Dave thanked her and then watched as she ran for the barn in unbridled enthusiasm. He chuckled then ate the cookies.
***
A week later, Joel sat across from Dave in the parlor. He stared at Dave for a long moment then glanced at Mary, Isaac, Rachel, and Adam who were all gathered around them. Isaac had also brought the bird with its bandaged wing into the room to witness this moment.
“Are you sure you want this splint off?” Joel asked Dave. “I mean,” he glanced at the others again, “no one seems all that excited about it.”
“Just do it,” Dave said. “I’m sick of this thing.”
“Alright, alright.” Joel put his hands up in the air. “You’re such a grouch these days. I don’t know how Mary can put up with you.”
Dave let out a frustrated sigh. “You try being stuck in a chair all day and tell me how much you want the doctor to make jokes about keeping you in a splint.”
Joel shook his head as he started to remove the splint. “I have to say that you aren’t a very happy patient.” He glanced over at Isaac. “I hope your patient is in a better mood than mine is.”
“Richie’s in a good mood,” Isaac said. “He’s on the mend.”
“Richie?” Joel asked, glancing at Mary.
“He named the bird after Richard because he’s proud of his uncle for getting a mention in the newspaper,” Mary said.
“Ah, I should have known,” Joel replied. “It is pretty exciting to have a family member who gets mentioned in the newspaper for something good. I heard Richard will be interviewed next week from that man in Chicago who writes for a magazine.”
Isaac perked up. “When will the magazine be out?”
“I don’t know,” Joel said. “I’m sure he’ll tell us when he finds out.”
Dave tried not to stare at Isaac who was practically brimming with excitement, but it was hard not to. He couldn’t recall a time when Isaac had ever looked that excited over anything he did. Even when Dave had taught Isaac how to ride a horse, Isaac didn’t go on and on about it for weeks.
Joel removed the last of Dave’s splint. “There you are! Everything is back in place like it should be.” He pressed his fingers along different points of Dave’s leg. “Do you feel any pain?”
“No, but I am itching.” Dave leaned forward and scratched his leg. All at once, a wave of relief washed over him. He would never take the ability to scratch an itch for granted again.
Joel stood up. “Make sure you take it easy. I brought this cane over for you. If you start feeling sore or tired, use it. Remember what I said about taking things slow.” His sympathetic gaze went to Mary. “You’ll still have to deal with having him around all the time until his leg gets its strength back.”
Mary shook her head but smiled. “I love having Dave around.”
“Ten years of marriage, and she still hasn’t discovered what a pain you can be,” Joel teased Dave.
“Oh, stop teasing him, Joel,” Mary kindly admonished. “I love Dave. He’s never been a pain.”
Joel’s eyebrows rose in a challenge. “Are you telling me that he hasn’t once gotten on your nerves these past few weeks?”
She hesitated to answer then said, “Obviously, he’s had restless moments.”
“I thought so,” Joel interrupted before she could continue. “Look, I know you two are happy together. I, myself, am a happily married man, but if I were to stay around the house all day without doing anything, I’d wear April out. The key to a good marriage is to be absent just enough to make the other person miss you. That way they’ll be happy when you return.” He turned his gaze to Isaac and Rachel. “And you two are helping your parents by being good, right?”
“I help Ma cook,” Rachel said.
“And I milk the cow and bring in water,” Isaac added. Though he addressed the comment to Joel, he was smiling at the bird and patting its head.
Adam walked over to Joel and held his hands up to him.
Joel chuckled and picked him up. “I didn’t forget about you, Adam. You’re probably the most behaved of them all.” He ruffled the boy’s hair, and Adam laughed.
“Would you like a slice of apple pie before you go?” Mary offered.
Joel’s eyes lit up in interest. “You made an apple pie?”
“I thought this was a special occasion,” Mary replied. “And I wanted to thank you for helping Dave with his leg.”
“Ah, so you are happy to get Dave back out to the barn.” Joel winked at her. “Want to join us, Dave, or do you have her pies so often that you’re tired of them?”
“I’ll never tire of her pies.” Dave moved his leg off the ottoman. It was strange to have full use of it again.
“Take it easy when you stand,” Joel said. “That leg is going to be weak.”
“I know.” Dave put his hands on the arms of the chair and pushed himself up. When he realized he was standing primarily on his good leg, he balanced his weight on the other leg. Right away, he noticed that it lacked the strength he was used to. He took a step forward.
“What do you think?” Mary asked.
“I think my leg is like a wagon wheel that is stiff,” he replied.
“Yeah, that’s going to be the case for a while,” Joel said. He turned his attention back to Mary. “So about this pie…?”
She chuckled and waved for him to follow her to the kitchen. “I also made one for you to take
