50. Chapter 50
Chapter 50
We rushed into the hospital a couple minutes before seven in the morning, and I immediately saw my sister’s ex-husband standing outside the surgical waiting room.
I slowed as I approached, trying not to show that I was gritting my teeth when I shook his proffered hand. I didn’t like the guy. What kind of man divorced his wife while she was going through cancer treatments?
“Hey, Tate. Good to see you.”
“You too, Richard,” I lied, being polite only for Jennifer’s sake. At least the guy was here, unlike our mother. “Where is Jenn?”
“They just took her back a couple minutes ago. If she’s still in pre-op, they’ll let you back to see her. Hold on.” He walked to a phone on the wall, said something into it, and then returned. “The nurse will come get you in a few minutes.”
Relief washed over me like a tsunami. We made it in time. Realizing Mallori was standing a few feet back, I gestured to her, and she approached .
I introduced the two, and Richard shook Mal’s hand before flashing me a curious glance. “I’m just here for moral support,” she explained with a kind smile.
“Mr. Gentry?” I turned at the sound of my name to see a nurse approaching. She was in pink scrubs and had her red hair pulled up into a straight ponytail. “I can take you to see your sister,” she said, and I nodded before looking with concern at Mallori.
Before I could say anything, she gave me a light shove. “Go. I’ll find a place to plug in my laptop and get some studying done.”
Three minutes later, I entered a bay that was surrounded by curtains in an ugly pink-and-orange floral print. My sister was sitting up on a hospital bed reading something on her phone. She was dressed in hospital garb and had an IV hooked up to one hand. Looking up, her face broke into a grin.
“Tate!”
“Hey, babe,” I said, a genuine smile ripping across my face for the first time since yesterday. I sat on the edge of her bed and hugged her slight frame. She smelled like jasmine, her favorite scent.
“I can’t believe you made it this fast,” Jenn said, pulling back and patting my face.
“Mallori got us on a plane that left late last night. We had a layover in Atlanta, or we would have been here sooner.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Wait, did you say we ? You brought her with you?” Excitement lit up her face.
“She kinda hijacked the whole trip. I told her she didn’t have to come, but she insisted.”
“Of course she did,” Jennifer said, smugness coating her words .
Wanting a change of subject before she got started, I tugged at the puffy surgical cap that covered her dark-brown curls. “This is a good look on you. Might find yourself a doctor.”
“Ah, yes. One-boobed divorcées with blue mushroom hats are all the rage.” She was teasing, but I could sense the pain behind the words.
“How are you doing with all that?” I asked, taking her hand that didn’t have the IV between both of mine as she rested back against the bed. “I know it has to be hard.”
“You know, just dealing with it. I knew it might come to this. Losing a breast and living is better than keeping it and dying.”
The thought of her dying was like a white-hot poker directly through my chest. I nodded, unable to speak.
“Maybe I’ll embroider that on a pillow,” she said thoughtfully, and I couldn’t help but chuckle, even through my fear. My sister had a bit of a wicked sense of humor, and I thought she’d probably get along well with Taz.
“I’m glad I made it here before you went into surgery,” I told her, and she swallowed, turning serious again.
“I am too. I didn’t realize how much I needed you here until you walked through that curtain.”
Lifting her hand, I kissed her knuckles. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”
“Jennifer?” a voice called.
“Come on in,” my sister replied, and the red-haired nurse entered.
“It’s time to go. Are you ready?”
Jenn inhaled a long breath and blew it out. “Yeah, let’s do this thing. ”
I pulled her into a hug and held her for a long moment. “I love you, Jenn. It’s going to be okay.”
“I love you too, Tate. Can you please do me two favors?”
“Anything,” I whispered.
“Will you be nice to Richard? I know you were pissed when we broke up, but I’ve told you a million times, it was mutual. He’s been really great to me through all this.”
Leaning back, I gave her a sardonic grin. “I’ve already been nice. I shook the prick’s hand and didn’t even try to break it.”
“Your maturity is astounding,” she said with a wry twist of her lips.
“What’s the second thing?”
She leaned forward conspiratorially. “When the nurse turns her back, will you steal one of these curtains for me? It would look great in my spare room.” She didn’t even whisper it, and the nurse snorted out a laugh.
I chuckled and shook my head. “I’ll see what I can do, though I’d just like to say you have terrible taste.”
“In brothers?” she retorted.
“I don’t know why the hell I put up with you,” I grumped.
“Because you love me.”
I took her hand and kissed the back of it again. “I really do, sis.”
After a long beat where we smiled fondly at each other, she swiveled her head to the nurse. “Okay, I’m ready.”
The woman began preparing the bed for transport, and I stood. Two men came in, and as they took their places to wheel her away, my sister looked up at me and pointed at her chest.
“You want to wave goodbye to old Lefty? ”
I burst out laughing. I’d done a lot of weird shit in my life, but this had to take the cake. If it made my sister smile though…
Lifting my hand, I wiggled my fingers at my sister’s damn boob. “Bye, Lefty.”
Jenn beamed at me as they pushed her bed from the bay. “See ya on the flip side, Tate!”
“See you on the flip side, sis,” I called as she disappeared from my sight.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I bowed my head, watching as a lone tear hit the tiled floor and fragmented into a hundred tiny droplets.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, but I looked up when I heard someone approach. It was the nurse from earlier. “Are you okay?” she asked kindly, and I nodded stoically. “I just wanted to tell you how much I love having your sister as a patient. She’s so filled with humor and hope. I know she’s scared, but she’s always a joy to be around.”
“Thanks,” I said, letting my lips curve up at the corners. “That’s nice to hear.”
“I, uh, brought you something,” she said, dropping her voice and reaching beneath her scrub top.
What the hell?
My surprise turned to laughter when she pulled out one of the hideous curtains, folded and wrapped in plastic.
With the ugly treasure tucked beneath my arm, I headed back to the waiting room.
“The surgery went really well,” Dr. Garcia told us in the surgical waiting room a few hours later.
“And Jennifer’s okay?” I asked, my words almost running together into something unintelligible.
“She’s great. Just coming out of the anesthesia. One of you can go back to recovery when we’re done here.”
Richard nodded deferentially to me, and I appreciated the hell out of that. I’d hate to have to knock him out in the hospital. Mallori’s hand tightened around mine, and it soothed my inner beast. She’d been a constant and calming presence all day, running to grab coffee, bringing us snacks, and simply being here. I was so fucking happy she had come to North Carolina with me.
The doctor continued. “Jennifer will undergo chemotherapy after this.”
My brow creased. “Is that necessary since you removed the breast?”
“It’s called adjuvant chemotherapy, and it isn’t always necessary after a mastectomy. It depends on several factors, but it will destroy any undetected cancer cells. Jennifer agrees with me that we should take an aggressive approach.”
“Whatever you need to do,” I told him. “When can she go home?”
The doctor tilted his head. “She’s still young and otherwise healthy, so I’m recommending she be released tomorrow. I’ll make rounds after my morning surgeries, and if everything is okay, she can go home then. Mastectomies can be very traumatic emotionally, and Jennifer and I have talked extensively about that. She’s going to attend a support group I’ve recommended.”
“I can give her rides to the meetings and the chemo appointments,” Richard said. “I work from home, so my schedule is pretty flexible.”
I wanted to hate the guy. I really did, but he was making it difficult.
“Very good,” Dr. Garcia said with a dip of his head. “Since her last round of therapy, we’ve begun working with a new group that provides wigs for patients that have lost their hair. I have them scheduled to come by this evening for a consultation.”
“That’s good. Jenn lost a lot of hair and ended up shaving her head last time. Most of the wigs she bought were uncomfortable,” I mentioned.
“These ladies do a wonderful job and use human hair from donations. Their wigs are of excellent quality. Just a warning though.” He chuckled and shook his head. “They can be quite… energetic.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he said with a vague smirk before leading me back to the recovery room.
My sister was the most amazing person I knew. She shed a fair share of tears against my shoulder in the recovery room before swiping them away and announcing that she was done bitching about it.
Now she was in a regular room, sitting up with a smile on her face. A real one, not a forced one.
“Why haven’t I gotten to meet your girl yet?” she cajoled.
“Well, because you were in surgery,” I pointed out .
Jenn put on her best pouty face. “I’ve been back in this room for two hours now.” She did grabby hands like a little kid. “Bring her to me.”
“I’ll go get her,” I said, standing from my chair beside her bed. “And please don’t call her my girl in front of her. You’ll freak her out.”
She did a weird little salute before shooing me away. Richard had visited with his ex-wife for a few minutes and then left, telling her to call if she needed anything, so Mallori was alone when I returned to the waiting room.
“Hey, Bee. You want to come to Jennifer’s room?”
She looked startled. “Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude or anything. Doesn’t she need to be resting?”
“I’m sure. She told me to come get you. She’s very alert right now. They have something in her IV for pain but not enough to make her drowsy. The nurse said they would increase it tonight so she could get some sleep.”
Mal packed her laptop into her backpack and followed me down the corridor. “I tried to book us rooms online at the Hampton Inn. It’s the closest hotel to the hospital, but it kept saying there was no availability, so I tried some other ones that are pretty close.”
“Any luck?”
She shook her head. “No. They’re all full. I called the Hampton, and they informed me there was an anime convention in town and everything was sold out. They’d just had someone cancel, but it was only one room. I went ahead and booked it. Is that okay? I mean, I can stay here and sleep in the waiting room.”
I stopped walking and faced her, giving her my best scowl. “Bee, there is absolutely no way I’m letting you sleep in a waiting room. We’re both adults. Hell, we slept in a twin bed in your dorm room in September.” My frown deepened. “Unless you’re uncomfortable sharing a room with me for a few nights.”
Mal placed her hand on my arm, and it tingled at her touch. “Of course I’m not. I just thought you might be uncomfortable.”
“Not even a little bit. And if you molest me in my sleep, I won’t even press charges.”
She giggled and swatted my arm as we continued toward Jennifer’s room.
Hopefully there will be two beds to make it easier to keep my hungry hands to myself.