Kenny had a phone. Apparently, he kept it on the charger most of the time, sitting by his recliner. It was a flip phone with preprogrammed numbers, so Kenny could easily call people without help. Mabel was #2. He proudly showed Bette how he held #2 down until the phone began to ring.
Mabel could not have been any kinder. Being dragged out at midnight was never fun, but she had no complaints when she arrived to sit with Kenny. Mabel had a calming effect on Kenny that Bette couldn't compete with. It was clear they had a beautiful bond. By the time she changed her clothes and went back upstairs, the older woman had managed to get him tucked into his recliner watching SpongeBob and was beginning to doze off.
"Here's my number," Bette said quietly in the kitchen, jotting it down on a piece of paper. "I'm going to see what I can find out."
"Okay, here is mine. Call when you find something out. Kenny will be fine with me." They exchanged pieces of paper, and Bette left for the hospital.
Chapter 27
Bette didn't normally lie, but when the front desk asked if she was related to Kerrie, she didn't try to stop "I'm her sister" from tumbling out.
Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do.
She was told to sit in the waiting room, a large square space with hunter-green cushioned chairs and lamps from the 80s, the kind covered in spackling to give them texture. Old magazines were stacked neatly on plastic end tables. She was the only one in there. The silence had returned. Deafening. Her thoughts were so loud in her head that she wouldn't have been surprised if someone walked in and heard them. Somewhere in the hospital was her lover. A person she was growing to care deeply for. Bette had no idea what could be wrong with Kerrie. Could it have been a heart attack? She didn't think it was a stroke or seizure, but she wasn't sure. So many things had run through her mind. She sniffled through her tears. She had held them back for Kenny's sake earlier, but now alone, they flowed freely. She plucked a few tissues from the table beside her and wiped her nose.
She looked up at the sound of a door opening. A nurse in royal blue scrubs walked through, holding a clipboard. "Hi, are you here with Ms. Matthews?"
Bette shot to her feet, tossing her purse over her shoulder. "I am. Is she okay? Can I see her?"
The nurse nodded, her short, midnight-black hair shifting a little as she did. She was wearing bright yellow glasses that she glanced through at the clipboard. "Yes, she's okay. She is seriously dehydrated and exhausted."
Bette's eyebrows met in the middle. "She passed out from lack of water and being tired?"
The nurse smiled sympathetically. "Technically speaking, yes, but severe dehydration and exhaustion can be dangerous. We're getting her in a room right now. She'll need to stay tonight, at least, for treatment."
"But she'll be okay, right?"
"Yes, as long as she stops trying to leave and accepts the IVs. That's partially why I came to get you. Maybe you can convince her to stay. She's adamant she needs to go home."
Bette sighed, nodding. "Her twin brother is home. He's special needs and can't be left alone. She needs to know he's okay."
"Kenny?"
"Yes! That's him."
"She was saying his name when she was coming to. Why don't you follow me? We'll see if that won't put her at ease. If she left now, I'd be afraid she'd just end up back here."
Bette followed the woman, whose badge read 'Jayla,' into the emergency center. Given the late hour, there weren't many noises. She noticed a few closed curtains and nurses doing nursing things. She was led to another door that went further into the main part of the hospital. Numbers on doors and winding halls filtered by before she passed a large nursing station.
Jayla stopped, addressing one of the women behind the desk. "Which room is Kerrie Matthews?"
"206. Mandy is trying to keep her here. She's not cooperating."
Nodding, Jayla turned to her left, and Bette followed along like a puppy.
She heard Kerrie before she saw her. Rounding the corner into a room, her girlfriend was shakily trying to navigate the side of the bed but was failing. She was mouthing off the whole time to a little redhead who looked fed up with the giant woman's attitude. "Ms. Matthews, please sit back."
"I need to go," Kerrie demanded, panting heavily and swaying.
Bette stepped forward. "Kerrie, Kenny is fine; you need to listen to the nurses."
Kerrie, confused, looked around until she found the source of the voice. She sagged back on the bed's edge. "Bette?"
She walked over, depositing her purse in a chair, and cupped Kerrie's face. "Kenny is okay. He was such a brave guy. He came and got me and helped me. Mabel is with him now. He even showed me how to call her."
Like taking the fight out of an angry bear, Kerrie's large frame sagged further, and Bette could see her gentle giant beginning to appear. "He's okay?"
"He's fine. When I left, Mabel had him tucked into his recliner. I think she may have drugged him. He was drifting off to Squidward and his saxophone."
