Okay, I know it's been ages and ages since my last update or new story. I've just been a little preoccupied with stuff and the ideas are not coming as quickly as they used to. This will be the last Little Family Story and hopefully wrap everything up for Arthur and Ariadne.
Losing Arthur
1.
~ The apartment felt unnaturally quite without the children there. As though all the air was let out of the once vibrant and living space.
Ariadne had hired a cleaning crew to make their home look, less like a home, and more like a magazine spread. Gone were the errant toys on the living room floor, the scuff marks on the base boards. The closets had all been organized and all the little loose ends put into storage.
It was hard to control life right now, but her home could still be beautiful. It could still look like her world wasn't falling apart.
Darcy had finally gotten her way and was in a ballet troupe. It was an eclectic mixture of Russian and French dancers and they would be in America for a few months. Her schooling was put on hold for the opportunity. She would have to play catch up once she came back to Paris, but Ariadne couldn't deny her daughter the chance to become a professional ballerina after she had worked so hard for it.
Dominic was at a summer camp. One that taught wilderness survival skills and had appealed to the child more than any other program. It was some much needed time away from the family where he could be on his own more.
Daniel, the second born, was with his grandfather for the summer. The pair of them on a grand concert tour though Europe. Albert had always been fond of Daniel. If it was the blindness, the easy way he leaned music, or just Daniel's natural sweetness, the two bonded.
Drew was now three and was staying with Cobb and Sarah until things got better at home. Ariadne didn't want her youngest to see her father like this. Ariadne didn't want any of the children to see their father like this.
So, she purposefully and painfully, sent them away.
~ Ariadne gave one last look over the grand apartment.
'Perfect. It looks perfect.' she thought just as the door buzzed. She was expecting the nurse to come today and settle in. She hadn't bothered to choose a nurse but relied on Doctor White to assign a professional to come.
"You must be Carol." Ariadne said to the large bodied woman standing at the door.
The nurse in question had no smile for her, and her plain, sour looking face looked suspiciously past Ariadne into the apartment.
"I'm nurse Ward." The woman said is an accent Ariadne couldn't quite put a name to.
"Please come in." Ariadne said feeling slightly uncomfortable. This unpleasant looking woman was going to be living in her home for the foreseeable future. It was a thought that didn't create warm feelings of comfort she was hoping for.
But then again, what was she hoping for? Mary Poppins? Patch Adams? She had wanted Doctor White to be kind and assuring. For an expert in his field, he sounded so grim about Arthur's prospects.
Ariadne watched nurse Ward look around the apartment.
"I wasn't told there were children in the home." she said stiffly.
Ariadne followed her line of sight to the mantle place and saw the family pictures.
"All the children are going to be out of the house while my husband is in recovery." she said cooly. "Till the end of August at least."
"Very good." nurse Ward said and continued to look around the apartment. "You really don't see fine homes like these anymore. After the war, so many were chopped up to make smaller homes you know."
"Yes, we know. My husband bought this home from the family that lived here for over sixty years." Ariadne said.
Nurse Ward didn't seem interested.
"Would now be a correct time to talk about the recovery plan?" Nurse Ward said in her stiff, angry accent. Her tone clipped and efficient.
"Certainly." Ariadne said and waved the large woman to the couch.
Nurse Ward refused to sit back of the comfortable sofa Ariadne had steam cleaned and as a result, looked like a great, ugly bird perched precariously on a tree branch.
"Now, Doctor White has told me about the procedure tomorrow. He said your husband will do his recovery here instead of a hospital or rehab facility." the nurse said.
Ariadne nodded. She wanted to explain how Arthur had made a point of not wanting to stay in a hospital any longer than necessary. He wanted to recuperate in his own bed, in his own home. He also made the rather depressing comment of dying in his own home as well.
Doctor White, the expert, had allowed his newest patient to do what he liked. Ariadne suspected it was because money was not an issue for them on Arthur's health. The Doctor and his staff were bending over backwards for them in every way. Ariadne even had Doctor White's cell phone and home number.
Nurse Ward asked no questions about why they were keeping Arthur home. Perhaps she had been briefed, perhaps she really didn't care.
"Will he be in a hospital bed?" she asked.
"Well, he'll be sleeping in our bed." Ariadne said feeling a little uncomfortable.
"We will need a hospital bed for him. I can order one today if you like. We should put him here in the living room. Make him feel more involved and not shut away.
"No, no hospital beds." Ariadne interrupted. "Absolutely no letting him sleep in the family room. He's a very private person, he wouldn't want people to see him like this."
"There won't be anyone here but the three of us." Nurse Ward told her. "It's my understanding that there may be some prolonged damage to the brain after surgery. These might cause urinary incontinence, muscle weakness, and even temporary palsy. We need a hospital bed that is equipped to help him."
Ariadne could feel her blood turn cold at the idea of her husband lying in a hospital bed in the middle of the living room. His sheets smelling like urine and being unable to walk.
She felt slightly sick at the idea.
"We… we can order a hospital bed." she said at last. "But he won't stay out here. He will be in our room. I'll have the twin bed from the guest room put beside it. That way I can take care of him at night."
Nurse Ward examined her with beady, almost cruel looking eyes.
"Missus, may I speak my mind?" she asked. Ariadne looked up and nodded. "I can tell you've never taken care of someone who needs this level of care. It's not easy. It's not like caring for a baby. A baby has basic needs that are easily met. Grown men are more difficult."
"He's my husband." Ariadne told her defensively.
"My point exactly. I think it would be best if you allowed only myself to help him. It's hard for a wife to see her husband like this." the nurse said.
"You've handled this before?" Ariadne asked.
A flash of darkness passed over the nurse's face.
"With brain trauma, is not an easy road. I'm sure the doctor told you about what can go wrong." the large woman said.
Ariadne nodded.
She tried to block out the ugly picture Doctor White, the expert, had painted for them. The Arthur might not recognize her or their family when he came out of surgery. How he might be more aggressive. How his personality might be altered.
There was so much that could go wrong. So much to lose.
"I'll stay with him." Ariadne said bravely.
