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Nurse Nina laughed. “I plucked them out just for you. It’ll help you relax a bit.”
But I knew the real reason she was doing it.
Does everyone on this damn hall know my father abandoned me?
I closed my eyes as she continued checking my vitals. I felt my tubes being finagled with, and I held my breath for it. I hated it when they shifted the ones going up my nose. It always pinched a bit more than I wanted. I listened as she whirled around the room, whistling to herself and trying to bring a bit of cheer into my life.
Then I heard the clicking of those heels.
“Uh oh. I think I hear someone coming down the hallway.”
I opened my eyes as the nurse leaned up my hospital bed. And my heart exploded with delight when I saw Cecilia come into the room. Thank hell, the hospital had let her back in. Because this Sunday was creeping by slower than I wanted it to. She clutched a bag of food and it made me smile. Plus, she had some books in her hands. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to me, sitting the books in my lap.
“I found those on your bookshelf. They had various bookmarks in them, so I figured you might want to continue reading them to pass the time.”
I grinned. “I appreciate that.”
Cecilia unpacked the food. “I also brought lunch. There’s this cute little cafe on the corner just a couple blocks down from here. Massive salads. And great soups. I got you a steak salad with extra meat, and then some thick tomato bisque soup and some of their freshly-baked bread to dip in it.”
“Thank you, Cecilia.”
“I also snagged you a lemon bar, if your sweet tooth starts acting up.”
She said it as if she had some sort of dangerous secret she were carrying around. And the tone of her voice made me chuckle.
“That’s more than enough food, thank you. Really. I’m glad you made it back today.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry I let your father get to me like that. I couldn't stop thinking about you yesterday.”
I reached out, taking her hand. “I’m glad you stood up for yourself against him. Even if it did get you tossed out.”
“I should have kept a cooler head for you. You were here all alone yesterday. That isn’t right. I shouldn’t have been so selfish.”
I squeezed her hand. “It’s fine. Don’t beat yourself up over it, okay?”
I wanted to tell her about Rae, but I figured… baby steps. I thanked her for the food and the books, then dug in while she ate beside me. I looked at the books in my lap and sighed with relief. I’d been painfully bored in this place. And while I usually would’ve been upset that she rifled through my room, she brought me four books I had been wanting to secretly devour for weeks now.
“I’m sure those books will help. And if there’s anything you want from the house, just let me know. I’ll do my best to find it.”
I took a large bite of my salad. “Thank you. Really.”
“Oh! I have exciting news, too.”
I looked over at her as I chewed my food, watching as she set her salad down. She looked at me with pride in her eyes, and I wondered what had her so worked up in all the best ways.
“I talked with your father. And meetings are going well. He said he’s going to video conference in tonight and hang around with us. I have the laptop in the car, I’ll just have to go out and bring it up here once he tells me he’s ready. He’s going to text, I’ll get the laptop, then boom! Howard’s here with us.”
She beamed with happiness, and I tried to give her the kindest smile I could. But I knew how my father worked. He’d get busy with something, or pissed off at something, and suddenly he’d forget all about me. I didn’t have the slightest bit of hope he’d video conference in, much less remember to text Cecilia about it. But she looked so happy about it. So bright and vibrant with hope.
I didn’t have the heart to destroy it.
“That sounds great. It’ll be nice to see him.”
She picked her salad back up. “He’s been asking about you. Updates and such. I know he’s worried, even though he isn’t here right now. His flying out was a knee-jerk reaction to us fighting. Not you, Clint. I hope you know that.”
Yeah, sure. “I know.”
“Good. Very good. And to celebrate, I’ll go out and get us something nice for dinner. You know, so you don’t have to keep suffering through all this hospital food. This is going down easily enough, right?”
