Page 9 of That Time We Kissed Under the Mistletoe
“I like you, Hairy,” he murmurs.
“Oof.” Ford rakes his fingers through his hair. “How long’s he gonna be like this?”
Mary inclines her head and lowers her voice. “Every case is different,” she says. “And Mr. Fuller could seem better, then regress. Either way, you’ll likely see signs of impairment for another day or two.”
“OrThree,” he crows, pumping a fist in the air. “That’sss my name!”
“You’re right, Mr. Fuller,” Mary tells him before addressing us again. “The doctor wants to see him back for a checkup on Tuesday, and I have his discharge papers and instructions for aftercare here.” She holds up a packet of papers. “As for this first night, whoever’s in charge will need to keep a close watch, and wake him up every few hours for a cognition check.”
“Cognition check?” I wrinkle my nose.
“It’s not difficult,” she says. “He just needs someone to ask him a few simple questions like his name. The date. If he knows where he is. The paperwork has some suggestions. If he can answer correctly, that’s a good sign his brain is healing, not regressing.”
Three looks up at me and lifts his finger, like he’s pointing at the ceiling. “I can’t go on the airplane!”
“I know,” I groan. “Ford was just telling me you’re supposed to take a cruise for Christmas.”
“Ahh. Cruise, ssschmooze.” Three’s lips twitch. “Hey, that rhymesss.”
Mary’s gaze bounces between Three, Ford, and me. “So who am I releasing Mr. Fuller to?”
“No one, sssnow-one,” Three cackles. “Ford can drop me off athome on the way to the airport.”
Mary bends down, speaking gently to Three. “Mr. Fuller, you absolutely cannot stay home alone tonight.”
“Home Alone!” A goofy smile breaks across his face. “That’s my favorite Christmas movie!”
Ford reaches for the packet. “I’ll take those papers.” When Mary hands the stack over, he addresses Three. “We can watchHome Aloneas soon as we get back to your place.” Ford grasps the back of Three’s wheelchair. “Then after the doc checks you out on Tuesday, you and I can fly out to meet everyone in Hawaii.”
“Hold on,” Mary says, her face slipping into a regretful wince. “Even if Mr. Fuller has a positive checkup, he is concussed. I’m afraid he won’t be cleared for airplane travel for at least a couple of weeks.”
“But that’s the length of your cruise,” I blurt, like I’m the only one in the room capable of doing simple math.
Mary’s eyes go extra soft. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault,” Ford tells her, and a thousand guilt-knives stab my brain.
Gee. Whose fault is it, I wonder?
“No worries.” Ford claps Three on the shoulder. “I’ll just skip this trip.”
“Pfffft.” Three waves his hand away, pushing a bubbly raspberry through his lips. “You finally got time off work, and you never get to travel. You need a vacation more than anybody …buddy.” At this, he lets out an amused snort.
Ford bobs his head. “It’s no big deal.”
“LISSSTEN to me!” Three aims a pout at his cousin. “I’m NOT taking you away from the family at Chrissstmasss.” Under his breath, he repeats “Christmas” then bursts into a fresh round of laughter.
“Okay.” Ford’s brow creases. “What about one of the other guys from school? All you teachers are off for winter break. Could Nicky or Josh stay with you?”
“They’re headed to Vermont to ssski.” Three shakes his head then winces, which kind of makes my skull hurt too. “I would’vegone too,” he adds, “except for our umm… our…” He scrunches up his face. “Thingy.”
I blink down at him. “You mean the cruise?”
Three barks out a laugh, his eyes in a squint. “Heh heh heh. Yeah. That. Cruissse.”
“What about Kenny?” I whisper to Ford.
“Nah.” Ford smirks. “His wife just had a baby, and they already had four kids. They’re frazzled enough with a newborn plus the older ones. I can’t ask him to pitch in for something this big so close to the holidays.”
