Chapter Nineteen
“What are we doing here?” Liam rushes to keep up with me.
“Fireworks for the residents.” I press the code to get in the door. “You should go back to the lake and hang out with your friends.”
He doesn’t turn around, though. Instead, he follows me inside, where several of the residents are waiting. I never would have forgiven myself if I’d gotten lost in the moment and let them down. It’s all they’ve been talking about for days.
“There you are.” Abigail uses her legs to move closer to me in her wheelchair. “I was nervous you wouldn’t come.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you.” I get her situated by the door and turn to Joe. “Are you ready?”
“Been ready.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
“We have to wait for Marilyn,” Abigail says. “We’re going to sit together.”
“I wouldn’t let Marilyn miss out on this,” I say.
Sunny and Sis round the corner, and both smile when they see Liam. “Oh, good. You came for the show too.”
He raises his eyebrows at me, and I laugh. Liam grabs my arm.
“What is going on?” He grips my shoulder. “Is this what you do when you have a night shift? Throw parties for the residents? No wonder you have no social life.”
“Funny.” I elbow his side. “I promised the residents that I’d put on a fireworks show for them. They’re craving something normal. You don’t have to stay, Liam. I have this under control. Seriously, go back to your party. I know there are people waiting for you. That cute volleyball player from earlier.”
“Birdie, I—”
“Liam,” I say, as more residents are wheeled out to the lobby. “I’m busy. Either help or leave.”
He glances at the door, then back at me. “What can I do?”
I grab a key from my purse. “Go into the storage room. It’s all the way down the hall. That’s where the fireworks are. Grab a cart. There’s one in the corner. Load that up.”
“Got it.”
“Birdie.” Will takes my arm and spins me around. “Is it time to get the residents outside?”
Will stands there in his scrubs, waiting for my answer. I glance at my watch.
“Wait.” I take in his attire. “You’re working tonight? I thought you were going to set off the fireworks from the park across the street.”
“That was the plan,” Will says. “But one of the new CNAs walked off the job today, so here I am.”
Panic sets in. The one thing I hate most in life is disappointing people, especially the residents who at times have so little to look forward to. I raised money for these fireworks, bought them a couple of weeks ago, and had everything ready to go.
I’d set them off myself, except I’m deathly afraid of fire and explosions that close to my face.
“Here they are.” Liam’s voice brings me back to reality. The cart is full. I look between him and Will, both staring at me.
“What’s up, Birdie?” Liam scrunches up his face. “Everything okay?”
“Liam.” I close my eyes and inhale deeply. “Is there any way you could help me out for the next thirty minutes? I know you want to get back to the party, but I’m in a—”
“What do you need?” Liam steps forward, and then Will does the same. “I’m not in a hurry.”
“How are you at lighting fireworks?”
Liam’s smile stretches from ear to ear. “It’s my specialty.”
“Perfect.” I point across the road to where the public park is. “We can’t light them up on the nursing home’s land, so that’s where you’ll need to be. If you could go set up, Will and I will get everyone outside.”
Liam pushes the cart through the door, and Will and I start getting all the residents into the parking lot. The majority use wheelchairs at this point, so we need to take them out one at a time. In total, there are about fifteen people, and some of their families came out with lawn chairs to watch as well. I shake my head, watching Liam stand in the park in his swim trunks and white shirt, getting everything lined up. This is not how I envisioned my night going.
Liam’s gaze meets mine, and I give him a thumbs-up. He lights the first firework, and all the residents gasp, then clap. The sky lights up with red, white, and blue fireworks, but I don’t watch them. Instead, I stare at the faces of the residents. No matter what we do to make things better, they’re all in the same position—facing the end of life. If there’s one thing I want to do in my life, it’s to make their last days better.
Being a nurse is so much more than knowing what medicine to give and making decisions under pressure. It’s about providing hope in the worst situations. It’s the joy I can offer them by just showing up.
“Birdie.” Will stands next to me, our shoulders touching. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come through tonight.”
My eyes meet Liam’s from across the street. I don’t think he could ever realize how much this means to me—how much just showing up and making what’s important to me important to him is everything.
“It’s fine,” I say to Will, never taking my eyes off Liam. “It all worked out.”
The fireworks show only lasts about fifteen minutes, but it was perfect.
“Do I get to go home now?” Joe asks, wheeling over to me. “Betty is here. She said she’d take me.”
I glance at his wife, and she shakes her head.
“You’re coming inside with us, Joe.” Sunny takes his arm. “This is home now. They’re serving ice cream, too.”
Joe doesn’t protest. I wheel Abigail in and tuck her in for the night. As I walk away from her bed, she grabs my hand.
“That was really special, Birdie. I’ll never forget it.”
I pull the blanket up over her arms. “I’ll never forget it either.”
“Will you tell me about one of your most perfect days?”
“Okay.” I sit in the chair next to her bed. A memory quickly pops into my head. “When I was much younger, I used to show my horse Shadow at the South Dakota State Fair. We’d leave a couple of nights before it started—my grandpa, grandma, mom, and I—and we’d camp. The fair was so magical. My mom would buy me all the junk food, and I’d go on rides. I felt like I was living the most glamorous life. And then the day came for me to ride Shadow. The arena was packed full of people, and everything went perfectly. We ended up winning the blue ribbon that year. I was so proud of us.”
I rub Abigail’s shoulder. “How about your most perfect day?”
She smiles. “When my girls were in elementary school, one day every year, I’d do a skip day with them. I’d call the school and say they were sick, which they thought was a hoot. Then we’d spend the day doing something special. One year, we went to an amusement park, went on all the rides, ate all the food, and drove back home late, blaring our favorite music in the car. They declared me the coolest mom in the world. I’ll never forget it.”
“Perfect.” I let out a heavy sigh.
“Perfect,” Abigail says as she closes her eyes.
Next, I check in on Sunny and Sis. They are in their single beds, with a table anchored between them.
“Goodnight, lovebirds,” I say. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Will is the only RN on duty tonight, so I do a few more checks as well.
“You’re still here.” Will rounds the corner. “Your mom is on her way. Going to do some work tonight. She just called.”
“She works too much,” I say.
Will yawns. “We’re all working too much.”
“I know,” I say.
“Hey, Birdie.” My mom approaches and pulls me into a hug. “I could see the fireworks from our house; they were beautiful.”
“Everything turned out perfectly.” I smile.
“Well,” she says, nodding toward the hall, “I’m going to get a few things done, but there’s someone waiting for you in the lobby.”
“Wait, Birdie.”
I turn toward Will.
My mom squeezes my hand and walks off.
“I was wondering if you, well...”
As if on cue, Liam rounds the corner. When he sees me, he leans against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.
“Sorry, Will, I have to go. I’ll see you soon.”
It hadn’t occurred to me that Liam would still be waiting, but I’m happy he is. It’s late, and he’s still here, instead of being at that party with the girl who couldn’t keep her eyes off him.
“You’re here.” I reach him, and he grabs my hand, dropping keys into them.
“I disposed of the garbage and locked the storage room.”
“I’m sorry I roped you into this.” I glance at the clock. “It’s so late. If you hurry, you can still get to the party. I’m sure it’s still going strong.”
Liam smiles. “Tonight was really fun. I can’t imagine Jake and Camilla’s party being any better than this.”
Liam looks toward the door. “If you’re done for the night, can I drive you home?”
I go to refuse, but my feet are killing me and I could use a ride.
“That’d be great.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Liam puts his hand on my lower back, and we leave the nursing home for the night.