“Um, hey there,” I say.
“Hi,” he says, somewhat uneasily.
I get out of my chair, and we exchange an awkward bro-hug. It’s clear neither of us has a clue how to handle this.
“So, um. Have you talked to the doctor?” He’s talking unnaturally loudly. Clearly, he doesn’t remember he no longer has to do that; between my hearing aids and the fact that I’ve gotten better at lip-reading, there’s no need to yell. Not to mention the fact that I hate how yelling draws attention—not that the other people in this room will notice or care… but still…
“I look around and wave my hands in the air in a “cut it out” motion. “Shhh—Aaron, you don’t have to yell. Hearing aids, remember?” I gesture toward my ears, fighting back the anger and sadness that wells up inside me at the fact that my brother doesn’t know how to talk to me. At least he has the decency to look embarrassed.
“Ohh, shit, sorry. I… um, I forgot. It’s, ah… been a while, I guess.” He looks so sheepish that I start to feel kind of guilty myself. It’s not like our estrangement is his fault alone.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. There’s a lot going on,” I say, forcing myself to let it go. Wasting energy on useless resentment toward Aaron isn’t going to help anyone. “But yeah, I spoke to the doctor earlier.” I glance over at our mother, who hasn’t moved the entire time I’ve been sitting here, which is now most of the day.
“Can we leave her here for a bit?” Aaron asks. “Maybe we should go get something to eat, and you can tell me what the doctor said? I came here straight from the airport, and I’m starving.”
“Yeah, sure,” I say. If she hasn’t stirred all day, it’s unlikely she’s going to start now.
After I stop at the nurses’ station to tell them where we’re going, we head down to the cafeteria.
Once we have our meals, both of us settling on a bowl of tomato soup and a sandwich, we find a table in the corner, removed from the few other people scattered around.
“So, what have they told you so far?” Aaron asks once we’re settled. “I talked to the people at Tall Firs, but it doesn’t sound like they’ve exactly been keeping up with what the doctors are saying now. I think they’re expecting you to do that.”
I nod. “Yeah. So, the doctor isn’t exactly optimistic.” I relay what Dr. Nye told me earlier.
Once I’m finished, he shakes his head, staring down into his soup. He lets out a sigh and pushes the tray away, resting his elbows on the edge of the table. He holds his head in his hands for a moment before looking up at me.
“Fuck,” he says. “Did anyone tell you how she ended up here in the first place?”
I nod. “The nurse told me there was some kind of altercation with another resident, but I don’t have any details other than they both fell down the stairs.”
He shakes his head. “Yeah. They told me she’s been acting strangely toward this old guy who recently moved onto their floor. She alternates between getting viciously angry at him and coming onto him. And from what it sounds like, this guy isn’t as far gone as she is, so he still remembers that he has a wife and wants nothing to do with her, which sets her off. Somehow, she cornered him at the top of the staircase and started trying to feel him up or something. When he turned her down, she got angry, so she shoved him. I guess he grabbed at her to try to stop from falling, but they both went down.”
“Fuck,” I mutter. “They told me the first night the other person wasn’t hurt as bad though?”
“Yeah. She took the worst of the damage, thank god. He was brought to the hospital, but he only had a few bumps and bruises.”
I nod. “Um, is there any chance they could try to sue her? Sue us, I guess, for what she did?”
Aaron blows out a breath. “I don’t know. I’d need to check with a lawyer, but they’ve told the staff at the home they don’t want to do that. As long as she gets moved to a ward where she’s getting properly supervised, they’ll be satisfied.” He shakes his head. “It sounds like this guy and his family are actually more concerned that she gets proper care than they are about suing anyone.” Aaron snorts. “Figures, right? This might be the one guy she’s ever gone after who’s not a complete and total dirtbag, and she ends up nearly killing him.”
I bark out a laugh. “Yeah. Pretty typical.”
“I would say so,” Aaron says, shaking his head again. “I just… fuck. Thank god she qualified for social security and state insurance. I don’t know what we’d do otherwise.”
I nod, knowing full well how lucky we are in this state.
“So, I guess it’s just a waiting game now?” I look down at the Formica tabletop, scratching idly at some years-old stain.
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
Once we get back up to her room, we can see that Tonya or one of the other nurses has changed her bedding and her bandages. She looks almost peaceful lying there, but she seems so damn small. It’s unnerving.
“So, you gave up your apartment, right? Do you want to stay at my place?” Aaron asks, sitting down in one of the chairs beside the bed.
I nod. “Yeah, as long as that’s okay.”
“Yeah, sure. I feel like I should stay here with her for a while since I haven’t been here all day, but if she’s just sleeping…” Aaron trails off, chewing his bottom lip, clearly trying to decide what to do. I’m sure he wants to go home after spending most of the day on a plane. Especially if the other option is staying here with our unconscious, shitty mother, who, if she does wake up, is more likely to hurl abuse at him than anything else. And, truthfully, if the roles were reversed, it’s unlikely she would even bother showing up at the hospital at all.
