“Just a bottle of water, thanks.”Fletch turned and went into the living room.
“I’d take a soda, if you don’t mind.”Spider smiled at her before he hit the brakes on his chair and maneuvered himself away from the table.It took him a couple of tries but he managed to turn the chair and head for the living room.
“I’ll get this all taken care of, then join you in a few,” Dax said, pushing himself to his feet.
“I can help.You shouldn’t have to do it all.”As Jordon’s voice followed Spider into the other room, he paused, wanting to hear how Dax handled it.
“Nope.It’s my job.It’s part of earning my place.Grab the drinks and go in the other room.Show Spider how to use that console you brought him.This will only take me a few minutes.”
Spider continued into the front room.There, he found Fletch in one of the recliners, the case he’d been carrying open on his lap.
Spider glanced around then decided the sofa was still the best place for him.It was easier for him to transfer into, and he could prop his leg up.
“Hey,” Jordon said as she stepped around him.“I was thinking, is there some reason you’re sitting in the middle of the sofa instead of on one of the ends?”She handed the water bottle to Fletch then set the two cans in front of the TV as she turned to face him, hands on her hips.
“That gives me access to both my chair and the coffee table.Is there something wrong with it?”
“No,” she frowned and looked at the table then back at him.“I understand the sofa.More room makes it easier to get in and out of the chair.But I’m confused why you’re putting your cast on the table and not using the footrest.”
“There are no footrests on that couch.”
“Yeah, there are.Look.”She went to one end, put her knee in the seat and leaned over so she could see a small plastic panel about the size of a credit card just under the arm rest.She hit something and a footrest moved out, she moved her hand sightly and it moved back.“See?”she said, looking up at him.
“That’s what that does?”He’d seen the panel but had dismissed it as just a place to charge devices when he’d seen the USB port.He leaned closer and noticed two buttons side by side above the port.He’d been wishing he had a footrest instead of the table this morning.
“How did we miss that?”He looked at her, not bothering to hide his amazement.
“It’s easy to overlook if you don’t know what you’re looking for.Mama and Daddy got Mama’s parents a similar sofa when they moved out a couple of years ago.”She shrugged then moved back, giving him plenty of room to move in closer, then transfer over to the sofa.Yeah, it would be easier to stay in the wheelchair, but it wasn’t the most comfortable place.Especially if they were going to be playing for a little while.
Chapter Twenty
Jordon pushed a shoppingcart through the grocery store the next morning trying to decide the best options to make with the chicken and dumplings tonight.She thought about the encounter the night before, sitting around the table talking about what she would cook.She liked not having to make the decision all the time.She liked that Spider and his brothers were willing to think about it and contribute, without being demanding or telling her she had to make what they wanted.Sometimes her brothers got a little demanding, not just with her, but they’d try it with Mama once in a while.Daddy didn’t put up with it and shut them down really quick when he sees it, but she was glad that Spider and the others didn’t even try.
She took her time in the store, knowing that she had time before Spider finished at PT and would be home.Not that she would start dinner right away.But she wanted to get the shopping done so she could spend time with him before she had to start cooking.
As she wandered through the store, picking up what she needed and browsing through what she didn’t, she thought back to the day before.She couldn’t help but smile as she thought about how she’d managed to talk him into a nap, even if she’d had to lay down with him to get him to agree.Then to wake up in his arms?She couldn’t remember ever sleeping so well, even if it was only for a couple of hours.On a whim, she picked up a few extra things, knowing she would have plenty of time to whip up a little treat while she worked on dinner, and if she had her way, there would be plenty to last them at least a day or two.Who knew how long a batch of cookies would last three grown men.
