Page 78 of Merry Mayhem
He doesn’t look shocked. “That’s awesome. That’s about the right timing.”
Another text comes in from my mom.
Everything looks fantastic! All vitals and tests are normal. No memory loss!
I repeat the message to Josh.
His smile is genuine. “That’s wonderful news. She’ll probably be coming home in the next couple of days. She’ll have some precautions for a short time, but it sounds like she’s going to be back to normal quickly.”
I’m so relieved. I believed him all along when he said that she was going to be okay. But having her awake and everything coming out normal, I feel a huge weight lifted off my chest. I don’t think I realized how worried I was.
I am, of course, familiar with concussion protocols. I know that for the next few days, Violet will need to limit her screen time, excessive activity, and anything that requires a lot of cognitive effort. But if things continue to improve and she feels good, she will slowly return to her normal activities and routine.She is young, healthy, and seems to be coming through this well. She shouldn’t have any permanent effects.
“We should go and see her,” I say. I already feel bad that I haven’t been there. My whole family, and all of my friends, have encouraged me to stay in Rebel and have assured me it’s fine. And I know, practically, that it is. It still feels weird.
“Yes, for sure,” Josh agrees. “We also need to let her know what’s going on with us.”
I consider that. We do. She definitely needs to know before anyone else figures it out.
I don’t want to keep this from my family or any more of my friends. But it’s only fair to fill Violet in first.
“I’m going to head up and take a shower and get dressed,” I say, sliding off the stool.
“I could join you,” Josh says, not giving me much space.
I smile up at him. “If you join me, we’re never going to make it out of this house.”
I can tell he likes that. “We actually don’t have time to get to New Orleans, see her, and get back,” he says, glancing at the clock.
Dammit, he’s right. Even without a surprise challenge, we have to be downtown for the obstacle course at ten. “Okay, I’m going to tell Nora about Violet. She won’t schedule a surprise challenge between the obstacle course and the gingerbread building challenge this afternoon. We can go see her in between those.”
“Great plan,” he says. “Maybe we’ll even get a chance to see her just the two of us.”
Yeah, I’m going to have to find a way to distract any other visitors so that Josh can talk to Violet about what’s going on under the guise of being a concerned boyfriend who wants a few minutes alone with her.
Crap, this is so complicated. Even to tell Violet the truth, we’re going to have to fib to the rest of the family for a short time.
We want to tell everyone the full story, but Violet needs to be a part of that.
We clean up and dress separately, then head for the high school, where the obstacle course is set up.
A lot of people have already arrived, and the general atmosphere is festive.
Muriel and Patty are already there, of course.
Patty is wearing a lavender tracksuit, bright white tennis shoes, and has a lavender scarf around her hair that matches her lavender sunglasses.
Muriel has a turquoise tracksuit that’s so bright it could easily be seen from six blocks away. Her tennis shoes are hot pink, the baseball cap on her head is sunshine yellow, and she has bright blue goggles covering her eyes. They look like swim goggles, but I suppose they probably make goggles for biking or other outdoor activities. In any case, they are blue plastic with clear plastic centers and a wide blue strap that secures them on her head. The strap makes her hair stick up in all directions, reminding me of white dandelion puff.
“Good morning!” Patty greets with a huge smile.
“Good morning, ladies,” I say. “Are you ready for this?”
I look around, trying to find Andi. I trust my friend to come up with something to help the ladies get around, and since I haven’t heard from her, I assume the plan is on track.
“This is going to be great,” Muriel says, surprisingly perky.
“You stretched and hydrated?” Josh asks her, holding out his fist.
