Well This Is Just Swell
Chapter 5 - Feelings
A few days later Bo was hoping he was ready to be discharged. He could hardly wait to get out of the hospital bed which he’d been sentenced to during his stay. He wanted the comfort of his own bed. He was finishing his lunch, which he didn’t much care for, when Luke arrived. Daisy was at work, and Jesse was plowing the back forty: just because one of them was injured, it did not mean work could come to a standstill.
“Hey Cousin, how you feelin’?” Luke asked, sitting down beside the bed. He noted that Bo had just been picking at his meal, which didn’t surprise him too much. While his cousin had a voracious appetite under most circumstances, he was still on pain medication, and hospital food wasn’t usually the best fair to be had.
“Tired. I just want to go home, Luke.” Bo grumbled. It made Luke smile.
“That’s why I’m here. Doc said he was releasing you, I just had to come get you.” Bo looked at him, slightly surprised. “He said you’re on the mend, and could continue your recovery at home.”
“Thank God.” Bo mumbled, sitting up a little more. He winced a little, but Luke didn’t say anything. “He didn’t mention I was going home when he came in to check on me this morning.”
“Yeah, I asked him not to so you could be surprised.” Luke said, smiling and ruffling Bo’s hair.
“Hey, quit it!” Bo chuckled, raising his arm to brush Luke's hand away. It caused him to wince again.
“Easy cousin.” Luke told him as Bo’s nurse came in.
“Now if you two are going to roughhouse, we aren’t going to be releasing you.” The nurse scolded Bo.
He looked at her sheepishly for a moment before looking back at Luke. “Was his fault.”
“I don’t care whose fault it was, I’m telling you both to stop.” She said sternly. She picked a sling up off the small dresser in the room and looked at Bo. “And you’re supposed to be wearing this to help take pressure off that shoulder of yours. I am honestly beginning to believe you don’t want to go home today.”
“Sorry.” Bo mumbled as she helped him back into the sling for his arm and shoulder. Then she turned to Luke.
“I assume you’re family?” Luke nodded. She was a pretty nurse, but he was more concerned with Bo at the moment, and had actually learned a lesson from his cousin’s predicament. “Good. His bandage needs to be changed three times a day, don’t allow him to get it wet, make sure his ribs stay wrapped, don’t let him get the cast wet, sponge baths will be easiest for him, make sure he stays in the sling, he is to take one to two tablets of these every eight hours for pain for the next week, and half to one tablet every eight hours the following week for pain.” She handed Luke a prescription along with the discharge instructions. “And I highly suggest that he doesn’t go chasing women any more.” She said, and gave Bo a pointed look.
“Yes ma’am.” Luke said. “Thank you for taking care of my cousin.”
“Well he sure wasn’t the easiest patient to take care of. I have never seen such a crybaby in my life.” When she left, Luke looked at Bo, curious.
“She wasn’t exactly the gentlest nurse Luke.” Bo said. “She waited until it was time for my medication to change the bandages, so it ended up hurting even more, and I was late getting my meds.” Luke nodded, understanding.
“Did you try to flirt with her?”
“For once in my life, no.”
Luke nodded in understanding. “In this case, it might have done you some good… why did that nurse put the sling back on you, knowing dang right well it would need to come off so you could get dressed?”
“To make my life more difficult.” Bo replied. Luke helped him back out of the sling and into a fresh shirt he had brought with him. His yellow and blue shirts were ruined, so he had brought him his red plaid one. Bo looked at him, with an eyebrow raised. “What’s with you and plaid?”
“Oh hush, you know it’s my favorite.” Luke replied. When Bo was finally in the shirt, he helped him back into the sling. “Now please, tell me you don’t need help with your pants.”
“I think I can manage to put my pants on Luke.” Bo chuckled.
“Good.” He replied. He went to the curtain and shut it, before taking a seat on the other side.
When Bo was finished, he opened it. “I’m ready.” He told his cousin.
Luke nodded. “C’mon.”
Luke had brought Daisy’s Jeep, Dixie, to pick Bo up. He figured it would be easier for his cousin to get into than either his uncle's pickup or the General Lee. Bo greatly appreciated it.
“So, you still gonna go to the dance on Saturday?” Bo asked Luke
“Nah, I figure I might as well stay with you to keep you company.” Luke replied as he drove. “No point in going without my wingman anyway.”
“I was thinking of still going.” Bo replied, hoping to change his cousin’s mind. He only wanted to go so Luke would still go and enjoy himself.
“Really?” Luke stopped the Jeep and looked at him. “After what happened the other day, you still want to go?”
“Well sure. I’ll just take a friend instead of looking for a date.”
“And who do you have in mind? And don’t say Hilery, she’s on crutches and may not go herself.”
“And you know how I feel about her.” Bo pointed out. “No, I was more thinking about taking Kendra. She’s a good friend, she doesn’t have a date that I know of, and she’s like a sister to me.”
“Which, you said for years about Hilery until I got you drunk for your 21st birthday and you finally admitted otherwise.” Luke shook his head and pulled back onto the road.
“Yeah… well… I don’t have to tell you everything Luke. I’m allowed to have my secrets... and ‘sides, I don’t think I’m ready to date again right now, especially with a woman who will want more than being friends, or a woman that I would want more than to be friends with.”
“Touché.” After a few moments of silence Luke spoke again. “You know, there are several guys who have been hanging around the garage, and before you get all up in a huff, Hilery hasn’t been there. She’s been home on crutches. No, they’ve been hanging around to see Kendra, so if you really want to take her to the dance, you best call and ask when we get home.
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