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Grams nodded. “I’m going to make you my famous lemon cheesecake for when you’re home.”
That made Maverick’s eyes light up.
My own eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head as I let out a little moan of delight. “Oh man, Grams makes thebestlemon cheesecake.”
“She does,” Mom agreed.
A light knock on the door had everyone turning to look as a nurse entered, flashing everyone a bright smile. She made her way over to Maverick. “How’s the patient doing?”
“Good,” he said through the mask.
Mom stepped forward and placed her hand on Maverick’s arm. “Maverick, we’re going to go. If you need anything, you tell Lily, okay?”
He lifted his hand for her and she took it. “I will. Thank you.”
She leaned down and kissed his forehead, then looked directly into his eyes. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, youngman. I love you, Maverick, and our lives would never be the same without you in it.”
That time, he fully lost the battle to keep his tears at bay. Mom gently wiped them away, kissed him once more, then stood and smiled.
“We’ll be back tomorrow!” she announced, as she and Grams swept out the door. The nurse bustled around Maverick while I stayed out of the way. She checked the various montiors, then took his vitals.
“How’s your pain? Need anything?”
He shook his head.
“How about some Tylenol? Will you take that, since you won’t take the other?”
I tilted my head as I stared at the nurse and Maverick. What was that all about?
“I’ll take that.”
With a nod, she turned to me and saw my confused face. “Um, I’m going to go get the Tylenol. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure thing.”
When the door shut, I turned to Maverick. “Why won’t you take pain pills? Have you had a problem with them in the past?”
He pulled the mask away slightly. “Not at all. The only thing…” He paused for a moment, putting the mask back over his face for a few seconds before he started to talk again. “I ever knew about…my birth mother…was that she was…taking pain medicine. Mindy…told me…it was in…my blood when I was…a baby. Don’t wanna be anything like her.”
I moved over to the bed and grabbed his hand. “Oh, Mav, just because you take something for the pain doesn’t mean you’ll get addicted.”
“If I can take the pain without it, I want to. I told them if it…got too bad…I’ll take it.”
The fierce look in his eyes told me that he wasn’t about to budge on that subject, so I let it go. He had every right to feel the way he did.
“If the pain becomes too much, do you promise you’ll take something?”
He squeezed my hand. “Yeah.” He sounded rough. Like he’d been yelling and his voice went hoarse.
Once the nurse returned, I asked, “Do you have a rollaway bed I might be able to sleep in?”
Pointing to the chair, she said, “That reclines fully and turns into a little bed. I can make sure you have a pillow, a sheet, and a blanket, if you’d like.”
“Lil, you don’t—”
I held my hand up for Maverick to stop talking. “I’m not leaving your side. I didn’t leave it when you had the flu, and I sure as hell am not leaving when you are in the hospital and in pain.”
The nurse smiled. “You are one lucky man to have so many people who love and care about you. The waiting room was packed earlier, with everyone waiting to hear how you were.”
