Page 3 of Cyrus
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Cyrus
“Cryus!Cyrus! Are you listening to me?”
“Yeah, Ma.” I put my phone back in my pocket. Whatever Chester wants will have to wait.
“So?” my mom says.
I look at her and chew my lip. I know she was saying something. But, for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was.
She points her finger at me. “Ha!” she says. “I knew it! You weren’t listening. Too damn busy on that phone of yours. I don’t know. Your generation. It’s not like it was in my day. Back then a son would sit and listen to his mother when she was talking. Now you're too busy on the TikFace and the TwitTok and the Insta-thingy.”
She flaps her hand in the air like she's swatting flies.
I go and sit on the seat by her bead. She looks so frail sitting in her hospital gown all tied up to tubes and machines. But her personality certainly hasn’t taken a hit. She’s just as much a force of nature as she’s ever been.
“Sorry, Ma,” I say. “It was just a work thing. You’re right. I should have been listening.”
She leans over and taps my hand. I’ve always been her favorite. Not that I’ve done much in the way of earning that title. My brother and sister are far better behaved. Far more successful. But I guess they’re also more selfish, too. Otherwise, they’d be here with me. Making sure our eighty-five-year-old mom is okay after she took a fall and broke her hip. They haven’t even called to find out how the surgery went.
“I was saying, when in the hell are you going to find yourself a good woman and settle down?”
I think back to the night before. Nurse Billie. I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind since the moment I set eyes on her.
“Soon, Ma,” I say. “Real soon.”
As if on cue, Nurse Billie walks into the room.
She stops in her tracks when she sees me.
“Sorry,” she says, turning to leave. “I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I’ll come back later.”
“Nonsense!” Mom says. “You come on in here and meet my son. I told you he was handsome, didn’t I?”
For the first time in years, I actually feel my cheeks blush.
“We met last night,” Nurse Billie says, still gravitating towards the door. “And really, it’s fine. I have a million things to do and I’ll come back later when you’re alone. I’m sure you don’t want to waste your visiting hours on silly old me.”
She turns and walks out into the corridor.
My mom swivels her head and looks at me. There’s a scowl on her face a mile wide.
“What?” I say.
She folds her arms over her chest and gives me the evil eye. “I didn’t say anything.”
“Good.”
“Weird how she practically ran out the room, though. Don’t you think? Yesterday she was really friendly. Said she couldn’t wait to meet my wonderful son. This morning, it’s like she can’t get out of here quick enough.”
“Fine,” I stand up and stomp across the room. I don’t want to admit it, but I’m just as interested as my mom to find out why Nurse Billie’s acting so strange. “I’ll go get her if you want her back so much.”
“Um-hum.”
I step out into the corridor. It’s much busier than last night. I turn my head from left to right, my heart racing in my chest. Scared that I might have missed her.
“Cyrus?” I hear her voice coming from right beside me. She’s just stepped out of the hospital room next to my mom’s. “Is everything okay? Does your mom need some help?”
