A Hero's Reward (10 page)

“Greg, do you prefer beef,
chicken, or pork?”

“I like all of them. Probably I
like beef the most but I don't feel an overwhelming urge to have it
over the others most of the time.”

“Good, that will make cooking for
you easier. I eat all of them as well. Do you have a vegetable
preference?”

“Well, not really. Most of the
time I don't notice the vegetables too much, I just shovel them in,
chew, and swallow. Although the carrots you made last night were
delicious.”

“I'll have to find some vegetable
dishes to make that suit your fancy. Maybe you'll actually taste them
then. I have a few other vegetable recipes that you might enjoy.
Well, let's run up the produce aisle and we'll be all set.”

As they were checking out, Margaret
asked Greg to go and grab her a spiral notebook and some mechanical
pencils if he was willing. Greg turned to go get them and as he was
walking away, a glance back showed her pulling something out from the
bottom of the cart and putting it right onto the belt. His curiosity
was piqued, it looked as though she were trying to keep him from
seeing something.

It's probably just her underclothes
he thought,
I wonder if she forced herself to forget that
I've even removed her underclothes from her once. Admittedly I wasn't
paying that much attention to looking at them at the time, but
still...

When Greg returned with the notebook
and pencils, the cashier still had about five items to ring through.
He would have winced at the burgeoning total but he'd been prepared
for it to be much worse than it was looking.

The cashier finished ringing up the
order and Greg swiped his debit card. It was a bit pricey but still
under five hundred dollars between clothes and groceries so he was
okay with it. Heck, he'd even gotten to see Margaret happy, or so he
thought, even if she still hadn't been smiling.

They loaded the car and headed home.
When they got there, Margaret intentionally gave Greg the lighter
bags to carry into the house. When they got everything in they put
away the groceries. Margaret prepared a quick lunch for them and
after they had eaten Greg asked:

“Shall we go to the bank now and
request a replacement debit card?”

“Is your back doing alright?”

“Yes, I got those last pills down
in time. It was starting to feel a touch uncomfortable but no major
twinges or anything and now the pills have kicked in and it feels
fine again.”

“Okay, but then we need to come
back and let you rest. Maybe you can take a nap on the couch when we
get home. So far your scheduled bed rest has been anything but. Give
me ten minutes first though, I want to put on some different
clothes.”

They headed out again as soon as
Margaret had changed into jeans and a t-shirt. The bank was only five
minutes away so it was a much shorter trip this time. The individual
they spoke to was very helpful when the the situation was explained.
Margaret was issued a temporary replacement card and told that the
permanent replacement would arrive in seven to ten days.

They headed back home and since Greg
wasn't tired yet he decided to take care of a few more problems for
her. After finding out which credit cards had been destroyed, he
searched online for contact numbers for those companies. He handed
Margaret his phone and a list of the numbers.

“Sorry, I'd call them for you but
they'll want to speak to you. You just need to tell them your card
was destroyed and ask for a replacement. They'll verify your identity
with some questions and then issue a new card.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

Greg lay back on the couch and relaxed.
He listened to Margaret's side of the conversation and discovered
that the sound of her voice relaxed him even more. Before she was
done with her calls, he had drifted off to sleep.

“Greg, wake up.” a voice
penetrated his dreams as a hand gently shook his shoulder.

“Wake up.” it repeated.

Greg opened his eyes to see Margaret
leaning over him. She noticed his eyes opening and spoke again:

“Good, you're awake. How do you
like your steak? Dinner is nearly done.”

“Normally somewhere between
medium and medium-rare.” Greg replied, shaking his head to
clear the cobwebs.

“I hate taking naps during the
day normally, they always leave me disoriented for a bit after. It
seems to have become a habit recently though.”

“Well, your body knows what it
needs to heal. If it needs sleep, it'll put you to sleep. It needs
food also though so dinner is coming up in a few minutes.”
Margaret said as she turned and headed back for the kitchen.

Greg stumbled to the bathroom and
cleaned up for dinner. When he headed out to the table in the living
room area he saw that Margaret had actually set the table properly.
He hadn't realized that he missed things like that but it struck home
now. It felt more like a home with the table set properly. He paused
for a moment and mentally corrected himself. It felt more like a home
because Margaret was there and setting the table was only a small
part of it.

He wandered into the kitchen to find
Margaret tending three dishes simultaneously. He didn't even
recognize one of the pans, he'd never used it anyhow. As he peered
over her shoulder he could see steaks, potatoes, and broccoli. The
broccoli was steaming in the two pan contraption with a cover that he
hadn't been able to identify.

“Here, you can take this pan over
to the sink. Pour the water and potatoes into the colander I have
sitting in it. Keep an eye on it and let me know when it stops
dripping.”

“Yes Margaret” he said,
doing as he was told.

Greg realized he had already
relinquished the kitchen to her. When he was in it, he did what she
told him to. He kind of liked the feeling since it had a homey
domestic feel to it.

“I used your computer while you
napped. All I need to do to get a replacement SIM card is to go to my
local store and ask. I can get a new phone at the same time.”

They discussed getting her a
replacement phone and SIM card as Margaret finished making dinner.
Greg discovered that there was a branch store she could go to right
near a local Redbox DVD rental he used sometimes.

“Well, depending on how late
they're open, we could do that after dinner. I know one of those
nearby that's right next to a Redbox DVD rental that I use sometimes.
We could get you a new phone and maybe find a movie to watch tonight
at the same time, if you'd like.” Greg offered.

“Are you sure? I know we've
already done a lot of errands for me today. Don't you have anything
you need to do for yourself?”

“Well, I needed to go grocery
shopping but we took care of that. Other than that, not really. I'm
offering because I thought you might like a wider variety of choices
for movies than I have here. Assuming you don't mind watching a movie
with me again tonight.”

“I'd love to watch a movie with
you again Greg. Why don't we check the hours on that store after we
eat and if they're still open we can do that.”

“Okay, you get to pick the movie
again though. I don't know what you like for movies but I'm willing
to learn.”

“Comedies mostly, I think because
it helps me laugh and I always feel better after I do. I haven't had
lots to laugh about, at least in a humorous fashion, in my life. The
bittersweet laughs and crying laughter don't count.”

“That will be fine by me, I like
hearing you laugh.”

“You know, I'm awfully glad that
I keep finding little things that keep you from being perfect or I'd
be afraid that I'm dreaming and going to wake up soon.”

Greg cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, like most men, you don't
put the toilet seat down after you pee.”

It was Greg's turn to blush. He hadn't
expected her to be so blunt but was happy that she felt comfortable
enough to do so.

“Sorry, I'm used to living alone
now. I used to be trained to not do that when there were three
females in the house.”

“No need to apologize, I just
keep worrying that this is all a dream and I'll wake up in the
hospital, or still be in my car and never wake up again.”

“You don't need to worry about
that. I'm as real as anything, I doubt I'd be this aware of myself if
this were a bad dream on your part. Speaking of being aware of
myself.”

Greg pulled down his bottle of
painkillers and took two.

“It was about that time so I
figured I'd better take them now before my back had to remind me
later.”

Margaret shook her head:

“Oh Greg, if you could only look
at all of this from my point of view. No-one, especially my
ex-husband, has been as kind to me as you've been. And you don't even
ask, or expect, anything in return.”

“Oh really? And all of this is?”
he said, gesturing to the dinner she was cooking.

“Something I enjoy doing, and
that you enabled me to do by providing a kitchen and food to cook.”

Margaret took the steaks out and put
them on a plate, then she busied herself with the broccoli. She added
melted butter over it and some grated cheddar cheese. Finally she
took the potatoes from Greg:

“Hah, how long have these been
not dripping?”

“They're still dripping, I just
saw a drip.”

“Greg... You weren't paying
attention to the potatoes were you?”

“Nope, sorry. I got engrossed in
talking to you. It's still surprising to me that I enjoy talking to
you. It seems that a week ago, I was totally disinterested in
females. I think maybe I just hadn't had the chance to talk to the
right one yet back then.”

Margaret blushed again as she poured
the chopped, boiled potatoes over a stick of butter and a bit of milk
in the bottom of the mixer. She turned to face it and started it
running. A minute later she removed the mashed potatoes.

“Please take the steaks out and
put them on the table, I'll bring the potatoes and broccoli out.”

Greg brought them out as requested and
set them on the table.

“Go ahead and sit down.”
Margaret said, “Feel free to serve yourself, I'll go get us
some milk to drink. I imagine with both of us still doing some
healing it might do us some good.”

When Margaret came out and saw that
Greg had a steak and mashed potatoes on his plate, she served him a
good-sized helping of the broccoli also.

“Trust me, I think you'll enjoy
it.”

She sat down herself and served herself
portions of all three dishes. They ate mostly in silence until Greg
tried the broccoli:

“Wow, this is actually good.”

“No need to sound so surprised.
It's how I get Jack to eat his broccoli. The cheddar over the top and
a hint of black pepper changes the taste dramatically.”

“I just didn't think I liked
broccoli. I may need to change my mind.”

“You probably had it cooked some
other way. You just need to steam it until the green darkens a few
shades and it gets hot. Any more and it gets very mushy and much less
tasty.”

The finished the meal, once again
mostly in silence as each of them cleared their plate.

“I guess I was hungrier than I
thought” Margaret commented.

“I knew I was hungry but now I'm
stuffed.”

Margaret began to pick up the dishes
from the table, as she turned to head for the kitchen she called back
over her shoulder:

“Would you bring your plate and
other things in please?”

Greg picked up his plate and as he was
gathering his silverware and glass he noticed that there was a piece
of paper on the bottom of the plate. He set everything but the plate
back down and looked at its underside. A folded piece of paper had
been taped to the bottom. He removed it and unfolded it:

I'm not nearly daring enough to say this out loud. But, if you
would like me to sleep with you, in
that
way, I'm willing. If you are sure you want me, then when you are
heading to bed tonight just tell me that you are going to bed and ask
me if I'd like to join you. I'll tell you now that the answer will be
yes but if you don't still want me that way I will not be offended.

Margaret

Greg slipped the note into his pants
pocket. He picked all his dishes up again and brought them into the
kitchen.

“
Margaret, I was thinking
that maybe
we
should
go to bed early tonight? What do you think?”

Margaret turned, her face beaming with
the smile that dominated it. Greg's heart accelerated like a jet
getting ready for takeoff. He literally couldn't breathe for a
moment.

“
I think that we can wait
until later for bed. We have a nice evening planned. We can follow
that plan and then make it better later on. But yes,
we
can go to bed later on this evening.”

“You... you, you're smiling!”

“Yes, you horrible man, you. You
made me smile. Thank you again.”

“
There is no need to thank
me. The smile is more than enough. You're attractive when you aren't
smiling. You're downright
gorgeous when you are smiling.”

Margaret blushed:

“You know, I think I've blushed
more in the past couple of days than in the two years prior. How you
do that to me, I don't know.”

“Well, mostly it's happened when
I tell you what I see as the simple truth but you disagree. I find it
endearing though, it lets me know that you're actually listening to
what I say and reacting to it.”

“Well, let's get these dishes
loaded and get on with our evening, shall we?”

Greg helped as best as he could.
Although he had been looking forward to the evening with her, now he
was looking forward to what would happen after the end of their
previously planned evening.