AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Swear she almost made the doctor cry. Granted, he's a horse's ass, but still, he's the one with the prescription pad," he said, shaking his head. "I'm gonna go home and get a change of clothes. Don't move her until I get back. We want to double up on security."
"Got it," I agreed, leading Avi into the hospital room where we found Alessa sitting up in bed, frowning at the TV.
"Less!" Avi greeted, voice a little too loud, making her jolt. But when she heard his voice, her face broke into a smile. "I got you flowers!"
"You did!" she said, her smile stretching huge. Dimples and all. "You're the best," she said, looking a little teary-eyed. "Oh, and a bunny!" she declared, lower lip trembling.
"And we got you chicken nuggets!" Avi said, on cloud nine at the idea of being the hero.
"Thank God," she said, waving toward her breakfast tray. "The eggs taste like rubber here," she told him. "And they gave me a side of sugar-free applesauce," she added with a grimace. "Did you get me sauce?" she added as Avi took the bag from me to bring to her.
"Barbecue and honey mustard," Avi told her. He'd informed me when he'd demanded both that Alessa used different dips for her chicken nuggets and fries depending on her mood.
My kid was a sponge for minute details.
"You're my hero, Avi," she told him.
"How's your shoulder?" Avi asked, voice getting smaller. "And your hip?" he added.
"They're fine. They hurt a little when I move, but they're okay. Once I get some food in me, I am ready to get the heck out of here."
"It smells funny here."
"It does! No one else agrees with me," Alessa said, shaking her head. "Plus, the guy in the room next door keeps snoring. All night and morning. And the nurses' shoes squeak. Plus, the TV sucks," she added.
"Maybe we can watch movies when you get home," Avi suggested.
"I'd like that," Alessa agreed. "The doctor doesn't want me to be walking around too much, so I will be doing a lot of TV watching and video game playing. Maybe you can keep me company."
"When I'm not in school," Avi agreed, smile big.
"It's a plan then," she said, working on her food.
She hadn't so much as glanced up at me.
"Did you get any sleep?" I asked, needing to see her gaze on me for reasons I wasn't ready to analyze yet.
"A little," she said, looking up. "But then visitor hours started and every single person I have ever met in my life has needed to come and see me," she said, half touched and half annoyed.
"Did you put in your orders for the meals that are about to descend on the apartment?" I asked.
"Don't worry. I got us covered," she said, giving me a smile. "I am not above milking this," she said, waving at her body, "to get some of Aunt Eileen's ravioli and my cousin Mary's lasagne. We will be eating good all the way up through Thanksgiving."
"Was Denise upset that you decided to come home with us?" I asked.
"No. I think she was relieved. If she had me there, it would be nonstop drop-ins from family members for weeks. Family is great. But a little overwhelming," she added, looking relieved to avoid all that craziness as well.
She would still get visits at my place. Her father and step-mom, her brothers, my family. But not all the dozens of aunts, uncles, and cousins.
"Do you have updates from the doctor?" I asked.
"Lots of instructions on how to take care of the wound sites. And to follow up with a doctor. They must see a lot of gu..." she started, wincing. "They must see a lot of these kinds of injuries. He was pretty laid-back about it all."
"How's the pain?"
"When I'm still it's, you know, manageable. It's not so fun when I move."
"Well, luckily, you won't need to be doing a lot of that as soon as we get you out of here."
"The ride home is going to be a bitch, though. Whoops," she said, giving Avi a guilty look. "You're going to be hearing a lot of grown-up words from me over the next few days, dude. Just warning you ahead of time."
"I won't listen," Avi said, shrugging.
"When can you leave?" I asked.
"They're working on the paperwork now. They're anxious to get rid of me," she added, giving me a small smile.
"Can't imagine why," I said, giving her a smile back. "Gio asked for us to wait to head out until he had a change of clothes. Your brothers are worried about you," I added when her brows knitted.
"They never worry about me."
"I'm sure that's not true, babe. They just aren't good at showing it, is all. You got a lot of people worrying about you right now. Us included," I added, waving between my son and I.
