Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“Did I wake you?” he whispered, as if there was a chance the woman was still asleep. I might be delirious from blood loss.
“I heard you, Mr. Wild West.” She placed her hand on her bony hip. “Got a hole in you, you say?”
“Had a little disagreement with some bad guys, Huni, that’s all.” He forced a smile as the pain increased.
“You stay right there.” She turned away. “Poooooet! I got dis!” Huni scurried away, and moments later she was at his side, wearing bifocals and holding a magnifying glass while barking orders to the both of them as she tended to him.
Old Asian style music played as Huni sat on a tufted foot stool, her forehead wrinkled in concentration. “No flinching, boy! Keep leg still, and elevated!” Kage looked away, half of his ass resting on a thick towel now, soaking up blood. He focused back out the window while Poet appeared both cantankerous and concerned.
“Take these ibuprofens.” Poet placed four on his tongue, then he swallowed them down with a gulp of cool water. A box fan blew on his face as sweat beads formed on his skin. Huni went to the kitchen, then returned a few moments later.
“Okay, they’re ready.” She’d boiled the tools she was going to use.
“Poet, come here. Press this towel ’gainst it.” Poet did as asked. “You lucky young man. I can see the bullet. No need to widen hole. Now, bite down on rag.” Poet placed the thick, ratty washcloth in his mouth.
“…I used that same rag to wipe a dead mouse’s ass with,” Poet shared as she looked down at him with gritted teeth.
He spit it out. “Now that was a mean-spirited thing to say, baby. What in the hell are you mad at me for? I’m the victim here!”
“You should be at the hospital! You could die, Kage. Do you see this?! Do you understand how bad this is?”
“Was it roadkill or a donation from a child whose pet had gone to the great beyond? Did it work at Disney World and have a girlfriend named Minnie?”
She rolled her eyes. “Got my poor Aunt Huni sittin’ here sweatin’ and carryin’ on because you decided to play cowboys and Indians with folks!”
“Actually, it was only one Indian, and the rest were Italian cowboys. Did you really wash a rodent’s ass with this?” He shook the rag about.
“Maybe.” She crossed her arms. “Does it taste like cheese and turds, motherfucker?”
“Lady, if I find out you really used this rag to wipe a motherfuckin’ rat’s rear end with, I’m gonna—”
“You’ll do what?! Not a damn thing!”
“Shhh! You two can have a lovers’ quarrel later,” Huni teased. “Now listen, Kage. I’m gonna take it out. One swoop.” He jammed the washcloth back into his mouth. “Gonna hurt, but be fast… 1… 2… 3!”
“Ahhhh… aaahhh…” He gnashed his teeth and groaned against the fabric wedged between his teeth.
“Clean! Got it out in one shot. Very good!” Huni said proudly as she turned the bullet to and fro with the pliers, showing it off like a prize. A bloody, metal mess. “Poet, hand me saline.” She pointed to a bucket of medical items she was working with. Kage gripped the edge of the couch arm as the old woman rinsed the wound. It stung something awful, but he was grateful the bullet was out, and he didn’t have to do it all by his lonesome. “Okay, Poet. Press the other clean cloth on it to stop bleeding.” Poet once again did what was asked. “Now, Kage, I’m going to sew dis closed.” He nodded in understanding. As Huni finished up, his mind began to drift…
He watched Poet tending to him, tears in her eyes that she kept blinking away…
This woman loves the hell outta me… She really thought I might be a goner… She’s angry with me because she’s afraid of losing me… And look at Aunt Huni? Wow…
He imagined them as his family, seeing it so clearly in his mind. He envisioned Poet wearing a wedding gown. An entire scene gathered in his head and spun into an amazing daydream. Never in a million years would he have believed that he might one day live with an old Filipino woman with a dirty mind, amazing wit and a kind heart—his mother-in-law basically—and who’d raised a little girl who then grew up into a beautiful, loving, and intelligent woman that he’d walk barefoot, for miles, on broken glass for, if he had to.
Aunt Huni stood to her feet, a kind smile on her face. “You can’t work tomorrow, Kage. Not the next day, either. Take whole week off. That leg needs to stay up,” she emphasized. “Keep taking pain pills and change the dressing daily. If you notice odor, lots of blood or pus, call me, okay?”