Chapter 55

I woke several times during the night. I thought someone was in the house at one point. I felt someone there. Nothing I could do about it, though.
Then, after fourteen hours of sleep, I woke and found that I was actually feeling better. I could almost think straight again. Exhaustion¹ still had a hold on me, though. All my joints² ached. My eyesight was blurry³. I could hear music playing softly in the house. Erykah Badu, one of my favorites.
There was a knock on the bedroom door and I said, Tm decent⁴.
Who goes there?’
Jannie pushed open the door. She was holding a red plastic tray with a breakfast of poached eggs, hot cereal⁵, orange juice, and a mug of steaming coffee. She was smiling, obviously proud of herself. I smiled back at her. That’s my girl. What a little sweetheart she was when she wanted to be.
‘I don’t know if you can eat yet. Daddy. I brought you some breakfast. Just in case.’
“Thank you, sweetie, I’m feeling a little better,’! said. I was able to push myself up in bed, then prop⁶ a few pillows behind me with my good hand.
Jannie carried the tray over to the bed and carefully set it on my lap. She leaned in and kissed my fuzzy cheek. ‘Somebody needs a shave.’
‘You’re being so nice,’ I said to her.
‘I am nice. Daddy,’Jannie answered back.’You feel good enough for a little company? We’ll just watch you eat - we’ll be good. No trouble. Is it okay?’
‘Just what I need right now,’ I said.
Jannie came back with little Alex in her arms and Damon trailing behind, giving me the high sign. They climbed up on my bed and, as promised, they were very good, the best medicine around.  ‘You just eat your breakfast while it’s hot. You’re getting too skinny,’Jannie teased⁷.
‘Yeah, you are,’Damon agreed.’You’re drawn⁸ and gaunt.’ ‘Very good,’I smiled between small bites of eggs and toast, which I hoped I could keep down. I kept running my hand over little Alex’s head.
‘Did somebody poison you. Daddy?’Jannie wanted to know.’What exactly happened?’
I sighed and shook my head. ‘I don’t know, baby. It’s an infection.
You can get it from a human bite.’
Jannie and Damon grimaced⁹. ‘Nana says it’s septicemia. They used to call it blood poisoning.’ Damon contributed some scholarly research.
‘Who am I to argue with Nana,’ I said, and left it at that. ‘I’m no match for Nana Mama right now.’ Or maybe ever.  I looked at the puffed-up bandage and gauze covering most of my right shoulder, where I’d been bitten. The skin was a sickly yellow around the bandage. ‘Something bad got into my blood. I’m okay now, though. I’m coming back.’But I remembered what Irwin Snyder had said: You’re one of us.

1 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

2 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

3 blurry   

adj.模糊的；污脏的，污斑的

参考例句：

• My blurry vision makes it hard to drive. 我的视力有点模糊，使得开起车来相当吃力。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The lines are pretty blurry at this point. 界线在这个时候是很模糊的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 decent   

adj.象样的，不错的，体面的，正派的，恰当的

参考例句：

• We want to raise our children to be decent men and women.我们盼望把孩子们培养成优秀人才。
• There isn't even a decent table in this room.这屋里连张像样的桌子也没有。

5 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

6 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

7 teased   

v.取笑，戏弄( tease的过去式和过去分词 )；梳理（羊毛等）

参考例句：

• He took a screwdriver and teased out the remaining screws. 他拿出螺丝刀把其余的螺丝卸了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt annoyance at being teased. 我恼恨别人取笑我。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 grimaced   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He grimaced at the bitter taste. 他一尝那苦味，做了个怪相。
• She grimaced at the sight of all the work. 她一看到这么多的工作就皱起了眉头。 来自《简明英汉词典》