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Rico waits with the engine running. I open the back door for Rory, guiding her in and then joining her.
“Jackson Memorial,” I snap. Rico nods at me in the rearview mirror, unfazed by my gruffness, and we set off. Rory’s hand is tucked in mine. I know it shouldn’t feel this damned good, but fuck me, I don’t want to let her go. Ever.
Chapter 19
Rory
Ihate hospitals. Always have. They smell of antiseptic and sickness and the combination makes my stomach turn. The nurses told me when we arrived Mom was in surgery, but they were too busy to say much more, just that Dr. Lukas would explain when the operation was over.
Romano sits on one of the hard plastic chairs that line the waiting room, messing with his phone and periodically looking at me with concern. He flat-out ignored me when I told him to leave, and that I would be fine. Frankly, I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. I am grateful, though. His being here makes me feel less alone. Like I have someone on my side.
Until the doctor comes and tells me what’s going on, I’m in the dark. If she’s having surgery, though, it has to be bad. Andexpensive. I just hope our medical insurance covers the cost, or we’re fucked every which way.
Joel is with our neighbor, Ruth, I was told. I called her when I arrived. She said he was asleep and not to worry. I can pick him up tomorrow; she’s happy to have him. That’s one load off my mind at least. I just wish Mom had managed to call before she was whisked away in an ambulance. At least then I could have been here sooner. I guess she was taken ill too quickly to do anything other than call 911.
We’ve been here for hours and it's well past midnight. There’s no way I can go to work tomorrow...today. My boss won’t be happy, but he’ll have to suck it up. We’re allowed to take personal days for emergencies, and I haven’t used any of mine this year.
I mess with a loose thread on my hoodie until it unravels. There are magazines on a coffee table, but I don’t have the mental bandwidth to read articles in Good Housekeeping or Heat. The TV on the wall is muted. A soap opera plays on a loop, and the actors all have big hair and shoulder pads. Mom would probably know what it was: maybe Days of Our Lives. She loves that shit. The OTT plots where characters do crazy things are bread and butter to her. I think they’re dumb, but sometimes she manages to suck me in with some weird plot development.
She has to get better. I’ll even promise to watch all the re-runs with her. That’s how desperate I am for her to be OK. It isn’t until Romano pulls me against his chest that I realize I’m sobbing.
“Shh, it’s going to be OK, Rory,” he murmurs into my hair. Strong arms wrap around me while I cry. I should pull away but my walls are down and he feels so good. Like the weighted blanket Mom bought Joel when he had problems sleeping at night. He smells good too: a mix of citrus and smoke.
There’s a sharpharrumphfrom the doorway and I jump away. The surgeon stands there in his scrubs. He looks almost as shit as I feel.
“Miss Jackson?”
“Yes, is she…OK?”
He nods and I close my eyes for a moment.Thank God. “She’s not out of the woods yet, but we managed to remove the section of her bowel that was blocked without the need for a stoma.”
“I thought she was getting better? Dr. Lukas said the chemo was working?”
“I’ve spoken to him. The chemo has shrunk your mother’s primary tumor but there is a secondary site, which is what caused the blockage this evening. Thankfully, we managed to treat it in time.” He doesn’t need to spell out what might have happened if the blockage wasn’t fixed. I’ve done enough Googling to understand the risks and complications of what Mom is dealing with.
“Can I see her?”
“She’s in the ICU right now and she’ll be unconscious for a while, but you can go in for a few minutes. Penelope will take you there.” He nods to the petite Latino nurse who appears behindhim wearing purple scrubs. She smiles kindly at me before leading me down a corridor and into a small room where Mom is hooked up to machines.
She looks so tiny. Nothing like the fierce woman who has held our family together for the last few years. Mom is only 50 but she looks about 80 right now. The cancer has stripped the flesh from her bones and eaten away her vitality. I want to cry but there are no more tears left in me.
A large hand touches my lower back and I jump. “Rory, you need to get some sleep. Come back in a few hours.”
“I don’t want to leave her,” I whisper.
“She’s in safe hands. Come on, we’re going back to my place.”
I should just go back to the waiting room and try to sleep on one of the hideously uncomfortable chairs, but I’m exhausted - emotionally and physically - so I let him lead me out of the hospital to where his guy is waiting.
Chapter 20
Romano
Rory rests her head on my shoulder as Rico drives us through the city toward my apartment. Within a few minutes, she’s fast asleep. I was more than willing to go and collect her son, but she spoke to the neighbor earlier who seemed happy to keep the boy for the time being.
If she wants to pick him up in the morning, we can do that. I have nothing planned for tomorrow - nothing I can’t push back anyway. And if there’s a problem at the club, Paul can deal with it.
Rico pulls the car into the garage beneath our building. Rory doesn’t stir, so I unfasten her seatbelt and carry her upstairs, ignoring the curious looks from the two guys at the door. Once I’m in my apartment, I place her carefully on my bed and removeher sneakers before pulling the cover over her so she doesn’t get cold. She mutters something in her sleep but still doesn’t wake.
