Home » The Archives » Chapter 9 » Regrouping and Recouperation
| Re: Regrouping and Recouperation [message #229 is a reply to message #228] |
Mon, 23 July 2012 15:25   |
artisticrainey
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Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
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**Sunday, Aug 12, Opp, Alabama; 1 p.m. (Monday, Aug 13; 5 a.m. on Tracy Island)**
Callie and her family entered their home after attending the church service and having lunch there. "That was a good sermon," said Lorraine.
"You're right," said Brian. "Hopefully we'll be able to apply it a lot this week, since we got Sis home for her birthday."
"Oh, stop it, Brian," Callie stated as her face started turning red. "You're embarrassing me."
Richard smiled at the fact his daughter was home. "I can't believe Tracy Industries allows people to visit family after being on the job for only six months. You've must've worked your way up the ranks fast."
"No, Dad. Some of the TI employees have family not that far away in Honolulu. Mr. Tracy believes that every employee should have a chance to spend quality time with loved ones. Besides, there's enough people in the engineering division there that it's no serious loss if I'm not there for a few days." Although she kept up a brave front, deep down she was shaking. I hope Doc's doing all right. It's hard for me to be here while she's still recovering. As for me, I'm just glad to be at home. I just hope they don't start asking too many questions.
Joseph shook his head. "I bet the toughest change for you is having to go backwards by about...what, seven hours?"
With a chuckle, she answered, "Oh, yeah. It's taken me the whole time I've been with TI to adjust my meal times. When I started back in February, people in Honolulu would have lunch at 12 noon, but my body was thinking, 'I should've already had dinner by now!'"
This caused everyone to laugh hard.
Lorraine asked, "Is there anything special you want to do before your birthday tomorrow, honey?"
"No, not really. I just want to take a nice shower, sit back, and relax."
"Oh, come on, Sis," said Brian. "Tomorrow's your birthday. You need to do something for yourself."
"Bri, I really want to relax today. With many of the stores closed on Sundays anyway, I don't have any reason to go out. I can wait until tomorrow."
"Brian," said Richard sternly, "leave Callie alone. She's barely had any time to herself since she got home. If she wants to relax, let her."
With a defeated sigh, Brian complied. "Yes, Dad. Sorry, Sis. I didn't mean to be so pushy."
"It's okay. I just need a little time to get adjusted here. Of course, heat and humidity aren't a problem, since it's the same in Honolulu."
After another hearty laugh, Callie added, "I'm gonna take myself a shower and slip into something more comfortable."
"Of course, dear," Lorraine said. "We'll let you have the rest of the day to yourself. I'll start cooking up the red beans and rice, along with some pork chops."
"Mmm, sounds good, Mom," said Joseph. "Lookin' forward to that."
Callie went into her bedroom and got undressed before going into the bathroom to take her shower. When she started the warm water, she immediately felt relaxed. Every drop across her body gave her a feeling of being massaged at a spa. Ah...this warm water feels so good right now. It's just what I needed to get some tension out of these muscles. I know Brian means well, but I really need some "me" time. I hope tomorrow I'll get to do something really fun, maybe fish at the nearby lake or go on a shopping spree at the mall in Andalusia.
Joseph knocked on her bedroom door. "Sis? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Not hearing her, he stepped into her room. "Oh, she must've gotten straight into the shower. I'll leave her alone--" He stopped mid-sentence because the sun reflected off something on the nightstand next to her bed. Walking up to the nightstand, he picked up the object. "What's this...a prescription...for sleeping pills? And it has Callie's name on it, too. Why on Earth does she need sleeping pills?" He noticed two other key pieces of information. "Dr. Dianne Tracy? Christchurch, New Zealand? What the heck's going on here?"
Getting out of the shower, she slipped into a comfortable t-shirt and knee-length capri pants. She stepped out of the bathroom and was surprised to find Joseph there. "Hey, Joe, what's going...on?" Upon seeing what he had in his hand, she tried to take it from him. "What are you doing with my prescription?"
He quickly stood up and held the prescription bottle tight. "Sis, you've got some serious explaining to do. What's with these sleeping pills, why do they come from Dr. Dianne Tracy, and why do they come from New Zealand? Don't you work in Honolulu?"
"Of course I do," she answered. "I was in Christchurch on assignment for a week and was having trouble sleeping. Going there subtracted another three hours, screwing up my body clock. And I really don't want to go on about passing the International Date Line over and over again."
"Yeah, I guess all that time changing and going everywhere can mess around with you."
"Right. Dr. Dianne Tracy was also there at the time. She's Mr. Tracy's wife and the family doctor. When she noticed how tired I had been from the constant jet lag and time changes, she gave me a ten-day prescription to help me sleep better."
Joseph put the bottle back on the nightstand and slowly walked up to his sister. "Aw, Sis, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to jump to the wrong conclusion. The moment I found the prescription, I just thought something was wrong."
"I understand, Joe. No harm done." She hugged him tightly. "Sorry for worrying you like that." After letting him go, she said, "By the way, what did you want to see me about?"
"I just wanted to check in on you. You know, make sure you're okay. I mean, I haven't seen you in over six months."
Callie smiled. "I appreciate it, Joe. I really do, but I'm a big girl now. I'll be okay."
"All right. I just wish you could go to the Hall of Fame Game in Canton next weekend. Alabama's playing Penn State."
"What?" she gasped. "Aw, geez! Now I wish my birthday were next week instead of this week."
Joseph laughed. "Yeah, I know. When Mom was bringing you into the world, she actually wanted to hold off for a couple of weeks so you would be born at the beginning of football season."
"Sorry, but when nature says it's time...." She laughed. "Oh, well, I can't always be lucky in life."
"Yeah. Hey, that was all I wanted to tell you. I'll leave you alone, at least until it's dinner time."
"Thanks, Joe. I'll see you later." When he left the room, she breathed a sigh of relief. Whew, it's a good thing I practiced what to say if I ever got into this situation, but I didn't expect him to find the medication. I'd better hide my prescriptions in the nightstand drawer. She looked outside the window and sighed. I wish I didn't have to lie to my family about what really happened to me, but I'm still insecure. The last thing I need is a lot more questions. Maybe while I'm here I'll be able to have a more decent sleep and not have to take the pills. She then got into her bed and listened to a mini-disc of nature sounds, which helped her fall asleep after 20 minutes.
Post by TracyFan4Ever On 1/14/2007
  
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