Charlie and Kath: In Sickness and in Health

He’d been in the apartment three minutes before Kath asked for a snack. She’d fallen down the stairs at home and was spending her first college winter break stuck up in the apartment with a broken leg. It wouldn’t have been as bad as it was if it wasn’t for the constant sound of “Charlie” this and “Charlie” that. Kath had him doing everything. He was used to it of course, but he was taking a class this winter session and he had work to do.

In the kitchen, he fashioned a neat spread of wheat thin crisps on a plate and a dollop of hummus in the middle for Kath and then presented it to her like a feast.

“Thank you!” she cried. “This looks wonderful!” Then Charlie kissed her cheek and went back into the kitchen to make his lunch.

“Hey babe!” Kath yelled from the couch.

“Yeah?!” Charlie peeked over the bar into the living room. She was holding up her empty tea mug.

“Could you make me some more tea please?”

Charlie smiled. “Sure,” he said. He fetched her mug and started a pot of water. The teabag hadn’t even started seeping yet when he heard Kath call from the couch.

“Charlie, can you just bring the whole bag of crisps and the hummus to me?”

He laughed. He grabbed them and took them to her, and then grabbed her plate and brought it back into the kitchen. “I’m turning into my mother,” he said, annoyed.

When the tea was done, he added a bit of honey and took it out to her. “Thanks, babe,” she smiled.

He then went back into the kitchen again to make his lunch. He wasn’t in two minutes until he heard her call again. He was in the pantry/laundry room at the time to grab some bread so maybe she thought he couldn’t hear her. He went back about his business and then heard her call his name again, this time a little louder. He rolled his eyes. “We don’t have another bag of crisps,” he said jokingly.

“It’s not that,” Kath said. “Could you get me a lemon slice for my tea?”

He turned to look at her with a tired expression.

“Please.”

All he wanted was a sandwich. He would have gladly made a joke about her making him one, but she wasn’t a fan of women jokes and he had a broken leg. So he cut a slice out of the lemon in the fridge and took it over, plopping it into her tea. “Thank you,” she said.

He took three steps back toward the kitchen.

“Charlie,” Kath said, whining. “It’s too hot, blow on it for me.”

He turned around and noticed her big smile which then turned into a giggle. God, he loved that smile.

“You want me to break your other leg, too?” he joked.

“No, just a little blow on my tea will be enough,” she smiled.