Chapter Eight
The next morning, a knock on my bedroom door was followed by my mother entering and grabbing the dirty clothes I’d thrown in a pile on the corner.
“Mom, leave that. I’ll take care of it later,” I said, not even raising my head.
“I’m washing now, and I’ll throw this in, too. There’s café and huevos with bacon. Let’s get ready to go in the next half hour, please,” she said making another sweep of the room. My mother— always cleaning up after me and cooking for me.Things never changed.
I dragged myself around the room still groggy from sleep. Looking in drawers for something I could wear, all I found was where my mom hid the Christmas decorations. I went to her closet and discovered the least outlandish shirt she owned. It was a pink T-shirt she used to clean around the house. I put that on with my jeans and set to eating my breakfast. My mother hovered around me, offering me orange juice and more eggs. I declined on both counts, badgering her to go get ready herself.
The drive back to the hospital was a strange mix of comfort at being in my hometown and sadness at feeling I didn’t belong there anymore. I passed the local farmer’s market stands that used to be open every weekday, now only open on weekend mornings, a banner said. The ice skating rink was now a firehouse, and the firehouse was an office building for an environmental group that had taken up shop in town. But my elementary school and its playground were still there and so was the old shopping center, probably with the same old woman there who served ice cream at the Dairy Queen. It was all mostly the same, yet the changes showed that life here went on without me.
My dad was quiet today, even more so than yesterday, and my mom told me she thought this whole ordeal had been a shock to him. I tried to be bright and cheery1 for him, but what I wanted was to sit and be quiet too. The newspaper I brought along allowed for some discussion between us while we waited for the doctor. My father’s cousin came, and he was there for a good long while, telling jokes and making my dad laugh until he left to go to work around noon. Finally, the doctor came in and said that he expected my dad to go home that evening, at which point my mother breathed a sigh of relief. I went outside to call Harvey, which I had promised to do last night in my text.
“Hey darlin’,” he said, voice smooth as butter. I had tried not to think of him the past couple of days, but now there were emotions exploding inside of me, and I paced back and forth in the parking lot.
“Hi,” I said, glad he wasn’t able to see the creeping pink on my face.
“How’s your dad?” he inquired.
“He’s getting out tonight,” I said.
“Nice. I knew he’d pull through alright.”
“Yes, we’re very relieved, but he’s bummed out from the whole thing.”
“I would be too,” he said.
“Yeah…” I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to see him, which was weird, right? When had I ever wanted to see Harvey before? He’d always been Natalie’s husband who I saw sometimes when I saw Natalie. Now he was this different person, totally separate from my past life in which he was just one of the six in our little neighborhood crew.
“So I have your suitcase, and I guess you need it. Want me to drop it off at your house or something?” he asked. I wondered if he still saw me the same as before.
“I, um... I would say we should be home by eight o’clock if you want to drop it off after that. Or I can come pick it up after we take my dad home.”
“How about dinner? I’m at the market now, and I can grab a few things to make us something tasty. I’ve learned quite a bit from the chefs at the restaurant.”Was this like a date?I got all tingly.
“Um… I guess that would be nice. A little break from my parents for a meal isn’t a bad idea, actually. I don’t think they’d mind… and then I can take my suitcase,” I added clumsily. What was wrong with me? I cringed and silently swore.
“I mean, you can leave it again, but that would defeat the purpose.” I noticed the smirk in his voice.
“Ha ha,” I said. “I’ll see you after 8ish.” I pressed END on the phone.Darlin’?Chills.
Driving my dad home from the hospital was a relief to us all. It was comforting to see him in regular clothes and looking like his normal self. My mom chatted the entire way home about the healthy recipes her friends had sent her links to on Facebook. She couldn’t wait to cook for us. I let my parents know I had dinner plans with a friend (I didn’t mention who), and my mom said she’d save me some fish for my lunch tomorrow.
Tomorrow. How long was I planning on staying here? My vacation was technically over the next day at work, but I could call in sick because of my dad, not that it mattered much at my job. Anyone could call in sick for anything at that place, no questions asked. But, for real… how long was I going to stay at my parents’? The thought of stepping into Greg and my house seemed unfathomable, but where I would live?
There wassomething about getting ready to go to Harvey’s that evening for dinner. I cried in the shower, and it was another ugly cry. I sat on the floor of the tub for a while and concluded that Greg had wasted enough of my life.I would rise up from this disastrous affair, I thought, as the tears mixed with the water running down my face. I wasn’t even sure if I was crying anymore except that my head was pounding from the intensity of my emotions. Life would go on. It always did. I would too.
I’d even start that night. I put on my sexiest underwear with a “just-in-case” attitude after shaving all over. I dressed in one of the comfortable flowy dresses I had taken to wear out to a casual dinner in St. Thomas, straightened my hair, and put on light makeup.
“Honey, you look so beautiful,” my mother said as she stirred the vegetables she was cooking on the stove. I went to her, and she kissed my cheek. “Have a lovely time.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I said and went to give my dad a kiss goodnight. He was sitting in front of the TV watching the news.
“This is the kind of stuff that gives people heart attacks,” he said as he aimed at the TV with the remote. I saw that the Breaking News banner discussed a terror plot thwarted in Europe. Such things were sadly becoming so commonplace it was scary.
“Enjoy your vegetables, Dad,” I said, bending down to give him a hug. He made a grimace, and I laughed.
I got noticeably more excited the closer I got to Harvey’s mom’s house in my mother’s car. The beauty of the evening was that anything could happen. I was a free woman now. Whether I was divorced or not was simply legal talk because in my heart I knew I was no longer tied to Greg. He had decided that months ago when he hopped into bed with my best friend. I hoped Natalie’s guilt would eat her up the rest of her life. Yes, I was still bitter. Can you blame me?
