Mark sat at the edge of the bed and smiled. He was listening to Terri snore. It was a quiet snore, like the soft rumble of distant thunder. To him, it was calming. It meant she was safe and at peace. He looked at the digital clock displaying its bright red numbers of 3:01. He couldn’t sleep. He wanted to just lay back and listen to Terri snore, close his eyes and join her. His mind kept reeling around the window and if there was anything in his past that he would want to change in the present. He looked over at his wife and smiled.
He quietly rose from the bed and walked to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled the half gallon of milk from it and set it on the counter. From the cabinet he took a glass and set it beside the milk. He moved the cannister set for flour and sugar to the side to reveal the hidden container of Nestle Quick. He placed two overflowing spoonfuls of the chocolate mixture into the glass, added the milk and stirred. He put everything back where he had found them and took the glass as he ascended the stairs to his office.
Mark set the glass down and walked to the window. It was dark yet he could still make out the shadows of the rooftops. He wondered what it would be like to simply relive a moment without changing a thing. Which one would he relive? The day his kids were born, his first job, and his first hockey game came into mind. He stood up and smiled. He would like to relive the day he met his wife. He touched the window and it shimmered.
Mark was on the playground of Larimore elementary. It was lunch recess and the asphalt blacktop was jammed with kids. He looked down at himself and instantly remembered that he was in sixth grade again.
“Hey, Mark! Are you playing or what?”
He looked toward the voice and saw his best friend Tommy Asbridge holding a basketball in his hands. He remembered what that day was, and the moment was at hand. He held his hands out and Tommy flung the ball toward him. As he reached for it, a girl playing dodgeball ran toward him chasing her ball. He remembered what was about to happen and closed his eyes.
The impact was expected but he still felt the pain as he fell backward hitting his head on the blacktop. The girl lay sprawled across him, moaning. He slowly sat up and pushed her off of him. She rolled over and laid face up. Mark looked down at her. He recognized her but couldn’t remember her name. She raised her hand to her forehead and opened her eyes. First, she smiled at him and then her face changed to one of surprise.
“You’re bleeding! Your nose!”
“What?” Mark raised his hand to his nose and found she was right. He looked down and saw his hand was covered and large red drops fell to the asphalt. He felt them being surrounded by other students. Tommy bent down to help the girl stand on her feet. He then bent down beside him.
“Are you okay, Mark?” Tommy whispered to him. “Let me help you up and get you to the nurse.”
The ring of kids split and returned to normal as Tommy led Mark toward the building. The girl followed behind them with her head down. As they neared the building, she ran ahead and opened the door for them. Mark was holding his nose as they walked down the hallway passing silent classrooms. They were in the fifth grade hall walking toward the main hall where they turned right and into the first doorway on the right. Nurse Amy was sitting at her desk that was located next to the door. She raised her head as they entered the room.
“Oh my! Sit him on the couch,” she said as she hurried around her desk.
The couch was located directly across the small room opposite the door. Tommy walked Mark directly to it and sat him down. Mark immediately laid down on it.
“No, don’t do that!” Nurse Amy instructed as she sat beside him. “Sit up and keep your head back. Move your hands, please.”
Mark shook his head, no, and said, “It’s broken.”
“No, it’s not,” Nurse Amy said. “Move your hands so I can see.”
“I know it’s broken because I broke it before.”
“Yeah, I remember,” tommy laughed. “You missed the fastball your brother threw to you.”
“Shut up! I didn’t miss it. I was distracted!”
“Boys,” Nurse Amy said. “Mark move your hands, please.”
Mark moved his hands and watched her face turn from calm to concern. She reached up and felt down the bridge of his nose. She stood and turned to the cabinet behind her and began opening drawers. She handed the girl a washcloth. “Go into the bathroom over there and get that wet, please.”
The girl came back and started to hand it back to her.
“No, that is not for me. It’s for you. Mark get on the chair next to my desk and keep your head back. You, young lady, lay down on the couch and put that on your head. You are white as a ghost.”
Nurse Amy waited while they moved to their assigned places. She stood over Mark and handed him two fluffs of cotton and said, “Place one of these in each nostril and keep your head back.”
She walked around her desk and sat down. She folded her hands on her desk and smiled.
“Well,” she began. “You are right. I think it is broken. Before I call your parents, who will tell me what happened? Tommy, why don’t you sit in the chair by the door and you tell me what happened?”
“We were playing basketball when she butted into our game chasing her goofy dodgeball and plowed into him!”
“Oh, I see.” Nurse Amy said.
“It was all my fault! I was so focused on my ball that I didn’t see him,” the girl said from the couch.
“How could you not see him? He’s a person and he was standing there. How could you not see him?” Tommy yelled at her.
“Now, Tommy, hush,” Nurse Amy interjected. “It was just an accident. I am sure Terri didn’t intentionally run into Mark.”
“I’m sorry,” Terri said, and she began to cry. “I didn’t mean it.”
“We know you didn’t mean it. It’s all right, honey,“ Nurse Amy stood and sat on the couch beside her. “How are you feeling?”
“My head hurts,” Terri answered her.
“Okay,” Nurse Amy adjusted the washcloth on her head. “Tommy, go get Mr. Anderson and ask him to come here, please.”
Mark lowered his head and watched Tommy leave to go across the hall to get the principal. He looked over at the girl laying on the couch with the school nurse sitting beside her.
“Hey, Terri,” Mark said. “I’m sorry, too.”
Nurse Amy turned to look at him and smiled. Terri smiled, too.
Mark closed his eyes and open them. He was standing in his office looking out of the window.
To be continued…
My First Stories 