Chapter 27 #2
“We all thought you were okay, too. I’m just so glad you’re fine. Sort of.”
The tears spill freely down her face as I hold her hand again. “I-I… j-just wwwwant t-to… b-be normal, W-Wes. I’m… t-t-t-tired. I… Ugh!” She grabs her phone, types out the words in a text, and sends it to me.
Mom: I want to be normal. I want to fall in love. Get married. I hate that I always have to worry about my brain.
Mom: I love Mom and Dad so much, but I want a home of my own. Space of my own.
Shit, I completely get where she’s coming from. She deserves someone to love her because she has so much to give.
“You can come live with me?” I suggest.
She reaches for my face and cups it. “Nnno. Th-thank you, W-W-W-Wes.”
“I get it. You want your independence.”
“Yes. Y-y-you… nnn-need your own… l-l-life. ”
“I’ll always take care of you, mamasita.”
Before we can talk more, the doctor steps into the room.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Hudson,” he says, reaching for my hand, which I shake.
“Wes. I’m the son.”
He looks directly at Mom. “I have your scan results back. It looks like the seizure happened because you stopped taking your anti-seizure medication. Upon further inspection, we’ve discovered a lesion… scar tissue in the left hemisphere. It’s a good thing you fell on your right side.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“I’d like to conduct a lesionectomy to remove the epileptogenic tissue.”
“So, surgery?” I ask.
He nods. “Yes. We have to wait until your concussion is gone and you’re fully healed before we proceed.”
“Will she be okay in the meantime if we wait?”
“She should be fine,” he replies, addressing Mom again. “You need to take your medication, Ms. Ellison. You can’t stop taking it.”
Her eyes spill again, and she nods. “I-I knn-now…”
He squeezes her blanket-covered foot and smiles. “We’ll get you out of here in the morning. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy our terrible hospital food.”
She smiles politely, but if she’s anything like me, humor is beyond us at the moment.
After another round of questions and instructions, he leaves. I talk to her a bit longer until she falls asleep. I leave the room, and my grandparents take over because I have a few calls to make.
I hate taking a leave of absence from work, but Mom needs me. I’ll stay for a few days, then take off more time while she’s having surgery.
When I step outside the hospital, it’s dark. I pull out my phone and call Dennis.
“What’s up, bro?” he answers.
“Hey, so… I need you guys. Mom’s in the hospital for a concussion after having a seizure. She needs surgery. And…” I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “Jett dumped the fuck out of me. So, there’s that. It’s not been a great day.”
“Jesus, man. Understatement of the year. So sorry, Wes. Yeah, let’s meet up. Mike and I got you.”
“Thanks. You’re a… good friend.”
Next, I call my boss to let him know I’ll be gone longer than anticipated, and that I’ll have to take more time off when Mom has surgery. He tells me not to worry, that he’ll get my patients set up with the other PTs.
Mom’s sleeping, so I’m still in the waiting room. I refuse to leave until she’s fucking home. I sent my grandparents home to get something to eat and to sleep. They’ll be back in the morning to take her home.
Just as I’m dozing off in the uncomfortable chair, someone shakes my shoulder, and I’m hit with the smells of seafood.
I blink my eyes open to find Dennis and Mike. God, my eyes are leaking again. Jesus.
“Hey, Wes. We got you,” Dennis says.
I sit up straight, sniff, and wipe my eyes. “Thanks for coming, guys.”
“You know we’ll always be here,” Mike says, handing me a bag. “From Dennis’ favorite place. Seafood gumbo and hush puppies.”
“God, you all are fucking saints.”
My stomach starts grumbling at me, realizing it hasn’t eaten since earlier today.
I pry the lid off the container and dip my spoon inside, taking a tentative bite since it’s hot. Fuck. Best gumbo in town.
“How’s your mom?” Dennis asks.
“She’s fine. She’s upset about everything. Who can blame her? As soon as she’s healed, they’re going to have to surgically remove the lesion that’s causing her problems. I’m not sure how we’re going to afford it, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Damn,” Mike breathes. “I can’t even imagine. Will insurance cover it?”
I shrug. “We don’t have the best insurance. It’s expensive as hell. They’ll cover some of it, but we have a pretty high deductible. I’ll cover it somehow. I make more than they do.”
We eat and chat some more about Mom, then Dennis broaches the inevitable subject of my breakup.
“What happened between you and Jett?”
I shrug. “There’s a lot of personal shit I can’t tell you. He’s so private about everything. I just… made a mistake, and he freaked, man. He was so angry.”
“Does he get angry like that a lot?” Mike asks.
“What? No. Never. This was trauma-induced. I’m certain of it. No one freaks out like that without cause.”
Dennis grabs my shoulder and grips it gently. “You’re going to fix it, right? You care about him, so you’ll do what it takes to get him back.”
I give him a curt nod. “Yeah, definitely. I’m not giving up on him, but… right now I have my mom to think about. I just can’t juggle both at the moment. Before I left Eugene, I sent him a text to tell him how I felt.”
I just hope he… understands.