Her Education by Susan Katrinka Butler

Author:Susan Katrinka Butler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Publish on Demand Global LLC

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The early morning gray skies foretold morning and the young people stirred awake grudgingly. Sally coughed fitfully and opened one eye. “So, it’s another day, huh?” she whispered hoarsely.

Steve nodded, lying beside her, not moving otherwise, not wishing to get up just yet. He yawned deeply, settling for just five minutes more, but she nudged him while struggling upright. He moaned and stifling an oath, sat up. “Glutton for punishment, or what?” he grumbled.

She sighed, her lips curved in a crooked half smile, stretching twisted cramped muscles awake. Then she leaned on her elbows heavily, propping them behind her, and tried to wake up with a quick snap to her head. Even though half asleep, Steve grinned more pleasantly, allowing his eyes to feast on her figure clearly shown beneath the tightly drawn cotton of her shirt. He rolled reluctantly out of bed, stumbling to his feet, and offered a half grin. “There, I’m up,” he yawned with a stretch.

“So you are,” she agreed hollowly.

He shot her a glance in concern, and bent over to pick her up, but she shook her head. “I think I’ll try it on my own, if you’d hand me the cane?” He nodded shortly, faintly miffed, yet stood by to steady her if need be. She bit into her lip with a sharp intake of breath, but stood, unassisted by Steve. She cocked her head to him with a smile, however thin, and advised, “Well now, let me brush my teeth, ok? I’ll have coffee ready when you are.”

“Er, sure,” he agreed and peered at her carefully. “Sal? How are you?”

She shrugged. “I’ll live, I reckon,” she said a trifle breathlessly, and began her clump clump way down the hall.

By the time Steve had changed and washed, she indeed had coffee ready, as well as a warm breakfast. He sniffed deeply and grinned. “Thanks, Sal. Sure smells good.”

She managed a shallow smile and coughed. “Well, um, nothing fancy, but it’ll have to do, I guess. Have a sit.”

He crooked an ironic smile and sat.

After eating and washing up, together, Steve got ready to tackle chores. Sally surprised him by suiting up, slipping on her parka and stuffing hands into gloves and feet into galoshes. “Where do you think you’re going Sal?”

She grinned and seemed bright enough, though her face was noticeably pale. “To do chores, what else?” she quipped.

“Are you really up to it?” he doubted frankly.

“I think so, Steve. Gotta find out sometime, huh?”

He shook his head, but allowed her to proceed outside with some misgivings.

It was a glorious day, the sun just rising above the tree line to illuminate the crystalline whiteness of the snow covered earth. “I love the first snows,” she breathed softly, reverently. “It’s like a blanket that covers all the little imperfections man has inflicted on the land, making the world seem perfect as in the first creation.”

Steve stopped short, surprised at her prophetic state of mind, but he felt forced to look around him as she did in awe.

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