Days of Love and Blood

agitated but I let a small laugh escape.
    “Old habits die hard?”
    “Damnit, Carson, I’m being serious. You could’ve left Ronan motherless.” I could see the anger festering underneath contorted facial muscles but she leaned over and kissed me on the forehead anyway and then left the room without another word. A few minutes later, Ronan and Cooper were in the doorway.
    “They’re gone now. D’ya need anythin’?”
    “I’m fine. Actually, maybe you could do me a favor.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I have a bunch of food out in the trailer.”
    “S aw that.”
    “I was going to keep a third of it and give the rest to you guys. Could you divide it up for me? If it’s not too much trouble?”
    “I can do that.”
    “Feel free to eat anything you want. Ronan, don’t bother Cooper, alright? Can you do that, babe?”
    “Don’t you worry,” Cooper said before Ronan could answer. “He’ll be fine. I’ll make sure he eats, too.”
    I stayed in bed for the rest of the day. Cooper came in to check on me every hour, right on schedule. When night fell, I let Ronan fall asleep next to me while we watched another Disney movie together on the small bedroom television. Cooper came in halfway through and gently lifted Ronan’s limp body and carried him away to his bedroom. He came back a few minutes later and held onto the top of the doorframe, lifting his shirt slightly. My eyes naturally veered to the exposed peek of taut skin above his belt for a brief second.
    “Anything else y’need?”
    “Triple shot of whiskey on the rocks would be nice.”
    Cooper briefly chuckled in agreement. “Sorry, ma’am. No alcohol for you. Doctor’s orders. Maybe ‘nother time.”
    “Then I think I’ll just sleep. Thanks, Cooper. Seriously, thank you. For everything.”
    “I’ll b e on the couch downstairs. Jus’ make some noise if y’need me. I’ll leave the door open a bit.”

    Gretchen woke me up promptly at seven in the morning. I found that I felt much better and was able to get out of bed and walk around. The intense pain which had strangled my lungs the day before had dulled to a superficial sting around my waist. After we agreed that I would most likely live, we ventured downstairs toward the smell of breakfast and brewed coffee.
    “Mom!” Ronan squealed. “Pancakes!”
    “You cooked?”
    “If you can call it that,” Cooper said as he put down a short stack in front of Ronan who was already armed with syrup. “Instant mix.” He gave me a brief up and down look with a lopsided smile. “She lives. Coffee?”
    “Absolutely, thanks.”
    “Gretchen?”
    “I’d love a cup.”
    He poured two steaming cups on the table and when he turned his back I caught Gretchen with one raised eyebrow, purposefully smirking in my direction. I didn’t understand his mood swings either. Maybe he was one of those bipolar people, although I’ve never put too much weight into any of that psychobabble bullshit. I always thought that by giving the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde routine a proper medical term, it simply provided people with an excuse to behave like jerks.
    After breakfast, Cooper silently washed the dishes while Gretchen told me what it had been like at her hospital in Festus, Missouri during the initial outbreak. She was a new nurse, still wet behind the ears. She described a scene from a horror movie. The hospital turned into a blood bath with several people killing patients, doctors, orderlies, everyone. She and a few other workers had locked themselves in the children’s ward. A button at the nurse’s station was the only way to open the doors but they blocked the entrances with gurneys as a protective measure. After a few days, they had to leave in order to find food.
    “Seven of the children in the wing got sick while we were locked in and died quickly. I had two twin boys in my arms when we left. They had a rare blood disease; weren’t more than four years old. They kept asking for their mom and dad.” Gretchen cleared her throat and didn’t bother to blink away the tears. Cooper had stopped banging dishes around in the sink and had his head slightly turned as if he was trying to listen. He wasn’t looking at me or Gretchen; he wasn’t looking at anything.
    “ I had their hospital records stuffed into my pocket and we went looking for their home. I found the house, but the parents were gone. Everyone was gone. The boys felt a little better being at home so I decided to stay there with them. By