There was no response. Evie pulled out her cell phone with trembling hands and dialed 911. The dispatcher walked her through placing Della in the recovery position and stayed on the line until the ambulance arrived. The EMTs told her they would take her mother to Mount Sinai Morningside to have her stomach pumped and get her stabilized. As Evie followed them out of the apartment, she called Tommy, who told her he and Thorn would meet her at the hospital as quickly as possible.
Evie rode in the ambulance with her mother to the hospital, watching anxiously as the EMTs monitored her vitals and answering their questions about her drinking and general health as best she could. Upon arrival, Della was taken away, and a man approached her.
“Miss Stanley? My name is Giles Booth; I’m a Patient Relations Manager for the hospital. Would you follow me, please?”
“Where are we going?” Evie fell in step with him automatically. “Is my mom okay?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t have that information.” He gave her a practiced, sympathetic look. “Tommy Sloane called and asked that we look after you until he arrives. We’ve prepared Consultation Room Three for you.”
“Oh.” Evie swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, affection and gratitude for Tommy welling up inside her. “Of course.”
He led her past the emergency room, down a short hall to a door, which he opened for her. She walked in and found herselfin a small, dim room with a loveseat and a table covered in old magazines.
“Mr. Sloane said he would be here within an hour. Can I bring you anything?” he asked as Evie made her way over to the sofa and sat down.
“No, thank you.” She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“If you need anything, just let the nurse at the reception desk know.” He inclined his head slightly and left, closing the door with a gentle click.
**********
Evie sat in the room, staring at her hands, wondering how she had missed the signs that her mother was spiralling so badly, and why she hadn’t thought to check in sooner when Della didn’t respond to her texts or calls earlier. She wanted to excuse it, to say that her mother had been so consistent in her delusions and day-to-day life, and that she herself had been busy with her final year of university and her project, but she knew she had been distancing herself because she was struggling to accept this new version of her mother.
The door opened, and Tommy rushed in, closely followed by Thorn, both of them looking extremely worried.
“Evie!” Tommy crouched in front of her, cupping her cheeks in his warm hands. “Are you okay?”
“No.” The tears that hadn’t come all day finally spilled over, and she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Tommy’s neck and pressing her face into his shoulder.
“Oh, Princess.” Tommy wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back soothingly. “I’m so sorry. I should have stayed with her.”
Evie shook her head, tightening her arms around him. “No, you couldn’t have known. She’s been sober for a year. I haven’t seen any signs she was drinking again, no hidden bottles, no smell of alcohol. And she was terrified of going through detox again. Apparently it was very painful.”
Tommy let her sob quietly on his shoulder until the tears ran out and when she let him go he sat next to her on the loveseat. A tissue appeared in front of her, and she looked up to see Thorn standing beside her, a sad look in his eyes.
“Thanks.” She took the tissue from him as he sat beside her on the armrest and blew her nose, leaning her head against his arm. “She must have gone to the liquor store a few blocks away after you dropped her off.”
Seeing the guilt cross Tommy’s face again, she reached out and squeezed his arm. “Tommy, seriously, don’t blame yourself. You said it yourself: she seemed like she was handling everything. She was making petty, passive-aggressive jokes, which is apparently on brand for her now.” Evie rolled her eyes, feeling anger swoop through her stomach.
“I can’t believe she would be so selfish!” The words burst out of her as she got to her feet and began pacing the small room. “We just finished Dad’s memorial! I wasn’t happy to meet his new wife either, but here we are!” Evie threw her hands up in frustration. “Why not finish this stellar day by spending the night at the hospital so my mom can get her stomach pumped?”
A large hand wrapped around her upper arm, halting her pacing. She swallowed, guilt crashing through her as she realized she was angry at her mother when she was lying in a hospital bed. She couldn’t bring herself to meet Thorn’s eyes.
“You are right,Mališa, it was very selfish.” Thorn’s voice was quiet. “But your mother is a selfish, attention-seekingwoman. Maybe not by nature, but by the circumstances of her life. She has been in the background, married to a man who did not see her as a separate person, yet replaced her the first chance he got. Her daughter is beautiful, resilient, capable, and brilliant. You love her, but you do not need her. You will thrive and be successful, with or without her.”
He pulled her gently against him and hugged her. “Have you ever heard the saying ‘once a man, twice a child’?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Evie shook her head, Thorn’s agreement making the anger drain from her body.
“It means that, as we age, we revert to being children. Our physical and mental capabilities decline; we need caretakers again, and our bodies and egos become fragile.” He leaned back and gently tilted her face up so she would look at him.
“She had a temper tantrum, Mališa. And the best and easiest way to prevent future tantrums is to ignore the actions and focus on the emotions behind them.”
“Okay.” Evie took a deep breath and reluctantly stepped back from Thorn. “I can do that. She was acting out like a child, so I’ll treat her like a child.” She looked at Tommy.
“What happens now?”
“We let the doctors do their job and wait,” Tommy said quietly. “Then, when we have answers, we make a plan.”
