a brush?”
“I think I can scrounge one up.” Krista moved across the room and pulled open several drawers. The hospital kept disposable brushes that had been donated to them in some of the patients’ rooms.
Jackpot .
Grabbing the last blue brush in the drawer, Krista removed the cellophane wrapper and stepped back to the bed, handing it to Abby.
As she reached out to take it, Krista noticed that her hand was shaking.
“Did you want me to brush it for you?” Krista offered, not knowing if the shaking was occurring due to nervous energy about the possibility of seeing her son or the stroke. Abby’s spirits were high, which was amazing, but she knew that Chase’s mom had to be exhausted. She didn’t want her to exert all of her energy doing something that Krista could easily do for her.
Abby nodded furiously. “Do you mind?”
Krista shook her head. “Not at all.”
Moving closer, Krista supported Abby as she leaned forward. The mattress dipped as Krista sat down beside her and began running the brush through Abby’s hair. Memories came flooding back to Krista of when her mom used to brush her and her sisters’ hair every night after their baths. Jessie and Becca, who were the youngest, hadn’t liked it and would sit still only long enough for their mom to get the knots out. Krista, on the other hand, had loved it. She would always ask to go last. Then she and her mom would talk about their days. Sometimes she would even read a story out loud, sitting on the floor in front of her mom while she took her time separating then brushing out Krista’s long red hair.
With four girls in the house, all born within a five-year span, one-on-one time with their mom had been hard to come by. The situation was made even harder due to the fact that their mom Sandy helped raise Krista’s cousins Seth, Riley, Jason, Alex, and Bobby after their own mother had left them when they were young and then passed away when they were in their early adolescence. Krista didn’t remember a lot about her Aunt Cheryl. Only that she had been beautiful and that when she was fun she was really fun and when she was sad she was really sad. When Krista was a child, her mom had explained her aunt’s behavior by telling the girls that she was sick. As an adult, Krista now knew that Aunt Cheryl had suffered from bipolar disorder. Nowadays, a lot more is known about the disease, but twenty years ago, that was not the case.
“Do you mind putting it in a braid?” Abby’s voice was riddled with nerves.
“Sure. No problem. By the way, I brought Bear to my house. I can keep him until you are back on your feet.” Krista threaded Abby’s dark hair through her fingers, separating it into three parts and began weaving them in an interlocking braid.
“Thank you so much.” Abby’s voice crackled with emotion. “How is he?”
“He’s good and loving all the attention he’s getting from my sisters. He’s eating it up.”
“So did you guys get a chance to catch up?” Abby asked excitedly.
Krista wasn’t sure how you caught up with a dog, but maybe Abby was confused due to damage caused by the stroke. Not wanting to alarm her, she did her best to answer.
“Umm, well I haven’t been home all that much, but he did sleep with me last night. We had good snuggles.”
Abby’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “Is that what you kids are calling it these days? Snuggles?”
Krista meant to play along and not draw attention to the fact that Abby wasn’t making any sense, but when she opened her mouth, she said, “What?”
“I was talking about Chase, not Bear,” Abby explained as her laughter died down.
“Oh.” Okay, that made sense.
“So did you two get to talk? You and Chase?” Abby sounded like a kid asking about a Christmas present.
Hearing Abby’s voice bursting with so much animation in it made Krista’s heart swell. Normally it was flat with more than a little hint of sadness. A part of her wanted to warn Abby not to
“I think I can scrounge one up.” Krista moved across the room and pulled open several drawers. The hospital kept disposable brushes that had been donated to them in some of the patients’ rooms.
Jackpot .
Grabbing the last blue brush in the drawer, Krista removed the cellophane wrapper and stepped back to the bed, handing it to Abby.
As she reached out to take it, Krista noticed that her hand was shaking.
“Did you want me to brush it for you?” Krista offered, not knowing if the shaking was occurring due to nervous energy about the possibility of seeing her son or the stroke. Abby’s spirits were high, which was amazing, but she knew that Chase’s mom had to be exhausted. She didn’t want her to exert all of her energy doing something that Krista could easily do for her.
Abby nodded furiously. “Do you mind?”
Krista shook her head. “Not at all.”
Moving closer, Krista supported Abby as she leaned forward. The mattress dipped as Krista sat down beside her and began running the brush through Abby’s hair. Memories came flooding back to Krista of when her mom used to brush her and her sisters’ hair every night after their baths. Jessie and Becca, who were the youngest, hadn’t liked it and would sit still only long enough for their mom to get the knots out. Krista, on the other hand, had loved it. She would always ask to go last. Then she and her mom would talk about their days. Sometimes she would even read a story out loud, sitting on the floor in front of her mom while she took her time separating then brushing out Krista’s long red hair.
With four girls in the house, all born within a five-year span, one-on-one time with their mom had been hard to come by. The situation was made even harder due to the fact that their mom Sandy helped raise Krista’s cousins Seth, Riley, Jason, Alex, and Bobby after their own mother had left them when they were young and then passed away when they were in their early adolescence. Krista didn’t remember a lot about her Aunt Cheryl. Only that she had been beautiful and that when she was fun she was really fun and when she was sad she was really sad. When Krista was a child, her mom had explained her aunt’s behavior by telling the girls that she was sick. As an adult, Krista now knew that Aunt Cheryl had suffered from bipolar disorder. Nowadays, a lot more is known about the disease, but twenty years ago, that was not the case.
“Do you mind putting it in a braid?” Abby’s voice was riddled with nerves.
“Sure. No problem. By the way, I brought Bear to my house. I can keep him until you are back on your feet.” Krista threaded Abby’s dark hair through her fingers, separating it into three parts and began weaving them in an interlocking braid.
“Thank you so much.” Abby’s voice crackled with emotion. “How is he?”
“He’s good and loving all the attention he’s getting from my sisters. He’s eating it up.”
“So did you guys get a chance to catch up?” Abby asked excitedly.
Krista wasn’t sure how you caught up with a dog, but maybe Abby was confused due to damage caused by the stroke. Not wanting to alarm her, she did her best to answer.
“Umm, well I haven’t been home all that much, but he did sleep with me last night. We had good snuggles.”
Abby’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “Is that what you kids are calling it these days? Snuggles?”
Krista meant to play along and not draw attention to the fact that Abby wasn’t making any sense, but when she opened her mouth, she said, “What?”
“I was talking about Chase, not Bear,” Abby explained as her laughter died down.
“Oh.” Okay, that made sense.
“So did you two get to talk? You and Chase?” Abby sounded like a kid asking about a Christmas present.
Hearing Abby’s voice bursting with so much animation in it made Krista’s heart swell. Normally it was flat with more than a little hint of sadness. A part of her wanted to warn Abby not to
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