Hearts In Rhythm by Angel Wheeler Read Free Book Online Page B

glaring flaw.
    Allie’s thoughts were interrupted when Gerald approached her. He had an awkward gait that reminded her of an old man. He put up his hand in a friendly wave even though they’d already spoken at least three times since her shift started.
    “Hi, Owee.”
    “Hello, Gerald,” she stopped pacing the aisle and stopped at some jars of spaghetti sauce. “Look at this, Gerald. We’ve got traditional sauce, mushroom, three cheese, organic. With so many choices, how does somebody make up their mind?”
    “I don’t eat spaghetti Owee. Looks like worms. I ate a worm once. It wasn’t my fault. Someone made me. A mean boy.”
    Most people pitied Gerald. Allie knew that. She could see it on their faces at work every day. She’d watched people roll their eyes behind his back. They were annoyed by his slow talk and his simplicity. But looking at him turning the jars all the right direction, humming softly to himself, Allie envied him. He had no real worries. His biggest concern was if he was out of Swanson turkey and dressing TV dinners.
    He was a creature of habit, and that was his dinner every night. He had a simple existence; not the longing for more that seemed to plague every other human being Allie came into contact with. She wished she could see the world through Gerald’s eyes. He was childlike and accepted things for what they were. He was transparent. A “what you see is what you get” kind of person. Genuine. And true.
    She tried to put herself in his shoes for a minute; or rather she put him inside her shoes. If he felt for someone the way she felt for Brandon, he would tell them. Plain and simple. He would just tell them. Maybe that’s what she should do.
    Samuel was awake when Brandon stepped into Room 303. His grandmother Gail was there, reclining on the pull-out bed beside him. He had met her the day before, but he didn’t let on like he knew Allie.
    A do-it-yourself home decorating show was instructing how to install floating shelves on the television. Gail was so enthralled she didn’t notice him at all.
    Samuel was propped up in bed, leaning against some pillows. He had a couple of transformers in his lap and one in each hand. He was making sounds and flying them through the air, crashing them into one another and transforming them into new creatures to fight the battle he was creating in his mind.
    Brandon hated to interrupt him. He pulled his wagon closer to the bed. Samuel turned his head and his eyes lit up.
    “Hi!” he said.
    “Hey there, little buddy.”
    At Brandon’s voice, Gail jerked her head his direction and greeted Brandon as well.
    “He’s getting better and better,” she told Brandon. “It looks like we’ll be getting out of here in a day or two.”
    “That’s good to hear, but I’ll miss playing with my little buddy.”
    “What we going to play today?” Samuel asked Brandon peering over the edge of the bed to see what he had in his wagon.
    Brandon grabbed the blue duffle bag and placed it at the foot of the bed.
    “You know what I’m thinking?”
    “What?” Samuel asked.
    “I’m thinking you’re pretty brave for handling all this hospital stuff like a champ. Someone as brave as you probably needs a superhero cape to put on when he has to fight bad guys, or rescue people from trouble, or scale tall buildings.”
    He rummaged around in his bag and pulled out some red and blue fabric, Velcro, and glue. For the next twenty minutes, he sat with Samuel creating a superhero cape. He cut it from red fabric, attaching Velcro at the neck. Then he cut a big S from the blue felt material. He lifted it and showed it to Samuel.
    “Do you know what this S stands for?”
    Samuel gave him a look of disbelief, “Superman.”
    “No, not Superman.”
    His face fell.
    “Super Samuel,” Brandon said.
    A grin spread across Samuel’s face. “Cool!” he shouted.
    “Let’s see how it fits.” Brandon attached the cape around Samuel. He put his arms out and leaned to the