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“Mom, are you alright?” Blue says, literally on his heels.
“I’m alright,” Mom rushes to assure everyone as we gather around her. She barely gets the words out, though, before Gray and C.C. come in with the twins in tow.
“Mom, what happened?”
“I’m fine,” Mom says, sounding exhausted.
“She’s not fine. She nearly killed herself,” Jansen gripes.
“What did you do?” White comes in asking, his oldest son in tow.
“I didn’t do anything,” Mom insists. “Geez Louise, car accidents happen, people.”
“Yeah, they do, but not because you’re trying to teach—”
“Jan, stop,” Mom interrupts.
“What in the hell were you thinking, Lovey? You could have been killed,” he barks, and that’s when I realize I was right. He’s pissed. Really pissed.
Jansen has been in our family for a really long time. He became my dad. Orville cared about us, but he did so mostly from a distance. Jansen was a hands-on father, and we never questioned his love. He also wasn’t the kind of man to get mad. Mom always calls him a silent force. Which means that if he goes silent, he’s stewing on stuff, and he’ll let you know in his own time what is wrong. He’s definitely not being silent right now.
“What’s Jansen talking about?” Cyan asks, as he and Mary come in.
“Hail, hail the gang’s all here,” Mom grumbles.
“She was trying to teach a damn chicken how to drive,” Jansen growls.
“What?!?!” I’m pretty sure all of us say that one word at the same time.
“I was not,” she mutters, shooting a mean look in Jansen’s direction. “Gladys was just scared, so I was trying to cuddle him,” she explains.
“Who’s Gladys?” I mumble, quickly losing track of this conversation.
“The guy I’ve been telling you about that Green hired on, his pet is named Gladys.”
“So, you’re saying a guy named Rooster has a pet chicken named Gladys?” I ask, and considering my whole family, I don’t know why I think that’s strange, but I do.
“His pet is a rooster, honey,” Bryant whispers in my ear. “That’s how he got his nickname.”
“Oh,” I murmur like I understand—while not being sure I actually do.
“I hate to do this, but we’re going to have to thin the room out,” the nurse says, coming inside.
“Ida Sue?” Parker Huntington says, coming in behind the nurse. Parker is the star baseball player that Green somehow got to play for his new team. He had been recovering from an injury. The pro team he was on before didn’t feel he would be the player he once was and let him go. Parker has somehow proved them all wrong, which I’m really glad about, because he’s a great guy.
“Oh hey, honey. What a sweetie you are for coming to check on me,” Ida Sue says as Parker comes in, Meadow trailing behind him.
“I was taking Meadow downtown because her van died. Petal called and wanted me to come by and pick up Gladys. Are you okay?”
“Jan! You told me Gladys had died!” Mom barks with surprising strength.
“I said if you kept asking me about that damn chicken, I’d wring his neck,” Jansen growls, proving he’s still not happy.
“You didn’t eat breakfast this morning, Jan. When you get hungry the devil can’t stand you,” Mom mutters, proving she’s really brave. I don’t think I’d want to antagonize Jansen right now.
“You’re Parker Huntington!” the nurse cries.
“Yeah,” he says, and I swear I think he blushes.
“Oh my God! My boyfriend will die! Can I have my picture with you, please?” she asks, holding out her cellphone.
Green comes over and takes the phone. “Sure you can,” Green says. Parker stands beside the nurse and my brother snaps the photo. “There you go,” he says. “Plus, if you show that photo at the gate of Rise Communication Field Friday night, you and your boyfriend can get in free to watch Parker and the boys in action,” Green says, handing the phone back to the girl.
“No way? Really? My boyfriend is going to die. I know I’m being extra right now, but can I ask for your autograph?” the nurse practically squeals, really excited.
“Sure,” Parker says easily. The nurse looks around helplessly and then grabs an old menu card off Mom’s bedside table and hands him a pen. “What’s your boyfriend’s name?
“Teresa,” she says, “Teresa Guthrie.” When Parker laughs, she blushes a little.
“So you instead of your boyfriend,” Parker murmurs.
“He’s a Braves fan anyhow. I can give you my phone number if you want,” she adds. Parker finishes signing his name and hands it back to her.
“What would your boyfriend think of that?” Parker asks.
“He doesn’t have to know,” Teresa says.
“Damn, that’s cold,” I hear Bryant say behind us, and I twist my head so that I can kiss his neck because I really like that this bothers him.
“Yeah, well, my girlfriend Meadow is here, and she’d mind,” Parker says, stepping back and putting an arm around Meadow.
