Eight

"Why can't I stay with you. mommy? I miss you," Kevin pleaded.

She hugged him tighter, "Oh I miss you too, baby, it's just that ... I have work to do ... I'll be back tomorrow, okay? We'll go to the playground and we'll have some ice cream." She was holding back her tears.

Kevin was on the verge of crying, he was pouting. "Will you stay and tuck me in bed?"

"Of course, honey, let's get you to bed." She kissed her forehead and carried him to his bed.

She went home with a heavy heart, like so many times before. She didn't like to leave him for too long, much too often. But she prefers it that way, she kept him away from the cottage as much as possible. Especially when her client specifically demanded privacy from young children. Kevin would have to stay with grandma for much longer.

She was just about to take off her clothes to shower when the intercom beeped. She pressed the button, "This is Sandy."

"Hi, Sandy, sorry to bother you so late," John said at the other end.

"Oh, it's fine, I wasn't sleeping or anything, is there something I can do for you?"

He didn't reply immediately, "I kinda need a favor ... I sprained my wrist this morning ... it's a stupid accident, actually, I was training."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, are you okay?"

John laughed lightly, "It's just a little sprain, really, I'm okay ... nothing serious, it's just that ... my staff ... umm ... can I come over and explain it to you? I feel weird talking to the intercom."

She giggled off the intercom, "Sure, I'll be right down."

"Great, okay ... see you."

He came over with his left wrist fully bandaged. He waved it and cringed from the pain.

"Oh ... that looks terrible," Sandy sympathized and let him in.

"Yeah ... they X-Ray it this afternoon and it's fine ... just a mild fracture, might need a few weeks to heal ... it's just that ... my staff insisted that I need a nurse to come over and treat it until it's safe to take off the bandage," he laughed at the thought. "I told them it's ridiculous, I can change my own bandage," he threw his right hand like it was a no brainer.

Sandy kept listening.

"Well ... as it turned out ... I couldn't do it myself, and now I'm bothering you to help me out with this thing," he grinned looking embarrassed.

Sandy laughed, "Sure ... I'll help you change it, no problem, please come in."

"Yeah ... and it's kinda a two times a day thing ... I mean, I know I'll be able to do this myself after a few times, right? It's just that, I'm left-handed and it's a bit tricky with this hook here," he tried to show her the complexity of the bandage.

"No worries, I'll help you out ... I'm sure you'll be able to do it yourself later ... here, sit down, let me see it, do you have the kit with you?" She pulled up her dining chair in her kitchen and let him sit.

John took out the kit he brought home from the hospital. She sat across from him on the edge of the dining table and began to take off the bandage. "It's a good thing you haven't started shooting," she said.

"Yeah, this might change our schedule a little bit ... a minor set back, but that's okay, it happens a lot."

Sandy smiled, she was happy to hear about a setback, it just meant that they will extend his stay at her cottage. She offered him some coffee, he accepted in delight. He had been craving hot coffee all day. They ended up talking over coffee.

He complained that he wasn't allowed to ride his motorbike until he was healed. He had enjoyed his stroll on the first day and thought that there were so many places he wanted to see. "Were you born on this island?" he asked.

"No ... I moved from the city about five years ago."

"Oh ... well, I can see why it's a beautiful island."

"It's peaceful here, I'm not a city girl, I don't like crowded places ... here, even though it's always packed with tourists in some places, the rest feels like home ... everyone's on vacation here, so you can feel the ease, the vibe is always relaxed, a lot of celebrities come here for holidays but the people here are not as nosy as city people ... they won't bother you for pictures or autographs as much as you would be in big cities," she explained.

John listened intently and nodded, "I can't wait to get back on my bike ... I can't go a day without riding my bike ... maybe you'd take me to the best places on the island ... when I'm better?"

"Sure ... there are lots of places you can go, the best places are actually kind of far in the suburban area, the beaches there are perfect ... quiet, no one around, it's the best."

She couldn't help but admire how relaxed he made her feel. It's unusual for her to be in the presence of a celebrity yet she didn't feel intimidated in any way. He was as humble as they come. There was some sadness in his expression that she captured every now and then. He seemed like a nice enough guy that she can talk to for hours. He would close up when it came to certain topics that touched a soft spot. He reminded her of herself.

They ended up talking for almost two hours before he realized he might have overstayed his welcome, so he went back to his cottage and asked her to help him with the bandage again the next day.