Free Cheapskate in Love by Skittle Booth Page A

should be here...”
    “No. No ambulance,” he interrupted. “I don’t need an
ambulance. I’m fine. I just need to rest. I’ll be OK, if I just get some rest.”
    “Bill, don’t be stubborn,” Helen warned. “You’re hurt, and
you should see a doctor to make sure there’s no serious damage.”
    “I’m all right,” Bill replied. “I just had a little fall. It
was nothing. You can go now. Thanks for checking on me. I’ll lock up behind
you.”
    He started to move sideways on the bed to reach the edge. He
wiggled his legs, then his rear, then his shoulders, repeating the process
again and again, until he could swing his legs off the bed and stand up. He
moved as fast as a caterpillar.
    “Don’t try to move,” she said. “Just lie there. No, don’t
move. You don’t need to get up. We have the keys. Don’t move.” Helen attempted
to hold him on the bed with gentle, coaxing pressure, but Bill brusquely swung
his legs, and the rest of his body rolled off after them, because he was unable
to lift his torso. It hurt his back too much to try to rise into a sitting
position. He was also too weak to grab onto the bed and catch himself. Helen
tried to push him back from falling, but he was too heavy, and she was too
mild-mannered. He fell to the floor on his side with a firm thud.
    Kneeling next to him, she asked, “Are you OK? Bill, are you
OK? I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop you.”
    Shaking off the slight daze from the impact of another fall,
he groaned, “Oh, my back, my back.”
    “Let’s get you up on the bed again. It’s more comfortable,”
she urged.
    “No. Let me lie here,” he told her, trying to move into a
more comfortable position. “I’m— ow !— I’m fine. Lock the door behind you when you go. I’ll
be all right. Ow !”
    “Let me help you get on your back,” she said. “That would be
better.” He didn’t resist, as she pushed and pulled him with both of her hands,
until he lay flat on his back.
    That position brought some relief to the invalid, and he lay
on the floor without more struggle .
    “If you don’t want a doctor, at least let me get you some
pain medication,” she suggested.
    Bill paused to consider what she said. On the one hand, he
did not want to appear dependent on the assistance of others. In his mind, that
would be an indication of age and weakness. On the other hand, he really needed
the medicine.
    “OK. Extra strength aspirin would be good,” he said.
    “I have some codeine,” she offered.
    “Even better,” he replied. The thought of receiving a
powerful, pharmaceutical drug made him feel as if he was already starting to
recover.
    “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back,” she advised.
Standing up, she hastened out of his apartment. Jonathan left with her, locking
the door behind.
    When Bill was sure they were gone, he felt his strength
return. In reality, it was his pride, masquerading as strength,
that came back. He decided to show them that they had merely caught him
at a bad moment. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He didn’t
need any pain medication. He certainly didn’t need any kind words. He would be
standing at the door when Helen came back with the codeine, and he would wave her
away, saying she should find a suitable subject for her well-meaning charity.
    But there was a slight hitch in his plans: It was still
extremely painful for him to move. Despite yelling and cursing so loudly that
residents up and down the hallway outside his apartment could hear, and even
people at the swimming pool turned to look in his direction, wondering if
someone was being murdered, Bill could only raise, push, and pull himself back
onto the bed. There he lay, trembling, sweating, and panting, waiting like a
wounded animal for Helen to return.

Chapter 10
     

 
    An hour later, Bill was sleeping soundly on his bed. He had
taken the codeine pills from Helen, with very little show of self-reliant pride.
In fact, because he only had