Chapter 18
It was evening again by the time they
returned home from the hospital. Nick pulled into the driveway and waved his
hand for Aaron to come down off the porch where he'd been waiting and help him
out. He went to the passenger side of the car and opened the door as Nick came
around from the driver's side. They stood on either side of Grace and lifted
her gently from the seat. Aaron grabbed the bags from the trunk and followed
Nick as he guided her carefully up the walk and into the house.
Nick helped her to the couch and
covered her with a blanket before flipping on the television and handing her
the remote control.
"It's a Wonderful Life should be
on right now, I know that's your favorite movie." He smiled at her and
smoothed his hand over her wrinkled forehead as she nodded in response. She
still felt so hot and she looked so miserable. The doctors at the hospital
explained that she had sores in her mouth, throat and stomach from the chemo
and all of the vomiting had made them bleed. They'd given her a morphine
mouthwash that would hopefully help with some of the pain, but he knew she
still felt like hell. He went into the hall bathroom and ran a washcloth under
some cool water returning to the living room and laying it carefully on her
forehead. Aaron had taken a seat at the end of the couch with Kahlua and was
gently removing her shoes. He winked at his little brother and ruffled his hair
as he walked by into the kitchen.
"You're going to make some girl
very happy someday," He said smiling down at him.
"I hope so."
Aaron stood up from the couch and
followed Nick into the kitchen where they found Angel standing over the stove,
her hair up in a ponytail wearing a cooking apron and scooping lasagna noodles
from a pot of boiling water.
"Geez, it smells incredible in
here Angel!" Nick said going over to the stove and peering down into
another pot that was filled with a delicious looking sauce.
"It does!" Aaron stated
agreeing with Nick, "what're you making?"
"I thought I'd make
lasagna." She replied as she gently pushed Nick out of the way. "Now
you guys get out of the kitchen so I can cook."
The two of them beat a hasty retreat
out of the kitchen and back into living room laughing and cracking jokes as
they ran. Nick put his finger to his lips as his eyes came to rest on the
figure the couch. She'd fallen asleep again, Kahlua nestled in her arms. Nick
teared up at the sight. There was a big difference now that he'd noticed.
Instead of looking peaceful like she usually did when she was sleeping, she
looked like she was in pain. He sighed and motioned for Aaron to sit in his
recliner across the room as he took a seat on the end of the couch next to his
sleeping fiance. Kahlua perked up her ears and stood to stretch before coming
over and curling up in his lap licking his fingers as she settled in.
"Thanks girl," He said
rubbing her tummy, "I needed that."
He tossed the remote over to Aaron and
told him to change the channel. He was not at all in the mood to watch a movie
called It's a Wonderful Life especially when at this exact moment life felt
less than wonderful. Aaron flipped on The Office and the two of them sat there
watching in silence, letting out an occasional chuckle over the characters, for
a long while until Angel came out to let them know dinner was ready.
"Do you want to eat out
here?" She asked sticking her head back through the kitchen door.
Nick shook his head looking over to
where Grace still slept beside him. "I doubt she could handle the smell of
the food. We'd better just eat in the dining room."
Aaron nodded in agreement and rose to
join Nick and Angel in the kitchen.
"I'll grab the lasagna out of the
oven if you'll grab the bread and the drinks," Angel said looking over
towards Nick who jumped into action pulling three sodas from the pantry and
removing the loaf of garlic bread from the oven. Aaron grabbed the stack of
plates and silverware and the three of them walked out to the dining room
together.
The meal was the best Nick had tasted
in a long while. He'd gotten used to eating microwave meals and hospital food
so to have something genuinely homemade felt good.
He looked over at Angel and smiled,
"This is delicious, where'd you learn to cook?"
"BJ actually," she responded
refering to her older sister. "She taught me a few recipes while I was
staying with her last summer."
"Well remind me to call her up
and thank her!" Aaron said emphatically as he shoveled another forkful of
the pasta into his mouth and gave her the 'thumbs up' sign.
It was getting late by the time they'd
finished eating and Nick was exhausted. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night
before and it was catching up with him now. He stood from the table and
gathered the dishes following Angel back into the kitchen and dumping them all
in the sink.
"Thank you for dinner," He
said as he hugged her tightly. She hugged him back and he could sense by the
way she relaxed in his arms that she too was exhausted.
"It was my pleasure. If you guys
don't mind I think I'm going to go ahead and hit the sack." Nick nodded at
her and she left the kitchen quietly giving Aaron a hug on the way out.
Nick walked over to the sink full of
dishes and turned on the hot water. As he stood there rinsing the leftover
sauce and noodles from the bowls and plates before him the events of the day
started sinking in. He could feel the tears running down his cheeks and he
grabbed for the dishtowel hanging on the cabinet above his head and wiped them
dry. He could sense Aaron standing behind him but he didn't turn around. He
didn't want him to see him crying.
"Nick." He heard Aaron's
voice call out.
"Yeah man?" He said trying
hard to choke back a sob as he felt Aarons arm fall around his shoulder.
"Go get some sleep... I'll finish
the dishes."
"Thank you," He said as he
turned and gave Aaron a quick hug. "Happy Thanksgiving little dude."
"Happy Thanksgiving Nick."
He wiped his eyes again, this time
with the back of his hand and walked out to the living room to find Grace
sitting on the couch sipping water. She looked up at him and tried her best to
smile. He hopped over the back of the couch and came to rest in the seat beside
her. He took her in his arms and kissed her cheek gently.
"You really scared me today
baby." He said as the tears poured steadily down his cheeks now.
She looked at him and gently caressed
his face with her fingertips. "I know sweetheart... I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault Grace. You
feeling any better? Want anything to eat or drink?"
She shook her head. He could tell she
was still feeling pretty crappy. He pulled her close to him and leaned back
into the couch with her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his
chest, within minutes she was snoring softly. He sighed and reached down to
cover her with the blanket. This had definitely not been the Thanksgiving that
he'd planned.
He watched her sleeping there in his
arms and once again the days events came rushing back to him. He'd never been
as scared as he was in the back of that ambulance. She was laying on the
stretcher, he was holding her hand and she was lifeless. The paramedics had
pumped her full of IV fluids worried that she was too dehydrated. All he could
do was sit there and watch. There'd been many times throughout this experience
when he'd worried that he would lose her.
This though... this was the first time
he'd been sure.
***