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Fifty-Five
Curled up on a couch, a copy of Emma on her lap, Riley didn’t realize a worried frown had taken up residence on her face. She twirled her ring round her finger. At this rate, I’m going to be completely gray by the time they’re both out of surgery.
“Rye…it must be going well.” Sitting beside Riley, Piper licked her finger and flicked a glossy page of a waiting room magazine. “Seven hours, no word. No news is good, right?” She glanced at Casey sitting across from them, a venti quad, no-whip, extra hot mocha with coconut milk, caramel drizzle, and extra butterscotch topping hovering by his lips.
“Pip! Don’t lick your finger in here. God knows where that magazine has been!”
“Case, if this place is such a nightmare, go outside, hit up Walgreen’s, and bring back Swedish Fish, Funyuns, and Fanta.”
“Hello? What’s my number one rule?” Scrolling his phone, Casey grimaced. “I never buy food where sick people shop.”
Piper loudly flicked another page.
“Hey, have you seen the crowdfunding page?” Casey raised an eyebrow. “It’s over twenty thousand dollars now. Mark’s fans are a bloody army!”
“Keeganites rock,” said Riley.
“I still can’t believe you got to meet him.” Piper tossed her head back against the sofa, bored. “Anything interesting in Ben’s bag of junk?”
“I haven’t looked.” Riley had felt so guilty looking through his phone contacts, she didn’t even think about snooping through his belongings.
“Heard from the princess?” Piper enquired as she yawned, referring to Erika.
“She’s still honeymooning, and kinda out of the loop.” Riley’s phone buzzed in her tote. “She doesn’t know about the transplant.”
“How?!”
“You know better than to ask that, Pip.” Casey sneered like he smelled something rotten. “Erika’s all about Erika. Bridezilla-itis only made it worse.”
“To be fair, I didn’t tell her.” Riley dug into her tote, rifling past Ben’s phone to find her own.
Casey shook his head. “Yeah, because what’s the point?”
Riley looked at a long text running off the screen. Speak of the devil. It wasn’t like Erika to reach out during a self-indulgent vacation.
Hey. Life as we know it is over! Chillin on beach and Scott’s agent texted. Scotty’s been traded! To WINNIPEG. I HATE the cold, what am I going to—
Woah! Traded? Riley stopped reading. But…jeez, the sky’s not falling. Trades are part of hockey—she knows that! I’ll answer later. She spied two other texts. Ben? That buzz in my bag before they took him away…was him?
Ben’s first text: Riles!!! Look inside my bag—for a bag!!!!
She giggled. You’ve got to be kidding me.
Piper stared over Riley’s arm. “That boy uses too many exclamation marks.”
Riley reached inside, past his bracelet and clothes. She pulled out a white paper bag with thick Sharpie writing on the side: WAITING ROOM BOREDOM KIT. Ben made me a care package! Contents included: an apple, two packages of Reese’s, a bottle of grape Fanta, a Keroppi PEZ, a small bag of Funyuns, and three packets of Fun Dip. Her hand searched inside again, touching something plastic. She peeked—the gallbladder from the surgeon’s office! BEN! She left it in the bag and grabbed a roll of candy. Smarties? No, it’s bigger. She pulled it out, and Ben’s accent swirled in her head. “Once you go Brit, you just can’t quit.”
“LOVE HEARTS? British ones!” Piper’s hand dove toward the bag.
Opening an end of the roll, Riley pulled out pale-colored candies exclaiming, ‘Ever Yours’, ‘Be Happy’, and one that featured a winking emoji. She put the wink in her mouth, catching the next message waiting inside the roll—‘Don’t Cry’.
“Aw, lucky ducky.” Piper held out her hand. “Can I see?”
Savoring the sweet lemon candy melting on her tongue, Riley handed over the roll and shared the peanut butter cups with Casey. She checked Ben’s second text, three new songs joining his growing ‘4 Riles!!!’ text playlist:
“Doctor, Doctor” by The Thompson Twins
“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” by Michael Jackson
