did allow a shaft of light to shine in on the floor, and they gave the ability to look out the windows from up close.
The hour and a half lost to cooking and cleaning up after Rebecca’s “potty accident” had not helped speed things up either. It had led him to the next problem at hand, though. Daniel had already dribbled some dog and root vegetable stew down his shirt, so when Rebecca fouled her pants, an idea just kind of came to him.
No power at the pump house meant no water pressure, and no water pressure meant no water heater, which had been retro-fitted to run on propane. So, even though he could heat the water, without pressure, it did him little good. Daniel and Rebecca would usually take two baths together each week. Washing twice a week by most standards was already a luxury, but knowing that Corinne could not go without washing as long as they did, something would have to be done soon.
Soon it was time to make a dinner of thin bean soup, with bread spread equally as thin with separating butter. Rebecca needed to be, and was, fed, cleaned up, and settled into bed. Rebecca knew that she would usually get up early the next morning to go to school, but was told that she would not be going. The bedtime routines were only being done out of habit. Rebecca thought of complaining, she did want to stay up later after all, but her father already looked sad for some reason so she thought better of it.
Daniel sat by her side, cranking away at the small LED lantern, while she insisted on holding the oil lamp for him to work by. Finished with his minute of finger-cramping agony, Daniel placed the light on the white side table beside her bed; one of the few items in Rebecca’s room that had not been painted pink. He turned on the lantern and the room went awash in a bright, blue-white light. The brightest of the lamp’s power would only last for about two minutes, and then it would slowly fade, along with Rebecca, into sleep.
“There you go, girly-girl,” Daniel crooned, forcing a smile. He hoped his cheery tone would assuage the worried look washing out her typically bright eyes. Leaning over to give Rebecca a kiss on the top of the head before retrieving the lantern from her, Daniel lingered just to admire the spindly, dirty-blond and brown-eyed girl beneath his propped up body. His smile grew even bigger, and far more sincere.
“Is Mommy gonna be okay?” Rebecca asked, with a concern that only a child could muster.
“Yeah…What do you mean, Rebecca?” Daniel asked back, feigning surprise with a slight chuckle, as he sat back up.
His intention was to show her that he was not at all concerned about his wife but, deep down he was. Corrine had gotten a look in her eye that at one point bordered on lunacy. The look had since gone away, but it felt like it hadn’t gone that far given her current vacant stare.
“She’s mad at me. I think…,” Rebecca pouted her lower lip out and continued, “Is she? Did I do sumfin’ to her, Dad?”
“Not at all, Rebecca. She just doesn’t feel good...I mean, she’s sick, remember? Huh? Remember that’s why she came home from work today?” he lied. Daniel was again just trying to convince her that Corinne would soon feel better. “You just need to give her a little space? You know how you feel when you’re sick, right?”
Rebecca nodded her agreement.
“Just let her rest tomorrow and I will give you…a bunch of quizzes,” Daniel said, his voice and eyebrows raised. She loved his hand-written pages of basic counting and reading problems.
“A bunch of them, you said? …You pinky promise?” Rebecca asked quickly, eyeing him sideways, as if the moment might slip by. She had perked up a bit, though, and she was reaching her hand out, trying in vain to get only her pinky finger extended. Once Daniel interlocked pinkies with her, it would be absolutely binding. He never broke a pinky promise, but she still needed to work fast.
“I pinky promise.” His laugh boomed out when he sealed the deal with one deft finger and opposite hand over heart. “C’mon, time for bed. I love you, princess. I’ll come back to check on you in a couple minutes. Sound good?”
Rebecca smiled her affirmation this time, then hunkered down beneath the bedspread, her pink blanket