I cleared my throat. “Um, I threw that meal out. And yes, my trashcans are properly labeled with biohazard stickers.”
He let out a loud, deep laugh that jiggled the metal railing on his bed. “You know what I’m craving?” he said.
“What?”
“A big, fat, juicy Whopper from Burger King.”
“Hmm. Well, I can run through the drive-thru and—”
“Drive-thru? What for? It’s beautiful outside, and I’d love to get out and enjoy some of that fresh spring air.”
“You want me to take you there?”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re hooked up to oxygen.”
He shot me the puppy eyes and stuck his bottom lip out, just like I used to do to him when I was little and wanted something.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I said. “That I’m just like Mom. She didn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.”
“I didn’t say that,” he said softly.
“No, but you’re thinking it.”
He smirked.
I laughed. “Hey, I’m spontaneous. I took a chance and wore this bright red blouse, even though spring is for pastels. My hair’s in a bun instead of a French braid. I totally made up my mind at the very last minute. Maybe I’m not all spur-of-the-moment like you, but I’m getting there.”
“Well, adventure is like fine wine or aged cheese, an acquired taste. Honey, life is short, and moments are fleeting. We have to take risks, just go out there and grab the bull by the horns. If you don’t, you end up with the end of the bull where the crap comes out, and who needs more bullcrap?”
I laughed; my father had a way with words, and I liked to think I’d inherited some of it. “So taking you to the burger joint is grabbing the bull by the horns?”
“You might not be spontaneous, but I know you can’t resist a challenge.”
My gaze narrowed as he played another angle. “What’s up your sleeve?”
“I challenge you to sneak me outta here for a burger run.”
“You’ve doubled up on the pain patches, haven’t you?”
He laughed.
“You’re right. I can’t resist a dare,” I said, “but you also know I won’t break the rules.”
His green eyes blazed.
“Hmm. Maybe rules are meant to be broken, Dad, but I’m sure you didn’t think that when I broke curfew after prom.”
“That was ages ago, and I didn’t want you being so wild and reckless then.”
“But it’s okay to be wild and reckless now?”
“You’re twenty-three, a grown woman, and I’m a grown man. I want a burger, and it’s my constitutional right to have one, right?”
“I’m not sure I ever read anything in the Bill of Rights about Burger King, Dad.”
“Touché.”