A few weeks later, Jenny developed a sore throat, which quickly developed into a nasty cold. Her boss sent her home early, insisting she take the rest of the week off.
Thankfully Jenny had sick leave; she wouldn't lose any money. She called Charlie (they had plans for coffee, whatever Charlie had planned he was taking it very slow) and left a message on his voicemail.
Charlie was horrified when he got the voicemail. Jenny sounded so awful. He thought about it, prayed about it, and called his pastor. Then he went to her house.
"I want to help you" he told her, as she stood there in her orange bathrobe, sneezing into a battered tissue. "What can I do?"
Jenny sat on the couch for a few minutes and thought about it. "Glead the litter bogeses." Charlie nodded. He cleaned Baby Girl's box every day. He got to work and finished the job in no time.
"I want to get you some medicine" he told Jenny, as she lay back on the couch, coughing. She sat up. "The syrup will kill me". Charlie gaped.
"My antidepressant will interact with decongestants. You have to get me the 12 hour mucus pill, and an antihistamine, seperate." Charlie nodded and made a note on his smartphone. "Cough drops. Sugar free. A couple different flavors, please." She blew her nose again. "And more tissues." She rubbed her forehead.
"What do you take for headaches?" Charlie asked, his blue eyes dark with concern. "I can tell you have a headache." Jenny sighed.
"I have about half a bottle. I'm OK, but if you want to get more it's in the medicine cabinet." Charlie looked. Generic brand. Of course.
Jenny looked at Charlie, wondering how much he'd changed. She was tired. Her eyes itched. Her throat hurt, her sinuses throbbed, and she just wanted to crawl into bed... but she had a problem. "My refills came in today" Charlie tensed. "I need to pick them up." Charlie took a breath and waited for her to finish - a big change from the old Charlie.
"Would you like me to take you?" he asked "I could take you in for the refills, take you home, then get your other supplies."
Jenny sent up a quick prayer and thought for a moment. "You can get them." She headed into the bedroom and dug around in a pants pocket, pulling out a wad of money. "Here's the money". Charlie gave her a speaking look as she offered it, then raised his eyebrows.
"How much is it?" he asked. She told him, and he laughed. "I spent more than that filling up my gas tank!" Jenny, left holding the money, looked at it for a moment before sticking it back in her pocket. She could always put it in the emergency fund.
Charlie left the house and got into his new-to-him crossover SUV. It had plenty of room for merchandise and held his Mag-liner folding cart without any problems. He liked the sporty lines and the navy paint. Jenny liked it, too.
He drove to Mega-mart and went to the pharmacy, pushing a shopping cart. He talked to his dad, a pharmacist, as he waited in line and verified the medications Jenny could take without having an interaction. Charlie shuddered at the thought - here, honey, have some cough syrup...
The technician gave him a searching look as she handed over the medication, and Charlie explained Jenny's cold. "She didn't want to get you sick" She smiled and passed on well-wishes.
Charlie hunted up the cough drops, medication, and tissues. He opted for the name brand lotion variety "Soothes sore noses". Jenny's nose had looked pretty sore!
Even though she hadn't asked, he also picked up some cat treats and litter. Jenny had been running low and he'd noted the names.
Every time he went to Jenny's house, she had cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt in her fridge. He'd peeked - she was out. He added them to the basket, along with juice, honey, soup, and lemonade. Mom had always sworn by a hot lemonade when he got sick. He threw some fresh lemons into the cart and went to checkout.
As he waited in line, he noted the low price on the candy bars and mused about food costs. Mega-Mart had cheaper prices, but his machines offered convenience, and people were willing to pay for that.
Charlie headed out into the dark and humid parking lot, loaded his groceries, and took them to Jenny. She smiled beautifully when he gave her the refills.
Maybe he could regain her trust. Charlie knew she still cared, but her walls were up. He wanted to batter them down but he knew more than anyone how she'd react to that approach.
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