Page 75 of Head First
There are tubes hooked up to a machine that beeps next to her, fluids running into her arm from a bag next to the bed.
I choke back a sob. I’m not sure if I’m relieved that she’s OK or terrified of the condition she seems to be in. Mom squeezes my hand.
‘Millie,’ she says, stepping closer to the bed and resting a hand on my sister’s forearm. Millie stirs this time, awakening slowly, clearly disoriented.
Her eyes find mine right away.
‘Hey, you,’ she says. Her voice is weak and hoarse.
‘An—’ My dad gestures to an empty seat and I take it.
‘So?’ She coughs after she asks me, and my mom passes her a glass of water.
My parents exchange a confused glance, but I know exactly what she’s asking about. ‘I saw one,’ I tell Millie, leaning closer to her. ‘I don’t exactly have proof yet, I still need to get the dive log signed, but they’re alive, I promise.’
Millie rests her head back onto the pillow. ‘I knew it,’ she says. She starts to smile but her lips are chapped so she stops mid-grin, bringing a finger to her bottom lip. ‘We’ll figure out proof later. I may just have to go and get some myself.’ She smiles again, smaller this time, and her eyes get caught in a blink, fluttering closed for a couple seconds before she opens them again.
‘Sorry.’ She yawns. ‘This stuff makes me so tired.’ She gestures at the IV stand next to the bed. ‘Was it everything I promised?’
‘Everything and more,’ I reply.
I spend the next hour recounting my trip, making sure to eliminate any mention of Hugh. Millie awakens slowly, listening intently, her eyes glued to mine the entire time. All I do is talk about the dives, our instructors and the weather. I talk about Miguel, his flirting and his dancing. I explain how Vanessa always kept us in line. I know that Millie will freak out about Hugh if I tell her, so I keep that part of the trip to myself.
Millie asks a couple of questions about the reef conditions, the quality of the boat itself and the dive instructors, but mostly she stays silent, her eyes half closed, totally absorbed in my story.
‘I love Pippa,’ she says when I mimic Pippa’s British accent. She wrinkles her nose when I describe Derek, and she gasps when I recount seeing the shark on the night dive. After an hour of talking non-stop, Millie yawns and the nurse gives our family a meaningful look.
I remain seated in the chair. I’m not ready to leave Millie’s side, even though she’s falling asleep. Her eyes are closed and her hand twitches next to her.
‘She looks OK,’ I whisper to my mom.
‘She’s better than yesterday. They should discharge her tomorrow.’
‘They said she shouldn’t go back to work for a couple weeks,’ my dad says, ‘she has to go home with IV antibiotics and visits from a home health nurse.’
‘Oh no.’ I know how important it was for Millie that no one at work knows about the surgery. ‘What is she gonna tell them?’
‘She has to tell them the truth,’ my dad says grimly.
Millie groans from her bed, cracking one eye open. ‘I haven’t figured out what to do yet.’
I reach for her hand and squeeze it. ‘They’ll understand.’
‘I wish I didn’t have to tell them and you could go to work in my place. It seems to have served you well so far.’
I roll my eyes. ‘I can’t hold a candle to you, and you know that,’ I reply.
‘You seemed pretty good at doing it in Australia.’ Millie shrugs her shoulders. ‘Maybe no one will know that it’s you underneath a lab coat.’
I laugh. ‘Sure, Millie. I’ll quit my job and do yours instead.’ I’m laughing, but I start to picture going to Millie’s place of work instead of my own and feel a twinge of jealousy followed by a surge of hope.What if . . .
‘I’m gonna have to tell them, aren’t I?’ Millie says.
At that moment, the nurse bustles in, shooing us out of the room.
‘We’ll come back in the afternoon,’ Mom promises Millie as we scurry out. We make our way back through the maze of hallways and into the parking garage. Mom makes multiple references to how badly I must want a shower, which I do, but she calls attention to it so many times that I check myself in the car mirror, wondering how awful I must look.
Now that I’ve seen Millie, all I can think about is seeing Murphy. I’m so excited my body is buzzing. But as we near the house, I realise I’m not sure if the idea of working in Millie’s lab has something to do with my excitement.
