I don’t care how great a video game is, even one like Black Ops, I end up getting tired of playing it. It becomes repetitive, like the game designers got tired of coming up with new scenarios or they started running out of money to develop it further.

I looked at Ron and he looked tired.

“You have enough of this game yet? I sure have.”

“Yeah. Like, where the hell is our lunch?”

“It’s only 11:45, Ron. We’ll get it somewhere around 12:30.”

“You mind if I take a nap? I’m starting to fade.”

“Want them to wake you when our lunch arrives?”

“Of course! Hell, I’m a teenager and eating is why I exist.” Ron grinned.

“I can’t argue about that. Did I tell you what my folks did to me on Friday?”

“No. What did they do?”

“Mom and Dad went to some café in Weatherford and ate hamburgers, then brought one back for the ICU nurse. And they smelled like hamburgers when they came in to see me. Then they told me that’s what they’d bought and they didn’t get me one. The ICU nurse said it’s because patients can’t have food brought in from the outside. I was royally pissed.”

“That’s cruel and unusual punishment, Brian. It should be against the law but I bet it isn’t. Do you remember where they got them?”

“Umm... some café, Town Café maybe?”

“Oh my god! I’ll bet they went to the Downtown Café. Their burgers are criminal they’re so good. You’ve gotta come back to Waterford and we’ll go there. You’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven. Damn soft diet! I’d have my folks get me a burger and fries and bring it to me.”

“But I was told no outside food. Your folks could get away doing that?”

“Mom said they can bring me food. Maybe it’s not allowed in the ICU. That is, to bring it to patients. Bringing it to the nurse seemed to be okay. You know, I’ll bet those shakes your mom brought us yesterday were from Downtown Café. We’ll have to ask her when she comes to visit you.”

“That brings up a question. Where is my mom? She’s usually here by now. What time is it?”

Ron looked at his watch. “It’s 11:55.”

“Can I ask you a personal question, Ron?”

“I guess.”

“Does your mother like to shop?”

He giggled. “No, she doesn’t like to shop. She lives to shop.” He looked at my expression. “Oh my god! I’ll bet your mother is a shopper too, right?” I nodded my head. “We’re doomed. They won’t be back until late tonight.”

“Damn. There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Well, Brian, I guess we’ll just have to wait until lunch is served. I’m tired but I’m hungry, too.”

“Did I hear that someone in this room is hungry? I’m here to cure that symptom, gentlemen.”

“Randall,” I shouted. “What are you doing up here? I thought you did the ICU.”

“When I saw that you’d gone MIA downstairs, I checked to see if you’d checked out, one way or the other, or if you’d been moved. I discovered the latter, and got my shift assignment changed. So here I am,” he said with a flourish, “meal cart in the hall chock full with trays of wonderment.”

“Ron, I want you to meet Randall. He’s my best bud here at the hospital. He even tried to arrange to get me a job as an orderly.” I saw Ron was confused. “I’ll tell you about that later. Right now I want to introduce you to Randall. Ron, this is Randall. Randall, this is Ron Anderson.”

Randall put on an expression of complete shock, and put his hands to his cheeks.

“Lordy, what is this hospital coming to? The other one of the Anderson twins is here to torment the nursing staff?” Randall put on an expression like the Grinch Who Stole Christmas and put his hand to his mouth like he was whispering to us, “That is so excellent! I’ll tell you which ones to torment the most!”

Ron started to laugh, then to cough.

“Hey, Randall, Ron had his tonsils out day before yesterday. When he laughs he coughs. Maybe we shouldn’t make him laugh.”

“What say I get Ron some earplugs and when I come in he can shove ‘em into his ears and he won’t hear me joking with you? Good plan?”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute.”

Ron jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. Randall looked at me, and he actually looked worried.

“Ron has something he can gargle with that helps keep his coughing under control.”

Ron came back and sat down. “Okay, Randall, do your wurst. With mustard and horseradish, please.”

Randall had to think about that for a couple of seconds then he started to laugh.

“Oh, I can see I’ll like you, Mr. Ronald Anderson.”

“Now, now, Randall. Only my mom can call me Mr. Ronald Anderson, and she only does that when she’s pissed off at me.”

That caused Randall to laugh.

“Alright, enough of this palaver. I have for your consideration a delicious meal, prepared by our chef de cuisine, and made specifically to fit your individual wishes and desires. Or what your doctors have decided, with the aid of our phalanx of nutritionists, they will allow you to have.”

He brought in Ron’s tray, set it on the tray table, and with a flourish pulled the cover off the plate.

“Ta da!”

Ron took one look at whatever was on the plate. “I want my money back!” he shouted.

“I’m cut to the quick! You don’t appreciate our combined efforts? Oh, what am I going to do!”

He walked out and returned with my tray. With the same flourish he removed the cover from the plate. I had a turkey sandwich with mayo and lettuce, an extra packet of mayo and one of mustard. There was macaroni salad, and some slices of tomato that were more pink than red. There was a bowl of what I figured was soup, a container of butterscotch pudding, and one of orange sherbet. I had two cartons of milk and one of those awful vanilla protein shakes. Not bad for lunch.

“Well, gentlemen, I’ll leave you to enjoy your magnificent repasts. I shall return later to collect the empties.” With that little speech Randall left.

“Okay Ron, what did you get for lunch?”

“Macaroni and cheese, yellow squash, bread and butter, some sort of soup, cherry Jell-O, two containers of vanilla ice cream, milk, and one of those protein shakes that I won’t even open.”

“Except for the protein shake, that doesn’t sound too bad. I got one of those shakes too. They are the worst.”

“I agree. Maybe even worse than the worst.”

“Well, as Randall said, enjoy!”

“Hey, Brian, You were right. He’s a great guy and very funny. If they had a rating card for patients to list the staff that they liked I’d put him at the top.”

“Me too.”

With that we concentrated on eating. For the first time I had a sandwich in this hospital that wasn’t dry. There was plenty of mayo, and I didn’t even have to use the extra packet. I don’t like yellow mustard, and especially not on turkey or chicken sandwiches, so I left both of those packets unopened. Everything else was good, especially the pudding and sherbet. Excluding the protein shake, of course.

I’d left the Spider Robinson book in the ICU since it belonged there. I started on ‘Going Postal’ by Terry Pratchett. It took me a chapter to get into it, but then I found something to laugh about on almost every page. It’s a story about... nah, I won’t go into it. But if you like science fiction without the rockets and battles, this is a fun story. I got to the start of chapter 5 when Ron came over and sat on the edge of my bed.

“Alright. What’s so funny?”

“This book. ‘Going Postal’ by Terry Pratchett. It’s hilarious. I love funny books, and science fiction, and this has both. You ever hear of it?”

“Have I ever head of ‘Going Postal’? Have I ever heard of Terry Pratchett? No to both.”

“You don’t read science fiction?”

“Yes, but I’ve never heard of this book or author. Based on your recommendation I’ll look for it at the library. I usually read sci-fi about space exploration. I like Jack McDevitt’s ‘Chindi’ series. Have you heard of those books?”

“No, but I’ll look for them.”

We spent the next half hour talking about science fiction movies and TV shows.

Ron looked at me for a couple of seconds, then asked me an interesting question. “You ever read gay stories?”

“No. Are there a lot of them?”

“Yeah. Just go on amazon and look for ‘gay teen’ and you’ll see how many. And there are lots of gay stories posted on internet web sites. I guess you’ve figured out that I’m gay. Is that a problem for you?”

“Nope. I’m not gay, but I don’t have any problem with guys or girls who are gay. I have friends at school who are gay. Do your folks know?”

“Yeah, and they’re fine with it.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Ron grinned. “Not yet. But I’m working on it. There’s this really cute guy in my geometry class that I think is interested.”

“So you know he’s gay?”

“No, but he seems to be interested in us being friends. If that’s all it ends up being that’s okay. But I just have this feeling about him.”

“Your gaydar?” I chuckled.

“I suppose. But I don’t know if there is such a thing, and if there is then I don’t know if I have it, and if I have it then I don’t know if it’s working or not.”

“Well, good luck. It’s probably a lot harder for a guy to find another guy than for a guy to find a girl. I think what you’re doing is right on. You’re finding out if you and this guy can be friends first, and then maybe if he’s interested you can... you know.”

Ron laughed. “You can’t say it, can you. That’s pretty funny. Anyway, thanks for saying I’m doing it the right way. I think so too. Just because I’m gay I don’t want to jump into bed with the first guy I see. I’m looking for a boyfriend, not a sex partner like my dad says. I want something long term, the same as what you’d be doing when you’re looking for a girlfriend.”

“That’s interesting. I never thought about what a gay guy would be thinking about when he’s looking for a boyfriend. Not anything much different than a straight guy. Just the dating pool is much smaller and more hidden.”

“Yeah. Such is life.”

Ron looked at the two books my folks had bought me. “You’re reading ‘Going Postal’. Would it be okay if I read ‘Escape from Earth’? I’ll give it back before whichever of us leaves first.”

“Sure. It’s a collection of short stories so it’s not like you’d have to read the entire book. Let me know which of the short stories you like.”

“Will do. Thanks.”

Randall came back to pick up our trays.

“Very good. You two ate everything. How’d you like it?”

“The chicken soup was good today. The beef broth I had last night was so salty I couldn’t eat it. My sandwich was good. The protein shakes are awful. I won’t drink mine. Period.”

“Mine was good too, all except that gross protein shake,” Ron added.

“I don’t blame you about the protein shakes. I’ve tasted them. On a scale of one to ten where ten is best, I think the vanilla shake is a 1, the chocolate is a 3, and the strawberry is a 6. Why they give anyone the vanilla I don’t know. Anyway, glad you guys liked your lunches. See you later.”

I said, “Bye, Randall,” and waved.

Ron said, “See ya.”

I got back to ‘Going Postal’ and settled down to read until Mom arrived.

That was interrupted after a few minutes when the physical therapist came in to check how I was doing. Her name was Lindsay.

“Brian, this is an evaluation to determine what sort of physical therapy you’ll need. I want to measure the strength of your arms and legs, and your ability to get out of bed to a standing position, your ability to walk without assistance and to use the bathroom facilities, and your ability to get in bed.

She worked me on all of those things for about a half hour.

“Well, you’re in good shape considering your injuries. I don’t think you’ll need assistance for daily living. You will need to begin an exercise program when your doctor releases you to start physical therapy. So, I’ll give my report to Dr. McFadden and he’ll forward it to the doctor in Edmond. Good luck.”

“Thanks, Lindsay.”

That was interesting. I wondered what kind of exercises they have me doing. I hoped it wouldn’t be like the stupid calisthenics they had us do every day in PE. I picked up ‘Going Postal’ and continued reading from where I’d left off.

Later I was thirsty and my water jug was empty. I pushed my call button and after about ten minutes a nurse’s aide came in. Her name tag said she was Yvonne, and she looked like she was about my age.

“Hi, what can I get you?”

“Can I get some orange juice, and have my water jug refilled with ice water, please?”

“Sure. Be right back.”

When she came back I was really curious about her age.

“Yvonne, can I ask you a personal question?”

She grinned. “I guess it depends on how personal it is.”

“You look a lot younger than the other staff people here. You look young enough that you might be in high school.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I’m nineteen and majoring in nursing at Weatherford College. I’m in my second year and will have my Associate Degree in Nursing at the end of this school year. I’m working at the hospital as a nurse’s aide to get real world patient care experience.”

“How do you like it? Is nursing different than what you thought it was going to be?”

“We’ve been studying patient care, so I was ready for what I’ve seen and been doing here. You’re a high school student?”

“Uh huh. I’m a sophomore at Deer Valley High in Edmond, Oklahoma.”

“Well, you’re certainly a long way from home. I’ve read your chart and it seems that you’ve made a remarkable recovery. I’ll bet you’re eager to get home.”

“Yeah. I’ll be leaving Tuesday and taking an air ambulance to Edmond. Then I’ll be checked by a neurosurgeon at the Oklahoma University Hospital in Edmond and he’s going to decide if I need to be admitted as a patient there or if I can go home. I hope I can go home. N-O-I, but I’m real tired of being in a hospital. I want my own bed.”

“N-O-I? Oh, you mean no offense intended, right?”

“Yeah. I guess I’m used to using shorthand in emails and texts.”

I noticed Ron standing at the end of the partition separating our beds.

“Hi. Could I get something cold to eat, like ice cream or sherbet?”

“Let me check and I’ll be right back.”

“Damn, she’s cute!” Ron grinned.

“Hey, I have first dibs. I’m the straight guy. And besides, I saw her first.”

“Down boy! Methinks you are way too young for her, Brian. You’re what, fifteen? A nineteen year old girl is like... twenty-five percent older than you are.”

“But she’s only four years older.”

“Yeah, but that’s twenty-five percent older. Nothing personal, but she wouldn’t be interested in anyone our age.”

“I suppose. And the drive to Edmond to go out on a date would be way too long. Then she’d have to drive home. Sad, so sad for me!”

We were laughing about that when Yvonne came back with a container of vanilla ice cream and a spoon and gave them to Ron.

“Here you go. You two guys let me know if you need anything else. See you.”

We both said “Bye Yvonne,” and watched her walk out. She was very cute. Maybe I’ll find a girl that pretty and that smart someday.

I was a little bored reading, so I turned on my TV. I went around all the channels. The only thing on that was even remotely interesting was a pro football game, Jacksonville against somebody, but I’m not that interested in pro teams other than the Green Bay Packers, so I just turned off the TV. I like college football, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State of course, and Deer Valley High football, and pro basketball, the Lakers. But no games for Oklahoma or any other college teams were on, and no pro basketball. Deer Valley wouldn’t be on TV unless they got into the state finals. Unfortunately we didn’t even win league so no chance of that this year.

I went back to reading. I was close to the end of the story, just starting chapter 11, when Mom finally walked in with Ron’s mother.

“Hi, Mom. Hi, Mrs. Anderson.”

Ron’s mom said ‘hi’ and walked into his side of the partition.

“Hi, Brian. Did you have a good lunch?”

Clever. Divert the focus to me.

“Okay, Hospital food, you know. So, where have you and Ron’s mom been today? Shopping, maybe? Chuckle-chuckle.”

“Yes. I went shopping to buy you some clothes to wear on your way home. We went to Kohl’s and JC Penny. Right here in Weatherford. Is that okay, mister smarty?”

Damn! “Sure. It was just strange knowing you were here in Weatherford and never being told where you were.”

Mom looked at me, then leaned down and kissed my right cheek.

“I’m sorry, Brian. I assumed you’d have plenty to do today. I should have come in to see you before we went shopping. Or at least phoned to let you know where we were going. When we got back I talked with Dr. McFadden and signed all of the paperwork for your release.” She smiled.

“That’s great! When will I be released?”

“You’ll be released Tuesday.”

“They’ve got to arrange for the air ambulance. Won’t that take a lot of time?”

“That’s all taken care of. The air ambulance company told me that they will have a helicopter ready by noon. You’ll be back in Edmond at the OU Medical Center by two. They also said I can accompany you on the flight.”

“Sweet. How much is this going to cost?”

“You don’t want to know. Our insurance is covering most of the cost, so that’s a good thing.”

“Does Dad know?”

“Yes, and so does Dr. Linscomb at OU Medical Center. They’ll be waiting to check you into the hospital for what they call observation. That means you won’t be going to the emergency ward. It’s not the same as being admitted, but you will probably be there overnight.”

“Rats. I really wanted to be at home in my own bed.”

“Because you’re arriving so late, some of the tests they will run will be done on Tuesday, and results from the tests they do here tomorrow won’t be back until Tuesday. Dr. Linscomb said he’s reviewing your latest results from Campbell Memorial today, and that will help him decide what further tests he wants to do.”

“Well, I guess there’s not much I can do about it, is there.”

“No, there isn’t. Now, I talked to Dr. McFadden about getting you a hospital bed at home so your head can be raised.”

“Mom! I want to come home so I can sleep in my own bed. Hospital beds are awful, they’re totally uncomfortable, and I don’t need one.”

“And what is my favorite patient complaining about?”

“Hi, Doctor McFadden. Mom wants to get me a hospital bed at home. I want my own bed. Hospital beds are very uncomfortable. And I don’t need to sit in bed with my back raised up at some angle.”

“I agree with you, Brian. You need a comfortable bed so you can sleep well, and if you’re happy with your current bed at home I don’t see any need to make a change.”

“But doctor,” Mom said, “shouldn’t Brian be able to raise his head so he can sit in bed?”

“He can sit in a chair. He’s been doing that here, starting in the ICU. Brian, how much have you been sitting in bed versus sitting in this chair?”

“Since I moved to this room, the only time I’m in bed and they raise my head is when they wake me up at night to take a bunch of pills. But I can sit on the edge of my bed at home if I have to take pills during the night.”

Mom was still not convinced. “I think it’s best to have an adjustable bed in case Brian needs it.”

“Mom, if that happens then you can get me a hospital bed. If I have to sleep in an uncomfortable bed then I won’t be able to sleep very well and I’ll be complaining all the time.”

“You  mean you’ll be whining all the time. I’m still not convinced.”

“Mrs. Anderson, there is an option. You can get a head lift and install it on Brian’s current bed.”

“What’s a head lift, Dr. McFadden?” Mom asked.

“It fits under the mattress and lets you raise the head like a hospital bed, but not as high. What I suggest is that you wait until Brian comes home before you make a decision. It’s best not to be hasty.”

“Yeah, Mom. I agree with Dr. McFadden. If you want to get me something then get me a comfortable chair I can sit in like the ones here in the hospital. Maybe not so hospital looking, though.”

“All right. I can tell when I’m on the losing side of an argument. We’ll wait and see if we need a hospital bed or a head lift or nothing at all. And we’ll look for a comfortable chair you can have in your bedroom.”

“Mrs. Anderson, I’m going to show you how to change Brian’s bandage. You will have to change it at home, so this is a practice session.” Dr. McFadden looked at Mom. “Are you ready for this?”

“Absolutely.”

Dr. McFadden changed my bandage to show Mom how to do it, then removed it and Mom bandaged my head.

“You get an A, Mrs. Anderson.”

“Thank you doctor. What do you think, Brian?”

“It feels fine. It’d be better if I could have seen the doctor do it then you do it. That way I could tell you all of the things you’re doing wrong.”

“Brian! You don’t trust your own mother? I’m crushed.”

“Yeah. Like not.”

Ron’s mom came around the partition. “Phyllis, how about a home cooked meal? I’m going home and I’d like to invite you to join us for dinner.”

“Oh, that’s very nice of you, Linda. Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?”

“Not at all. We’ll drive you to our home and bring you back afterwards.”

“Hey!” I shouted, “Are Ron and I chopped liver or something? How about inviting us to have dinner at your house too?”

That caused everybody to laugh. I noticed that Ron didn’t cough. He must be getting better.

After Mom and Ron’s mom left, I called to him.

“Hey, Ron. You still here?”

“Yeah.” He walked around the partition and sat down. “So, that was fun.”

“I suppose. I’d actually like to go to your house with you and have dinner. That’d be better than eating a hospital meal again.”

“Yup, I agree.”

“Say, Ron, what did you do while we were talking with Dr. McFadden? It was awfully quiet on your side.”

“There’s a sitting room down the hall. We went down there to relax. You should walk down there and take a look.”

“I haven’t been walking much, as you’ve probably noticed. I thought I was supposed to walk around once I got to a room.”

“Well, you’re going home Tuesday so it doesn’t make much difference.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. When are you going home?”

“Tomorrow.” Ron grinned. “I can’t wait. My own bed, my computer, just like what you’ll feel like when you get home.”

“I have to stay at OU Medical Center overnight. I’ll go home some time on Wednesday. Probably.”

“Probably?”

“Yeah. There’s a chance I’ll have to stay at OU Medical Center for a while. Depends on what my tests show once I get there.”

“Bummer if that happens.”

Just then a nurse rushed into our room.

“Brian Anderson?”

“That’s me.”

“There’s been an accident.”