“Stupid me.”
“Seriously, just relax. Everything is going to be okay tomorrow. I promise.”
“You promised moving down here would be okay too,” I remind him.
“It’s going to be.” He unlocks our door and we walk into our tiny abode. We managed to set it up a bit before we ventured out on our trek through the wild earlier before I fell into a ditch, so at least the bed is set up and the pull out is made up. We have a folding wall, but I don’t think either of us feels the need to use it tonight. “Just so you know, I’m going to see about getting a job around here as soon as your settled. That way, once we both have some income, we can find a bigger place to live. We’ll make this work.”
“It’s hard to see past the cement walls at the moment,” I tell him.
“Well, try.”
“I’ll try,” I tell him.
“What can I help you with before you go to bed?”
“Nothing, I’m fine,” I tell him as I head into the bathroom.
“Okay, but before we go to bed, I’m going to tell you one thing you need to keep in mind. I can already see that everyone knows everyone in this town, so be careful who you act bitchy toward. I can almost promise you your reputation will follow you like a leech here.”
I know he’s right. I won’t be angry forever. I’m just in pain, anxious, and overwhelmed now, and I need a second to breathe. “Okay,” I tell him.
“I love you, Scar. It’s going to be okay.”
“I love you too, and you better be right, or we’re going to be in the world’s longest fight, Brendan.”
I close myself into the bathroom, quickly realizing how challenging this one-armed game is going to be. I struggle to just open my vanity bag so I can find my toothbrush and crap. I pull the bag up on the sink and hold one side open with my chin while I dig through everything that was kind of organized before we left home this morning. Once I find my toothbrush and toothpaste, I place them on the sink’s top and replace my bag down on the floor.
Episode One: Scarlett can no longer put toothpaste on her own toothbrush.
I refuse to be helpless. I place the toothbrush down on the thin edge of the sink and grab the tube of toothpaste. I manage to unscrew the top with my one hand, then squeeze the tube over the bristles.
I squeeze a little harder because the pressure from the plane evidently makes toothpaste sink to the bottom of the tube and turn into freaking cement. Or, it causes air bubbles, followed by an exploding burst of blue gel that knocks my toothbrush onto the toilet seat. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I shout.
“Scarlett?”
“No!”
“Scarlett … ”
* * *
Waking up without pain meds, the pressure from within the temporary splint is making me want to reach for a bottle of whiskey, but I don’t have that either. I was kind of hoping I’d open my eyes and find myself either back in my Boston apartment or maybe the beach. This need for a rewind button is prominent in my life. “You know what I was thinking?” Brenny says with a mouthful of toothpaste.
“That this was a horrible idea?”
“No. I was thinking when you’re feeling better after the surgery, maybe next weekend, we can go find a HomeGoods and spruce this place up a bit.”
“That’s what you’re thinking about?” I ask him as I push the piles of frizzy hair off my forehead.
“Yes. It’s something positive, and we need positive things right now, Scar.”
“Even though I can pretty much guarantee you that there is no HomeGoods around here, I’m having trouble thinking about anything past today,” I tell him. “Plus, HomeGoods doesn’t get me off like it does for you.”
I hear the spit hit the basin of the sink, followed by the water running for a second. I wrap my good arm over my forehead just as the sink turns off. Shoe-covered footsteps follow. He’s dressed and ready to throw me under the knife. Could he be more excited for the day? Brendan sits down on the edge of my bed and pulls my arm off my face. “Scarlett, look at me.”
He’s wearing a solid t-shirt and coral pink shorts. “I didn’t know you owned shorts.”
“I went shopping this past weekend. Boston attire doesn’t work here, silly.” He straightens his shirt over his shoulders then brushes off some non-existent dirt or dust from the crease of his pressed, cotton tee. “Listen, this is a routine procedure. You’ll be in and out of there in no time. Then we can hit the restart button and sink our feet into this neat little town.”
