Righty was relieved when he got home and found that Janie had still not arrived back from the library. He took the opportunity to look in the mirror, and he realized that while he was as dirty as a rat and he had blood stains all over the back of his shirt, he had no bruises or cuts on his face.
He quickly put his blood-stained shirt in the fireplace, lit it, and went outside to their shower area. There was a barrel of water next to it and a couple of small buckets. He stripped and began pouring water over the back of his head. It stung like about twenty hornet stings at once, and he realized the flesh was most likely still torn. That meant a trip to the doctor and the risk of more gossip.
Do it anyway! a voice told him authoritatively.
He looked down at his knee and saw it was swollen really badly. That alone would have meant a trip to the doctor, so between his head and his knee he knew he had no alternative.
Then, suddenly, he heard Janie come home.
“Richie?” she inquired.
“In the shower!” he responded.
To his horror, he realized she was coming to join him.
Normally, that would have been as welcome as hot pancakes, but tonight was a little different.
The next thing he knew he was face to face with Janie in all her natural glory.
“Did you get an inventory arrangement?” she asked, looking at him with amorous eyes.
Then, he realized that with the right tone he just might avoid a lot of nasty questions.
He pulled her close to him, kissed her, and said, “Yeah, baby. Everything worked out fine. Except Charlie apparently was in a little bit of a hurry to get home for some reason, so he riled up the other horses and started the wagon up with a jerk, and I went falling right off, landed on my knee, and then on my head for good measure.”
“Well, Ralph knew I missed you, and so good for him,” she teased.
Fortunately, the romantic spirit and the analytical spirit coexist as harmoniously as water and oil, and thus Righty’s explanation of a lacerated scalp and puffy knee seemed like the most natural thing in the world to Janie, albeit very boring. Righty and Janie were quickly distracted by other matters, and thus, Righty realized he had had his second stroke of luck that day. Analytical Janie would have been a far more severe interrogator but alas was far away.