I was still prodding the last remnants of my limp dirty water bacon when Jiro came strolling into the room with a little duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
“Ready to go?”
Psh, I’ve been ready since yesterday.
I was already scooting my butt out of the bed before Jiro could even get all the way into the room.
He plunked the bag down on the foot of my bed.
“I brought you some outside clothes, so you don’t have to go home in pajamas.”
I pounced on the bag, not wanting to spend any more time at this stupid crappy food hospital than I absolutely had to. Unzipping the bag and up ending it on to the blankets, I started pawing through the stuff as fast as possible.
He hadn’t brought anything fancy. Just some sweatpants, a T shirt, undies, cheap tennies, and one great big lumpy bundle of cloth.
Army green cloth.
With an ugly plaid collar.
I gasped as I unfurled the fabric lump.
“My dad’s coat! I-I thought it was a goner.”
Jiro nodded.
“I took it to a tailor, tried to get some of the holes and tears fixed. It’s mostly patched up. There were a few spots that couldn’t be mended, but at least it’s not falling apart anymore. Though, with all the stitching and patches, the coat might be a little smaller than it used to be. Maybe it will fit you better now.”
I could not believe it. Dad’s coat! It was still alive and kicking.
Looking it over, I could see the cluster of stitched lines on the shoulders and back where a flock of zombie crows had attacked me. And there was now patches along the bottom hem that had been torn up, when a zombie tentacle monster had dragged me through the sewers. The dark stains from visiting the slaughter scene of a necromancer serial killer were still splattered and smeared all over the front, though they were way lighter than they used to be.
I was nearly tearing up. I hugged the coat that had been my partner, protector, and smelly, ugly chewed up friend for eight long years.
“Coaty!”
Jiro raised one eyebrow.
“You name your clothes?”
I hugged Coaty tighter.
“Of course, not. I name my dad’s clothes.”
Jiro just stood there blinking at me.
What?
With a pointing finger, I banished Jiro back out the door.
“Now vamoose, I need to get dressed.”
I took all of forty-seven seconds to throw clothes on.
I wanted to get gone.
Preferably gone to someplace to get real food.
Food as in chicken nuggets.
. . . and maybe some fries too.
I was still dancing on one foot, trying to wrestle my shoe on, when Jiro returned.
Jiro scowled a little at my frantic toe hopping.
“You don’t have to hurry Kari, no one is throwing you out.”
I was throwing me out.
Jiro huffed when I didn’t slow down.
“We still need to clean up all your stuff before we leave.”
I froze in mid-hop.
“Stuff? What stuff?”
I whipped my head all around, but it just looked like a bunch of hospital crap in here.
Jiro wandered over to a dresser and started pulling open drawers. I shuffled over and peeked in. it was full of jammies. It looked like there was an hair brush in there, and all sorts of fluffy socks I didn’t remember owning.
“That’s my stuff?”
Jiro nodded.
I scowled.
“What’s it doing here?”
He started pulling things out and folding them up.
“It’s where you were, Kari.”
But if I was asleep the whole time, did it really matter what I wore? I could have just worn hospital jammies and would have never noticed or cared.
As Jiro kept fluttering around the room, opening drawers and cabinets gathering up loot I didn’t know I had stashed here, I finally gave up on the idea of making a hasty escape.
(Sigh)
I snagged the duffel off the bed and started packing up the stuff in the dresser. I folded up the jammies and started stuffing them into the bag. The first thing I grabbed was some sleep shorts that were yellow and black striped with a little ruffle around the leg cuff.
Hmm, did I have pajamas like this?
When I got to folding up the matching T shirt top I knew something was off.
"These aren't mine."
Jiro looked up from his tidying.
"Yes they are."
I held up the very not mine T shirt. It had a chubby smiley bumble bee on the front with the words 'Sweeter than Honey'.
"This is mine?"
Jiro winced.
"I think Noah bought that for you."
I frowned down at the jammy top. It's not that I hated it or anything, it was just weird. The last thing I remembered, I was the one buying clothes for Noah. When had things gotten so turned around?
I wadded up the top and stuffed it in the bag next to the shorts. For the first time, I was actually feeling kind of nervous to head home.
What else had changed?
The bus ride home was slow and quiet. It was a little before lunch time on a work day, so I guess that makes sense. Jiro was the only one that came to get me. I guess everyone else was busy at work or daycare or whatever.
There was no reason for them to come and pick me up or welcome me home, it was fine.
We didn’t really talk on that bus ride. Just every so often Jiro would rub my head and ask me again if I was feeling alright. Of course, I would always flash him a smile and a thumbs up.
“Feeling good, Uncle Jiro.”
Or at least good enough to not want to go back to the hospital with it’s nasty dirty water flavored food, that’s for damn sure.
The bus let us off a few blocks away from home, and we had to hoof it the rest of the way. Having snoozed in bed for the past four months, I wasn’t really up for much walking.
Damn, somehow I’m even more out of shape.
I was huffing and puffing before we even got to our street.
Jiro had to stop again to wait for me.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to carry you? I can carry you, Kari.”
No way. I didn’t want Uncle Jiro thinking I was too sickly and drag me back to that damn hospital. One day of that lumpy bed and nasty food was enough.
Between gasping breaths I shook my head.
“Nope (gasp, pant) I got this Uncle Jiro (pant, wheeze) I’m fine (gasp! gasp!) thanks.”
It wasn’t until we rounded the corner of our street, and I stumbled half a block, that I noticed the bundles of balloons tied to the building up ahead of us.
As I limped closer, I saw more and more bright streamers fluttering in the breeze. When we finally got up to the tan two story cement block building that we called home, I found it in all it’s glory. A giant banner in purple and yellow with glittery star stickers all over it saying, “Welcome Home Kar”.
I tilted my head to one side and squinted at it.
“Welcome home car?”
Considering our apartment was over a chop shop, that kind of worked, but . . .
Jiro grumbled behind me.
“The banner ended up longer than we were expecting. The “I” is around the corner, taped to the alley.”
Even if the banner was totally home made, and kind of janky, I couldn’t help but smile.
And then the time for a peaceful moment of happiness was over, because the staircase leading into the building and our upper apartment was suddenly roaring with dozens of footsteps as an entire family was pushing, shoving and storming out of the apartment.
“Kari!”
Noah, of course, was the first one to hit the pavement. He was blitzing towards me so fast I actually flinched before the impact. He wrapped his arms around me, scooping me up in a hug that was a little too tight for comfort. I could hear everyone happily squawking around us.
Wow, they all stayed to welcome me home? And decorate everything and stuff? I tried to bury my big goofy grin that probably made me look like an idiot in Noah’s shoulder, but suddenly there was some very nice lips in the way.
And I didn’t mind that at all.
Mmm, Noah’s kisses were very nice.
Reno’s voice sounded way too close.
“Damn Noah, leave some teeth in her skull!”
Oh crap, I totally forgot where we were, and where everyone else was. I winced, ready for the twin tackle and watching Noah get dragged away . . . and that totally didn’t happen.
Instead Noah held that kiss for a moment longer. As he pulled away he whispered against my lips.
“Welcome Home Kari.”
Feeling a little panicky, I whipped my head around to the little crowd around us. But no one seemed all that angry. Everyone just seemed to think that me and Noah kissing was totally cool for some reason and no big deal.
Well, everyone but Jiro.
He was scowling like crazy, but he wasn’t trying to chop Noah’s arms off, so that was a major improvement.
And then everyone was scooping me up in a hug. Tina was being carried in Angie’s arms and she wrapped her arms around my neck. The twins wrapped their arms around my head, Angie covered the shoulders, Noah wrapped his arms around my waist and Jiro wrapped around everyone.
Okay, I have to admit, it was kind of smothering being completely covered with zombie arms, but it was also really sweet.
Within moments I was bundled up and cuddle/shoved up the stairs, down the hall, and up to the door to our apartment.
They only broke up once we hit the door, because there was no way our whole mass was going to fit through the doorway.
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