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My purse. My phone... gone.
My parents only had the little two-bedroom house I grew up in, and their sewing stuff and Christmas directions burst out the door of my old room — not that we would have all fit in that twin-sized bed even if it weren’t.
Only disappearing from our lives not six months ago, my ex-husband’s absence in my boys’ lives was still something they were adjusting to. How any of us would ever adjust to being homeless and flat broke, though, wasn’t even something I could imagine yet.
I’d felt like the worst mother on the planet many times since the divorce, but that day was rock bottom for me. I’d been destroyed in every possible way.
The wheelchair stopped by the door, and the orderly pushed it open and held out his hand for me. “Alright, careful now.”
I didn’t even have shoes, just those ugly yellow hospital socks with the sticky things on the bottom and the giant gown they put on me.
Jason moved the plastic bag with my soaking wet and bloody clothes on it from the edge of the stretcher and took my hand from the orderly. “I got her. Thank you.”
Once I got up on the mat, Sean climbed onto my lap and laid his head against my shoulder. “When can we go home, Mommy?”
Not that the constant fear I wouldn’t be able to pay the rent on that crappy house wasn’t bad enough, but it wasn’t near as scary as not having any idea where we’d go once they let me out. “Baby, our home is gone.”
He peeked up at me with his big brown puppy dog eyes. “When can we go to Jason’s house, then?”
Clearing his throat, Jason scooted his chair closer to my feet. “About that. I told the boys you were staying at my house until we figured everything out.”
I didn’t doubt that he would do that, and I shook my head back at him as he straightened up to try to convince me. “I have plenty of room. Plenty of food. Plenty of video games, and bathrooms, and reclining couches. It’ll be like one big party.” His hands flipped up off his knees. “I have some okay bedroom sets just sitting around collecting dust. I’ll have the guys bring them over when everything calms down.”
I had to turn my head around to look at the boys on blankets in the corner with the eye I could see out of. “Thank you, but I can’t let you take on all this.” His eyes drifted to the floor when I shook my head at him. “I have nothing, and I’m not sure if I ever will. I don’t even know if I have a place to work anymore.”
He jerked his eyes, just shrugging back at me like he was letting me borrow twenty dollars for gas. “So, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help you when you needed me most?” I had no one I could count on for help right at that moment, and I couldn’t even find him through the tears filling my eyes. “We are not strangers, Carolyn. So, drop the tough girl routine for a minute, and let me help you guys. Okay?”
The door on the other side of the room swung open, and the doctor wrestled with the curtain as Jason squeezed my ankle slightly until I nodded at him. “Thank you.”
He smiled back at me as the doctor pulled the little black stool under the computer desk toward him. “Okay. Good news. There’s no indication that this is anything but a concussion — not that that’s a great thing. Your brain doesn’t like getting knocked around like that, so it’s going to make you miserable for the next week or two until it recovers.”
I wasn’t even finished paying off the tab from when Carson got the same injury a few months ago. “Oh, God. I don’t have to stay here. Do I? I can’t afford it.”
Twisting his mouth, he shook his head back at me. “No, that’s not necessary. Although, I want you to hang out here for a few hours so we can make sure nothing else pops up.”
I relaxed into the pillow finally as he held up a finger. “A couple of things. No loud noises, bright lights, or emotional upset for the next forty-eight hours.” He rolled his eyes at himself. “I understand that’s easier said than done after what you’ve been through, but you need to keep the extra stress to a minimum.” Another finger came up. “Lots of sleep over the next few weeks. However,” — he jerked his eyes at Jason — “if you feel like she’s sleeping too much or having trouble waking up, you need to bring her back in here immediately so we can check her out.” His arms folded over each other. “Also, she might be a little dizzy for a while, so limit stairs until all that passes.”
Jason shook his head and reached over to shake the doctor’s hand. “No problem at all. Thanks, Doc.”
Arching his back to stretch as the doctor backed out again, Jason groaned at himself. “Hey, little man. Do you want to go raid the vending machines with me?”
Slipping away from me, Sean pulled up the too-big socks the nurse gave him as Jason grabbed my fingers. “How about Momma? Does she want anything?”
Still half ready to yack at any moment, I nodded as I pulled the little pink basin closer. “A cold soda sounds nice.”
Sean opened the door, and Jason clipped the remote to the sheet beside me. “You got it.”
They walked away hand in hand, and I lost it when the door closed behind them. I didn’t need much pushing to fall in love with that big red teddy bear after he saved the day with Carson’s baseball team, but fate sure seemed determined to leave nothing to chance for us.
60
What I Could Get
Jason
I felt like the biggest bastard on the planet when we turned into my driveway.
Everything that used to belong to them peppered the backside of town, and my house didn’t have a single shrub or shingle out of place when my headlights moved over it.
