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“Look, I’m in room 201. If you’re worried about Luna at all, you can call my room or come get me, whatever…”
So fucking smooth.
She answers with a relieved sigh.
“Thank you will never be enough, but, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She offers me a soft smile that gives my sleeping heart a serious nudge before turning to go back in her room.
I turn and walk in the direction of mine, trying to push these foreign emotions aside. Instead, I try to look forward to getting out of these damp clothes, a hot shower, and a nap. However, as I walk away, I can’t help pulling one of my hands out of my pockets and rubbing it against my chest.
Kasey
Tap, tap, tap…
Ben said I could come get him if I was worried about Luna, but I don’t want to knock too loudly on his door. I don’t want to startle the poor guy out of a deep slumber. But the doctor at the hospital told me to wake Luna every couple of hours to make sure she was still okay, and while she’s stirring and grumbling, I can’t get her to open her eyes.
She spent the rest of the day in bed alternating watching Disney movies with my mom and me and napping, but she’s been sleeping full-on since eight. The first time I woke her up went fine, but now, just past midnight, she’s definitely given up the ghost.
When a few moments go by, I knock again, only a tiny bit louder.
The door opens to reveal a tired Ben pulling a t-shirt on, with half-lidded eyes and rumpled hair. I get the briefest glimpse of abs and a sparse smattering of hair as he lowers the bottom hem to hang past the waist band of his sweatpants. If I weren’t worried about my child at the moment, the sight would’ve made me immediately bite my lip and do a Kegel.
“Hey,” his gravelly man voice greets me. “Everything okay? Is it Luna?”
“She won’t wake up,” I nod. “I mean, she’s not completely unresponsive, but she won’t completely wake up.”
He nods and turns to shove his feet into a pair of nearby sneakers. He doesn’t seem alarmed, so I keep my worry in check. He joins me in the doorway and closes the door behind us.
“Did the doc tell you to wake her every couple of hours?” he asks as he falls into step beside me.
“Yeah, because of the concussion, and being underwater.”Why the hell am I explaining this to a doctor? Well, former doctor, but a man with a medical degree nonetheless.
“Yeah, he looked like an older physician,” he says and quickly holds a hand up, “which, I’m not ageist, it’s just that up until a few years ago, that was protocol for kids with head injuries. These days however, it’s advised to let them sleep so the brain can heal itself. Is she normally a heavy sleeper?”
“Oh yeah,” I give an eyeroll. “I mean, she’s a little bit of a night owl, but once she’s out, she sleeps like a brick until at least nine.”
“That’s probably all it is then.”
“I’m really sorry I woke you then,” I chance a look up at him, feeling pretty sheepish. He waves a hand.
“I’m so jetlagged my body has no clue what time it is. I wasn’t really sleeping that well anyway. I can have a look at her.”
“Thanks,” I reply, as we approach my suite.
When I let us in, we are greeted by an unexpected sight. With the bedside lamp on, we can clearly see my daughter sitting up ramrod straight in bed, my mother curled up next to her with a triumphant smile. Luna’s eyes are open wide and I can tell it’s with effort and she’s counting the seconds to when all these mean-ass grown-ups let her go back to sleep.
I look to my mother in question.
“She was playing possum,” she explains, still looking pleased with herself. “But it’s amazing what happens when you tell a child that if they don’t wake up, their tablet will get confiscated, ice cream will never live in your freezer again, and she’s getting nothing but ugly sweaters every Christmas from here on out. It’s a tried and true test, and guess what? She passed!” she concludes, presenting my conscious and alert child with both hands.
I let out a relieved sigh, but the feeling is quickly replaced by one of idiocy as I look at Ben whose face is in some neutral expression I can’t read.
“I’m so sorry,” I apologize again. “I woke you up and dragged you up here for nothing.” He shrugs, and walks over to the bed.
“How are you feeling, Luna?” he asks, as he closes in and sits on the edge of the bed.
