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The kids tried to look excited, but it didn’t work.
“Thank you,” Rachel said and handed me the house keys. “I have some cash for—”
“I’ve got it,” I said. “Don’t worry. Just get on top of this thing, okay?” I asked. Fear coiled tightly in my stomach. I’d lost my mom like this. Rachel couldn’t go like this, too. I wasn’t ready. She was too young. The kids needed her.
Ineeded her.
I led the kids out of the hospital and toward my car, making sure they were all strapped in and ready before we drove to Rachel’s house. I chatted to them happily, trying to stay upbeat, and after a short while, the kids started to smile again and relax a little.
Rain started falling, and I glanced up through the windscreen.
Thunder cracked overhead, and Tammy covered her ears. Rory screamed.
“Hey, guys, it’s okay,” I said. “It’s nothing serious. Just a little storm.”
“It’s so loud,” Benjamin wailed.
“It’s just a conversation,” I said.
“Mommy says that all the time, too,” Tammy told me.
“I know, and she’s right. The lightning says something, and the thunder talks back. We just don’t understand the words, you see?”
Benjamin and Tammy nodded, but Rory started crying.
“It’s okay, baby,” I said, looking in the mirror. Benjamin put an arm around his little sister. “We’re almost home and then we’ll do something fun. I think pancakes.”
“Pancakes?” Tammy asked. “It’s almost supper time.”
“So? We can have breakfast for supper, right? It’s raining, and the rain says pancakes.”
“I don’t hear anything about pancakes,” Benjamin said, tilting his head when the thunder rumbled again. He was listening to the storm rather than freaking out about it. That was a step in the right direction.
“Well, I think that’s what it means,” I said.
“Yeah, me too,” Tammy decided, nodding along with me.
“Me too,” Rory mimicked, talking for the first time since we’d left the hospital. Her cheeks were wet with tears, but she wasn’t crying anymore.
“Can we add sprinkles?” Tammy asked.
“Of course! We’re going to do just what we like because tonight is pancake night.”
Tammy nodded, satisfied, and I drove the last bit home. I tried not to panic about Rachel being in the hospital. It was fine. They were just keeping her for tests. They would tell her what she needed to do, and she didn’t have to die. God, I hoped she wouldn’t die.
When we stopped at the house, it was pouring. The rain came down in sheets, and I ran to the front door to unlock it before I ushered the kids inside. Lightning cracked loudly, and thunder followed, and the kids all screamed, but I slammed the door shut, and we were safely inside.
“Let’s get into dry clothes before we do anything,” I said.
Tammy and Benjamin went to their room. They could figure out their own clothes, but Rory still needed help. While I chose her a new outfit to wear and helped her with her shoes, my phone rang.
“Yeah?” I clamped the phone between my shoulder and cheek.
“Is your sister okay?” It was Troy.
“Oh, yeah. She is. They’re keeping her overnight… thanks for asking.”
“Do you want to get together tonight?”
