feeling that he could be one of
those people who needed to have everything just so.
He
was on the phone when I came out, talking to a doctor about my
condition. He referred to me as his girlfriend. What else could he
say?
He
saw me after he hung up. “I talked to a doctor. He wants you to
drink a lot more water. Come and sit down on the sofa.”
“ I
can't impose on you like this. You have been great, but this is just
asking too much of anyone.” I was leaning on the wall to support
myself.
“ I
love having you here. Don't make me beg you to stay. I really can't
let you go. You are very sick. What would you have done if you didn't
know me?” He was all worried again.
“ I
would have stayed in bed, and drank plenty of water.”
He
gave me a look like, he thought, I would have died. I wouldn't have.
I have been sick before and I had always lived. You just had to force
yourself up and around. Every day a little more. I was used to being
on my own. Living in a different country taught you how to take care
of yourself.
“ Let
me help you to the sofa.” He had given up fighting with me. Once he
had me on the sofa he gave me another odd look. “Do you know anyone
around here other than me?”
He
had hit a sore note. I clenched my teeth. “Not yet.” I debated
leaving, but he had been right about my needing help back to the
sofa. I was deeply embarrassed now. He was asking the same thing that
my cousin had said. She was right too. I had no one. Here I was sick
and the only person I could turn to was the guy who spanked me.
“ I
don't think I have ever met a woman who needed me more.” He sat
down and laid his arm around me.
“ I'll
leave as soon as I can. I'm sorry I am being such a burden to you. I
can't believe I did this to you. You must be completely overwhelmed.”
“ Hey,
I already said I enjoy having you here. What more do I have to say to
make you believe me?”
I
turned away from him. Why was I with him when I should be
concentrating on a normal and healthy relationship? I needed to try
to make friends. That had always been something that I didn't excel
at. I watched people, more than I interacted with them. Then I went
home and wrote about them like I knew what I was talking about. The
critics talked about my insight. I fooled them all. Just him I
couldn't fool.
“ It's
just that I have been working on several projects and I want to see
where they might take me. I don't have that bad of a deadline but I
want to see them realized too. I put the pressure on myself. Maybe
after they are all finished I could take a break.”
“ Please,
take better care of yourself. If you won't do it than let me do it
for you.”
I
didn't know what to say but he looked so worried. I was embarrassed
that I needed help.
“ I
don't want you to feel bad about anything. I even think, that you
were very brave moving someplace new, all by yourself. That takes a
lot of guts. Don't be so hard on yourself.”
“ The
right one is saying that. You believe I need to be spanked at every
turn.”
“ Hey,
just because you are sick doesn't give you the right to be rude to
me. I'm warning you. Don't start in being sarcastic.”
“ See.
You just proved my point.” I leaned into his chest. I felt like
taking a nap on him. I was going crazy. It was official now. I was a
crazy woman.
“ No,
you may not sleep anymore. The doctor said you needed lots of water.”
He reached for a glass from the table. “Drink as much as you can.”
I
took it from him with both of my hands. I drank it down slowly. He
refilled it and made a movement with his hand that I should drink
that one down too. I did. “Can I sleep now?”
“ No,
it's time for my no noodle chicken soup. This will help you regain
your strength.”
He
even let me feed myself today. He turned on the TV and we watched
sitcoms. I had missed them all because they didn't air in Germany.
Americans are so much more funny than Germans. I was laughing so hard
that I was
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough