Chapter 8
“Mom, do you have any change? I’m short on bus fare and my appointment is in thirty minutes.”
The sleepy, overworked twenty-year-old Sasha stood on the other side of the closed bedroom door.
They had been subletting a one-bedroom apartment in Fortuna for the last three months, and they had switched off who got the bedroom every other week.
Although it was Sasha’s turn to sleep on the bed instead of on the couch, she’d given her mom a few extra days because Molly hadn’t been feeling well.
“Mom?” Sasha tried one more time, in a soft voice.
It was early and she assumed her mom was still asleep.
Molly’s shift at the bank didn’t start for another hour, but then again, her mom had asked Sasha to wake her up before she left for her doctor’s appointment.
She was torn between wanting to let her exhausted mother get a few more minutes of sleep and not wanting Molly to sleep through her alarm again while Sasha was gone.
After a few seconds of debate, she decided it was best to do what her mother had asked and opened the door.
“I know it’s early,” Sasha said as she approached the bed.
“But I need you to remember that this is what you wanted, so don’t snap at me.
I need to leave for my appointment in five minutes, so you should probably get up.
” She sat down on the edge of the mattress and gingerly shook her mother’s shoulder.
Molly let out an uncharacteristically pathetic moan and it was then that Sasha realized how pale her mother looked. She was clammy too.
“Mom, are you okay?” Sasha put the back of her hand to Molly’s forehead. Her mom was burning up. “Oh, geez, mom, you feel really warm. I had no idea you were this sick! When did you start feeling this bad? Why didn’t you call out to me?”
Molly groaned again and muttered something about a pain in her stomach, but she didn’t answer any of Sasha’s questions.
For someone who was usually alert, and who hated people making a fuss over her, this concerned Sasha more than anything.
“Okay, we’re going to the hospital. C’mon.
” She slid an arm underneath her mother’s thin waist and attempted to haul her into a seated position.
Molly cried out in pain and Sasha was forced to immediately lie her back down.
“Where does it hurt? Is it your appendix?” She’d seen enough medical shows to have some idea of what appendicitis looked like, but it was hopeless to keep badgering her mother with those sorts of questions at that moment.
Molly was too out of it to give Sasha a clear answer.
“I’m calling an ambulance. Don’t move.” Sasha ran out of the room to retrieve her phone, and by the time she was once again sitting on the bed with her mom, she had already called 911.
She gave the woman the address of the sublet and a short rundown of what was going on, then there was nothing left to do but wait.
It was an excruciating 8-minute wait, but the ambulance arrived shortly after. Sasha leapt to her feet when she heard the sirens. “Mom, stay here. I’m going to go lead the paramedics to our unit and then they’re probably going to put you on a stretcher, okay?”
Sasha spoke like she knew what she was talking about, but truthfully, this was the first time she’d had to call 911 herself. As a kid, there had been a few scuffles with her cousins that left one of them with a broken arm or a split open head, but in those emergencies, she’d never been in charge.
She met the paramedics outside and brought them to the apartment. Two of them rushed into the bedroom to help Molly while a third, short woman with a slick French braid, asked Sasha some questions.
“Does your mother have any medical history we need to be aware of? Allergies?”
“No.”
“Any recent surgeries or injuries? Illnesses?”
Sasha shook her head. “No, nothing. Oh—She had Covid last summer, and it was rough, but once she was over it, she seemed totally back to normal. No lingering symptoms or anything.”
“I’ll write that down, but I don’t think it has anything to do with that.” The woman scribbled something down on her chart. “Is there a chance she could be pregnant?”
At the mention of a pregnancy, Sasha’s chest tightened.
She shook her head, unable to answer the question verbally, and thankfully the woman took this as a sufficient response.
There were a few more routine questions, then her mom was carried out on a stretcher, and the short woman asked if Sasha wanted to ride with them to the hospital.
Only because her brain foggy with stress, Sasha blurted out, “Well, I have a doctor’s appointment I’m supposed to be going to.”
The woman gave her a look and Sasha quickly realized what she’d said.
“Oh my god, sorry. Forget I said that. Of course I’m coming with you. Let me just get my purse.”
*
While she sat in the waiting room, Sasha tried not to think about how much longer she was going to have to wait to get another doctor’s appointment.
She felt guilty, worrying about her own problems when her mom was in the middle of an emergency appendectomy, but it was easier to think about herself in that moment.
If she thought too much about what was happening to her mom, she knew the panic would set in.
She stared at her phone, hoping for the screen to light up with the phone number of her doctor’s office.
She’d left them a message before their offices were even open, explaining the situation and begging whoever got the message not to charge her the last-minute cancellation fee.
She really hoped there were exceptions for this kind of thing—and that they’d be able to get her on the schedule as soon as possible.
There were things Sasha needed to know sooner rather than later—rather, one very important thing.
“Ahem.”
Sasha looked up to see that one of the nurses who’d admitted her mom standing over her. She smiled. “I have an update.”
“Oh, great.” Sasha stood. “Is she out of surgery?”
“Yes,” the nurse said. “And it was successful, but she still has a bad infection and is likely going to need to stay here for a few nights. Kicking the infection is key at this point. But once she’s feeling better, we’ll send her home with some strong antibiotics, and all should work out fine.”
Sasha released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Thank God.”
“On her chart, you put that she works at a bank,” the nurse asked. “I’m hoping it’s not typically strenuous work?”
“No, actually, this is the first job my mom has ever had where she isn’t on her feet all day.
” Sasha smiled. “She landed the gig a few months back, and they really like her there. Plus, they have good benefits and pay her well.” Then her stomach dropped.
“Oh, God, what if they fire her because she needs a week off? Is someone going to write her a note or something?”
The nurse seemed to stifle a laugh. “We’ll provide her place of work with any forms they might need, but it should be fine. Legally, they can’t fire her for something like this, and if she’s only taking a week off, it shouldn’t be a huge deal.”
Sasha relaxed, but only a little. “Sorry, I guess we’re just used to working the worst jobs the world has to offer. And working for the worst people the world has to offer. But I’m sure you’re right. This place will be different.” She slapped a smile on her face. “So, when can I see her?”
“She’s still in the recovery room and won’t be awake for another hour or two, so if you want to go home and take a nap or get some coffee, we’ll call you the second she’s awake and back in her regular room.”
Sasha nodded, glancing about the space. “Uh, alright. I’m… Well…” She laughed at herself. “Is it okay if I just wait here? I’m feeling a little too overwhelmed to navigate the bus system right now and I don’t have enough money to go to that expensive coffee shop down the road.”
“Of course.” The nurse reached out and gently touched Sasha’s upper arm. “You don’t have to leave, but why don’t you come with me, and I’ll get you a cup of coffee. We have a machine in the nurse’s lounge.”
“That would be amazing.” Sasha felt like throwing her arms around the woman and hugging her, but she resisted. “Thank you.”
They walked down the busy emergency room hallway. At the last door on the right, the nurse told Sasha to wait outside. She returned a minute later with two full paper cups of coffee and a pocket full of cream and sugar options. “I’ve got regular and hazelnut creamer. Do you have a preference?”
Sasha made a face. “Hazelnut used to be my favorite but lately it’s been making me sick. Even the thought of it—” She stopped and took a deep breath to ease her nausea. “Well, you can see what I mean.”
The nurse handed her a cup with a knowing look in her eye. “You know, I hate to admit this, but I might have overheard some of what you were saying on the phone earlier. When you were calling your doctor’s office.”
“Oh, that’s okay.” Sasha took the regular creamer from the woman’s outstretched hand and poured it into her cup. “It wasn’t a private conversation or anything. I was just leaving them a message to let them know I wouldn’t be making it to my appointment.”
“Right. But you did mention needing to take some sort of test?” The woman raised a brow. “You wouldn’t happen to be hoping to take a pregnancy test, would you?”
Sasha’s grip involuntarily tightened over her coffee cup so much that some of the hot liquid poured over the top and onto her hand. “How’d you know? I’m not showing already, am I?” She gawked down at her stomach. “I didn’t think I was more than four, maybe five weeks max.”
“No, you’re not showing. I just figured that was where the nausea was coming from.” She smiled. “You know, we can give you a test here, if you want.”
“I wish I could take you up on that,” Sasha said. “But I’m not sure my insurance will cover the test if it doesn’t come from my pre-approved doctor or whatever.”