Page 97 of This Love
I could handle her rejection of me. We’d been through it many times. But not Tad. She had to love him. She had to want him and be willing to care for him no matter what.
We’d been counting on it.
This would be the ultimate test of her condition.
I held his hand. He was asleep again.
The nurse gently slid the hat onto his head. “I need to make his baby burrito. Do you want to learn how?”
I stood near and watched her pull a small blanket around his body, tucking it tightly. With the hat and the burrito, only Tad’s small face was visible.
“It helps them feel more secure,” she said. “Wait here, and we’ll get someone to escort you back to your room.”
I glanced up at Gram. She wasn’t taking photos anymore. She was beaming at the baby, her hands gripping the ledge below the window.
We had help. We had love.
We’d be okay.
Chapter 38
Ava
Bright light seared my vision, making my head pound. The only thing I knew was the thump, thump, thump creating pressure above my eyes.
Then I sat up, my heart racing. Where was I? What was this place?
My bed had rails. There was tape on my hand and a line running up to a bag.
The word arrived.
Hospital.
Sick people went to hospitals.
Was I sick?
I wore a strange blue dress, open in the front. I closed it over my body. My underwear was strange, stretchy mesh over paper. It didn’t feel right.
I was alone. There were two doors. One was closed. The other was open. Beyond it, I spotted a sink and a mirror. Bathroom.
The urge to hide was strong. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed. My fuzzy socks were warm and had funny nubs on the bottom that stuck to the floor.
I only walked a few steps when a tug on my hand made me stop. The line attached to me was pulled tight. It was attached to a tall pole beside the bed. I couldn’t go any farther.
I puzzled over the tube and the tape, then jerked it all off. There was a quick bite of pain, and a dot of blood welled up. I wiped it on my gown.
Voices grew louder outside the closed door. I listened, paralyzed with fear, but they kept going by. I felt exposed in the big room, so I dashed to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.
A movement almost made me scream, then I realized it was the mirror. A woman in a blue gown leaned in. We moved together. It was me.
My hair was brown, the long parts braided on both sides of my head. The skin near my eye was purple. When I touched it, pain shot through me. Bruise.
Something white on my wrist caught my eye. A bracelet. It had words.
Patient: Ava Giddings.
DOB: 7-7-00.
