Page 51 of Alarm Fatigue

“Okay, my love.” I grin at him. “In the meantime, I am going to take a nap.

“Of course.”

∞∞∞

By the afternoon we are all packed up and ready to leave the hospital. Hannah is here with Mark to receive all of my discharge instructions and prescriptions. No surprise that they are not leaving anything up to me. I am starting to miss my alone time a little, but do appreciate what everyone is doing to help.

On our way to this new place Mark has rented, he and Hannah are chatting easily and it occurs to me in that in just a few days, each of my children have become very comfortable with him. I smile at that thought. The girls will each take shifts staying with me until Mark is done working and by then I am sure I will be ready to go back home. I wonder what this temporary place will look like as I fall asleep in the car.

Hannah gently wakes me when we arrive. I am stunned to see a rambler home rather than an apartment or hotel.

“Mark, you did not have to do this. This is too much.”

“Actually, it is a trial run. I leased it for a month with an option to put a deposit to buy if… I like it,” he says. “But since I was looking at it this week it works out perfectly. No stairs for you to navigate while you get your bearings back.”

I could not have been more shocked if he was announcing that he was quitting medicine to be a chicken farmer. “Mark, this is exciting. Well, I suppose you will want my opinion on the place, as your girlfriend.” Mark chuckles.

Hannah coughs and I look over at her, next to me in the back seat. “You okay, honey, you coming down with something?”

“No, Eema. I am okay. Just some dust in my throat.”

Mark jumps out the car to retrieve our bags, “Okay. Let’s get inside then and if you are up for a little tour, I will give you one.”

The house is lovely. A long driveway led us to a moderately sized home that is the mid-century modern style I like better than any other around this area. These homes are peppered around suburban Maryland, but is so hard to find one on sale for more than a day. A large yard in the back is surrounded by woods, but no trees are over-hanging the house, which can be dangerous with all of the storms we tend to get, year round. The roof is split and one half slopes down from a story above the other. The front middle is all stone with a hidden doorway behind a wall and the rest of the front is all windows.

I walk in, admiring the high ceilings and open spaces. “If you buy this, Mark, I am going to be so jealous of you.”

“Good to know you approve,” he smiles. “Listen, Rachel, I know you’re anxious to get home, but I hope you stay here for at least a week and then you and Hannah can help me think about furniture ideas. I mean if I do buy it I would want to be prepared with some ideas that would fit the home’s style. Also, you could look for any flaws in the house while you’re here—help me to make sure I am getting the best investment for the money. You are pretty good at that—looking for flaws.”

“Very funny. I would be happy to. Do you think Minerva and Sirius could come for a visit? I am sure that Lila and Kimberly are spoiling them rotten, but they must miss me. Even if they are cats.”

“I think that is a great idea. The girls and I will sort it out. Now, I have set you up in the master bedroom over to the right which happens to be closest to the living room and the previous owners have left behind a smart TV, so you can sign into your streaming channels.”

“Mark, this is amazing; I cannot thank you enough.”

Mark disappears to a back bedroom to get ready for work while Hannah is helping me unpack.

“Lila and Kim made us dinner so we don’t have to worry about any of that. They’re bringing it over in a little bit, along with some groceries. Just text Kim if there’s anything in particular you want.”

“Sure, honey.” I sit down and look at her. “How are you? Are you alright?”

She comes over to hug me. “I mean it took all of us by complete surprise, you know—we were all thrown, but Eema, I’m just so grateful you are okay.”

“And how are things with Edan?”

“Oh my goodness, okay I will tell you all about how it has been while we unpack. He is just so sweet, you know? And we can spend hours talking or just not talking, it is just so effortless to be with him. I mean we have our disagreements, of course, but we talk it out. He is just so easy to talk to. One thing is he is so shy, he has only had one other girlfriend before me. He is just adorable.”

She continues to tell me stories of their last date and how they went to a drive-in movie, which is apparently a thing people do again.

Mark returns to us, “I just wanted to make sure you are all settled and kiss you before I leave for work.”

He comes over to where I am sitting with my feet up on a sofa, a throw blanket draped over my legs. “Mark, this house is really incredible. Of course I have a bias in favor of the mid-century modern style, it’s my favorite actually.”

“Really? Well lucky for you I need a test driver for at least a week.”

“Lucky indeed.” I crook my finger for him to kiss me and once he does, he is off to the hospital.

Hannah and I snuggle up on the couch and sign into a streaming service to watch a romcom. I make it as far as one and a half scenes before I fall asleep again.

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