Page 5 of The Scientist

“Good luck to you. I hope the rest of her treatment goes well.”

I felt like I was finally able to breathe again. I went up to the room she’d be staying in for the night and waited until they rolled her in.

She came in looking pretty drowsy but smiled when she saw me. Her hair was tucked into a surgery cap, and the smattering of freckles across her nose stood out more against her now paler complexion.

“Hey kiddo.” Her voice sounded gravelly.

“Hey, how do you feel?”

“Great. Linda here gave me the good stuff.”

The nurse named Linda smiled. “I gave Ms. Gail some strong pain medication that should hold her over for the next few hours, but call if she starts to feel any discomfort.”

“Thank you so much,” I said sincerely.

Mom fell asleep not long after she got to the room, so I got my makeshift bed in order and proceeded to stare at her for the rest of the night, looking for any signs that something was amiss. She mostly slept, waking only a few times in the night to ask for water or pain medication. The next morning, she seemed more rested and alert.

“You look like shit,” she told me first thing after waking up. I laughed because I knew it must have been true. I’d been awake for almost thirty-six hours, but I didn’t care.

“Thanks, you too.”

“Now, I know that’s a lie. I’m rocking a brand-new set of C-cups. I can’t wait to check them out.” She started pulling back the dressings on her bandaged chest, trying to get a peek.

“Easy there, tiger.” I pushed her hands away. “Why don’t you heal up first and then we’ll go bra shopping.”

“You’re no fun.”

“Yeah, yeah. Are you hurting? Do you want me to call the nurse for more pain meds?”

“No, I’m actually pretty hungry though.”

“Alright, I’ll go grab you something," I said, making my way towards the door. I turned back to give her a stern look. "But you better leave those dressings alone while I’m gone, or I’ll have Nurse Linda come in with the restraints,” I warned. She stuck her tongue out at me as I walked out the door.

I didn’t think mold spores would be brave enough to touch the food options from the cafeteria, so I walked right past it and got in my car to pick her up a smoothie and some quesadillas.

When I got back, I made her try the smoothie first to make sure she could hold food down. I wanted to wait a little longer but eventually gave in after she begged me for twenty minutes straight to give her the damn quesadillas.

The rest of her stay was thankfully uneventful. With her pain under control, and all her bloodwork coming back normal, she was able to be discharged a day earlier than we expected. While I’d miss sleeping next to the tranquil sounds of the overenthusiastic smoke detector disguised as my mom’s heart monitor, it was time to bid farewell to Casa de Jell-O. I started to gather up our things while my mom watched with a huge smile plastered on her face.

“What?” I asked when she was starting to creep me out.

“Can’t a mother smile at her beautiful daughter?”

“Not when you look like you’re about to say,‘Whyyy sooo seriousss?’”

“Oh Hadley, I just had a successful operation without any major complications. I’m feeling high on life.”

“You’re high on Vicodin.”

“Beep! Paging Dr. Buzzkill. Dr. Buzzkill, come in please. Beep! Oh look, they’re calling for you, dear.”

“The pain medication has deluded you into thinking you’re a laugh riot.”

The nurse came in to give us our discharge paperwork and helped my mom into a wheelchair, and we headed home.

I drove us back to her house where I’d spend the next four weeks helping her recuperate. She was an absolute trooper, as I knew she would be. The first week was a little rough trying to keep her pain under control, even though she tried to hide it. After that initial bumpy week though, she seemed to get stronger with each passing day. When she started making Dolly Parton jokes, I knew the worst was behind us.

We spent the rest of our time together lying in bed, watching movies, and just vegging out. I’d essentially hit the ‘out of the office’ button on life. I just needed to figure out an automatic reply for those pesky life responsibility queries that adulting admin kept sending me.

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