34 – This Gift, This Curse

 

 

Kevin woke the next morning to the smell of bacon cooking. As he eased his way out of bed, he realized he was feeling better than he had the night before. Not great, his ribs ached and he was aware of the other bruises, but he could move without wanting to groan. Once I take my meds, I should be okay.

 

After a hot shower, he got dressed for the day in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt over a T-shirt then headed to the kitchen.

 

"How are you feeling?" Mira asked, as she put the bacon strips on a paper towel to drain.

 

"Hungry, achy, hungry." He saw his pills on the counter and took two of them after getting a glass of water. "These should help the aches, but not the hunger," he said with a grin.

 

"Then sit and eat, silly boy." She divided the bacon between their two plates, added scrambled eggs and toast, and set the plates on the table. As they started to eat, she asked, "Are you sure you're ready to go back to class?"

 

Kevin nodded. "Better that than sitting around here feeling sorry for myself. And honest, I'm okay. I might not look so great but that's not going to keep me from doing what I always do."

 

"All right. I just… I feel guilty about going home and leaving you here, alone."

 

"I'm not going to be alone. I have the feeling Will and Mick are going to make sure of that."

 

She chuckled. "Which you won't mind at all, at least as far as Mick is concerned."

 

"Mom!" He shook his head. "First off, he's a cop. Well, an almost cop. Secondly, he's probably got more boyfriends than the law allows and for sure wouldn't be interested in a college freshman."

 

"A very nice, sweet freshman."

 

"Mother…" He drew out the word, hoping she'd drop the subject. Sure Mick seemed nice, and he didn't mind the idea of having someone around who would accept him for what he was, but that was it. I have too much else to deal with. I don't even need to be thinking along the lines she's implying.

 

She did drop the subject, finished eating, and went into the living room to fold up the sheet and blanket she'd left on the sofa where she'd spent the night. After a quick shower, she reappeared in the kitchen, dressed in jeans and a shirt, her dark hair twisted up in a knot at the nape of her neck.

 

"We should get moving; it's almost nine," she said. "I called a cab and we still have to do our thing with Will and Mick."

 

Kevin quickly gathered up the dirty dishes, leaving them in the sink for later. After they both had put on their coats, he carefully slung his backpack over one shoulder, grabbed her suitcase, and they headed down to the lobby.