5/27/2014

'Jenna & Luke' - Chapter 12

By the time Jenna and Luke arrived back at the bungalow it was early afternoon. It was clear that Luke was tired; as many quadriplegics he had trouble with regulating his body temperature and spending a lot of time in the sun wasn’t great for him. Jenna had brought a large umbrella and had attempted to keep him in the shade as much as possible and Luke had said that the sea breeze helped keep him cool too. He still felt rather hot when she touched his cheek.
“Are you okay? You feel a little hot and you look tired.”
“I feel a bit uncomfortable,” Luke admitted. “And I am tired.”
“Come into the bathroom. I’ll try to cool you down with a few cold towels. If that doesn’t work a cold shower might.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Luke said with a small, tired smile. He followed Jenna into the bathroom and watched as she filled the sink with cold water and put several small towels into it. Then she unstrapped the straps across his chest and pulled off his shirt.  When that was done she he placed a rubber sheet behind his back so the backrest of his wheelchair wouldn’t get wet and instructed him to recline his chair a bit.
When Luke was sitting slightly reclined Jenna deftly wrapped a cool towel around his neck so it was covering his shoulders and upper back, and a second one across his upper chest.  She kept replacing the cool towels for the next half hour or so, until she felt him getting cooler.
“You feel like you’ve cooled down,” Jenna stated as she removed what she hoped was the final towel from Luke’s neck.
“I feel a lot better now. Thanks, babe. You’re the best.”
“No need to thank me. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.”
“I’m still kinda tired and need a nap. A couple of hours in bed in an air conditioned room sound very tempting right now.”
Jenna nodded as she dried his damp skin with a soft, fluffy towel and then she strapped him into the wheelchair again before she headed into the bedroom.  Luke adjusted his chair so he was sitting upright and followed her.