RESTING MY EYES

I walked in the front door, dropped all my bags on the chair in the living room, and saw my son Alex walking down the hallway. “Well, that certainly was a long day at work.” I complained as I tossed my keys in the basket on the kitchen counter and headed for the couch.

“Sorry about that.” Alex said as he followed me to the couch. “Do you want to order out for dinner?”

“No, I’ve got chicken in the fridge that’s been defrosted.” I kicked my shoes off and laid down. “I’m just going to rest my eyes for a few minutes and then I’ll start dinner.” I fluffed the pillow before laying my head on it.

Alex grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and placed it over me.

“Thanks.” I sighed. “I’ll be good to go in a few.”

“Alright.” He was headed back to his room. “Have a nice nap.”

“Not a nap.” I reminded him. “I’m just resting my eyes.”

What I thought was several minutes later I heard keys in the front door.

My husband Steven and Alex were walking in carrying a take-out bag from the diner. “I got dinner!” Steven said as he held up the bag.

“What?” I tossed the blanket off of me and sat up. “But I was going to cook chicken!”

“Well, we thought you needed the sleep.” Steven said as he headed for the dining room while Alex headed for the kitchen to get the plates to set the table.

“I was just resting my eyes.” I reminded them.

“You’ve been resting your eyes for the last hour and a half.” Steven said as he pulled the food containers out of the bag.

“And you were snoring.” Alex laughed as he set the plates out.

“Really?” I looked at my watch. “I swear it only felt like a few minutes!” I looked over at Alex. “And by the way I don’t snore.”

Alex was still laughing and nodding his head. “Sure. Okay.”

“We got hungry so we figured maybe you’d like a break from cooking tonight.” Steven handed me my container. “I got you a chicken parm sandwich.”

“Oh, my favorite!” I sat down at the table and opened the container. “I swear I was only planning on closing my eyes for a few minutes.”

“We know.” Alex handed me a napkin. “But you looked like you needed the rest.”

“I guess I did.” I picked up the sandwich. “You must have read my mind because I was planning on making chicken parmigiana for dinner tonight.”

“I know it’s your favorite.” Steven opened his Cobb salad. “I was in the mood for a salad anyway.”

“What did you get Alex?” I was looking over at his container as he opened it.

“I got a grilled chicken wrap.”

“That looks good, too.” I took a bite of the chicken and sighed. “Now that I’m having this tonight I’m going to have to figure out another recipe for tomorrow nights chicken.”

I looked over at Steven as he shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t ask me. I’ll be happy with anything you make.”

“Ah, thanks.” I looked over at Alex. “What about you?”

“I’ll be fine with anything as long as you don’t make grilled chicken wraps either.” He took a bite of his wrap.

“I guess I’ll just surprise you both tomorrow. Unless I happen,” I made air quotes with my fingers. “to ‘rest my eyes’ again tomorrow.”

Steven was shaking his head and laughing. “There’s only one free pass a week.”

I shrugged my shoulders and laughed. “Hey, you can’t blame a girl for trying.”