twenty eight
For the next few days, I enjoyed my mom acting like a mom and playing hooky from school, feigning sickness for a lot longer than necessary.
Ken was great too. He brought me magazines, ginger ale, and even a little teddy bear that looked just like the one in Glinda’s hospital room, except mine didn’t have a bandaged arm. I named him E, short for Egor. One of his eyes looked half closed and he had a tuft of fur sticking off his back. He was a strange looking teddy but I loved that Ken thought of me. Last night he even made his specialty: Sloppy Joe’s with a secret sauce with homemade fries and we ate in front of the television watching the Wheel. Ken was surprisingly good too.
It was like we were a family.
It was awesome.
Now, I had to go back to school and I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay home in the little haven that was created from me being sick and block out the rest of the world but I knew I couldn’t –which just sucked.
There was a part of me that did wonder how Viktor was doing, and about Vincent, and if they even missed me or noticed that I was gone.
Ken kept me posted on Glinda’s condition. She hadn’t woken up yet but she hadn’t gotten any worse so they were hopeful still. That was something I supposed.
I made my bed and propped E against my pillows. “See you E. Keep your good eye on the place.”
Grabbing my bag, I headed downstairs. My aches were mostly gone but if I landed wrong, my feet, they still had some sore spots, which I still didn’t get. The door was open and the sun streamed in through the glass onto the foyer. I walked to the kitchen and Mom was bustling around, cooking breakfast. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and bacon greeted me. “Wow Mom, that smells awesome.”
She turned. “Thanks honey,” she said, smiling handing me out a cup of coffee.
“What’s all this for?”
“Ken say’s you should have a hearty breakfast to keep up your strength.”
Wow. I was liking Ken more and more. “Where is he?”
“Oh, he had to leave on “Police Business”,” she said making air quotes.
“That’s too bad.”
“Well, it’s all right. He does have to work.” She sighed. “It sure was nice having him around for the last few days.”
“You’ll see him tonight, right?”
“Sure,” she said and pulled her robe tighter. “I guess.” She looked worried suddenly.
“Of course you will,” I assured her and took a drink of coffee.
She took a deep breath. “Yes, of course I will,” she repeated. Walking up to me, she grabbed my mug of coffee and set it down. She pulled me into a hug. “I love you.”
Tears formed in my eyes. She never said that anymore. “I love you too, Mom.” I hugged her back. She smoothed her hand down my hair. “You smell just like candy.” She laughed.
“I do?”
“Yeah,” she said and hugged me tighter.
“Oh, it’s the mouthwash,” I mumbled into her shoulder. “It’s cinnamon.”
“It reminds me of those Fireballs you used to buy from old man Gibson’s store when you were little.”
“Oh, right. I’d forgotten about that. I used to get Lemon Drops and Now or Laters, too, remember?”
“Yes. You’d fill up a paper bag with just a dollar.” She smiled wistfully. “Oh well…” She ran her hands down my arms and stepped away. “You better get or you’ll be late.”
“Okay.” I didn’t want to leave. I was afraid my mom would disappear and Crazy would return to take her place. I set my cup in the sink and grabbed a piece of bacon. “Thanks Mom.” I lifted the bacon up in the air, smiling.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” She smiled. “See you later.”
“Kay.” Feeling better than I had in a long time, I grabbed the keys and my coat. Glancing back into kitchen I looked at Mom, she was singing. “It’s going to be all right,” I told myself. Taking a breath, I opened the door and walked into the bright sunlight.