I figured Shane had simply forgotten to bring all the pain meds with her when she’d brought the clothes earlier, and I promised myself that if I heard anything else I’d go and get her some of the Tylenol 3 I had in the medicine cabinet. I’d gotten it on doctor’s orders since I’d sliced my finger with a carving knife on Thanksgiving, and hadn’t used it all. It was still good, though, so I hadn’t thrown it out. I hoped I wouldn’t have to give it to her, since it was prescription, but if Jenny was hurting that badly I didn’t see any way around it.

I’d only been standing in the hallway for probably half a minute when I heard another moan, this one less muffled than before. I also heard a whispered exclamation of Shane’s name, so I figured the pain must be getting pretty bad. I decided to give it another minute or so before I went for the pills, though, just in case.

There was silence for a little bit, and then I heard the bed creaking. I rolled my eyes. I’d been telling Alice that we should replace the damn thing for years now, but she loved it, and refused. As I stood there listening to the stupid thing make more and more noise as the seconds ticked by, I shook my head and vowed to replace the thing as soon as I’d gotten Alice set up a little.

The creaking continued, and over it I could hear Jenny moaning even more loudly. I was starting to get concerned, and apparently Shane was too, because I heard her say Jenny’s name several times with increasing intensity. I finally decided that if it was this bad I had to check on her, so I tapped quietly on the door. No answer, but the bed and Jenny’s moans were pretty loud, so it didn’t exactly surprise me. I shrugged and inched the door open, trying not to scare them.

I couldn’t have if I tried. As soon as I saw their position I had to fight myself to keep from laughing. The bed was a mess, and Shane was looking pretty comfortable there on top of Jenny. She was moving so fast I wondered if she was racing someone, and that thought amused me so much I did giggle a little. They wouldn’t have heard me if I’d brought a battering ram in there, though, judging by how much they both seemed to be enjoying themselves. I backed out of the room and shut the door quietly behind me, hoping that Shane would keep Jenny’s arthritis in mind as she fucked her so she wouldn’t break her hip or something.

I went to the kitchen and made my warm milk, and drinking it really helped. I went back to my room sleepily, and there was silence from the guest room as I passed, so I guessed they had fallen asleep. I did too, not long after I’d climbed back into bed.