Something's Missing

“Would you go to the grocery store and get me ice cream and chocolate syrup?” Rod stayed in his recliner.

Elena, Rod’s wife, pulled the curtain aside to see out the window. “Snow’s supposed to turn to ice. I don’t want to go.”

“You know you want some, too.”

Elena let go of the curtain and put her hands on her hips. “I’ll go if you put up the Christmas lights. I’ve been after you to do that for two weeks now.”

“Oh, all right.” Rod heaved himself out of his recliner. “I’ll get the ladder out of the garage.”

Elena headed to the bedroom. “I’ll get my purse and coat. I already brought the lights down from the attic. They’re by the door.”

The ladder felt wobbly, but Rod climbed up it while awkwardly holding the tail of the lights. Halfway up, the ladder sunk in before tipping over. The back of Rod’s knee hit a large rock and he felt a sharp pain.

Elena hurried out to see what Rod was yelling about. “You should’ve made sure it was solid before climbing.” 

“Forget the ladder.” Rod groaned and quickly lifted his hand from his knee. “Call the ambulance.” 

Snow began to fall as the ambulance pulled up. Elena followed in the car.

At the hospital, the x-rayed knee clearly indicated a deep fracture at the back of the knee. It wasn’t life threatening, so he was sent home with his knee immobilized and instructions not to walk. 

“So much for the vacation money,” said Elena. 

“Thanks for the vote of sympathy,” said Rod.

Elena sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just now I’ll have to stay home to take care of you.”

“I have a hard time imagining you giving me a bath with this leg.”

“I’m not giving you a bath. Insurance is paying for home health. Let them do it.”

At the next bath, the home health worker was a twenty-two-year-old, slim woman. She did the job without rushing or complaining.  

With no thought how it would sound to Kendra, Rod said, “I know more than Fred, my co-worker, but he got the raise. I guess bringing coffee and walking to the post office is worth more than my hard work.”

Kendra wrapped a large bath towel around Rod. He sat on the toilet with the lid down and his leg stretched out. 

Kendra brought a small bowl with warm, soapy water and a washcloth. She kneeled by Rod’s feet. 

“My feet are ugly. I don’t care if you wash them or not.”

“Would it make you feel better,” asked Kendra, “if I painted your toenails?” She winked, then smiled at him.

Rod snorted. “Not hardly.” 

“Do you like stories?” Kendra washed around the ankle of one foot before moving on to the lower foot. “I could tell you a story.”

Rod sighed without smiling. “I suppose.”

“This is about Jesus. Do you know who He is?”

“Yes. But I don’t want preached at.”

“Jesus did something that surprised his disciples. Laying aside His outer garments, Jesus put a towel around his waist. Then He poured water in a bason.” She pointed at the bowl. “Something like this one.” Gently, Kendra worked the wet cloth between each toe.  

“Are you telling me Jesus washed his disciples’ feet? I don’t believe it.” Rod leaned slightly to watch her dry his foot with a small towel. “He is supposed to be a great man.”

Rod stretched his good leg out a little as she went to work on that foot.

“Peter, a disciple, said ‘If I wash you not, you have no part of me.’” As before, she gently worked between each toe.

“Why did Jesus wash feet? He could’ve called a servant to do that.”

“People walked a lot. Roads were dusty. It was just a common courtesy for guests.

“Also, Matthew 23:11 says, ‘But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.' The Bible story doesn’t say so, but I believe the disciples were arguing about who is the greatest among them. Jesus set the example.” Kendra finished drying his feet with the towel. “Well, I’m done. I’ll help you get dressed and I’ll be done for today.”

“Interesting story. I would never have thought of Jesus doing something like that.”

After Kendra left and Rod was back in his recliner, her attitude and story came back to him. Jesus had humbled himself to do a menial task. And so had Kendra. Even though she was paid for washing his feet, it was no less impressive that she took it seriously and without rushing it. 

The young woman’s service brought back memories of Elena’s homemade bread making ability. Every week when they were first married, the smell of fresh bread greeted him when he came home from work. She said she made it just because he liked the bread.

Something’s missing, thought Rod. Why has it been so long since she’s made bread?

His wife worked at a factory and came home tired. He had an urge to prepare a meal for her, but he couldn’t with his knee as it was. Rod stared at the phone on the table by his chair. He picked up the phone. “Hello, Domino’s Pizza? I want a large pizza with everything on it to be delivered. Also bread sticks. I have my debit card ready.”

On opening the door, Elena said, “Snow has turned to ice--.” Elena sniffed at the smell of fresh pizza. Her eyes narrowed and looked at Rod sideways. “Why did you order that? You never want to eat out. Has my cooking gone downhill that much? Didn’t you want me to fix dinner?”

“Honey, I thought you’d be too tired to cook.” 

“Honey? Too tired to cook? I wasn’t expecting that. What are you after?”

“Nothing. I remember when we used to go out for pizza on sort of a date night. This pizza makes me think of that… I love you.” 

Elena paused. “Pizza as a memory? Really?”

“How about a smoocheroo?” asked Rod with a twinkle in his eye.

“You haven’t wanted a smooocheroo in the last twenty years.”

“Something’s been missing in our marriage.” Rod paused and looked down momentarily. “I’ve been selfish. Always asking you to do something for me. What better way to show I love you than to serve you.” Patting his knee, Rod said, “I’d salt the sidewalk for you, except this won’t let me. So, I ordered pizza.”

The lines in Elena’s face softened. She looked down and away, then at him. She reached down to kiss him. “I’ll get you a bread stick.”