Page 109 of Rigid

“As parents, we’re forced to make decisions for our minor children. The decisions we make--”

“Stop the textbook bullshit, motherfucker. You gave me two options. Keep her on the meds, or take her off them. What would you do? Honest fucking response is all I want. Your daughter is in that bed. You need to make a decision, and you’ve got five seconds to do it.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “I’d take her off the medication.”

Smokey’s head cocked to the side. “Why’d you recommend we leave her on them?”

“It’s the safest thing to do, but there are risks inherent to--”

“Stop. If we take her off, what happens?”

“She may wake up. She may not. In the drug-induced state, however, we can only monitor what we believe to be her conditions. In this state, one would never know the improvements that might be made without the medication. It’s simply impossible to tell.”

Smokey looked at me.

I shrugged.

“Help me out here, baby.”

“I think. She’s strong. She’s just like you, Smokey. She’s a little bitty you. She’s a fighter. I say take her off and let her come out of it. I think she’ll--”

He looked at the doctor. “Take her off the meds.”

“Smokey,” I gasped. “I don’t want you to do anything--”

“We made this decision, baby. You and me.” He shot the doctor a look. “Can we get this done sometime today, Doc?”

Smokey’s sarcastic tone caused the doctor to jump from his seat. “I’ll. We’ll get that process underway.”

“Thanks Doc.”

As the doctor fled the room, Smokey took me in his arms.

I’d made a parental decision, and as much as I wanted it to, it didn’t feel good.

In fact, it hurt.

As we stood in each other’s arms at the foot of the bed, he began to hum. The dull drone from his chest provided a comfort I hadn’t felt in days. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift away.

Soon, the swaying turned into a slow dance.

It was the slowest of dances, but it was a dance nonetheless.

Eddie’s medication stopped, but the dancing continued. Driven by a tune that only Smokey was hearing, we shuffled gracefully across the floor.

And, I fell a little further in love with Grayson Wallace.

THIRTY-FOUR

Smokey

My eyes shot open.