THE FLOOD…PART 6:
SO WE CAN SLEEP
Afoot, all three men had followed him and Cort up to the gate. It was a
good thing as neither he nor Cort had the strength to take Joimus from his arms
and dismount. His men were all too respectful of the General's obvious
exhaustion to ask him questions yet
about what had happened. Mac and Paul simply quietly received her into their
arms and East steadied Maximus a bit as he slowly dismounted. His boots on the
ground again, he leaned his right shoulder against Legion’s side, closed his
eyes, and put his left hand over his face. East’s forehead creased in concern.
He’d never seen the General like this.
As they entered the house, Paul offered, "Road's flooded, General. Three, maybe
four foot of water's got it blocked for maybe a quarter mile. No way we're going
to get the Missus to the hospital right now. Phones are all out. 'Fraid we're
stuck here for a bit.
Heard on the shortwave that Coffs is pretty well cut off, too. Nobody gettin' in
or out. Where you want us to lay her?"
"On our bed," he said, knowing there was no way he himself could carry his wife
up the long flight of stairs. Holding onto the railing, dragging himself up each
step, he followed them to the master bedroom, Cort right behind. Pausing outside
the door, he put a hand on Cort's shoulder. "You have my thanks," he whispered,
"for everything."
Cort went down the hall to his own room, dropped his clothes in a muddy heap on
the bathroom floor, and stood for a while in the shower, letting hot water
stream over his head and body, watching vaguely as the muddy flow gurgled down
the drain and some sense of warmth seeped back into his bones. Drying himself
after a fashion, he walked across the carpet and fell, still naked, into bed,
asleep before his head hit the pillows.
Paul and Mac were hesitant to lay the muddy Joimus on the exquisite spread on
the large bed. Maximus pulled a quilt off a chair back to cover it. Not that he
himself was concerned with the spread at the moment, but he knew Joimus liked it
and for the sake of that alone he covered it.
"I can take it from here," he said, even his voice weary. "Thank you both."
Paul looked at the General, aware the man could barely stand, but this was his
wife and he had no right to offer advice. So he and Mac left for the stables to
help East with the three horses.
Maximus sat on the edge of the bed, cupping his hand around Joimus' cheek. She
roused again, blinking her eyes open, looking up at him. "I...," she began, but
then shivered.
"We must get these wet clothes off," he said, wanting only to lie beside her but
knowing there was more that must be done first. He felt very cold himself. They
were both completely filthy as well. "I should get a basin," he suggested,
thinking to wash her off a bit.
"I'm beyond that," she said, looking down her own torso. "Do...do you think...,"
she looked toward the open door of their bathroom, "that we could manage the
tub?"
He was surprised at her suggestion, but the thought of soaking in hot water
seemed good. "Just a moment," he said, going into the bathroom and starting
water running into the big tub. He stripped his clothes off, not an easy thing
as they clung wetly, sticky with mud, to his body, then came naked back to the
bed.
She looked at him, managing a weak smile. "You are a dirty General but you are,
even so, the most beautiful man I've ever seen."
Standing was a big effort, so he knelt beside the bed, pulling her boots off.
She tried to help with her clothes, but the strain of it made her grimace. When
her shirt was off, he saw a long bruise was forming over her right side. "As
soon as possible, we shall need to get that x-rayed."
"But now," she said, "we need to get this dirt off so we can sleep."
"Sleep," he repeated. "Ah, yes. Sleep."
With him supporting her, they managed to get to the bathroom and into the tub.
She lay against him as he washed her body, her hair, himself. The warm water
felt marvelous and he let the muddied fill flow out while they remained in the
tub, then refilled it with fresh, clean, warm water. He rested his head against
the edge of the tub and she lay atop him, the back of her head on his shoulder,
his arms around her. And they both slept.
…continued
