Page 8 of Kaya's King
“For how long?”
I hem and haw for a few seconds then finally reply, “About a month and a half. But, when we’re going places that have a lot of walking, you’ll still need to use the wheelchair, sweetie.”
“No jumping?”
“Nope. Or running, or daredevil activities on the trampoline, at least not for the time being. You can’t do any strenuous activities until the doctor says that everything has healed,” I reply. Not that we have a trampoline, but if memory serves, there’s one ofthose jump-o-rama places in town he‘s been begging to go to. That’s off the table for quite some time.
“This stinks,” he grunts his disdain, curling away from me. “Good night, Mommy. I need some alone time.”
I hold back my grin because he’s done this for quite some time now whenever he’s upset or has to think about something that’s bothering him. Leaning over, I smooth the hair back from his face and kiss his forehead. “Love you, Noah. Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
“And if they do, pick up your shoe and knock them cuckoo,” he returns, giggling. “I love you too, Mommy. Can we have pancakes for breakfast?”
My laugh escapes at his question. Leave it to my boy to already be concerned about his morning food. “As long as we get up early enough. Now, you go to sleep, okay?”
Once he drops off into slumberland, I make a quick call to CeeCee to see if she knows of an extended-stay hotel in town for us to camp out at, only to hear her say, “Leave it to me” before disconnecting the line. Shaking my head at her abruptness I gather my nightclothes then head into the bathroom for a long overdue cry where Noah won’t overhear me weeping.
As the hot water beats down across my shoulders and back, massaging my sore muscles, I allow my endless stream of tears to fall down my cheeks. On one hand, I’m grateful to God that Noah’s diagnosis wasn’t something far worse, like cancer,because I’d be devastated if I lost him to that cruel, capricious disease. But even though Perthes is treatable and not life-threatening, the fact he’s going to be somewhat immobilized is breaking my heart. Yes, he enjoys his computer games as well as reading, however, he also loves running around outside and was hoping he could play youth soccer with the other community’s children now that we’ve gotten somewhat settled in our new home.
That’s not possible, not now and not for the foreseeable future, which is going to crush him. I make a mental note to check into non-physical activities he can do so I can hopefully keep him somewhat mobile within the suggested boundaries Dr. Young provided to us. Swiping the washcloth across my face, I remove the evidence of my crying then decide while I’m in here, I’ll focus on my own hygienic needs.
Since I know he’s fast asleep, I take the extra time to shampoo and condition my hair, then exfoliate all over before I shave. Most days, even with Granny living with us, my showers are nothing more than a ‘lick and a promise’ but tonight, I go all out even though the only one who will benefit from my silky-smooth skin will be the sheets when I slide between. Giggling a bit at my wayward thoughts since I’ve been single for so long now, I push the doom and gloom emotions back, determined to make the best out of this shitty situation.
“He’s going to be fine, you’re going to be fine,” I chant as I lotion every square inch of my body after my shower before tackling the tangles and brushing out my hair. It’s gotten quite long again, but I never have any spare time in my busy schedule to get it trimmed.
CHAPTER
THREE
Kaya
“CeeCee, that’s not necessary!”I exclaim over the phone. When she called me back this morning, I expected to get a contact phone number for a hotel or an air bnb in town. Instead, she tells me that she mentioned it to Loki, who then turned around and talked to Poseidon, and because of how the clubhouse is configured, they’re going to move me, Granny, and Noah there for the time being. Apparently, it used to be a boarding school, so it’s wheelchair accessible and one of thesuites on the ground floor has the fixtures in the bathroom to help him maintain some semblance of normalcy.
“As Loki says, you’re part of the family now, Kaya. It’s the least we can do to help you while Noah gets the treatment he needs. Plus, we have an indoor, heated pool which will allow him to do aquatic therapy!”
Now I’m crying again, because I’ve been doing some research about that form of treatment as well. Since you’re almost weightless in water, aquatic therapy will enable Noah to remain limber and flexible without putting undue stress on his hip as it heals. “It’s too much,” I whisper between sobs. They’ve gone above and beyond anything I could ever expect, and my heart is close to bursting with joy from their thoughtfulness where it comes to my son’s well-being.
“Not only that, but Chelsea, who I don’t think you’ve really met yet, said she’ll gladly hang out with him while you’re working at the shop to give your grandmother a bit of a break. Plus, she can help him with his schoolwork since you previously had mentioned homeschooling him for the time being.”
“What about the house I rented?” I question. “It’s probably not a good idea to leave it empty since Granny has some expensive sewing machines, material, and other pricey equipment stowed there.”
“Oh! Well, you see, Loki went over there, and they talked. Seems we know the landlord who is okay with you breaking your lease early. There are plenty of spare rooms at the clubhouse, so the guys are setting up your granny’s sewing things in one of them! She’ll have a craft room that nobody will disturb, and her things will be under lock and key when she’s not there. Don’t worry about a thing. We’re going to take care of it and get everythingpacked up and moved here. Neither one of you will have to lift a finger. Y’all just come straight to the clubhouse when you get back in town, okay?”
My mind’s blown right now. For so long, it’s just been the three of us. More me and Granny, of course, since Noah’s too young to pack and lift boxes. “Thank you,” I finally express once I can speak past the lump now lodged in my throat. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you guys.”
“No repayment needed, girl. Y’all aren’t alone anymore,” she divulges. “Gotta run, lots to do!”
“You ladies be careful! Don’t forget all of you are pregnant.”
Her giggles through the phone line have me smiling as she retorts, “Trust me, none of the guys are letting us do too much! Even your granny is keeping a close eye on us right now.”
“Of course, she is! You should’ve seen her when I was pregnant with Noah. She’d say stuff like ‘pregnancy is a normal thing’ then in the next breath, fuss at me because I wanted to vacuum!”
“Sounds about right. You just take your time coming home and be careful.”
“I will. We’ll probably head back tomorrow since we’re getting the abduction brace fitted today.”
“I don’t envy you one bit,” she sighs.