After being sleep deprived and walking around like a zombie all morning, she wasn’t at all ready to meet Sandino’s nurse. She sighed and put down her glass of wine and headed toward the foyer. When Skye looked out of the huge glass door, she was surprised to see a nice looking man standing outside with a suitcase. She cracked the door looking out.
“May I help you?” she asked, though the door.
“Hello ma’am, my name is Quinn Jacobs. I’m from HealthSouth Rehabilitation. I’ll be Mr. Washington’s nurse,” he replied showing a small gap between his two front teeth.
She stepped back and opened the door. “Oh, yes I was expecting you. Please come in, I’m Skye,” she said, introducing herself.
Quinn walked inside wearing a pair of navy scrubs with a body of steel. “Nice to meet you,” he replied, rolling the black luggage behind him.
“Let me show you around, then I’ll show you which room you’ll be staying in,” Skye said, walking in front of him.
“You have a really nice home, Mrs. Washington,” he said, following her.
Skye could feel him staring at her ass as she walked down the hall.
“Thanks, but please…call me Skye. I no longer go by Mrs. Washington.”
“Oh, I didn’t know. I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s not a problem. I’m happy to correct people actually.”
Skye showed him all of the work that the contractors had done to make the house handicap accessible for Sandino. This included building a wheelchair ramp outside, widening all the doorways and transforming the downstairs bathroom into a roll-in shower.
“Now, here’s your room right here,” Skye said, pushing the door open. “Everything in here is new. New bed, new linen, and a new fifty-inch LED T.V. I tried to make it as comfortable for you as possible, so let me know if you need anything.”
Quinn smiled. “Thanks. Once I get unpacked I need to check out you and Mr. Washington’s bedroom to make sure everything is up to code.”
“Well, his room is right across the hall so you don’t have to go far.” Skye pointed. “My room is upstairs.”
Quinn looked somewhat confused. “Oh…okay well that’s cool. After I check on that, I’ll come and talk to you about my schedule and days off. We also need to discuss our rotation in regards to taking Mr. Washington to physical therapy.”
“Your days off? And who’s taking that man to physical therapy? I’m not doing that,” Skye said, walking out of the room to go pour herself another glass of wine.
Again Quinn looked at her strange wondering why Skye stayed in another room and why she didn’t want to take care of her own husband.
Not long after, Quinn joined Skye outside on the patio and began to discuss Sandino’s care. It was so many different things that came along with Sandino’s rehabilitation, Skye was glad Quinn was well trained and handled all of it because she hadn’t planned on lifting one finger. She was living up to her part of the agreement by being in the same house with him and making sure he was cared for. But that was as far as she’d planned to go. Skye even wished she could block off part of the house so she didn’t have to see him.
Later that afternoon, Skye tried to lay down and take a nap, but still couldn’t sleep. The nervousness of Sandino coming had her on the edge. So, instead of resting she opened another bottle of wine and continued to sip.
Suddenly chill bumps ran up and down her arm as Skye heard the beeping noise of a truck backing up. She looked out the upstairs window and saw a white van backing into the driveway that read, HealthSouth Rehabilitation. When her leg started shaking Skye wondered if she was going to be able to hold her composure when she saw Sandino for the first time in months.
“I hate that demon. He destroyed my life and I plan to return the favor,” she said to herself, then looked in the mirror.
The nude colored Herve Leger dress she wore fit her now curvy size eight body like a glove. She’d been working out every day in the gym downstairs trying to relieve her stress and drop some pounds all at the same time. And it was working because she’d managed to drop most of the weight she’d gained while living in Georgia. Plus, she didn’t have much of an appetite now since she’d moved back to Miami. Skye knew she was way over dressed, but she wanted Sandino to see what he was missing out on and how much he’d fucked up a good thing.
Skye watched as Quinn went out and greeted the other nurses transporting Sandino. A huge ramp on the side of the van was lowered down and a few minutes later, she saw Sandino’s wheelchair being pushed off. Skye was shocked when she finally saw his thin frame and thick, full beard. He looked more like Teddy Pendergrass after his accident then Sandino Washington. It was actually scary.
As Quinn pushed the wheelchair off of the ramp and started wheeling him towards the house, Sandino looked up and noticed Skye standing in the window. While his eyes lit up like an excited child, hers were cold as ice. Sandino stared at her like he was hypnotized.
“When I get through with that muthafucka, his ass is gonna wish he really was dead,” Skye said.
Once Quinn pushed Sandino’s wheelchair into the foyer of the house, Skye stood at the top of the spiral staircase looking down with Payton in her arms. Her eyes widened a bit as she got a closer look at the frail man who no longer looked like the muscular Sandino Washington that she’d married years ago. To say he looked awful was an understatement when describing his appearance. In all her years married to Sandino she’d never seen him with any facial hair so the beard was beyond creepy.
After a closer view, he looked less like Teddy Pendergrass and more like a scrawny injured veteran returning home from the war. Or like a homeless man you see on the street. Watching him slouched over in the wheelchair dressed in an oversized army green sweat suit made her feel like she was looking at a complete stranger. Over the years of their marriage even during his abuse and drug use, one thing never changed. Skye could never deny the fact that she always found Sandino to be irresistible and sexy. But for the first time ever, that had definitely changed.
When she walked down the stairs, Sandino studied her up and down with his piercing eyes. She immediately began to think about all the promises he’d made to her that the abuse and cheating would stop, but each time it only got worse. Thinking about her constant pain, Skye actually hated Sandino for everything he’d done, and planned to show him just how much.
As Skye walked down the stairs, a smile instantly formed on Sandino’s face and his eyes lit up like a bright sun. He seemed especially excited to see Payton. She’d always been daddy’s little girl and he was surprised at how big she’d gotten. Payton studied Sandino strangely with the beautiful green eyes she inherited from her mother. But then suddenly started crying as Sandino sat in his wheel chair staring at them like a mad man.
Skye purposely turned her back so he could no longer see his daughter. “Your scary looking ass hasn’t been in here five minutes and you’re already making us upset.”
Embarrassed, Sandino turned his head and looked in the direction of the boys’ rooms expecting to see his son’s next.
Once again Quinn felt awkward as he cleared his throat. “Are you ready to assist me with helping Sandino get settled into his room?”
Skye sucked her teeth. “No, I’m not! I thought that’s what you were here for. I mean… I made sure he had clean linen on the bed, what more to you want me to do? I’m telling you right out the gate, don’t be expecting me to spend a lot of time in that room,” she responded.
Quinn looked at her funny. “Yes ma’am. Thanks for the heads up. Well, I’ll be right back. I have to go help the medical supply company bring in some of the equipment needed in Mr. Washington’s room. He’s going to need a holster to help him in and out of the wheelchair along with a few other things,” he said before walking toward the
