the orthopedic surgeon's office and the physical and occupational therapy center. It was a cold late December day in Iowa and a light snow began to fall while they were inside the building. Because the parking lot had turned slippery, Kerri waited by the door, shielded from the falling snow by the portico, while her mother found the SUV she drove and brought it around. Once Kerri was safely inside the vehicle, she leaned her head back against the head rest and waited for the throbbing pain to ease in her knee. Looking at her wrist watch, she saw that it was time for her medication and searched through her purse for the little bottle. After taking a few pills dry and chasing them down with several sips from her nearly frozen bottle of water, she leaned her head back again and closed her eyes. It would take twenty five minutes, give or take depending on the lights and traffic, before they reach home. They could not get home fast enough.
Home was a large red cedar and brick two story colonial styled house located on the outskirts of Iowa City on a five acre parcel of land that looked out onto Muddy Creek. A permanent ice rink was set up off on one side next to a small warming house. At one point or another every one of the Sullivan children had used it. The rink was used now by her youngest brother, Jeffrey, who was in his senior year of high school and who played center on the high school hockey team. She had two older brothers who played in the National Hockey League, one for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the other for the Dallas Stars. Brother number three in the brother lineup played hockey for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes.
"Hey, Gimpy," Jeffrey greeted her when she hobbled through the garage door into the kitchen. He was off of school today due to the Christmas-New Year's holiday and his hair and clothing were wet from a recent workout. Currently, he was eating a small mixing bowl full of cereal and had a tall glass of water sitting beside him on the kitchen table where he sat while he was watching a hockey video on the computer tablet.
"Hey, Squirt." She rested her crutches by the door and walked the rest of the way into the room carefully with the aid of the black knee brace she wore for support now that she could put some weight on her leg.
"Jeffrey, you could have at least waited until supper," Kerri's mother chided when she walked in behind Kerri. "It will be ready in a half hour. Kerri, go sit on the recliner and put your leg up. I'll get your ice pack."
"Smells good too, Mom," Jeffrey said at the same time his mother was addressing Kerri. He was referring to the pot roast that was cooking in the slow cooker. He took another spoonful of cereal then, and before he finished swallowing, mumbled something unintelligent.
"What?" both Kerri and her mother said.
"I said that Coach Baranski called for Kerri. You're supposed to call her back when you get home from therapy. What can I say? You left your phone here so I answered it." He put another spoonful in his mouth and chewed.
"It's all right. Where did you put my phone?" He pointed to the living room. "Thanks."
Kerri walked into the living room and sat down in her father's favorite chair, the leather recliner in the corner that faced the flat screen television. She often claimed it during the day when she needed to lift her leg and while he was at the university where he worked as the dean of the business college. He was off today, though, due to the holiday break and was at her younger sister's apartment in Coralville to set up the new computer system her parents bought her sister for Christmas.
Her mother walked in from the kitchen carrying an ice pack and set it on Kerri's knee then went back to the kitchen to work on cleaning the kitchen for supper. She did not bring any more pain pills because Kerri wanted to wean herself from the prescription narcotics and switch to an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicine. The medicine she took on the way home was OTC and it was just beginning to kick in. She noticed that her cell phone was sitting on the table next to the chair just where she left it that afternoon