Page 47 of Dear Adam
The elevator dings its arrival, and Aly and I both shove ourselves inside next to a serious-looking doctor in a white jacket and a nurse with a stethoscope around her neck.
“Beautiful day today, huh?” Aly asks the nurse in a husky tone that has my lip quivering with a suppressed smile. The elevator dings again as it reaches the second floor, letting us know we’re on the slowest elevator in the world. As nonchalantly as possible, I try to fix my oranges. The nurse replies to Aly with a quick nod, and I catch her nervous glance toward the doctor, who frowns in suspicion.
I glance at the doctor’s name tag and notice he’s an orthopedic surgeon.
“Fix a lot of bones today?” I ask in a high pitched, squeaky voice that sounds nothing comparable to a woman. Before he can respond to my stupid question, the elevator reaches Adam’s floor at the same time Pretzel lets out a small yip.
Aly and I stare at each other, eyes wide. “Did you really just saybones?” she hisses.“As inMilk Bones?”
The nurse and the doctor face us completely. I sheepishly shrug my shoulders and avoid Aly’s piercing glare. How was I supposed to know that would set Pretzel off?
“Was that a dog?” the nurse asks through pursed lips, hands on her hips.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Aly says, forgetting her fake voice as she steps around the nurse. I follow her lead and once we break through the doors, we run down a stark white corridor.
“Wait!” the doctor yells, but it’s too late. We keep moving, not looking back, until we finally reach Adam’s door, laughing hysterically as we burst inside.
Aly’s hat is sideways on her head and the tears running down her cheeks have caused her mustache to peel from her face. I straighten her hat, and we both swivel when we hear an “Ahem.”
“Emma?” Aly asks, confusion creasing her forehead. Shock crosses Emma’s wide-eyed face but is quickly replaced by something more calm.
“Why are you dressed like that?” Emma asks, scanning Aly’s disheveled appearance.
Aly lowers her purse with a devilish smile and pulls out Pretzel, who has somehow chewed through the strap holding the potted succulent onto her head.
“No you did not,” Emma says, glancing between us. With a nefarious smile, she pries the wriggling dog from Aly and gently sets her on Adam’s bed. Pretzel is hesitant at first, unsure of what’s going on, then lets out an impatient whine when she nudges his hand and he doesn’t move. Finally, she settles, curling up in the space between his arm and ribs.
“I didn’t know you came to see my brother.” Aly glances from Pretzel to Emma, who’s jumpy behavior from minutes before has been replaced with her normally casual self.
“Well yeah, of course I do,” Emma replies. “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”
“You’re the best,” she tells Emma and throws her arms around her neck.
Emma glances toward me, gaze locking on my chest. “Your lady bits are a little uneven.”
“Quit staring at my boobs, you perv,” I tell her before turning around to give myself a quick adjustment. “How long do you think we have before someone walks in?” I ask when I face them again.
“Probably just a few more minutes. Especially if the people in that elevator figure out where we went,” Aly answers.
“What happened in the elevator?” Emma asks. Aly and I share a look before she glances nervously toward the door. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t even want to know.”
“Probably for the best,” I say, then glance around the room, taking in the decorations and balloons with ridiculous sayings on them. “Who did all this? Every time I come, they’ve been swapped out for new ones.”
Aly raises her hand with a nervous laugh. “It’s actually time to replace some of these. Every time a balloon starts to deflate I replace it with whatever they’ve got downstairs.”
“He’s going to love this,” I say, taking her hands in mine. “He’s so lucky to have you.” She beams, and I give her a small kiss on the forehead. I inch toward her mouth when Emma’s gagging interrupts us.
Then there’s some shuffling outside the door, and we all freeze. As if sensing it’s about to go down, Pretzel is immediately up and soaring into Aly’s arms like it’s a trick they’ve practiced a thousand times. It’s honestly quite impressive. The door opens as Aly is hoisting the bag back onto her shoulder, Pretzel safely tucked inside. A nurse steps inside and glances between the three of us.
“Everything okay in here?” she asks, surveying the room. Aly whistles and bounces on the balls of her feet, Emma stares intently at theIt’s a Girlballoon by the bed, and I’m trying to tuck my blond curls behind my ear with no success.Nothing to see here, lady.
“We had reports of a dog barking and I just wanted to…” She’s staring at my oranges now. “Visiting hours are up.”
“We were just leaving,” I say, ushering the girls out and following them to the parking lot. Immediately, I strip off the wig and pull the oranges from my shirt. Emma grabs one and begins peeling it.
“What?” she says as she slides a slice into her mouth. “It’d be a shame to waste them.”
Pretzel pops her head above the opening of Aly’s bag, watching us all curiously.
