Page 124 of Delicate Storm

“Jesus, Mom. What are you doing?” Keeley says as she reaches her, helping her get comfortable. “You scared the hell out of us.”

Mom scoffs with a laugh. “I’m sorry. But I didn’t fall on purpose.”

“What happened?” I ask, wishing the doctors had given us more information.

Mom sighs and a hint of embarrassment flashes across her face. “I fell on my way out of the house this morning. Of course I was on my front steps so I did a small amount of damage. But as you can see, I’m okay. Luckily, Phil was on his way to work and saw it happen.”

“Phil?” I ask stupidly, as though that’s the important part of her story.

“Phil is Mom’s neighbor. You’d know if you ever asked.”

“Asked what? For Mom to name all the residents on her street?”

Keeley snorts, crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s also been on a date with him. So—”

“What?”

“Keeley,” Mom scolds, and it would bring me joy if we weren’t currently in the hospital.

“Sorry, it slipped out.” Keeley shrugs and Mom actually smiles.

“Thank you both for acting normal around me. The last thing I need is for you to panic.”

“Are you joking?” I grab her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “This is mepanicked. This is Keeley panicked. She defaults tohumor and I default to normal. So what, you just fell? Did you trip over something?”

“No, not exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that my legs gave way and I went ass over tits.”

“What?” Keeley and I both grimace while Mom laughs.

“It’s a term I heard on an English TV show I’ve been watching. I never thought I’d get the chance to use it.”

“Mom, this isn’t funny. You could have broken something. Like your hip.”

“I didn’t break anything. It’s just a few cuts and bruises; otherwise I’m okay. Practically perfect in every way, like Mary Poppins.”

Keeley smiles while the blood drains from my head. Keeley’s not the only one that defaults to humor when she’s emotional. She learned it from Mom. “What’s wrong, Mom? What aren’t you telling us?”

Keeley’s eyes meet mine, and I see the moment she catches up, her face falling while Mom’s shoulders drop and she sighs. “I have ALS.”

“ALS?” I choke on my words.

“Yes. I found out last month.”

“After your appointment? The one where you told me you were fine?”

“Yes.”

Keeley’s eyes water but I stay strong. For Mom.

“What does that mean?” Keeley asks through her tears, her voice audibly shaking.

“It means I have a motor neuron disease that messes with my nerve cells and my spine, and it’s slowly getting worse.”

“Jesus, Mom.” I run a shaky hand through my hair as my world crumbles. “Why didn’t you tell us? You’ve been doing so much. And I’ve been pushing you.”

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