Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Expedition

We gathered a very few miles from the state line early Friday morning, the day after Thanksgiving, for our traditional hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. It was uneventful until we got home and prepared to unload the tree, which had been lashed to the luggage rack.
Focused on grabbing my gloves from the back of the car, I leaned forward on the last stride.

Noticing that the raised hatch was bending the top of the tree, he began to close it.

Physics set in, and then biology (or was it physiology?) Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Head wounds bleed.

I stop, suddenly, then stagger backward, several slow steps. Later, he can't stop laughing as he imitates my slow, crouching, backward stagger. Neither can I.

I feel my head. A shallow groove in the skin, the image of a trench. No puncture, no slice. A formed depression, and it's wet. Yep, my fingers are bright red.

After the bleeding has slowed to an ooze, they take turns looking at the wound as I help part my hair around it. I don't think you need stitches, she says. That's good news, because just the thought of that hurts. You could use a butterfly bandage, he says, and I start laughing again. Would it stick to all the hair? Or require a shave?

Laughter is great medicine; the healing begins.