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“She’s unconscious.”
I startle from the closeness of her voice.
“My name is Rhea, by the way.”
My eyes move from Rose back to Rhea who is now standing beside me. “I’m Tessa.”
“Shall we?” She lifts her hand towards her mother.
“Yeah, all right.” I take a few steps towards the bed. “I’ve helped the nurses before, so I’m familiar with how to dress her.” Leaning over, I grab the fabric of the gown and start to unbutton the snaps on her shoulders.
“Do you need help?” Rhea asks as I start to pull at the other set of buttons.
“Once her top half is undone, we’re going to have to pull the gown down, you can help with that. She has a catheter so be careful not to pull on the tubing.” Once the final snap is undone, I pull the fabric from her body, and that’s when I see it. Over her left breast in Old English script is the name I’ve only known one person to have–Hawking. I can’t help but stare.
“You okay?”
Startled, I jump. “Um…yeah.”
Rhea walks around the bed, so she’s standing across from me. “My brother.”
My head snaps up. “Pardon?”
She points towards the tattoo on Rose’s chest. “That’s my brother’s name.”
“Oh, I see.” I lean over and start to ease the gown down her body. “You can help now,” I tell her.
“I’ve never met him though.” She tugs the gown from under her mom. “My mom has a thing for birds. I’m Rhea, it’s a large, ostrich-type bird. I know, not really beautiful. My sister is Loa was named after a ground bird from Iceland. And Hawking, well, I think he’s named after a Hawk, but I’m not entirely sure.”
“I’ve always liked your name. It’s unique.”
Hawking and I have stayed behind while Devin Jr. and Matt took Sienna out for ice cream. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go, but when Hawk complained about always doing what Sienna wanted, I decided to stay behind and keep him company. The summer night doesn’t give much relief from the heat of the day, and ice cream sure does sound good, but spending time with Hawk sounds better. Maybe Sienna will take it upon herself to bring me some ice cream back with her.
“I think it’s stupid.” He kicks the dirt with his feet.
“Why do you think that?” I ask as I twist in the seat.
“Why would I want to be named after a damn bird? It’s just something else that my mom did to ruin my life.”
“Well, I like it, and I don’t think it ruins anything about you.”
“You would, Tessa. You never see the bad in the world. It’s always sunshine and roses to you.”
“That’s not true, I see plenty of nasty stuff, but your name isn’t one of those things. Anyways, your name doesn’t make you who you are, Hawking. You’re the only one who can decide that.”
“Oh yeah, even if I’m the son of Hound, VP of Devil’s Fury? The fact that I’m destined to follow in my old man’s footsteps doesn’t mean anything to you?”
We’re in Bianca and Devin’s backyard swinging on the swing set, and I pull back on the chains, making myself start to glide through the air. “Nope, it sure doesn’t. It’s like you’re saying that Sienna is destined to be a club whore because her daddy’s the president. Is that what you see for Sienna’s future?”
“Hell no! Devin would never allow that to happen.”
“Well then, why do you think you’re destined to end up like your daddy? It’s your life, Hawking, and no one can live it but you...”
“Wh–where is he?” I ask as I stand back up. I haven’t thought about that night from my childhood in so long. I drop the dirty gown on the bed. My heart races with the possibility that this is the same man I grew up with. I twist and grab the clean gown that’s on the nightstand.
“I’m not sure,” she responds. “He’s older than we are. From my mom’s first marriage or something. She’s never really talked about him, and I’ve never met him.”
Readying the gown with shaky hands, I start the process again. It has to be the same person. The coincidences are too striking.
