27 Cora
If Cora could’ve wished for one thing in this moment—besides this moment not existing at all—it would’ve been a scrunchie.
It was probably an odd wish, given the current situation. She was sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair in a dress that
made it hard to breathe and shoes that were four inches tall.
But her hair was in her face, feeling sticky and heavy from the product she’d used to style it, and she just wanted to pull
it up. She’d be able to think better if she could just get it off her neck.
It didn’t have to be a scrunchie, per se. Any sort of hair tie would do. She’d even had some success in the past with twisting
her hair up with a pencil when nothing else was available. At this point, she’d take anything that would get her hair out
of her eyes.
She gathered it up and twisted it into a bun, hoping it might magically stay.
It didn’t.
She sighed and shifted positions, hoping her sticky, heavy hair would at least stay off her shoulders.
It had been almost ten minutes since they’d sat down to wait. Ten minutes of listening to every second tick by and wondering
what was happening behind those ominous swinging doors.
Unconscious? Like she’d fainted? Cora knew Savannah had been looking tired. She kept telling Bianca something was off. She
should have pressed Savannah harder for answers.
Or she should have stayed home from the dumb gala. That would’ve solved a lot of problems.
In frustration, she gathered up her hair again and twisted it into a tight bun, only for it to instantly cascade down around her shoulders like a shampoo commercial.
Dang fancy hair masks and expensive blowouts.
“Do you have a hair tie?” It was the first thing she’d said to Bianca since they sat down, and it came out as more of a demand
than a question.
Bianca looked hopeful. “Are you talking to me now?”
“No.” She had no intention of talking about what Bianca had done. She didn’t want to hear whatever pathetic excuse she had
for why her actions were justified, or what she did or didn’t think actually happened. And even if at some point they had
that conversation, Cora sure wasn’t having it here. “But I could use a hair tie.”
Bianca held up her phone. “This is the only thing I have with me. This dumb dress doesn’t even have pockets. Everything is
in my clutch that I left on the table with...” She gasped. “Zander.”
She stared down at her phone and rapidly sent off a text. Cora was watching her when a voice interrupted them.
“Hi. Are you Cora?”
Cora looked up to see a woman with a hospital ID badge and a friendly smile standing in front of her.
“Yes. Yes, that’s me.” She leaped out of her chair, forgetting she was wearing a tight dress and four-inch spiky heels. She
wobbled unsteadily, trying to find her center of balance, almost knocking into the woman. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem. I always have a hard time in heels, too.” The kind woman held out her hands to steady Cora and let out a light,
tinkly laugh. “I’m Diana.”
“Do you have news? About Savannah?” Cora pushed her hair out of her face as she fired off the frantic question.
“I’m not involved with her care plan, so I don’t have specific information. But if you’re ready, I’m here to take you back
to see her.” She waved her hand in a follow me gesture and turned for the swinging doors.
Cora and Bianca followed Diana, who pushed through the doors to the hallway behind. The setup looked similar to the halls she’d already walked with Jax, except the rooms seemed to be smaller, and there were no cheerful murals of cartoon characters at the beach.
Adults really did miss out on all the good stuff.
“You can’t stay long,” Diana explained. “Savannah’s only in this room while they’re waiting to take her to imaging and admit
her to the cardiac unit. In the meantime, they’re trying to keep everything calm and quiet around her because her heart is
still pretty weak.”
“Her heart?” Cora asked, her fear spiking.
Diana gave her a reassuring smile. “But a quick hug never hurt anyone, right? Besides I tend to think family makes things
better. We’re all stronger when surrounded by our loved ones.”
They stopped at a door midway down the hall, and Diana pushed it open. “Just keep it light and encouraging.”
Cora nodded and ventured in first. The room was dimly lit, and Savannah was laying in the hospital bed with her eyes closed.
All kinds of wires were attached to her and running in different directions. Monitors on both sides flickered in reds and
greens and bright whites as various bits of information flashed across the screens. Savannah’s right arm was propped up next
to her and wrapped in some sort of splint.
The scene took Cora’s breath away and once again, tears stung her eyes. She blinked them back, because while seeing her sister
this way seemed like a valid reason to shed tears, that wasn’t what Savannah needed at the moment.
“Hey, Van,” Cora said in a soft voice. “We’re here.” She laid a gentle hand on Savannah’s blanketed leg.
“Hey, sis.” Bianca used the same soft, soothing tone.
Savannah’s eyes fluttered open, and a weak hint at a smile somewhat brightened her pale face. “What are y’all doing here?”
Her voice was soft, but it sounded stronger than Cora was expecting. The smile looked less like someone who was sick and more
like someone who was going to be okay.
“I think the better question is what are you doing here?” Cora raised an eyebrow.
Savannah pushed herself up to a seated position, wincing a little in the process. “Well, that’s a funny story,” she said.
“Funny like ‘ha-ha’ or funny like ‘y’all will never believe this’?”
Savannah gave them a sheepish look. “Probably the second one.”
Then she told them about her heart defect and how she’d likely had it since she was born, but having kids made it worse. How
it had been getting a lot worse recently, which was why she was tired all the time. And probably the reason she fainted and
fell off the ladder she was standing on to hang the café lights on the deck. Luckily, a couple who was walking on the beach
saw her fall and called 911.
She held up her splinted arm at the end of the story. “And I probably broke my wrist. Not really the souvenir I wanted from
this summer.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Bianca asked, sitting on the corner of Savannah’s bed.
Savannah shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanted to, but I couldn’t find the right time. What was I supposed to say? ‘What do y’all
want to do for lunch? By the way, I have a hole in my heart that seems to be getting bigger.’”
“Is there anything they can do for it?” Cora asked. She couldn’t exactly give her sister her own heart, although she would’ve
if she could have. But if Savannah needed a new heart, or even an entire new circulatory system, Cora would storm to the ends
of the earth to get it.
“Actually, it’s pretty treatable. As far as heart defects go, they tell me this is not an awful one to have. We’ve been trying
to manage it with meds, but it’s looking more and more like I’m going to need surgery.”
“And the surgery will fix it? Like, completely?” Bianca asked.
Savannah nodded. “That’s what they tell me.”
“Holy smokes.” Cora flopped into the chair next to her, letting the panic she’d been feeling since she had gotten the call
start to dissipate. “Then why on earth haven’t you done that?”
Savannah shifted uncomfortably. “Oh, you know. Trying to schedule it has been a trick. There are holidays and my kids’ birthday parties. Plus, you know, a stay-at-home mom doesn’t exactly get medical leave. Who’s going to do all the stuff?”
“That’s what we’re here for. We’ll help. We are your medical leave policy,” Cora argued.
“But you live in Houston, and you...” She turned to Bianca. “Are about to move.”
“Yeah, but you still have a guest room, right?” Cora stood up and took Savannah’s hand. “Tell us what you need, and we’ll
do it.”
“How about making it so I don’t have to have surgery at all?” She jabbed her finger at her chest. “Because I don’t even like
to get shots in my arm. This is surgery. On my heart.”
“So we find you the best heart surgeon in the country,” Cora said.
“You won’t have to do it alone. We’ll all be with you every step of the way.” Bianca joined them on the other side, resting
her hand on Savannah’s leg. “We’ll even let you make us a chore wheel for while you’re recovering.”
Cora gave Savannah’s hand a squeeze. “We’ll get through this. Because the Prestly girls always pull through together.”
The nurse popped her head back in the room. “Okay, Savannah, we’re ready to take you down to imaging.”
“I guess that’s our cue to leave.” Cora reluctantly backed away from the bed as the scrub-clad staff came in to get Savannah
ready.
“Smile pretty for your pictures,” Bianca said. “We’ll be waiting for you when you’re finished.”
“Thanks.” Savannah adjusted herself in her bed, getting ready to be wheeled away. “I’m sorry I ruined your night.”
Cora shot a knowing look at Bianca. “Trust me. You didn’t ruin it.”
They backed out of the way, and the hospital staff rolled their sister out of the room.
Diana was waiting for them in the hall. “I’m going to take you out this way.
Her room is almost ready on the cardiac floor.
After they’re done in imaging, they’ll work on transferring her up there.
The main lobby is a much more comfortable place to wait than the ER.
” She motioned in the opposite direction from where they came.
“Thanks,” Cora said. She felt so much lighter than when she’d walked in through the other set of doors.
Obviously, she didn’t want her sister to have any health problems, but this health problem was fixable. It was one they could
conquer. There was hope.
“Thanks for letting us talk to her. I needed that,” Cora said.
“I’m glad I could do it.”
“And I guess I should thank the other nurse, too.”
“The other nurse?”
“You know, the first one I talked to. I can’t remember her name. I assume she’s the one who set this up.”