Chapter Two: A Bedside Visit
I jolted awake. Something was close to my ear, something rustling and shaking ominously. I sat up in the darkness, gropping around as I pushed with my arms off the hospital bed. I stared around for a moment, then a blazing flash of light hit my eyes.
"Up, up, Memory!" sang a voice, and a bustling of garments meet the statement.
Great. I shifted around in my cot, glaring hard as my grey eyes adjusted to the cld, harsh glow spilling from a large lamp residing in a corner. Today is visiting day. At least I get to see Tiffany today. I thought this bitterly, as if I had just sank my teeth in a sour lemon.
"C'mon!" Sarah the nurse continued shrieking, pulling a flannel pink dress over my head and yanking it down to my feet. "Your sister Taylor and her boyfriend Whats-His-Name Prettyboy is coming."
"His name is Drake Jacobs," I offered hurriedly, climbing out of bed and dragging back the white sheets. Then I turned to my black-haired nurse, observing her dark face for a reaction, gulping down my bottle of Mountain Spring purified water.
Saran waved a dismissing hand."Oh, don't tell me. I'll forget anyway."
I giggled. Sometimes I called Sarah my Humor Nurse because she was the woman who went from room to room cheering kids up. They all love her, and I am in that category. Sure, there are a few boys who fend her away, but she always manages to sneak a note with a joke on it in their fortune cookies.
"Oh, that's them," she exclaimed. "Let's not hope they break the doorbell. They are ringing it like crazy."
I agreed. "We just bought it yesterday," I reasoned. "How did we get that money anyway? I thought we were saving up for Tracey's bed." I pulled on some fuzzy green knee socks and rubbed my head. My brain tumor was deep in there, somewhere. This surpressed down my spirits slightly.
Sarah grinned, her gleaming white teeth flashing. "The church sent it," she explained.
I nodded, beckoning to the door, which she had opened. Taylor and Drake rushed in, giving me a big hug. "Hi, sister," Taylor cried, ringing my hand and handing me a square, huge package with a broad smile. "Drake and I have a surprise for you." She winked at Drake as I accepted the gift, rolling it over in my hands with a puzzled expression.
I ripped it open. Settled on a wood foundation, was a dusky, although new-looking, shiny Bible.
(To be continued....)
