Day 3 of Brandon coming home from being an exchange student in France. Luke is coming home from the hospital today. How will he adjust to his new circumstances. This whole chapter will be Day 3. To keep this site free, donate at https://www.nifty.org/
Chapter 6
About 7:00am, Sam the orderly comes in and we wake up. "Luke, I see on your chart that you had a bad rash last night and I have to clean and apply some medicinal ointment on your affected areas. I'll keep you covered as much as possible as I do your face, arms, legs and chest but I will have to do your private area too. I also need to clean you up. I'm sorry if this will make you uncomfortable, but..."
Luke cuts him off. "Oh for Pete's sake! You Americans are so hung up on nudity." He grabs the sheet and asks, "Brandon. Help me take this thing off."
We take the sheet completely off. Luke says, "Okay, let's do this."
Sam cleans and applies ointment to the areas of interest. Luke is monitoring the progress and asks, "I haven't bathed in a couple days now, so can you wash up that area good for me, please, Sam? It won't bother me."
Sam nods his head. "I wish all teenagers were as easy going as you. It would sure make my life easier. Wait...aren't you an American Luke?"
"Yes," Luke says. "I'm an American with a heavy French influence".
Sam cleans up around his balls and groin. He washes his penis and retracts his foreskin to clean under there good. He also drys him good. He asks me to help move Luke on his left side so he can care for his back side. We do it carefully not to hurt Luke. I hold him in position while Sam cleans and applies lotion to two spots on Luke's left cheek. He then has me pull back his right cheek so he can clean his butt pucker. That's weird. That's the first time to see someone's hole.
Upon further inspection, I say, "Hey Luke! You have about six hairs in your butt crack. You have more hairs in your butt than you do on your balls? Ha Ha!" He gets me back though.
"I also have more hairs in my butt than you have on your chest, so laugh it up."
We are then able to put the gown back on him. Luke extends his hand to Sam, "Thanks Sam for all your help. I appreciate it."
Sam accepts his handshake and says, "You're a fine young man, Luke. I wish you well in your recovery. Now in a few minutes, your breakfast will be here. The doctor will make one last assessment of your condition and you'll be on your way home before lunch. I'm off work now and I wish you the best." He leaves.
His breakfast arrives and I cut up the food in bite size pieces. "I got this." Luke said to me and then proceeded to feed himself. There was still some "french toast" and eggs left when Luke finished. He offered me the rest. I gladly accepted since they didn't bring me breakfast.
I grab the fork and Luke stops me. "Nah uh. This time I get to feed you." I thought he was kidding but he held the fork and waited for me to open up. I give up and open my mouth.
"Here comes the choo choo." Luke says as he is waving the fork in the air. I felt like I was three. He's having fun and that's what matters most to me. Then he gets another fork full of french toast and now he makes an airplane sound and I follow it going all around until he gets it in my mouth. I gobble it up and I hear a noise behind me.
"I'm glad I got that on video." Oh my gosh, it's my mom with my dad. She continues, "That was just precious."
Luke starts to laugh. "Ha! Ha!! Ow!! My rib. Ow!" Luke is laughing hard enough that he has to hold his side. I pretend to be annoyed. I do blush a little. Then we are all laughing. I then say to Luke, "You're not done yet!" Then I open my mouth like a baby bird waiting for more food.
Luke says to our parents, "I'll be right with you...I have to finish feeding my baby big brother." I get another big bite and I clap my hands.
"All right you two.....," our mom says as she gives us both a kiss on the cheek. Luke gives me the fork and I finish feeding myself.
I get up so Mom can take the seat and she holds Luke's hand. Dad stands on the other side of him and kisses his head. Being on the cast side, all Dad really can do is play with or rather pet Luke's hair.
I finish the food and ask Mom, "So where is Chrissy?"
"She is with a really nice nurse by the name of Cindy. I think they are looking at some teddy bears. She'll be here shortly."
Dad speaks to my brother, "I'm glad you are in good spirits this morning, Luke. I hear you had a rough night."
"Yeah it was pretty rough. But with my brother by my side, I wasn't scared." He looks at me, "I don't know what I would've done if he wasn't here." I smile and I give him a wink.
The room is silent. After a moment I place my hand on his shin, "I'll always be here for you Luke. One way or another. If I can't physically be there, I will be in spirit....or maybe Zoom."
He smiles. "I know that, now. I really do. Dad?" He says, "Can you give Brandon a big hug for me? And a kiss?"
"You bet!" Dad says and comes over to me and gives me a big hug. He turns his head and gives me a kiss on my cheek without breaking the embrace. When we do, I say to Luke, "You give good hugs." Then my dad says, "That one was from Luke, and this one is from me."
He very tenderly pulls me to him into a very sweet embrace and we fill every gap with our bodies. We hold each other tight. After a minute or two, he pulls me back far enough so that he can look into my eyes. "I have never loved you more than I do right now." He then kisses me on both cheeks and then on the lips, and back into the hug. You know what? I wasn't the least bit surprised.
I notice that Dr. Heiner, has entered the room. I give Dad another kiss on the cheek and I tell him, "I love you more, Dad"
The doctor speaks, "Mr. Davenport? You really need to come over to my house. I'd even pay you."
Not waiting for a reply, The doctor greets Luke. "Hey there, young man. How are you feeling this morning?" Again he doesn't wait for an answer. He does that a lot. "I read your chart and I see that you had a reaction to the Amoxicillin."
Right then the nurse brings Chrissy into the room and she sits on her mom's lap.
Dr. Heiner gets out his stethoscope and puts it on Luke's chest. "Breath in and hold. Now breath out." He moves the stethoscope and repeats his request, well, his order. He has him sit up and moves the stethoscope to his back. "Just breathe normally."
"Your lungs sound good. Are you having any trouble breathing now!" He asks Luke.
Luke answers, "Last night I was short of breath, but this morning I'm feeling fine. It only hurts when I laugh. Ha Ha, Ow!"
The doctor then tells us, "I need to do a full body check on Luke, so if you don't mind waiting outside."
Mom takes Chrissy outside and says that she is going to find a candy machine and give Chrissy a treat. Chrissy shouts, "Yea!!!"
Luke looks at me and Dad. "Dad? You and Brandon can stay. It's okay."
Dad looks surprised but says, "OK., if you're sure?" Luke nods.
"Very well." Dr. Heiner says. "First I need to remove your gown."
He unties the back, then slips his left arm through the sleeve and takes it off over the cast. The sheet is still around Luke's waist. He feels his skin where he had the rashes and looks him over thoroughly. He removes the sheet and it doesn't faze Luke. Dad raises his eyebrows when he sees his naked son. I doubt he has seen him naked since he was a young kid. The doctor inspects his legs and groin and even lifts his balls to check underneath.
"I need you to stand up now, Luke. Kevin, can you and Brandon each take a side and help stand him up so I can inspect his back side." It didn't seam like a question, so Dad didn't answer. He stood up and nodded to me. The doctor was then able to check out the rashes that were on Luke's bum.
"See right here?" Dr. Heiner says to my dad pointing to Luke's left butt cheek. "There's still a little rash here. It's taken longer to clear up because he has been laying on it. Later today, check it to see if it is better. Here, I'll show you.
The doctor feels Luke's butt. "See? It's smooth here, but you can feel little bumps here. This should be smooth like the rest of his bottom. Here you feel." Dad feels it and nods to the doctor.
With all the attention to Luke's butt, he does chub up a little. "I gotta pee guys." Luke says to all of us. I grab the urinal and I put it in front of him and since he's grown a little, I don't have to insert "it" manually. It just goes straight in. "Let `er loose, bro." I say.
Luke lets loose and since he doesn't have to make sure it goes where it's supposed to go, he closes his eyes and leans his head back and lets out a sigh. "Ahh...Much better."
Dad and I help Luke get his underwear and shorts on and he sits in the wheel chair. Dr. Heiner puts the gown back on him since he got his shirt cut off and the `rents didn't think to bring him a shirt. The doc said that we could keep it and it would probably come in handy at home.
Mom and Chrissy came back and the doctor gave us his walking papers and instructions. He said that if there was a problem to call him and gave Dad his personal cell phone number.
Dr. Heiner asked Dad, "I'm serious about having you come over and help me understand my teenagers better. If I tell them no, they do it anyway. If I ask them to do something, they don't do it. They just don't have any respect. I'm at my wits end. When I see your family, I see kids that love and respect their parents and each other. Brandon is so kind and affectionate to his brother. Luke openly loves him back. I really like Luke. He is a fine young man. I can tell that they both love their sister as well. What is your secret?"
Dad replies. "Well Dr. Heiner..." He is stopped by the doc. "Please, Kevin. Call me Dave."
"Okay Dave. There really isn't a secret. All parents and kids are different. They have different experiences and opportunities. We have had our struggles, believe me. But, there is a common core. I'd love to come by and observe your family and then make some suggestions."
Dave asks, "It might really be helpful if one of your boys came over too".
"I think your right." Kevin says.
"Well, let's get your boy home, and call if you have any concerns. Any concerns! I mean that!"
They shake hands and we wheel Luke out to the car and help him get in. Even though I called, shotgun, Luke still got to sit up front. Even Mom had to sit in the back seat. I sit in the middle and have my arms around both my favorite girls. Mom and Chrissy cuddle up next to me.
I say to Luke, "So! How is it up there in the front seat all alone?" Chrissy puts her head on my chest and hugs me around the belly and mocks Luke. "Yeah, it's sure cozy back here Luke. You look soo lonely!"
Luke tells me, "Brandon? Only you can make sitting cramped in the back seat look fun. I hate you." He wasn't really upset.
I say teasingly, "You're just jealous! You have all the leg room, but we have all the sugar!"
"Yeah!!" Says Chrissy.
"Chrissy?" I ask. "Would you like some more sugar?"
Chrissy says, "Yes please." So I kiss her on top of her head like 5 times in a row.
Then Mom whines, "I want some sugar too." I kiss the top of her head too, many times. Then like it was planned, we all stick our tongues out at Luke.
He rolls his eyes and says to Dad, "Daddy! There making fun of me and having fun without me!" We all laugh but Luke has to hold his side because laughing makes his rib hurt.
Chrissy then speaks up. "Daddy? Can we get ice cream?"
Dad says, "I think you guys in the back have had enough sugar for one day." He nudges Luke. "We could get some ice cream since we didn't get any sugar."
Luke says, "Yeah, we could now couldn't we?" Then he turns to us and this time it's his turn to stick out his tongue.
Dad says, "All right everyone. We've had enough fun. Luke, do you feel up to getting some ice cream cones?"
Luke is holding his arm and is wincing a little. "I'd like to Dad, but I'm hurting some and I'd just like to get home and take a pain pill and go to bed." The rest of the ride home was somber.
We get home and Dad and I help Luke get in the house and into bed. The A/C hasn't been turned on yet and it's a little stuffy in there. Luke wants the gown off to be more comfortable. It was the only thing he had on right now. I turn the ceiling fan on medium and Dad covers him with just a sheet. I take one of my two pillows and place it under his arm like nurse Cindy showed me. Mom brings him a pain pill, he takes it, and then thanks her. She kisses his forehead, then cups his cheek. She tells him to get some rest.
I chuck my shirt, shoes and pants and lay on top of my bed enjoying the breeze from the fan. I say to Luke, "We had a long night last night and I'm pretty tired too. Before I take a nap, is there anything you need first?"
Luke thinks for a second and then the corners of his mouth curl upward. "I think my blood sugar level is low. Do you think I could get some sugar?"
I smile. "I think I still have some sugar left." I kneel by the side of his bed and tenderly hug him on his left side, careful not to touch his rib. When I sit up, I'm start playing with his hair, then push it out of the way. I kiss his forehead twice. After a moment of just looking in his eyes, I get up and lay down on my bed. I think we fell asleep about the same time.
Luke's POV
I wake up groggy by the sound of Dad's voice. "Luke, are you awake?"
"What? Oh...ah how long have I been asleep?
Dad answers, "Oh, about 4 hours. Do you feel up for a visitor?"
I focus my eyes on Dad and I see someone else. It's Grayson! Still a little groggy, I say, "Sure! Come on in, Graystone."
Grayson is acting a little timid. I'm not sure why. He does look at my brother on the other bed all spread eagle in his revealing French underwear. Then he looks back to me and comes to the side of my bed.
"Ah, hi Luke. How ah, how are you?" He asks softly. Why is he acting this way. "I ah wanted to see you and see how you were doing. I, um, I was really worried about you, and I feel really bad that you got hurt. I'm so sorry! If I wasn't so ticklish..."
Crap! He is taking the blame for my injuries. It's not his fault. He's my best friend. I don't want him to feel he's to blame, and take the burden of what happened. I have to cut him off before this goes any further.
"Grayson, Stop! Listen to me! This is not your fault! You are not to blame! It was an accident. An accident!! Do you hear me?"
"I hear you," I hear Brandon say. He sits up and rubs the sleep out of his eyes. "Oh -- Hey Grayson. I'm glad you came over. It's good to see you."
He stands up and shakes Grayson's hand. He stretches and his whole body is on display. We can see the hair in his armpits, the muscles in his chest, and his manhood barely contained in a small piece of fabric. Grayson looks at him fast up and down and I can tell he is uncomfortable.
Brandon doesn't care, after all, he's French now.
While stretching, Brandon smells odor coming from under his arms. He announces, "Man! I need a shower." He walks out of the room and to the bathroom. Now Grayson and I are alone.
"Did you hear what I said? It's not you fault!" I tell him once again.
"But.."
"But, nothing!" I say. "Except that you are a butt-munch!" Grayson smiles a little. I continue. "Listen, You are my best friend. You are a kind, caring person. It's okay to feel bad...I feel bad this happened. My parents, brother and sister feel bad, but they don't have guilt. Neither should you. So you need to get over this, now. If you don't, then I'll feel bad. I don't want to feel worse than I already do. Do you want me to feel worse?"
"Of course not, Luke." Grayson says.
"Good!" I say. "Then it's settled." I see him take a big breath and lets it out. He looks relieved like a great weight was taken off of his chest.
He smiles and asks, "So, did you see any cute nurses?" I get a big grin on my face. "You did! You dog, tell me. I want details."
"Well, I did have this one nurse that let me call her by her first name; Cindy. She was really sweet and pretty. Brandon said that he thinks she was about 25...."
I hear another voice, "What does Brandon think?"
Brandon just walked in and shut the door. He was just wearing a towel. Grayson turns to see who spoke and Brandon just takes his towel off and is drying his hair. This was a surprise. I know that Brandon doesn't have modesty issues anymore, but this was quite a shock. Both Grayson and my eyes go straight to his groin. I hadn't seen him naked since he went through puberty. At least he didn't see us stare at him because the towel was covering his eyes. He has seen me naked and now I have seen him. He is much bigger now. We have about the same length, but he is thicker and has bigger balls. But he doesn't have much hair down there. I guess he likes to keep things neat and trim. Also the big difference is that he is circumcised and I'm not.
"Ahh...What?" I forgot what he has asked.
He is now drying off his back. "When I walked in here, I heard you said that I thought something,"
"Oh yeah. Um I was talking about nurse Cindy and I told Grayson that you thought she was about 25."
"Yeah. 25 and sexy. Ha Ha. But really, she was really nice and treated you well and professional. I liked her. Actually all the staff and doctors were really nice too." He smiles. I know that look. Crap! "Even the guy that gave you a bath was really nice too."
Grayson lifts his eyebrows and says, "What? I didn't hear about this."
Brandon is done drying and just has the towel around his neck and his hands on his hips. I shoot him a mean look. "Fine!!! But first Grayson, you have to understand that I had multiple injuries that needed to be assessed. I was really embarrassed the first number of times people saw me naked. I really had to pee and Brandon was the only one that could help me. He put me at ease and didn't make a big deal out of it or even make fun of me. Then the X-Ray technician, two orderlies, and doctor all saw me."
Brandon is now just sitting on his bed, still not bothering to cover himself. He did tell me that in France, he and his French brothers would just hang out naked at home if it was a hot day or night.
I continue my story and Grayson is really paying attention. "Then I got a reaction to my medicine and got a rash all around my body. Nurse Cindy yanked my covers off and inspected me all over the place. Then the night doctor examined me everywhere in front of the nurse. Then the nurse had to apply ointment on me and check on my condition often. By then, I was over it. I didn't care who saw me. Sam the orderly gave me a bath and I just let him. He was nice. I didn't even care that my dad saw me when I had to get dressed."
I then have a familiar feeling in my lower gut. I say, "Hey Grayson. Hand me that urinal." He slowly hands it to me and I say, "Hold on a second." In one motion, I take my left hand, grab the sheet and pull it aside exposing myself to the daylight. I take the urinal and thank him and I start to pee in it. Grayson is about 3 shades of pink and 4 shades of red, with his mouth open. He is staring at my dick in unbelief.
"It's no big deal, Graystone." I say to try to put him at ease. "You Americans are so hung up about nudity! I've got a dick. Brandon has one, obviously, and I don't know, but I assume you got one too. We're all pretty much the same."
Defensively, Grayson says, "Of course I have a dick. But I don't have to show it off to the world to prove it!"
I'm done peeing and Brandon stands up and takes the urinal away and with a tissue he wipes the tip, and wipes up some pee that got on my balls. He covers me back up and puts on some underwear himself.
I think Grayson was then relieved. He said, "Man! This has been really weird. You're right about us being the same, but this is going to take time to wrap my mind around this."
Just then Mom comes in with some snacks. "Hello boys, I brought some goodies for you all to snack on. Luke honey? How do you feel? Do you need another pain pill?"
"I think I'm doing fine for now, Mom."
"Oh, I almost forgot. I need to check the rash on your bum." She said. "Brandon, you can help me turn Luke to one side." Then she asked me if I wanted Grayson to wait outside. "No Mom. He can stay. He's seen a penis before." We laugh and I have to hold my side, "Ow!"
Mom quips, "Now you know why they say that it hurts to laugh."
She feels my bum and says that it's looking really good. I say, "I know my bum looks real good, but how is the rash?" I then regret that because it made me laugh. "Ow Ow Ow!"
"Serves you right, smart-alack." Then she smacks my behind, on the non rash side. "Ouch!" Brandon and Grayson are laughing out loud. Mom leaves.
Brandon goes over to the food and says, "Oh look! Grapes, cheese, salami, mini quiches and oh look Luke, your favorite. Mini corn dogs!" He fills his plate along with a soda and invites Grayson to grab a plate of grub and he does. Brandon says, "Grayson grab a soda and you can sit next to me on my bed." I think I just saw Brandon wink to him.
These Bozos didn't even make a plate for me. I see what they are doing and I'm not going to fall for it. They are savoring the food and making a big production out of it. Licking their fingers and oohing and ahhing over the snacks. I take a sip of my water I have by me, and I make a satisfying sigh and say, "That was good, but now I'm really tired." I turn my head on my pillow and close my eyes and pretend to go into a deep sleep.
I can't look but I'm sure I rained on their parade. A couple of minutes pass and I can hear Grayson whisper to Brandon. "Do you think he is really asleep?" I hear Brandon get up, then sit back down after a moment.
"I'm not sure." He whispers back to Grayson. "You probably know him better than I do. I was gone a whole year, and the years before that, I didn't care...I didn't want to...I...I just, ..."
"Brandon. You're doing it again. If you dwell on the past, you miss out on the present. You learn from your mistakes and move on. You are here now, and that is what matters."
I wonder if I should say, "Gotcha" or not. I let it go too far, and now it would be weird if I told them I was faking it. I'll just listen for a little while longer and decide then.
"But, but what I just did now wasn't nice either." Brandon says to Grayson. "I thought it would be fun to eat the food in front of him and I got you to go along with it. He couldn't reach it and I was trying to be funny. We all make fun with each other in our family. It's not supposed to be mean. Did we go too far?"
"I'm not sure," says Grayson. About six months ago, Luke was at my house and slept over, and we ju...." That is when I really did fall asleep. Now I wonder what he had said.
Later:
I wake up and I look around the room and I am alone. I guess I really did fall asleep. I see the clock and it has been about two hours. To my left side, there is a plate of the snacks Mom brought in. There is a note on the side, "SORRY!" Signed Grayson and Brandon. There is also a remote to the TV so I turn it on to see what is on. I eat some of the snacks because I'm pretty hungry. The mini corn dogs are cold, but I don't care.
I guess the noise from the TV alerted people in my house that I was awake. Mom and Dad come up to me, and Brandon stops at the door and looks on.
"I'm glad you got to rest." Mom said. "How are you felling? Any pain?"
"I'm not in too much pain, but my butt still stings." Mom and Brandon laugh, but not Dad.
Dad asks, "Why does your butt sting and why are they laughing?"
"That's because Mom gave me a spank earlier on my bare butt." I tried to pout.
"What!" Dad directed his displeasure at Mom. "You didn't hit our son, did you? Why would you do that? And now you are laughing?!" Dad was not pleased. I didn't know if he was going to yell or cry.
Mom puts her hand up to defend herself. "It's not as bad as it sounds, dear. I didn't spank him, I gave him a little swat on the rump when he was being a smart-alack."
To move things along, I say, "Yeah. Mom brought in snacks for Brandon, Grayson and I to eat and they ate in front of me and didn't let me have any. All I had was water."
This time it was Mom that got upset. "Brandon! Get over here." He left the shelter of the doorway and stood next to Mom. "You didn't make a plate of food for your brother? You two made plates for yourselves and ate in front of him? Maybe I gave a swat to the wrong child."
Now it was Brandon's turn to defend himself; only he didn't. "I know Mom. I feel really bad. It wasn't meant to be like that. Luke?" He turns to me. "Grayson and I were just goofing around. We were being funny. We were pretending that we forgot about you and were enjoying eating in front of you. We thought you would protest and we would all have a good laugh. Then you took a sip of water and fell asleep. We didn't know what to do. It went too far and we regretted what we did."
He knells down next to the bed and puts his hand over my good arm. I can see tears forming in his eyes. "Luke, I am so sorry and Grayson was sorry too. So we put the food by you and you would see it when you woke up and we left a note telling you we were sorry."
He looks up to our Mother. "Mom, if you want to punish me, it's okay, because I deserve it."
I can't let this go any further. "No Brandon. Mom, Dad? I'm just as much to blame as they were." I focus back to my brother. "Brandon? We have fun with each other in this family, like earlier when we were teasing each other in the car. Or like when Mom was saying that my rash on my butt looked good and I said, Of course my butt looks good. How about the rash?' Dad?, That is when she gave me a little playful swat. It was all in good fun. Brandon, I knew what you and Grayson were doing, but I wasn't going to fall for it. So, I acted the victim and pretended to fall asleep. I was going to say, Gotcha', but then I actually did fall asleep."
It's my turn to hold his arm and I give it a little squeeze. "I'm sorry for making you and Grayson feel bad. I think we both just took it a little too far. Poor Grayson. He feels responsible for my accident and now he is feeling bad ...I have to call him."
Brandon's demeanor changed to a smile. "Really??? You were playing along? Oh man! You really got me. That is such a relief!"
Dad says, "Well then. That's that." He and Mom leave the room.
Brandon lays down on his bed and leans in my direction. "I really am sorry we pulled that prank on you. It wasn't Grayson's fault, it was my idea and I..."
"I know Brandon. I saw you wink at Grayson. Speaking of which, do you know where my phone is? I need to call Grayson."
"I think Mom or Dad has it." Brandon says, "You can use my phone. I'll dial it for you."
I take the phone and it is ringing. Grayson answers, "Brandon, I'm glad you called. I feel really bad about the trick we played on Luke. He's my best friend and I let him down. I should come back over and ask for his forgiveness. I'm not blaming you; I went along with it. I'm such and ass!"
I cut him off. "Grayson, stop!"
"Brandon, I ahhh...Luke?" Grayson says.
"Yeah, it's me, and before you go any further, I want you to listen to me! It's okay! I knew you and my brother were playing a trick on me and I was pranking you right back. I saw Brandon wink at you and I played along. I wasn't going to let you guys get the best of me. I played the victim and drank the water and pretended to be asleep."
"Really?" Grayson says. "Why didn't you say something? We knew we took it too far but you had fallen asleep, but I guess you weren't asleep and heard what we said. We felt really bad! Why did you go on letting us think we..."
"Grayson! I was going to say, `Gotcha!' but I really did fall asleep. So you see, I knew you were feeling bad that I was feeling bad that you were making me feel bad even though I really wasn't. Does that make sense?"
"Surprisingly, yeah! It does." Says Grayson. "So.... We good?"
"Yeah, we good. Brandon, on the other hand...Ha Ha! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ouch! You'd think I would learn my lesson and not laugh? Anyway, I gotta go. Come by tomorrow, okay?"
"You bet, buddy. Bye." Grayson says.
"See ya, Graystone." I give the phone back to Brandon.
"So, where are you going? Brandon asks.
"Huh?"
"You told Grayson that you had to go. So where are you going?"
I think Brandon is trying to be funny. "I do. I gotta go poop! Can you help me? I need my sling and I think I can make it to the bathroom, but the doctor said that I would need to be assisted. I don't need to fall."
No POV
Brandon wasn't ready for doodie duty. He says, "I'll be right back with Dad."
He goes into the living room to get his Dad. "Dad. Can you help for a second?"
"Sure, Son. What's up?"
"It's not what's up, it's what's going down and out is the thing." Brandon then makes a downward slide motion.
"Oh crap! Kevin says. "Exactly!" Says Brandon.
They walk briskly back to the bedroom. Luke is sitting on the edge of the bed holding his cast. Kevin gets the sling and helps Luke put it on. Luke is still naked from earlier and Kevin asks if Luke wants him to put the gown on him to go down the hall.
"No time, Dad. We need to hurry!"
Brandon and their father help Luke get up, stable, and they escort him to the bathroom. Brandon opens the door, lifts the toilet lid and helps sit Luke down on the seat. Not a moment too soon. If they had to lower his pants or underwear, there would've been a mess.
Luke farts and poops at the same time making quite the sound. Chrissy comes running in with the door still open and asks what that noise was. Then she gets a whiff and plugs her nose and says, "Never mind" and runs away.
To lighten the stinky mood, Kevin says, "Brandon? Why is it a bad idea to fart in church?"
"Why?"
"Because you have to sit in your own pew."
"Ha Ha. Okay Dad, Why do farts smell?" [IMAGE] "So that deaf people can enjoy them too." Quips Kevin. "Ha Ha!"
"No fair! You heard that one." Brandon pouts.
"Of course I did. I'm not deaf!"
"Okay, Dad. An old married couple is at a concert, and the woman turns to her husband and says, I've just let out a really long, silent fart. What should I do?' The husband tells her, Replace the battery in your hearing aid.'"
Then Dad puts his hand up to his ear, "What did you say?"
All this time, Luke has been holding in his laughter but can't any longer. "Ha Ha! Ouch! Ouch! You guys are mean!"
"Okie dookie, Lukie." Kevin jokes. "Sorry! I had one more in me." Luke rolls his eyes.
Kevin asks Luke. "Can you wipe with your left hand or do I need to do it for you like when you were a baby?"
"I'm sure gonna try." Says Luke. He leans to the right so he can get under his left cheek to wipe, but the cast is too heavy. He asks his brother for help.
"Hey Brandon. I'm gonna try it from the front. Lift my balls so that I can get to my hole."
Brandon pinches his ball sack and pulls it up.
"OUCH!! That hurts. Just grab my balls and lift them out of the way!"
Brandon's POV
Well okay. I've never grabbed a guys balls before. He's my brother and I'd do anything for him. So, here it goes. I cup his balls and move them forward. It's not like I don't have a set of my own, but they feel different.
Luke wipes himself and thinks he got it all. "Brandon." Luke brings me back to reality. "You can let go now."
"Oh! Yeah, sorry." I say.
Dad and I help him up and Dad tells Luke to bend forward. He looks in between Luke's cheeks and takes a wet wipe and cleans him a little better. "There. You're all clean now." Dad says.
Luke thanks him.
Dad continues, "Brandon, I'll hold Luke, and you go get his gown. We don't need him streaking through the house if he doesn't need to."
Then Luke and I both say at the same time. "You Americans are so hung up on nudity." Luke tries not to laugh but I do. I still go and get the gown and we put it on Luke. It's a little tricky to get it on. We have to take off the sling. Then put his cast through, then back in the sling. It's all on him and we walk him to our room, but Luke's butt is flashing out the back.
We didn't see Chrissy entering the hallway. "Ew! I see Lukie's booty!" Mom grabs her, "Never you mind about that," and she escorts her out of the hallway.
We get Luke back in bed all tucked in and he says that he is hurting and wants a pain pill. Mom and Dad come back in, Dad with a pain pill and Mom with some warmed up or hot mini corn dogs.
"You need to eat something with your pill," Mom tells Luke as she sets the food next to him. "So what is hurting Sweetie?"
"My arm is really bothering me." Luke says. "I think I just need to not move it for a while. Thanks for the corn dogs."
"Speaking of food." I ask Mom. "So, what's for dinner."
She says, "I'm making your favorite." We both say together, "Liver and Onions". Yum!
Of course Luke says, "EWW! Gross!" Dad says, "We know. That's why you have corn dogs."
"I'll go set the table." I walk half way out and I say to Luke. "Is there anything you need before I leave?"
Mom answers for him. "I think your father and I can handle it from here." Well, I guess they can, being his parents and all. I just want to do whatever I can to be here for him.
Later- "Dinner was great, Mom. Thank you. Chrissy, your corn dogs looked yummy."
Chrissy responds back to me, "Your food looked gross, and smelled really bad too."
Dad speaks to her. "In my day, if I didn't want to eat what was prepared, I had two choices: eat it warm or eat it for breakfast, cold and with mustard on top."
Chrissy says, "So if you didn't eat your peas, you had to eat them for breakfast with mustard on top?"
"Blech!" I make a retching sound. "Eww, that's gross."
"Yeah. I only did it once. To this day, I hate peas!!" Dad said.
"Well, on that note," I say. "I think I'll go check up on Luke"
I start to get up and Mom stops me. "Brandon, we are overjoyed that you have been so caring to Luke. I'd give you 5 gold stars on your forehead if I had any. But you don't need to wait on him hand and foot. We are here too. I'm sure you want to meet up with some old friends or go swimming or something. It's okay."
"I know Mom. I hear you, but I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself if I knew that Luke would be home alone. This is where I want to be. You see, I have missed so much! Really, I have lost the last three years of my life with him. One year in France and two years being an Ass!"
She cups my cheek."Brandon, once time is gone it's gone. You can't go back and change the past. All you can do is just be the best brother you can be in the here and now."
"That's what I'm trying to do, Mom. If I could go back and change the past, I would. I'm just... I want to do...I don't know. I don't know how I can explain it the way I want to say it."
I leave her there and I go to my room. Luke is asleep. I lay on my bed just looking at him. He looks so peaceful. My heart is warmed by seeing him sleep. I am going to be everything I can be to him. I think that maybe if I'm good enough, I can make up for the past. I can be worthy of forgiveness. I don't think Mom gets it. She usually gives good advice, but I don't think she understands.
I get up and move a chair close to his left side. I kiss his forehead and sit down. I take his hand in mine and I bring it up to my face and kiss his hand. I leave it there on my cheek. How could I ever be mean to this sweet kid? I love him so much. A tear feels like it is ready to fall, but doesn't. I take this time to reflect.
"Brandon, wake up. Brandon..." I hear my dad's voice and feel a hand on my shoulder. "Oh, hey Dad." I say groggily. "I must've fallen asleep."
I let go of Luke's hand and I stand and take my dad into a hug. "I love you, Dad." I just stay that way half awake.
"I love you too, Son." He gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you get into your bed and go back to sleep."
"Okay Dad." I go to my bed and take off my shirt and pants and slide into bed. I fell right back asleep.