“Mom?” Dominic’s voice was in the doorway of the kitchen, giving me no time to stop him from coming in and seeing the bloody mess.
“It’s okay, buddy. I’m alright.”
I turned to see Dominic with Gizmo at his side on the other end of the room. He didn’t look terrified like I expected. Instead, he almost looked angry.
“Did he hurt you?” he asked Erica as if I wasn’t standing right there.
“No. It was just an accident. I promise.”
Was it weird that he jumped to that conclusion? I wasn’t sure, but it sure as hell didn’t feel good to have him accusing me of something like that.
“Make sure you keep the dog back and don’t come any closer yourself,” I told him, trying to show that I wasn’t the bad guy here. “There’s still broken glass over here.”
“Why don’t you take the dog out into the backyard to use the bathroom?” Erica suggested.
Dominic did as she asked just as I pulled the sock from her foot. It looked like I was right. A single piece of glass was stuck in her heel, but it didn’t look too deep. I was no expert, but I’d say that it would be fine without needing stitches.
“Do you have a first aid kit around here somewhere?”
“Under the kitchen sink.”
I got it out and opened it on the counter, digging through until I found a tube of antibiotic ointment and a bandage.
“You want some pain killer?” I asked, holding up a bottle of Tylenol.
Erica held out her hand. “Yeah, it’ll have to do for now. I have edibles, but I won’t eat them until Dominic is in bed for the night.”
I handed over the bottle, and she shook out three into the palm of her hand. Before I could get her a glass of water, she took them dry.
“Aright, I’m going to pull out the glass now,” I said, picking up a dish towel to grab the sharp edge with. “It’s going to hurt.”
Erica nodded, and I saw that fighter’s strength on her face that I had noticed when we first met. She may have had a moment of weakness before, but she was still a warrior.
“Ready? One… two… three.”
Erica yipped in pain as I pulled out the glass, dropping it on the floor and pressing the towel to her wound to stop the bleeding.
“Here, hold that in place. I want to get the glass cleaned up before Dominic comes back in.”
“You’regoing to clean it up?” she asked, looking startled.
“Well, yeah. If you tell me where the broom is.”
“The pantry.”
She bent her knee to bring her foot closer and held the towel against it. I peeked out the window and saw that Dominic was playing fetch with the dog in the fenced-in yard. It looked like we would be alone for a while.
I grabbed the broom, but leaned it against the wall. Coming close to Erica, I took her face in both of my hands, kissing her lips. I leaned my forehead against hers.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?” I asked. It was a simple question, but absolutely vital.
“I think I have to, don’t I?”
“No,” I said firmly with a shake of my head. “But I don’t see how we can have a real relationship if I don’t know what you’re hiding.”
Erica took a deep, shuddering breath. “Fair enough. You sweep, and I’ll talk, okay?”
That sounded like a good deal to me, so I picked up the broom and got to work. It was finally time to hear Erica’s story.
