Sunburn

Haley entered with her mother, father and younger brother, Hayden.

Something bothered Haley.  She winced, cringing with pain.

“Did you have fun at the beach today, Haley?” The mother asked her.

“Mommy, it hurts!”  Haley cried, holding back tears.

The mother frowned.  “What’s wrong, Haley?”

“There’s red on my skin, mommy….” she whimpered.  “It’s red and it hurts.”

The mother looked at her in embarrassment.  Didn’t I cover every inch of her body with suntan lotion?  I must have missed a spot…. “Haley honey, that’s a sunburn,” she told her.  “Show mommy where it hurts.”

Haley reached her hand over the back of her neck, and felt all down that area.  “Ow!  It hurts!”

The mother looked at the sunburned area on the back of her daughter’s neck and hugged her.  “Oh Haley!  You got burned real bad there.  Let mommy put something on it to make it feel better.”

The mother took Haley to the bathroom.

At this time, Haley was writhing in pain.  “Mommy, it hurts!  Please get rid of this pain!”

The mother opened up the medicine cabinet and pulled out a bottle of lidocaine gel.  “Here.  Let me rub this on the back of your neck.  It will make it feel better, I promise.”

Haley looked at her mother, wiping away her tears.  “I hope this works, because it still hurts.”

The mother squirted out some lidocaine gel, until she had a large glob on her hand.  She then began rubbing the glob on the back of Haley’s neck, until it was completely rubbed in.  “Feel better, honey?”

Haley smiled.  “Yes mommy!  A lot better.  When will the sunburn go away?”

The mother looked at Haley’s sunburn.  “In a couple weeks.  Just be patient, dear.  You’re five-years old.  You can handle it.”

Haley sighed.  Stupid sunburn, she thought.  Listening to her mother, she ignored the sunburn.  With the lidocaine, it didn’t hurt as much.  With that, she entered the living room and began playing with her toys.

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©2012  K. L. Walker