Tessa cleared her throat. “Marlene, can I ask you something?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Can she hear us?”
The nurse paused, her hand still on Jo Ellen’s wrist, and looked up, taking time to think before she settled her weight back on one hip.
“Honey, I’ve been doing this for twenty-six years. The studies will tell you the science is mixed.”
She was right about that, Kate thought, watching the woman closely.
“WhatIwill tell you is what I’ve seen with my own two eyes in this unit year after year, day after day, whether a coma is God-given or induced.” She gave a shrug with one shoulder. “Somewhere in there, they hear you. They may not catch every word, but they hear your voice and they know you’re in this room and they are not alone. They know you care, they know they’re loved, and they know that whatever you say is usually the honest truth and maybe you shouldn’t have waited until they were here to say it.”
Kate felt her own throat thicken. She had not expected that.
“So, talk to her,” Marlene said. “Tell her what she needs to hear, but for heaven’s sake, don’t tell her anything that’ll hurt her. But letting her know she’s loved and you still need her? Costs you nothing, and it might be the thing that brings her back to you. I’ve seen it time and time again.”
“She knows we’re here?” Tessa asked, the note of hope in her voice a little heartbreaking.
Marlene smiled. “I bet she does and if she could talk, she’d thank you for all the years of love, Miss Beautiful and Miss Genius.”
They both laughed softly as she picked up the clipboard. “The day shift is ruthless with the visiting rules, so make your time count tonight.” The door clicked shut behind her.
The two of them exchanged a silent look, then Tessa stood up, leaned over the bed and put her cheek as close as she could get to their mother’s face.
“Mom. It’s Tess. Katie’s here, too. You’re in the hospital, okay? You had a fall and they fixed you up, but you have to come back to us now, do you hear me? You don’t get to leave. There is so much you have not done. You haven’t taught Olive to make a peach pie. You haven’t taken her on a boat. You haven’t seen her be three, and four, and five, and you told me last night that I was going to be an amazing mom and I can’t…” Her voice cracked and she took a steadying breath. “I cannot do that without you. I have no clue how to do that, really.”
A tear spilled on Mom’s cheek, straight from Tessa’s eyes.
“I know you think Dad and I had some special bond,” she said in a rough voice. “But all we ever talked about was you and Kate. And I know you want to see him again, but not yet, please. Fight, Jo Ellen Wylie. Fight for…”
She bit back a sob and kissed Mom’s cheek, staying there for a second before straightening, her shoulders shuddering so hard Kate rose and practically ran around the bed to hold her.
“I’m sorry,” Tessa rasped, wiping her face. “I…love her so much.”
Kate hugged her sister and rubbed her back, hushing her the way she would Emma when she cried. “It’s going to be okay, Tess. She’s going to be okay.”
Tessa pulled back, her eyes red, her nose running. “But if she’s not?”
Kate closed her eyes and drew her closer. “Don’t think about that yet.”
Tessa sobbed again and stepped to the side, grabbing her purse. “I’ll be right back. I need to blow my nose and rinse my face.”
“Okay. I’ve got her. Take your time.”
“You talk to her, okay? I want us to keep talking to her.”
“I will,” Kate assured her, and waited until Tessa slipped out before taking her chair again.
Talking to her seemed strange, but even if one study showed they heard, then Kate was determined. Kate lifted her mother’s hand gently so she could rest her temple against the knuckles and looked right at her face.
“Hey, Mom.”
The ventilator clicked and hissed, taking a deep breath for Jo Ellen.
“It’s me. Tess is fine,” she assured her, not sure why, but she did. “So am I,” she added. “Mostly fine, you know. Considering you’re in here, I mean. So…what do you want to talk about? I’m not big on the dramatic ‘I love you and don’t leave us’ stuff. I’ll leave that to my sister. But I just want to…talk. You know, about life.”
She took another breath and listened to the beeps and ticks, the distant intercom and somewhere, far away, a phone ringing.
