One evening just before bed, when George was bending over to tie up the garbage in the kitchen, he felt a tug in his back. What was that? He finished tying the bag and went to stand up, and Oh! Oh no! It hurt terribly, and he couldn’t stand up!
“Amelia!”
Amelia came running. “Yes, George?”
“I just threw my back out,” George moaned.
“How did you do that?” Amelia asked. “What do I do? Who do I call? Do we know any nurses? Do we know any doctors?”
They did not know any nurses or doctors, although Amelia had once befriended a pharmacist, she didn’t have her number anymore. So Amelia did what she could. She helped George to lay down on the floor in their bedroom, and while laying flat on his back, he felt much better. And she gave him a back relaxant.
“I’ll just stay here for a while…” George said groggily. “Nothing hurts when I’m on the floor like this. It’s okay. I feel floaty…”
The muscle relaxants were also relaxing his brain, it seemed, and he smiled woozily up at Amelia.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Amelia asked.
“You’re so pretty…” George said sleepily. “The prettiest frog I ever saw.”
“That’s the muscle relaxer talking, George,” she said, but all the same, she couldn’t help but smile. “Night, night, George.”
But George was already snoring.
George woke up in the middle of the night, and he felt hungry. He was on the floor where he’d fallen asleep because of his hurt back, and he noticed that Amelia must have gotten up at some point and fetched herself a snack, because there was a tube of Pringles potato chips in bed next to her.
And those Pringles chips looked delicious!
He stretched to reach them, but he couldn’t quit reach. He could smell them. He could even see a couple of chips from where he lay. His mouth watered for them! But when he tried to sit up, his back gave him a twinge, and he lay back down.
Herman the cat came into the room, and George felt some hope.
“Herman, fetch!” George said.
But Herman refused to fetch anything. So George lay there, thinking about Pringles chips. And Herman sat there watching him think about Pringles chips. George decided then and there that Herman was his least favorite pet.
“Amelia?” George said quietly.
Amelia snuffled in her sleep.
When George’s back felt better, the first thing he was going to do was eat an entire tube of Pringles! And he went back to sleep.
The next morning, George’s back felt much better! And when he woke up, Amelia had already gotten up and he could hear her cooking breakfast in the kitchen.
But George wanted Pringles chips still. He’d dreamed about them last night. He got up and he spotted some chips across the bed! Finally!
There were three chips left and he reached for them…
He felt something twinge in his back, and he slid down onto the bed next to the chips. Did his back hurt? He wasn’t sure. Laying here like this, nothing hurt. He picked up a chip and munched on it. Then he ate the second chip. Then the third.
“Oh no, George!” Amelia said, coming into the room. “Are you all right?”
“Help me up,” George said. “I think I’m better. I just need a hand.”
Amelia helped him to his feet, and he really was feeling much better. Not perfectly better, but a great deal better.
“Amelia do we have any more Pringles?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, George,” Amelia said. “I’ve been craving them lately, and I ate them all.”
Darn. It was never good when a frog and his pregnant wife craved the same snack.
“But I made pie this morning,” Amelia said. “Cherry.”
George brightened. “That sounds wonderful, Amelia.”
And Amelia helped George hobble towards the kitchen. Pie was better than Pringles, anyway.
I hope you are enjoying our Knitted Newlweds. If you like stories about relationships and families, check out my books!
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❤
Patricia Johns 
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