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He nodded but didn’t answer. I knew he was back out of it, asleep, his medications making it hard for him to stay awake. His breathing was slow and steady, so I didn’t try to rouse him.
I’d wait until he was able to stay awake to tell him about Drake’s texts and show him the video of Drake and Mersey playing together. I knew he’d enjoy it as much as I did.
Sophia ran into the room and came over to where I sat beside the bed, climbing onto my lap.
“Why is Grampa sleeping so much?”
“He’s still not feeling great,” I said and stroked Sophie’s soft curls, which fell around her face. “That’s why he wears the oxygen mask. It helps him breathe.”
She watched my father without comment, then turned to me. “When’s Daddy coming home?”
“Soon. Look at what he sent me.” I took out my cell and played the video for her. While she watched, I enjoyed the expressions of happiness on her face when she recognized Drake sitting on the stage, playing his bass and singing.
“That’s Daddy! He’s singing.”
“He is,” I said and kissed her cheek. “He says he loves you and misses you.”
“I love him,” she said and bent down to the cell, kissing it. Then, she slid off my lap and ran out of the room.
Children were lucky to have a few years of ignorance when they were free of the weight of the world. I turned back to watch my father sleep and prayed that he would recover, that the antibiotics would work, and soon, he’d be sitting up mask free and enjoying a cup of tea and some fresh scones with jam the way we did before he got Covid.
He was over the Covid infection, and was testing negative, but got a secondary bacterial infection. He wasn’t bad enough to be in the hospital, but almost. We actually didn’t want him to go in, because that would mean we could see even less of him than if he was at home with nursing support.
Our home care nurse Gladys, a woman in her fifties with a grey bun and bright blue eyes, came into the room and gave me a smile.
“Sleeping, is he?”
“Yes, he woke up and asked for some water, but went back to sleep.”
She came over to the other side of the hospital bed we had brought to the house and lifted his hand to take his pulse. She watched the monitor which recorded his O2 and then nodded.
“He’s doing well. He just needs some sleep and to let the antibiotics work.”
“Good,” I said with relief, heaving a heavy sigh. “We’ll be moving back to New York, and I want him to be well enough to travel.”
“He probably needs a few weeks to fully recover.”
I nodded and watched him for a bit longer while Gladys adjusted his sheets and blanket.
“I’m going to get Sophia ready for lunch now,” I said and stood. “I’ll get something ready for him in case he wakes up and wants to eat.”
Gladys smiled at me, and I left the room, closing the door behind me.
I went to the living room where Elaine was playing with Sophia. The two of them were playing a board game Elaine had bought recently. She wanted to get Sophie used to board games rather than just online games, since she felt they were healthier.
“Keep her away from the internet for as long as you can. I hate what it’s doing to kids these days. Especially for young girls. There’s so much pressure on girls to look good, and online, it’s even worse. Believe me, if Sophie knows how to use a computer, for schoolwork, that’s all she needs to know.”
I agreed with Elaine. I’d read about how young girls go through a period when they have high self-esteem and how it drops in puberty, especially now with social media being so prevalent. I encouraged Elaine to play board games with Sophie.
Hopefully, by the time she was going through puberty, her self-esteem would be high enough that she could weather the storm. Drake and I would do everything in our power to make that so.
I stood at the entrance to the living room, my hands on my hips. “What do you two want for lunch?”
Sophie looked up from her cards. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cookies.”
I mock-rolled my eyes. It was Sophie’s favorite. She ate it almost every day.
“Not salami and mustard with red onions?” I asked, knowing full-well that she hated salami. That was one of my father’s favorite sandwiches, and Sophie always made a face when he requested it.
