Day 28

Charlotte takes off the bandages while I lay back on the bed. It doesn't hurt as bad as before and so I fidget idly with a pen that had been left on a bed side table in another life. She drips water on the gauze that is touching my skin to help peel it off without tearing tissue, or leaving pieces of gauze on or in my wound. Finally, she takes the rest off and I am able to look at the thing. It is deep and red with pink around the edges from a slight infection. She gets some saline solution and a clean rag and presses it onto the bites. It doesn't hurt as much. I wince at the pressure but it is soon relieved as the cloth settles.

"Thanks," I say, looking down at my leg. "It's good we ran into you."

"Thanks for letting me tag along," she says looking at me, smiling. She drops the subject though and lets me know she'll need to disinfect it.

"That's fine." I can tell there is some puss on the wound, indicating an infection and so allow her to painfully apply Neosporin to my leg, tracing the outside and then putting some one the wound. That hurt, but I fought down the urge to pull my leg away. Soon there was a new bandage and the pain subsided. Walking isn't too bad now. Although I am far from healed the pain has gone down significantly. Either that or I am getting use to it. Regardless, I am glad there is less pain and I am able to move around without wincing with each step.

I chuckle as I leave the room I'd been in, Charlotte staying behind, and Chad passes me on his way to have Charlotte look at his hand. He rolls his eyes, saying, "Doctors visits," and goes into the room.

I find Dawn quietly reading a book she'd brought back from a book store while she was away the day before. The book is The Alchemist, and she said she was reading it because she never finished it because of, "the world ending." Both of our boys are napping and have been for about an hour. I find it ironic that our routines are so similar to those when we lived at our home. The kids take a nap at relatively the same time and while they do Dawn relaxes. She has kept them on a good eating schedule, as well, and I find myself enjoying the structure she's brought. I enjoy being able to relax in this hospital. Admittedly, I would like more light. But there are several large windows scattered around, giving enough light to live comfortably in. There are some candles spread around the rooms for night, but none are lit now.

"Hey," I say to her as I sit by her. There is a book nearby that she had grabbed for me. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. I'd read it once before, and was enjoying it a second time through.

"Hi," she says back, still reading her book.

"You know, I thought that naps like this would have stopped with something like this. I'm kinda impressed."

"They're tired, so . . ."

"You remember taking them to the dinosaur museum?" I say, "just before you all left? When we get back to Utah, I want to take them there again. Connor really loved it there and . . . I think they still need those types of experiences where we can provide them."

She puts her book down and looks at me, "I think his favorite part was really the sucker we bought him afterwards. You remember? It took him like, five minutes to decide between blue and red."

I laugh. It was a fun day. "I remember that discovery room. He loved that flag that you could make go up and down. He was so curious and so active."

"Yeah," Dawn says, sadly, "they both were. No kid should have to grow up in a world like this. They, above all people deserve a better world. It isn't until you grow up and cynicism creeps in or you have to get a job that is going no where, or even when you start getting involved in politics that a life like this doesn't surprise you. You expect things to be bad."

"I know." That's all I seem to be able to say.

Some minutes later Connor comes walking out of his room, rubbing his eyes, groggily. He sees us and runs over to us, he says, "I missed you!" and "I love you!" to both of us and my heart breaks for him. He deserves a better life. One that we cannot provide for him, but at that moment, I think Dawn and I both realized the type of parents we needed to be. We needed to teach him, keep his curiosity alive, and show him that we love him. He's growing up in a different world and we need to adapt to that world to give him the best possible life. We need to show him that there is still beauty out there.

I grab him under the arms and throw him up in the air in my enthusiasm. He wiggles as I catch him and fights me doing it again, saying, "No! Don't do that. Connor groggy." I smile and hold him in my arms.

"I love you, Connor," I say, and sitting back down he reaches for his Mom. We play with him and his younger brother the rest of the day. These last few days have been the best I can remember. Despite the zombie breaking into the building, or that man who had threatened us. There is peace in staying in one place, especially after moving so often. It is a normal day. No zombies, no guns and no fighting. I think I'll hang onto this day for some time.