Chapter 54 #2
“Yeah. This bed is much more comfortable than the one at the hospital. Sum did good.”
We tell him about the voice-activated phone and home setup, and it seems to excite him to have control over something again.
Ray finds the phone arm in his bag to attach to Jake's bed, and I click my phone into it, then ask Ray to video call me.
I walk around the apartment so Jake can see everything, pointing out things as I go. “What do you think?”
“You did all that over the weekend?”
“Yup, with my friends and my dad. Now, what are you thinking for lunch? Have you had solid food yet?”
“I had scrambled eggs yesterday, but the rest have been soups and smoothies.”
“You can start eating softer foods now,” Will adds. “According to your records, you've been successful swallowing as long as you take your time. We can work up to more robust food later.”
“Hmm, how about egg drop soup? I can make you a smoothie this afternoon, and I’ll see what food is available for dinner.”
“That sounds good, Sum. Thanks,” Jake smiles around a yawn.
I offer the same to Will, who accepts, so I head out to the kitchen.
I check on Zander, who is ready to head to work for the afternoon.
He grabs his lunch from the fridge, hugs me, and greets Ray before leaving.
Ray offers to cook, so I sit at the island and chat with him while he works.
The soup is quick to make, and I’m soon carrying a bowl in for Jake.
Will jumps up to feed him, but I offer. E bought fresh bread yesterday, so I added a slice of bread to Will’s dish.
Ray wheels his office chair inside and takes a seat beside Jake to eat his lunch.
Jake is slow to chew and swallow, but he’s doing it, and that’s all that matters.
Once he’s done, I grab my lunch. Ray gives me the office chair, asking Jake if he minds if he leaves to get a phone and a few other things while Will and I are here. “Go ahead, Dad,” Jake says.
Jake takes a nap, so I excuse myself to the living room.
Opening the patio doors now that it’s warm, I get some schoolwork done on the couch.
Ray is back after an hour with a phone for Jake and a home smart hub, and we spend the rest of the afternoon setting it up.
Now Jake can use his phone and tv with voice commands and can use the internet through his tv.
We also set up video calls on the tv so he doesn’t have to worry about using his phone as much.
I make smoothies for myself, Jake, and Will mid afternoon then ask to talk to Jake alone.
Once Will and Ray leave, I take his hand.
“So handsome, I have to go back to school tomorrow. I was thinking I could come see you after school around 4:30 to 5pm every day. How does that sound?”
“Good. How much school have you missed for me?”
“That doesn’t matter. I’ve been keeping up pretty well. My friends are gonna help me catch up on lab work this weekend.”
“Sum, I know how important school is. What if you don’t get all A's?”
If only he knew how bad my grades got. That will have to wait until he’s ready to hear my story, though. “My grades are fine. Promise.”
“Ok.”
“If you need anything, you call me with the voice control or have Will or Ray do it.”
Jake gets a strange look on his face. “I will Sum.”
“What was that look for? I know you. You’re confused about something.” Jake can’t keep stuff from me, even if he tries. I know him too well.
“Who's Will?” He asks.
Oh crap, there’s something wrong with his memory. “Will is your daytime nurse. Have you been having trouble remembering new people?”
“Maybe?” He says, unsure.
“In the hospital, did you know the doctor or nurses?”
“Sort of? I knew who they were after a while.”
“Okay. We can help you with this. Gimmie a minute. I’ll be right back, handsome.
” I head out to the living room and update Will and Ray on the new problem.
I suggest printing off photos of Will, Janus, and Matt, the physiotherapist, and hanging them by Jake’s tv for reference.
They agree, so Ray takes a photo of Will to print off in the office while Will joins me in Jake’s room.
“Jake, this is Will, your nurse.”
“Okay,” he replies.
“Hi Jake. I’m sorry I didn’t realize your short-term memory was affected, or I wouldn’t have left the room. Summer said you knew your doctor and nurse when you left the hospital?”
“Yeah, they were familiar.”
“That’s good, so it seems you can retain your memories after a time. We can definitely work with that.”
Ray enters with paper and tape. “Jake, tell me when you can see this,” he says, holding the paper up in a few different spots on the wall by the tv. The right side of the tv seems best, so Ray tapes the paper there on the wall.
“Hey, that’s you, Will,” Jake says.
“It is. When the night nurse and physiotherapist arrive, we’ll hang their photos up too, so you know who they are.”
“Thanks Dad. That helps.”
My phone beeps with a text. Seb is here to pick me up. “Okay, Jake, I need to go home now. Are you okay with Will being in here with you?”
“Yup, it’s fine,” he replies. Kissing his cheek, I say goodbye to Will and ask Ray to walk me out. “Please make sure he’s comfortable with the nurses and physio when they get here for every shift.”
Ray holds up his hand. “I will Summer, and if I need anything, I’ll wait until you visit to run errands. I’ll be with Jake otherwise and won’t leave him with strangers. I’ll also call Dr. Crosby tomorrow and ask about the memory issues.”
Good. Ray seems to get it. I grab my bag and tell him to call if he needs anything before walking out.
I’m a little nervous leaving Jake now that I know he doesn’t recognize new people.
Surely Ray will do as he said. Maybe I’ll call after 7pm tonight and make sure things go okay with the night nurse. One more thing to worry about...
Since it’s only 4pm, Seb drops me at Finn to see Zander, and I tell him about the memory issues with Jake.
He believes it’s only temporary since he could remember Leigh and Dr. Crosby by the time he left.
Since I’m heading straight home, I decide to run in the clothes I have on.
An hour later, I’m tired, but my head is clearer.
Zander drives us home, and I hop in the shower right away to wash the sweat off. We decide to eat on the deck today since it’s beautiful outside. “How was work?” I ask.
“Good darling. I was trying to convince Troy to take some time off, but he won’t.”
“Not surprising,” I smile. “That man is a workaholic.”
“True. Are you all set to resume school tomorrow?”
“Yeah. I’m looking forward to the routine.
Speaking of, I should get some studying done.
I think I’ll work out here.” We take our dishes inside, then I grab my laptop and bag and bring them back out to the patio table.
Bay calls after I'm set up to tell me he emailed today’s notes and arranged for physics labs this Saturday.
I end up talking to Olivia for 10 minutes before Bay gets his phone back and we say goodbye.
I video call Jake around 7:30pm to check on him. It takes a few rings, then I see his face. “Hi Sum.”
“Hey Jake. Did you answer yourself?”
“I did,” he replies. I can see the happiness in his eyes at being able to do something himself, which makes me happy. “Dad put up another photo for me of,” he pauses to look right, “Janus.”
I see her step up beside Jake. “Hi Summer, dear,” she smiles.
“Hi Janus,” I wave. “Nice to see you again.”
She steps out of the shot again. “What’s up, Sum?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to check on you and see if the voice commands work. Did you have dinner?”
“Yup. Dad made chicken soup. I’ve got grape juice to drink this evening. Stop worrying so much.”
“Ha. You know that’s not possible,” I smile. “I’ll let you go. Are you gonna watch a movie tonight?”
“No, Dad put on hockey for me. I’m going to catch up on the games.”
“That’s good. Call if you need me, handsome. If not, I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you,” I say, blowing him a kiss.
“Love you too, Sum,” he says, then I hang up.
It’s getting dark outside, so I gather up my stuff and go inside. Zander is on the couch watching the news. “All good, darling?”
“Yup, Jake's good. I’m gonna get some more work done at my desk.”
He nods as I walk by. Since I’m caught up in psychology and only a day behind in precalculus, I work on environmental science.
Seb calls, so I put him on speaker as I work.
I’ve got three sets of questions to work through, so I do that with Seb’s help as he studies.
He offers to email me his answers, but I decline, since I need to know the material for testing. We stay on the line until bedtime.