“Yeah, you should see him without his shirt on. You wanna talk about a thirst trap.”
She smacked her lips and rolled her eyes. “I’m so jealous. Don’t get me wrong, I love my hubby, but he’s just a dude, you know? Physically, I mean.”
“Yeah, Hawk looks like he’s still playing hockey, huh?” Caleb was into it. He loved climbing Hawk like the mountain he was named for. It was just that good.
“You’re a lucky guy.” She patted his arm, the move affectionate. “You hang in there, and I’ll let you know as soon as we hear something. The doc should be by in not too long to do his rounds, and then you’ll probably see the hospitalist too.”
“Cool, cool, cool. You think maybe I could have a shower this morning?” He knew they could bag up his foot and tape it to keep it dry and let him get into the bathroom.
“Let me see what my tech has going on, and I’ll get you set up.”
“Thanks lady. I appreciate it.” He really did too. He was going to have to write a note to her supervisor or something praising her.
Darla closed up the little computer that she used to take notes and flipped him a wave. “I’ll be back in a bit to check you again. Be good, okay.”
“And if I can’t be good, I won’t get caught.” They both laughed about the stupid joke, and then she left him by himself.
Thankfully he didn’t have to wait too long for the doc to come in. Basically he had to stay off his foot for at least six weeks, and he had to come in twice for checkups in the interim. In that time he wasn’t going to get a cast; he was going to wear a boot, but he had to really keep it from being weight-bearing and leave the boot on twenty-four/seven.
For sure, Caleb figured it could have been way worse. He knew he was going to have to be super careful because inflammation could be a problem. But honestly he was pretty pumped.
By the time Hawk showed up with a black pepper steak bowl from Panda Express, he’d also seen the physio guy, who’d cleared him to use crutches, a hard metal walker around the house, and a knee scooter. The guy said it was nice to work with an athlete like Caleb because he had a lot of choices that way.
He was also exhausted.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Hawk waggled the bag with their lunch. “Got you that beef you like.”
“Thanks, babe. I’m worn out. The PT guy came by and tested me on all the devices he wants me to use, and the doc was in. The orthopedist, I mean. We talked about how many times we were gonna have to get together and what kind of progress I need to be making, and then the hospitalist is supposed to come in and sign off on my release.”Caleb finished the rest of it off in a rush, kind of breathless because he was excited to be going home.
Well, going home with Hawk.
“Cool. So that means you’re going to get sprung today.” Hawk gave him a wild sort of grin. “I’m excited.”
“Yeah, they said probably closer to shift change so we’ve got a bunch of time to kill but I’m pretty tickled.”
Hawk nodded, pulling containers out of the bag and setting them on the little tray table thing that Caleb could pull up across his lap. “That’s cool. Hopefully we’ll get home in time to have supper, and that way you won’t have to have another hospital meal, and I won’t have to go to the cafeteria.”
“If I have to miss supper and then eat with you late when we get home, I will. I’m not going to order another meal.”
Thankfully he didn’t have any massive restrictions on what he could eat, because some of the stuff that was marked for the diabetic diet or the renal diet on the menu sounded horrifying, but still he’d eaten more tuna salad sandwiches and tasteless eggs and bacon than he really wanted to deal with.
“Cool. Well I got the condo set up a little bit better for you, for like a knee scooter or crutches or whatever. I moved some of the furniture around in the front room so there was more space in between. Other than that, I think we’re good to go.”
Caleb dug into his black pepper beef, the spicy umami flavor bursting on his tongue. So much better than low-salt powdered eggs and cardboard bread. “I appreciate it, babe. I really do.”
“Hey, it’s no trouble. Seriously. I’m kind of excited for you to come stay with me.”
“‘Kind of’?” He licked his chopsticks, which was probably rude, but it didn’t matter. That sauce was tasty.
“Okay, so I’m seriously excited about it. You know that. You don’t have to fish for compliments.” Hawk muncheda piece of broccoli. He’d gotten some kind of chicken thing with vegetables. He still ate like he was an active hockey player. Not that Caleb was going to complain because it made his body fucking bomb.
“Well I’m ready.” Caleb finished off his food in record time, setting the container aside. He yawned again, his whole body feeling it. Every time he tried to stretch, his foot hurt really bad because everything was still going to be reattaching for quite a while.
“We’re just waiting on the hospitalist, right?” Hawk gathered up the trash and put it all back in the bag. He would take it out to the trash can in the lobby because he hated stinking up the whole hospital, he said. Hawk had spent a lot of time in and out of hospitals with his knee and knew the ins and outs of protocol pretty well.
“That’s what they tell me.” Caleb flexed his fingers on both hands. Just trying to keep the blood flow going.
“Why don’t you grab a nap then? I can tell you’re tired. All that running around on a knee scooter or crutches or whatever makes you exhausted; I know it.” Hawk held up the bag with the trash in it. “I’m going to run this out so it doesn’t stink up the place, and then I’ll come back and sit with you. I got a book to read.”