Finally she broke the silence "You look traumatized" she laughed. "Don't worry, this is exactly what I wanted. Yes it looks giant and uncomfortable, but surgery was not an option. You don't understand how relieved I am to be in this plaster prison, instead of being hooked up to an IV being prepped for surgery."
I laughed and said "No, I'm not traumatized, just in awe of how quickly everything happened."
"You're telling me? About 8 hours ago, I was coming back in from my run and going through my speech in my head... and now this...trust me I'm in awe as well!" She said laughing.
I tried to follow up her laughter with a light hearted comment of my own. "Well, at least your toes are painted and cute... every cloud as its silver lining!" I chuckled.
"Ha! Thanks for the compliment. I got a pedicure before I left home, I had some pretty awesome open toed heels that I was going to rock tonight when I spoke... had to look good!"
"Well, I'm glad you're done with all this. Does the leg still hurt?" I asked.
"It aches. Not like before though. It's just sore. I guess that's a combination of the meds and from the muscles being stretched and pulled." Replied Kelly.
Then we became silent. I stared at Kelly's toes. I had a sudden urge to touch her toes. Or perhaps place my lips around the toes and suck them. I walked over to the sink in the room, grabbing some paper towels and wetting them with warm water. I then took the wet towels and walked over to Kelly's right side and reached over to the toes sticking out of her cast and started to gently clean the plaster speckles.
"We can't have that plaster ruining your new pedicure!" I exclaimed.
"Oh, that's so sweet of you; you didn't have to... but thanks." Replied Kelly with a smile.
"I'm afraid you are going to have to get used to me doing things for you. Until you are ready to leave the hotel, I'm going to be your personal assistant/nurse!" I replied.
Just then Laura appeared. She was pushing a wheelchair.
"We need to get some x-rays of the leg." Laura said. Sorry, I know you want to get out of here. But we need to make sure that the bones are all lined up and nothing moved on us while we were putting the cast on you!
The nurse helped Kelly into a sitting position. Kelly appeared a bit unsteady. The nurse let Kelly take her time. Kelly gasped audibly when Laura helped lower her leg from the examining table.