Page 8 of Rescue
Chapter 4
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Penelope
By the time I roll into town, it’s a little past lunch. I think of stopping off at The Fried Egg for something to eat but decide to head straight for the hospital to see Nana. She should be out of surgery by now and I’m anxious to see that she's ok.
As I walk in the sliding doors, I'm instantly hit with that antiseptic hospital smell. A chill runs up my spine. I don’t know what it is, but I always feel a sense of unease in hospitals. I walk up to the front desk that’s occupied by Ms. Rita, the sweetest little lady and one of Nana’s best friends. “Hi, Ms. Rita, how are you today?”
“Oh, Penny, it’s so great to see you, dear. I’m doing just fine. How are you?”
“Well, worried about Nana, but happy that I could come home and help her out. Do you know how she’s doing?”
“Oh, don’t you worry about Mabel. She’s going to be just fine. Too stubborn not to be. They just came and got your mom a few minutes ago. Seems she’s awake and giving the nurses a hard time. You go on ahead and head back there and see if you can calm her down a bit. Room 209 she tells me and gives me a sweet smile. Ms. Rita has been working the front desk here at the hospital as long as I can remember and I can’t think of anyone else better suited for it.
I’m not surprised that Nana is making life hard for those nurses. She's stubborn and set in her ways and I know she won’t like being here. The hospital is small, so it doesn’t take me too long before I’m walking up to Nana’s door as an exasperated and harried looking nurse is coming out. “Good luck with her,” she says in a sarcastic voice.
“That bad?” I ask, giving her a sympathizing look. I know my Nana can be difficult when she wants to be.
“She’s one of my favorite people. In fact, I stop at her cafe three mornings a week. But she’s in a foul mood,” she says with wide eyes. “How can such a sassy woman make such delicious treats?” She mutters to herself as she walks away. I’m almost afraid to go in there.Here goes nothing,I think, and walk in.
The scene before me is comical. I’d laugh if I didn’t know Nana was in such an awful mood. She hates being vulnerable and that is clear as day right now. She’s sitting up in bed, with a mulish look on her face, while Mama is standing at the edge of bed with a no-nonsense look, threatening to tie her up if she doesn’t stay in bed. My money is on Mama, but only because Nana’s got a bum hip. She might be getting older, but the woman is spry.
They both look up and notice me at the same time. Nana has the nerve to look contrite, but Mama and I both know better. She’s a mess. Always has been and always will be. Most of the time I wouldn’t have her any other way, but something tells me that keeping her still long enough to rest isn’t going to be easy.
“What are you doing? If you don’t behave, they’re going to kick you out of here,” I say as I move to her bedside and tuck her in a little more securely. Rationally I know that a blanket isn’t going to keep her in bed, but it makes me feel better nonetheless.
“Well, I thought I might try and see if I could get moving a little bit,” she explains “Dr. Miller said the more I use it the better I’ll feel. Time to get to moving!”
“Mother,” Mama says, her tone one of warning, but we all know that no one is going to tell Mabel Walker what to do, “you know he did not mean for you to immediately get up out of bed. He told you that the physical therapists will come in later to let you know which exercises you can do to get out of here as fast as you can and that moving will do you some good. I’m certainly not going to get your clothes for you so that we can, how did you say it?”
“Spring this joint!” she says with enthusiasm. Seems like the painkillers are doing their job here. She’s clearly feeling great if she thinks she can get up and walk out of here.
“Right. Spring this joint. That’s not going to happen. The doctor said 3 to 5 days if you do what the therapists say and don’t push yourself too hard. You need to wait until someone who knows what they’re doing can help get you out of bed, and then we can try walking. For now, though, can we just relax and chat with Penelope? She just drove all this way and you haven’t even said hello,” Mama says in a chastising voice.
She walks over to where I’m standing on the other side of Nana, confident, for now at least, that Nana isn’t going to try to pull anything for the next few minutes. I’m not quite as confident, but I pull Mama into a much-needed hug. “It’s so good to see you, beautiful. I hope Spencer wasn’t mad that you had to come. What did your boss say?” Mama spills out in a jumble of words, her eyebrows furrowed in worry. Somehow, she conveys all of her anxieties about my life to me in three sentences.
“Well . . .” I say taking as I take a deep breath, stalling while I try to figure out where I should start. Before I can begin, Nana interrupts.
“Don’t you forget about your poor old Nana down here in bed. You know, the whole reason you’re home?” Nana says, teasing in the way that only she can and giving me her poker face, but I can see her delight to see me in the twinkle in her eyes. Guilt and love all mixed into one ornery little package.
“How could I forget about little ole you?” I ask with a smile and lean down to get one of her famous hugs. I swear her love could conquer wars and put out flames. She’s just that amazing. If I could bottle her hugs, I know I’d make a killing. Only issue is I wouldn’t want to sell them. “You really scared me, Nana. You have to be more careful. I couldn’t bear it if something worse had happened to you.”
“Nonsense. I’m just fine. You really didn’t need to come home. I’ll have the cafe up and running in a week, tops. Don’t you worry about me, my love. Tom’s barber shop pole never knew what hit it! I swear the stuffy old man is a bigger prude than anyone else in this town. He had it coming!” She stops and cackles to herself. “I just wish someone would have gotten it on video. Rita tried but apparently she never switched it to video so all we have are a bunch of blurry photos,” she says with a forlorn look on her face.
“Is it just the broken hip? What’s this cast here on your wrist?” I ask with a pointed look.
“Well, I guess I broke my wrist, too,” she says with a sheepish look down at her arm. When she looks back up at me, her face brightens and she continues, “I was trying to catch my fall, but my ass got the worst of it! Honestly, Penny, I’m fine. Don’t worry too much. Nothing a couple days won’t fix. Then you can head back home and go back to work for Bitchy Brenda.” She scrunches her nose up at me.
She knows how much I hate my boss. Every time I’ve complained to her, she’s offered me a job at the cafe. I never take it because I wanted to stay in the city to build a real career and make a name for myself. As it stands, the only name anyone can call me is Pushover these days.
“Well, it just so happens,” I say casually, “I’m looking for a job. I told Brenda she can take her job and shove it. Anyone know anywhere I can work for a few weeks while I figure out what I’m going to do?” I innocently look around the room, knowing I just shocked them.
“You did what?” Mama is the first to respond. Mama is the responsible and proper one of the family. She's always instilled in me the importance of a job and that you should never quit until you have another one lined up, no matter how miserable you are. Sometimes things just don’t work out that way though. My entire life is in upheaval right now, and one thing I know for sure is that I can work at the cafe as long as I want. Nana would never tell me to leave.
“Life’s too short to be unhappy, baby girl,” Nana says, repeating her classic phrase. “You know you’ve always got a place with me.” She says, echoing my thoughts and smiling up at me like she has a secret, but I don’t know what that’s about.
“What does Spencer think about all this?” Mama asks.
