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“Arch? We’re at the hospital. Are you on your way? Mum’s awake. She’s pretty lucid,” Laura cried excitedly.
“Fuck. Sorry. I overslept. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Tell her I’m on my way.”
I hung up, pulling on my clothes, kicking myself that I wouldn’t have time to go home and change, which would bring unwanted questions from my sisters.
“Everything okay?” Ionee asked, sitting up in bed, stretching her arms above her head.
“I need to get back to the hospital. Mum’s awake.”
I typed out a message to Pete who replied, telling me he was already outside…bloody man was like a limpet. I couldn’t shake him, no matter how hard I tried.
“Do you need me to come? I could go get coffee for you all, so you can spend more time with her.”
“You don’t have to…”
“I want to. Only if it will help.”
“It would. It really would.”
“Give me two minutes.” Ionee pulled some leggings and an oversized sweater out of her wardrobe, taking off her pajamas right in front of me and putting them on.
“You forgot underwear,” I laughed.
“Nope. We’re in a rush and it’s a waste of time. Let me brush my teeth quickly. I have a spare if you want to do yours.”
“Yeap, whiskey breath and last night's clothes probably aren’t a good look.”
Ten minutes later, we were in the car, heading back to the hospital.
When we arrived, I left Ionee in the entranceway, telling her where to find us when she’d gotten coffee, as I ran for the elevator, desperate to see Mum lucid, praying she’d remember who I was.
When I got to her room, the sun was blazing through the window, lighting her up, making her look younger. Sophia sat on the end of the bed talking to her, but Laura paced back and forth, wringing her hands together nervously.
“Laur, you okay?”
“Archer, thank fuck,” she cried. “She was so lucid… she recognized us both, but then her face changed and she’s not spoken since… I think you might have missed it.” She burst into tears. “I’m so sorry.”
I pulled her to my chest. “Hey, it’s okay. I should have been here earlier,” I replied as my heart cracked into a million pieces, trying not to feel jealous that I’d been the one to care for them all over the years and she couldn’t hang onto her memories long enough for me to get there.
I let go of my hold on Laura and moved to the side of the hospital bed. “Hey, Mum,” I whispered, pressing my hand into hers. Sophia smiled sadly at me when I didn’t get any reaction.
We all stood around awkwardly until Ionee appeared in the doorway, armed with coffee and a selection of cakes and pastries.
“Anyone hungry?” she asked with a smile that seemed to warm the room.
“Nee?” Sophia questioned.
“Archer invited me. Is it okay?”
“Of course,” Laura replied, eyeing me warily.
Mum turned to Ionee. “Who are you?”
I’d not heard her voice in so long, I nearly cried.
“Hi, Mrs. Walters. I’m a friend of Archer’s.”
Mum smiled. “I have a son called Archer. Have you met him? He’s such a good boy.”
