I was just about to give him the water when the doctor saw me and quickly told me to stop.
“He can’t have any food or liquids until after the surgery.”
“Oh duh. I knew that. I’m sorry, lack of sleep,” I mumbled and put the cup down. Shortly after the doctor left the nurses came in and took him away. I squeezed his hand one last time and told him I loved him. He blew me a kiss with his good arm as they wheeled him out of the room and down the hall.
The surgery lasted almost three hours. By the time he got out I had already had breakfast with Cleo and Derek and changed into my other clothes. Adrian showed up shortly before they wheeled my husband back into the room.We stayed for another hour until the anesthesia wore off and a nurse returned with release papers. The nurses then put him in a wheelchair, and we followed behind them as they went to the elevator. He was in a sling and drowsy. I ran ahead of them and pulled my car up. With the help of the guys, we got him into the car and strapped in. They told me they’d meet me at the house.
Before I went home, I stopped to get his prescriptions. Thankfully they were all ready for me to pick up right when I got there. I picked up some snacks he liked as well before I headed to the counter.
When I got back into the car, he was whining that I left him alone. The heavy meds they had him on made him loopy.
“I got you some pudding cups,” I said cheerfully. He looked at me mournfully.
“How am I supposed to eat them with no arm?”
I sighed. “You have an arm. But I can help you.”
“Did you get chocolate?”
“I did.”
“I knew there was a reason I made you my best girl,” he grinned. I chuckled. He was high from the meds they gave him, but it was still nice to hear a compliment.
The band was already at our house when we returned home. Despite having just seen them a little over an hour ago, they jumped up when we came into the room, their faces filled with worry.
“How you feeling?” Adrian asked. Mark glared at him and tried plopping onto the couch. He winced, having bumped his shoulder falling down.
I swore and hurried over to him.
“Mark, you need to be more careful. If you don’t follow the doctor’s orders you won’t fully heal,” I reminded him. He was still pouting, so I stood back up and crossed my arms. I turned to his bandmates.
“He’s probably going to be sulking or sleeping the rest of the day. You can probably take off. Enjoy the break.”
They looked at each other and slowly nodded. I noticed it was hard for all three of them to leave their best friend when he was hurting. Guilt seeped into me. They were just as much his family as I was.
“But, maybe staying will cheer him up some. I don’t think I can take his mood today. Stay.” They all seemed so relieved and quickly joined him on the couch.
I went into the kitchen and my eyes settled on the empty coffee pot. Suddenly I was exhausted. A night in a hospital recliner doesn’t exactly equal a great night’s sleep. I wanted to nap. I heard light footsteps and turned.
Cleo came into the room. She smiled warmly.
“Hey you,” I greeted.
“Hey. I wanted to make sure it really was okay we stayed. I know we all have trouble with boundaries sometimes. If you want some time alone, I can totally make the guys leave with me.”
I shook my head and waved her off.
“No, it’s fine. Really. I was actually thinking of taking a nap. Having you all here is great. You can keep him company. I’m more tired than I thought.”
“Sure, go right ahead.” I smiled and started to leave the kitchen when she called to me.
“Hey before you go, do you have something I can eat? Tot is telling me I missed lunch.” Heading back into the kitchen I opened the fridge and listed some possibilities for her.
“Ooh, mac and cheese sounds amazing right now.”
Nodding, I went to the cupboards and started searching for a pan. Cleo walked over to me and put her hand on mine.
“I can make it Renee. You go nap. I’ll see if the guys are hungry too. I’ll even clean up afterwards.” I stood up straight.
