Jack in the Cast

Jack in the Cast


The light knocking on the door caused Jack Benson to take a deep breath, grit his teeth, and finally call out. “Yeah, who’s there?”

From behind the closed bedroom door came the low voice of Kathy Collett, “Jack, it’s Kathy. Can I come in?”

Sighing loudly Jack answered “Ah yeah, I guess. Come on in Kathy.”

“I brought you a present for Valentine’s Day.” She began as she swung the door open and waltzed into the room carrying a wrapped box, a bouquet of flowers and a card. When her eyes came to rest on the sight of Jack on the hospital bed, she exclaimed “Oh Jesus, look at you! A whole body cast Jack?” She pushed the door shut behind her with her foot, rushed over to the side of the bed and placed the items on a small wheeled table.

Jack wanted to turn his head to look at Kathy, but the cast went around his neck and covered the back of his head so he couldn’t. In fact, the cast was so complete, the only areas that were uncovered was Jack’s face, his penis, and his buttocks so that he could urinate and defecate, his fingers and his toes. At the moment, a towel was covering his private areas.

“Yeah, you’ll have to forgive me for not getting up.” Jack joked with a hint of sarcasm.

Coming up alongside where Jack could see her, Kathy asked “What the hell happened? I mean, I heard that you had a bad fall off the side of the mountain and was pretty messed up and all, but I didn’t expect this. How did you fall, and what happened?” Tears were building up in the corners of her eyes and threatening to spill over her chubby face as she looked on in total disbelief.

“Oh shit Kathy. You know, I’ve been over this so many times already, and I’m really not in the mood to go over the whole thing again.” Jack snapped angrily. Then, upon seeing the hurt look in Kathy’s eyes, he softened his voice and said “Look, I uh, I really appreciate that you came all the way over here to visit me and all, but I guess I’m not the best company right now you know. I’m really sorry, but I’m kind of embarrassed about the whole thing. You should probably just go before I say something else I’m gonna regret.”

Jack and Kathy had known each other for about three years, and Jack was well aware of how sensitive she was. It all had to do with Kathy’s weight, which she constantly struggled with keeping under control. She was now what some would call “pleasantly plump”, but in her eyes, she was fat and ugly, and no one, including Jack, could convince her otherwise. In reality, Jack thought Kathy had a very pretty face, and her womanly curves were not at all unattractive, it was just that he was in love with someone else, someone who was unfortunately already taken.

“It’s okay Jack, I’m not offended, and I’m not leaving you either.” Kathy reassured. “I got a text from Walt saying that you was busted up pretty good, but I had no idea it was this bad. I just wanted to let you know though, don’t worry about the office. Between me and Walt and Mathews, we’ll handle the extra load while you heal. You just concentrate on getting better, and if you come back… when you come back, your job will still be waiting for you. We’ll handle things in your absence ”

“Thanks Kathy, I appreciate that.” Jack said, his voice softening as he realized that she really meant well.

Looking at her closely for the first time since she showed up, Jack noticed how nice she looked. She was wearing a dress with pink, red and white flowers all over and her ample cleavage was on display. Not at all what he was used to seeing her wear in the office. “You look very nice in that dress Kathy.”

“Oh thank you Jack. It’s my Valentine’s Day dress.”

“Yeah, Valentine’s Day, I guess I forgot all about that. It’s not like I’ve got anyone to celebrate it with anyway.”

“I know,” Kathy began, “I think it must be the long hours you work Jack. There’s just no time for a relationship.” She paused for a second before adding as an afterthought. “Even though you’d make a terrific boyfriend.”

That last comment caused Jack to smile and blush a bit. “Thanks Kathy. That’s nice of you.”

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence before Kathy sighed loudly and asked
“Are you in a lot of pain?”

“I’m on some pretty good pain medication, but it’s been a few hours, so I’m feeling some discomfort. Thing is, the pain meds make my brain fuzzy, so I almost welcome the pain, just not too much pain.”

“Look Jack, if you truly want me to leave so you can lie here staring up at the ceiling, wallowing in self pity, then I will leave. But I came here today because I want to spend time with you. I want to help you with whatever you need help with. I’m here for you Jack. What would you like?”

“I have a live in nurse that takes care of everything Kath, but if you want to hang out here for awhile, it’s up to you. I just don’t think I’m gonna be real good company today ya know.”

“Oh Jack, I feel so bad for you. You sound so…depressed right now.” Kathy said with a sad face.

“Depressed huh? Gee, I can’t imagine why I’d be depressed. I mean, doesn’t everyone want to be laid up in a full body cast for two to three months of their life? I mean shit Kathy, I can’t feed myself, I can’t scratch myself, I need help shitting and pissing.