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Carol Perkins: The Shoe Her uncle's roommate seem stand-offish, at first, but it wasn't until after leaving the hospital with a feeling she had not been enough of a good Samaritan did she learn the whole story in this wonderful, must read, O Henry wishes he'd written it, short story For the next earlier Carol Perkins story, click on Potlucks By Carol Perkins The Shoe The elderly man in the other bed turned his back when we came into the hospital room to visit my uncle after his appendectomy. This was the second roommate in five days, but this one was a real iceberg. The curtain between the two was pulled half way, but he was visible. We chatted enough, I supposed, to arouse him and when he rolled over and grunted, I had to say something rather than act like he wasn't alive. "How long you been here?" My uncle answered for him, "He just had his gall bladder out today." No wonder the man wasn't too responsive. "Yeah, just had it out 'bout two hours ago," he spoke, noticeably sedated but warming up a little. "My wife and daughter just left." I guess he thought I might wonder why he was alone so soon after surgery. We all have this mentality that the entire family be present for any surgery in case a person dies "under the knife." We chatted about the light that was blinding him over his bed, and after I couldn't find the right switch and feared I might turn off a machine, I went to the nurse's station for help. I encountered this, "Are you stupid" look, but she scurried down the hall with me right behind her, and turned off the light. "I've got a cap around here somewhere that I just put over my eyes when I'm at home and want to sleep." I knew that was my cue to find the cap. I handed it to him from the table next to his bed. I obviously felt the need to help care for this man just two hours out of surgery. "If you wouldn't mind," he continued to speak from under the cap, "I'm missing a sock too." I began to search for his missing sock. I saw a shoe under the bed, but no sock. I stopped short of raising the covers to see if it were at the foot of his bed. Finally, I found the sock in the nightstand. Although I speculated about its mate, thank goodness I didn't ask. After my mother and I helped our new friend settle in for the night and adjusted the color on my uncle's TV, we knew it was time to let both of them rest. Before we left I couldn't resist looking back at the lone shoe under the man's bed, and whispered to my mother, "Do you think I should have looked for his other shoe so he'll have it in the morning?" I could envision him stumbling around, searching for that missing shoe. "I wouldn't disturb him. He'll get someone to help him find it." There was no movement on the other side of the room. Just a man with the covers up to his neck and a cap down to his chin. For some reason, I couldn't get that man out of my mind. He was around my father's age and I kept seeing that one shoe under the bed. The next day my uncle was released and a few days later, recounting his hospital stay, I mentioned the man in the other bed and my looking for his sock and the one shoe under the bed and how I had wanted to go back to find it. My uncle said in his matter-of-fact way, "There was no other shoe. He lost his leg in WWII." For once in my life, I had kept my mouth shut at the right time. About the author: Carol (Sullivan) Perkins is a lifelong resident of Edmonton, KY, in Metcalfe County where she taught high school English at Metcalfe County High School until her recent retirement. She is a now a freelance writer. is married to Guy Perkins and they have two children: Carla Green (Mark) of Brentwood, TN and Jon Perkins (Beth) of Austin, TX and six grandchildren. Her latest book, Let's Talk About, is a collection of over 70 of her works, and she is presently working on the second book in this series. Carol's ties to Adair County go back to Breeding where her grandfather, Rufus Reece, and her grandmother Bettie Strange, began their married life and later moved to Metcalfe County. You may contact Carol at cperkins@scrtc.com or write at P.O. Box 134 Edmonton. If you would like a copy of her book, you can order through email. Watch for her next story next Sunday. IF YOU'VE ENJOYED READING CAROL PERKINS' STORIES on ColumbiaMagazine.com, you'll love her book, "Let's Talk About It. . . ." The books are $15 plus $4 for shipping. Send check or cash or money order to Carol Perkins, P.O. Box 134, Edmonton, KY 42129 They can be bought at the Herald Office in Edmonton, KY, or Terri's Fine Jewelry in Glasgow, KY. This story was posted on 2009-07-26 18:26:50
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Carol Perkins:
Carol Perkins: Potlucks Carol Perkins: Grandparents' Camp Carol Perkins: At The Funeral Home Carol Perkins: The Name is Perkins Carol Perkins: The Gift of Music Carol Perkins: Don't Make Me Go Carol Perkins: Sally Was a Good Girl Carol Perkins: All Gave Some, and Some Gave All Carol Perkins: Waspers, Punkins, and Tators Carol Perkins: Mother's Day and Pity Parties View even more articles in topic Carol Perkins |
 
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