Daisy had been wandering around the house doing odd jobs. She'd just finished washing up and was putting everything away when she glanced up at the clock, still two hours until her husband Dave came home. Well, assuming he finished on time tonight.
She couldn't really complain, he was a manager at his company and sometimes had to stay over for a while to complete jobs or finish online meetings. His job was well-paid, so well-paid that when she'd lost her job when they'd had to make redundancies Dave had told not to rush into finding a new job as he could easily cover the bills. He'd told her to wind down and take time for herself, she had been working at the same company since she was eighteen after all.
Now thirty-one years old, she was glad of having the chance to have a bit of peace now and again, the chance to watch stream TV shows she'd seen people raving about online, although she also missed some of her former work colleagues. Reluctantly there were no children to look after, not for want of trying. Six years they'd been married, and still no signs of children on the way. She scrolled social media and saw a show mentioned that she hadn't watched. She glanced at the clock, she'd have time to watch an episode as it was an hour long, and then she'd have to start preparing their evening meal. It would give her the chance to see if was worth continuing.
It was racier than she thought it would be with a lot more nudity, both male and female, than she'd expected. Daisy wasn't prudish by any scale but was glad she was alone. This was definitely a show she'd continue to watch she thought, feeling her knickers start to get a little damp by the end of the episode. If she'd been expecting Dave to help out later, he came home three hours late, barely ate any food, and then went to bed saying he had an early start. Daisy stayed up and turned the TV volume down to a quiet level, by the third episode she was rubbing her fingers through her wet folds, her knickers discarded on the floor.
Three days later came the shock phone call. Dave had phoned her during the day, which put Daisy on alert immediately. His father, a police officer, had been shot and had been rushed to hospital. Dave was leaving work to be with him and told her that he'd phone her later to keep her updated. After several messages he told her that he was fine, the bullet had cut the flesh just above his knee but hadn't gone right through. He'd had surgery but wouldn't be able to walk properly for a couple of months at least.
"I've told him he can move in with us," Dave told her.
"What? Why here?" Daisy exclaimed.
"He can't go home, you know he's lived alone for the last two years since Mum passed away," Dave answered, "and Joe and Billy have kids and no room for him."
"But you haven't even asked me if it's okay," Daisy complained.
"Well it's the only option so it's happening," Dave told her.
Joe and Billy were Dave's two older brothers. There was a year between each of them, Joe being 34, Billy at 33, and Dave the youngest at 32 years old. They were both married with three children each, and like their dad Frank were all big stocky builds compared to Dave who was like his mum had been, thin and wiry, his glasses making him look nerdy. It wasn't that Daisy didn't like Frank, but she knew being at home she'd be the one having to look after him.
The two brothers were unlike Dave in other ways too. Joe had a reputation for being a ladies' man at college, and when Daisy had started seeing Dave within the first six months he seemed to have a different girlfriend every couple of weeks. He'd tried it on with Daisy who'd turned him down as politely as she could.
Billy, ironically with his dad being a policeman, was always getting himself into silly scrapes, usually ending in fights. He'd been in prison three times, each for relatively minor offences and for around six months at a time. He'd got married around the same time as Daisy and Dave had and seemed to be turning his life around.
"Help me get him upstairs," Dave had asked Daisy when he bought him home a few days later.
It was awkward, Frank had a metal support around his knee to keep his leg straight, so the only way they could get him up was to grab under his arms and walk him backwards up the stairs. They managed it after a while, getting Frank into bed. Dave asked Daisy to go and pour him a jug of water. Bringing it back up to them Dave had got a swinging table that Frank could pull around in front of him and set the jug down next to a bottle of squash. Frank had pyjama trousers on with the support over the top, and Dave had helped him put his pyjama top on too.
"Do the trousers hurt, are they rubbing the wound at all?" Daisy asked.
"No, my knee is bandaged up so it doesn't rub, and to give the wound the chance to heal a little. I have to keep the support on for a couple of days then the dressings will need changing though," Frank told her.
"It could have been a lot worse," Dave added, "the bullet went through the flesh and missed any bones."
They left him to watch TV and around thirty minutes later Daisy took a bell up to him.
"Here, if you need anything just ring the bell or shout out, I'll come as soon as I hear it," she told him.
Frank thanked her, and also for allowing him to stay there while he healed. He told her he wouldn't call out unless he really needed something, he'd try to fend for himself. Daisy told him it was no problem. The following morning Dave told her that he wasn't going to work to help out, but Daisy told him she'd cope fine. After Dave had left she went up and knocked on the bedroom door, entering upon hearing Frank answer.
"Do you want tea or coffee?" she asked him.
"I'd love one, but I'm soft drinks only for now thanks. I could do with some fresh water though please, I left the jug lid open by accident," Frank answered.
Daisy went downstairs and poured some fresh water and took it up to him. She made sure he was comfortable, helping him sit up a little more and plumping up his pillows, then told him she'd leave the door ajar in case he needed anything. As she went downstairs she heard the sound from the TV playing. Hearing nothing from him over the next hour, Daisy decided to do her home workout routine.
It wasn't anything special, just something she'd thought of herself. Twenty sit-ups, twenty press-ups, then a thirty-second rest. It repeated with thirty of each, then forty, then fifty. She usually finished it off by running up and back down the first three steps of the stairs as quickly as she could for as long as she could. It wasn't much, but it did keep her figure quite trim and it kept her happy. When she started on the stairs, Frank called out.
"Are you okay? What's that noise?" he shouted.
"Sorry, I was just working out, was I making too much noise?" she queried.
"No, I just didn't know what was happening," he said, "can you come up through please?"
Daisy started up the stairs and then paused. She'd put on some lycra jogging pants and wore an old loose t-shirt that was now wet through. She wondered about changing first but didn't want to without showering. No, she thought, let's see what he wants first. She walked into the bedroom to see him slouched over to one side.
"Are you okay, what's happened?" she cried out.
"I'm fine, I was trying to alter the pillows and got myself stuck like the silly old fool I am," he said.
"Fifty-five isn't that old silly," Daisy laughed.
She leaned him forward slowly, telling him to put his arm around her to support his weight while she moved the pillows. As she reached around her his hand gripped on her side, right under her breast. She moved the pillows, and in doing so his hand brushed over her breast. She glanced at him, but he wasn't looking, his eyes were closed. It must have been accidental she told herself. She got him comfortable, then stood back.
"Sorry about the sweaty clothes," she told him.
"It's fine, you said you were exercising. Do you do so every day?" he asked.
"Yeah, about the same time if I can, it passes a little time even if it's pointless," Daisy said.
"You look great, I'd say it was working just fine," he smiled.
Daisy blushed and playfully punched his shoulder. She'd just left the room when she heard him cry out. She went back, and he said sorry.
"I've knocked the TV remote on the floor," he said apologetically.
Daisy bent to pick it up, facing away from Frank. As she picked it up she thought she heard a sharp intake of breath. Turning and handing it to him, he didn't look at her as he held his hand out to take the controls from her. As she started to walk down the stairs, she heard Frank muttering 'Oh fuck, oh fuck'. She shouted back and asked if he'd dropped the controls again, but he told her he was fine. Daisy wondered what had bothered him. Later when she took him some food up she studied his face, to see if he was looking at her funny, but he was as normal as usual.
The following day she was just about to change to start her workout when the doorbell rang. She opened the door to see a female nurse standing there.
"Hi, I'm here to check on Frank Ward," she said, flashing her ID to Daisy.
"Oh yes, I forgot he had a check-up today," Daisy answered, letting her in.
The woman, probably in her mid-forties, told Daisy she shouldn't be too long, she'd need to change his dressing and make sure the stitches were okay still. She asked Daisy to show her the way, following her up the stairs.