Page 24 of Worth the Fight

“Okay?” I ask, squeezing her hand.

“Okay,” she whispers, and when I go to stand, I take a pause, making sure she’s okay before I turn to leave the bathroom.

I haven’t even made it out of the bedroom before she calls out to me, “Make sure you grab my new glasses, I don't want to be stuck in the hospital without any readers.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Oh, and grab one of my crossword puzzle books, will you, Lukas? Lord knows I'll be bored to tears for the next few days.”

I laugh a little at that, thankful that her snarkiness is already peeking through. “Anything else?”

She pauses for a minute before a stern, “That will be all,” leaves her lips.

I move through the house quickly, unlocking the front door and propping open the screen by dragging one of her heavy potted plants in front of it.

Heading back inside, I find her purse sitting on the two-seater kitchen table where she always leaves it. Her reading glasses are next to her recliner in the living room, and I grab a few of the puzzle books from her stack on the floor. I toss everything into a grocery bag I pulled from under the sink, knowing she’ll scold me for not getting out one of her nicer sacks.

The echo of sirens sounds from down the street, and I go back to the bathroom one more time to check on Nana. “Looks like today’s your lucky day,” I tell her. “I don’t know if you’ve ever met my brother Theo. He’ll be delighted to meet you.”

“Is he as bossy as you?” she teases, and I chuckle at that.

“Yup,” I say, popping the p at the end. “You all right here? I’m going to stand in the driveway and wave them in.”

She licks her lips, trying to adjust her shoulders on the stiff tile floor. “Not like I have anywhere else to go right now,” she murmurs.

“All right, be right back.” I turn to leave, and her hand darts out to grab me by the leg. I halt my steps, dropping to a knee.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?” I scan her body for something I might have missed, looking around her for blood, something, anything.

“Thank you, Lukas,” she says. “Sure glad you came to check on me today.”

I squeeze her hand, and with the sirens getting louder, I rest her hand atop her chest. “Hang tight, Nana, we’ll get you out of here.”

I jog down the hall, cutting through the living room and out the front door.

I hadn't planned on seeing Nana today, which is the weird thing. We've stuck to our Wednesday night dinners and the occasional weekend afternoon hang-out. She keeps me busy with chores even though Linda and Ron live just down the street and check on her almost daily. If they don’t stop in, they make sure to call her. It’s an annoyance she’s griped about a time or two when we are together.

She mentioned last week that they were going on a dream European vacation and were set to fly out to California for a few days before they cross the ocean. I'm guessing they plan to go to France to see Magnolia, but Nana hadn't mentioned that much. We keep our conversations between us, about us, besides the occasional tidbit of information. She’s let me know that Mags is doing fine, but she doesn't openly talk about her, and I don't ask. I told her that I had been calling, and she knows that Mags will occasionally answer. She doesn’t ask details of what we talk about, and I don’t offer. I don’t want to put her in the middle of our relationship, or the relationship I’m attempting to make with her again.

So, when I woke up this morning with Nana on my mind, I figured it was because of Mags and her parents making the trip out to see her. But I spent the morning shoveling out the horse barn thinking of her, fed the chickens and gathered their eggs thinking of her. So, when Grayson said he was gonna run into town to pick up something at the feed store, I volunteered, thinking I would check in on her just because. I’m sure as hell glad I did.

The firetruck pulls around the corner, lights flashing, sirens blaring, and parks along the street. The ambulance slows behind them, and I step back so they can pull into the driveway.

“How is she?” Theo asks as soon as he exits the truck. Theo is known for being the jokester, the one that can put a smile on all our faces. But I'm sure glad he hopped out of the truck knowing how worried I’d be about Nana. Knowing how much she means to me and knowing what losing her would do to me and the people I care about.

“I think she's all right,” I tell him. “Her right leg is externally rotated,” I say loud enough that the EMTs can hear as they roll up with the gurney. “She has a bruise on the side of her forehead, but she’s talking and sassy and moving her upper body just fine.”

“Were you here when it happened?” Theo asks, and I shake my head no.

“Just thought of her all morning and finally decided I needed to check on her, you know?”

He nods as the gurney rolls past us. We help the EMTs lift it up over the few concrete steps, and once we’re in the house, I move ahead of them, ushering down the hall to her bedroom.

“This way,” I tell them, leading them down the narrow hall. I hear the gurney switch from the wood floors to the soft carpet, rattling when the wheels roll over the threshold. They slow when they wiggle their way into the bedroom, and I step ahead, climbing over Nana to stand at her feet.

“How’s my favorite girl doing?”

“Oh, just peachy,” she says, trying to twist her head back to look at the team waiting for her.