“See, this is how you should have been treating me all these years. Like the lesbian princess I am. Come on, Pajamas. Come meet my parents.”
The sun is setting, and I have no idea where the day has gone. To say it has been awesome would be an understatement. We’ve spent the afternoon in Mags’ basement playing board games and eating like royalty. Mr. and Mrs. Chen have been feeding us every hour, bringing down samplers of Mr. Chen’s culinary creations.
“Mr. Chen, when do I get to try the stinky tofu I’ve heard so much about?” PJ asks, taking a plate of freshly made sesame balls from Mags’ dad.
“You want to try my stinky tofu? He wants to try my stinky tofu!” Mr. Chen says excitedly like a kid going to Disney World.
Mags stands and puts her arms in the air, palms facing out. “No, no, no! He does not want that! Nobody wants that!”
“Next time, I will make some. I need time to prepare,” Mr. Chen says. “But it makes me very happy you want to try this childhood favorite of mine from my country. I promise to make it next time you visit.”
“Well, then…they are never coming over again!” Mags says in exasperation. “You have no idea! No idea at all how long it takes to get the smell out of the house.”
Mr. Chen is halfway up the stairs, but he turns and rubs his hands together.
“Next time,” he whispers.
“It’s official, I’m moving to Canada,” Mags counters.
We ignore Mags and resume our card game. I try my first delicious sesame ball when Mrs. Chen appears out of nowhere holding out a phone to me.
“Simon, you have a phone call.”
Why would someone be calling me on Mrs. Chen’s phone? I take my phone out of my pocket and see sixteen missed call notifications from Carole and two from Dad. What the hell? This makes no sense. I stare at the screen. How could I not have heard my phone ringing? With a shaky hand, I take the phone from Mrs. Chen. The alien awakens. Scratch, scratch, scratch.
“Hello?”
“Oh, thank God! Simon, why haven’t you been answering your calls? I have been calling you all afternoon.”
“Sorry, Carole, my phone was in my pocket, and I didn’t hear it over the music.”
“Never mind. Come home right now. I didn’t want to have to tell you this over the phone, but your mom was in a car accident coming home from the lab. A bad accident. She’s in the hospital and is unresponsive. Simon, I’m scared, please come home.”
25
Mom
Istand in the shower and cold water pours over my head. The alien still turns and kicks inside me. It was a terrible night. My tears mix with the running water, and I can’t bring myself to get out despite feeling freezing cold. Why? Why did I end up in a ditch with my accident, and Mom ends up in the hospital? It should be me!
Carole bangs on the bathroom door. “Simon, we need to leave for the hospital. What are you doing in there? Please, get a move on.”
I turn off the water and slap my stomach a few times, trying to beat the alien into submission. As I dry off, it hits me how a perfect day can turn to shit in the blink of an eye. We were having such a nice time. Mags and Neel accepted PJ right into the fold. No weirdness, no jealousy, all joy. The phone call came as such a shock. I never got to go see Mom yesterday because by the time I drove back home, the hospital visiting hours were over. I’m twisted with guilt about not checking my phone when I was having such a good time. I’m so worried about Mom. The doctor indicated her coma is likely temporary, and she could wake up anytime, but they don’t know. Carole is hopeful we may get more answers today.
I’m dressed, but my hair is still wet when I leave my bedroom to find Carole in the kitchen. She has a banana, a bottle of water, and a toasted Trader Joe’s English muffin spread with peanut butter wrapped in a paper towel, ready to hand to me.
“Let’s go; you can eat this in the car,” she says curtly.
We drive to Shady Grove Hospital in silence. I eat the English muffin but save the banana for later, shoving it into my backpack between my homework and the book I’m reading. I bite at what is left of my nails. Carole cries silently. I’m utterly helpless, scared, and sad. I wish PJ were here to hold my hand.
We arrive at Mom’s ICU room, and it’s a terrible shock to see her. She is hooked up to a ventilator and all manner of IVs and feeding tubes. There are blue and purple bruises covering her face and arms. Carole pulls me into a hug, and we cry on each other’s shoulders. We linger in the hug until Carole walks over to Mom and kisses her forehead. She pulls up a chair to the bed and takes Mom’s hand in hers. She closes her eyes and when she opens them, she is fired up.
“You know,” she says, “if this turns out to be because that damn lab worked her to a breaking point, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Yes, I do know what I’ll do! I’ll sue them. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll sue their asses.”
“Um, Carole, I don’t think it works that way. But…yeah, maybe. Hey, have you called Aunt Sarah yet?” I ask.
“No, I’ve been putting that phone call off,” she says bitterly. “But since there appears to be no change this morning, I suppose I should call Sarah and that stoner husband of hers. You know, it’s times like these I’m glad that Lindsey’s parents have passed on. What a terrible phone call that would be to make. I suppose I should call my parents, though. Hopefully, they won’t get on a plane and fly across the country from Portland. Oh, and I did call Daniel—I mean, your dad—yesterday, and I spoke with him again early this morning.”
I am about to ask Carole how Dad reacted when a nurse pops her head in the door to tell us the doctor will be coming by shortly to speak with us.
