When Ashley arrived at the hospital, Rodney was sitting outside Spencer’s room, two food trays left on his cart.  He looked up and smiled at her, tapping the inside of his elbow signaling a nurse was drawing bloodwork.  Ashley smiled, kissing the man on his cheek.  "How’ve you been Rodney?" she asked, slumping into the chair next to him.

He gave her one thumb up, and Ashley arched an eyebrow in suspicion.  He tapped his wedding band, then wobbled his hand back and forth in a "so-so" manner.  "Trouble with the Mrs.?" Ashley chuckled.  He nodded and sighed.  He pointed to his ring again, then his head, and clenched his jaw in frustration.  "Yes, my friend," Ashley said, patting his knee.  "Women give me a headache, too."

He laughed and jerked a thumb towards Spencer’s room; Ashley nodded. They both leaned their heads against the wall, closing their eyes to rest.  A few minutes later, the nurse came out and walked past in a huff.  Not everyone around here approved of Ashley’s presence; some people were still loyal to Paula.  Rodney shook his head in disgust and grabbed a tray while Ashley grabbed another.

Spencer was picking at her bandaid as they set the trays down.  Rodney kissed her forehead, blew a kiss at her arm, squeezed Ashley’s shoulder and walked out with a little bow.  I adore that man.

"That woman is a bitch," Spencer muttered, wincing as she ripped off the bandaid. "Blue’s Clues, today, please."  Ashlee reached into the bedside table and pulled out a clean bandaid.  Spencer refused to wear the hospital gowns, their bandaids, and she even ordered her own stockings online to cover up the stump of her leg.  "I swear she jabs that needle in me and then calls my mom to tell her how deep she got."

Ashley smiled and pulled the tray covers off — it smelled like Mexican, although she couldn’t tell if it was a chimichanga, a burrito, or none of the above.  Spencer wrinkled her nose as well.  She took the lid and slammed it back on the plate.  "Get the stash," she said, pointing at the wardrobe across the room.  "Dad restocked last night.  He says ‘hello’ by the way."

Ashley kept the smile, still not saying anything. The cupboard was stacked with peanut butter, granola bars, popcorn, tortilla chips and salsa, dried fruit, and a big bag of peanut m&ms.  She found cans of soup, ramen packets, and rice-a-roni.  She pulled out chicken and broccoli flavored rice, and a box of Triscuits, grabbing the m&ms as an afterthought.  When she turned around, Spencer was playing with Ashley’s phone.