let the subject go and let him lead me to his stool so I could perch there while he worked on my head.

“I’m going to have to shave a little of your hair away from the cut so we can get the bleeding to stop,” he said, waiting to get my permission.

I nodded, cringing slightly at the thought of having a bald spot.

“Don’t go worrying your pretty head. All your other hair will cover it up just fine.”

He worked without talking after that, deftly trimming the hair that surrounded my cut and then set to work on closing it up. I almost lost my nerve when I saw him pull out a bottle of super glue.

“Trust me dear, if you were at the hospital they’d use the same thing,” he said, patting my shoulder.

“Oh sweet Katelyn, he’s gluing your head,” Kevin said, laughing like it was the most hysterical thing he had ever heard.

“Can you use it on his mouth?” I asked Old Man Wither sweetly.

“Sure can,” he winked, advancing on Kevin who slapped his hands over his mouth as his body shook with suppressed laughter.

Mr. Wither chuckled, turning back to me. “Okay, looks good. I guess it’s a blessing your water is out since you need to keep the injury relatively dry. Why don’t you go take a look at it?”

“Okay,” I said, heading for the bathroom.

Entering the small, surprisingly clean gas station bathroom, I flipped the light switch, making the fluorescent bulbs hum above my head. I relieved my bladder before turning to the mirror to study Old Man Wither’s handiwork. Parting my hair, I studied the wound critically and could see why he had suggested stitches. The cut was easily over an inch long. The glue gave it a grotesque appearance, but I was grateful he was able to close it up without making a fuss about it needing stitches.

Once I was satisfied my wound couldn’t be seen, I dipped my fingers in the warm tap water and combed them through my hair trying to remove the last traces of dried blood. It was tedious work, but finally after several minutes, I was satisfied that the majority of it was gone. I stripped my jacket and hoodie off and stood shivering in the bathroom as I used the washcloth I had brought along to wash my face, arms and neck. Feeling slightly cleaner, I pulled my jacket back on to ward off the chills and brushed my teeth vigorously before returning all my items back to the toiletry bag.

“Hey, Kevin, come brush your teeth,” I said, opening the bathroom door only to discover Kevin in the middle of munching on a hotdog.

“Look at what Mr. Wither gave me,” he said between bites.

“That’s great, bud, now hurry and eat it so you can brush your teeth.”

“Done,” he said, finishing off the last bite in one gulp. He snagged the bag from my hand before trotting happily off to the bathroom, leaving Mr. Wither and me alone.

“Um, thanks for giving him a hotdog. I’ll pay you as soon as we have the money,” I said, flushing in embarrassment.

He held up his hand to stop my tirade. “It’s my treat,” he said as I tried to protest. “Now you listen here, since my dear Marge decided it was time to meet our maker, I haven’t had a single moment as entertaining as the one I spent with you young’ns this morning. My Marge and I were never blessed with kids, but I would like to hope if we had been, they would have been like you two.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked curiously.

“Let’s just say I can tell about people, and my door here is always open if you and your brother there need anything. Got me? Lord knows I can always use the company if you ever want to chat.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

He patted my shoulder. “Trust me when I say this is just a small part of your life, so you keep your chin up,” he said, offering words of wisdom.

“I know,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “We better head out,” I added as Kevin joined me.

“Ready to brave the elements again, bud?” I said as I zipped up Kevin’s jacket.

“Not really,” Kevin answered, grimacing as the wind continued to swirl outside.

The trek to the store was tougher than the one to the gas station since we had to cross the icy roads twice to get to the far corner. We both sighed with pleasure when we stumbled inside the store, allowing the warmth to defrost our frozen bodies. My sighs of relief were cut short when I spotted Max chatting with his father near the registers.

Ours eyes met as he hungrily took in my appearance. I slid my hoodie up over my head self-consciously, worried that my hair wasn’t properly covering my injury. After a moment, I finally pulled my eyes away, dragging Kevin along on our hunt for a plunger. After finding what we needed, I took a deep breath, preparing myself for what would be a long awkward walk up to the nearly-deserted front area of the store. As my rotten luck would have it, Kevin and I were the only customers here. Obviously, no one else in town was foolish enough to venture outside with conditions so dismal.