Joanne's hear skipped a beat. Mentally, she prepared herself for the worst. Collins, who had been listening, got up and draped his arm over Joanne's shoulder.
"Ms. Johnson is a little drowsy, but she's up. The tumor, however, has affected her eyesight."
"What do you mean?" asked Joanne.
"Ms. Johnson is blind." Joanne's hand flew to her mouth. Collins rubbed her upper arm. "I know that it's rough. We've put bandages over her eyes for the time being." Joanne nodded.
"May I go see
her?"
"Of course, follow me." Joanne glanced at Collins
before following Dr. Carver to Maureen's room.
Maureen was lying on her side with her back to the door. dr. Carver left so Joanne and Maureen could talk alone. Joanne knocked on the door lightly before entering. Maureen rolled over. There were white bandages over her eyes and one wrapped around her head.
"Hey baby," Joanne said as she sat in the chair next to Maureen's bed.
"Joanne, it that you?" Joanne leaned over and stroked Maureen's cheek softly.
"Yeah, it's me." Joanne paused. "How are you feeling?" Maureen put her shaky hand over Joanne's. she felt relaxed by the lawyer's familiar touch.
"Horrible. What happened? All I remember is being at home, and the voices, oh God, the voices. They wouldn't stop. I thought that I was going crazy."
"Shh, shh, it's alright; the voices are gone. You had a brain tumor, and it was making you hear the voices. It was removed though." Joanne paused. "Honeybear, what did the voices say?" Maureen didn't reply right away.
"They wanted me to hurt Cassia and Tiffany. Oh Lord, are they okay? I didn't hurt them…did I?"
"You tried. Cassia's a little shaken up but otherwise fine."
"Oh God, I'm such a bad Mother! I can't believe I did that to my own daughter!"
"Don't blame
yourself, it's not your fault." Maureen laced her fingers with
Joanne's. she seemed awfully quiet to Joanne. "What's wrong,
Mo?"
"I talked to the doctor already, and she said that I may
never see again." Joanne picked up on Maureen's tired voice.
"Don't talk like
that. What happened to the old Maureen?"
"I don't know,"
Maureen replied quietly. Joanne leaned over and kissed Maureen's
cheek softly. Maureen yawned.
"You should get some rest Honeybear."
"Will you stay with me?" Maureen asked as she slid over on the bed. Joanne climbed into bed next to her.
"Of course." Maureen rested her head on Joanne's chest and listened to the lawyer's heartbeat. Soon, they were both fast asleep in each other's arms.
When Joanne didn't come back for a while, Collins went to go see where she was. He smiled when he saw the lawyer curled up in bed with Maureen and went back to the waiting room. There, he sat back down next to Angel and rested his head in her lap. The drag queen stirred, and her eyes fluttered open.
"Where's Joanne?" she whispered after looking around.
"Asleep with Maureen
in her room."
"So she pulled through?" Collins nodded.
"Good. Now, you get some rest." Collins' eyes slipped closed,
and soon he was catching up on some much needed sleep. Angel shifted
slightly and soon fell asleep too.
Maureen was the first one awake the following morning. It took her a few seconds to remember why she couldn't see anything. While feeling around the bed to get her bearings, she accidentally woke Joanne up. Joanne's eyes fluttered open, and she began to stretch.
"Joanne?" Maureen
asked rather uncertainly. "Is that you?"
"Don't worry,
it's just me. How are you feeling?"
"My head hurts, but otherwise fine. What time is it?" Joanne looked at her wristwatch.
"8:30. I'm going to go see if everyone else is awake, okay?" Maureen nodded. Joanne kissed Maureen's cheek before getting up out of bed.
in the waiting room, everyone was already up. the Bohemians all looked up when they heard Joanne enter the room. Tiffany slid off Angel's lap and wrapped her arms around Joanne's legs.
"Mama! Where were you?" she asked. Joanne picked Tiffany up and balanced her on her hip. she was still pretty tired.
"I was with Mommy," she replied.
"How is she?" Mimi asked. She was sitting next to Roger on the loveseat with her head on his shoulder.
"Up but a little sore. I came to see if you all were awake."
"Yeah, we're all up," Angel said.
"Listen, Angel, could you possibly take the girls home to get showered and changed? I'm not really worried about Cassia getting to school today." Angel nodded.
"Sure."
"Mama, you said that we'd talk!" cried Cassia. Joanne sighed.
"I said when we got home."
"Well, when will you
be home?"
"Later tonight probably. Now, go home and get
changed and cleaned up." angel gave Collins a quick kiss and left
with Tiffany and Cassia.
"Is Maureen up for some visitors right now?" Mimi asked once Angel had left. Joanne leaned against the doorframe.
"I don't know," she replied. "Did Collins tell you what the doctor said about the tumor?" the Bohemians all shook their heads.
"I wanted to wait until the girls left," Collins explained.
"Okay, umm, the tumor affected Maureen's eyesight. We don't know when or if she'll be able to see again." Mimi got up and wrapped her arms around Joanne. The lawyer, however, shed no tears. She simply felt comforted by Mimi's kindness.
"We'll help out in any way you need," Mimi said. Everyone else murmured in agreement. Joanne pulled away from Mimi's gentle embrace.
"Thanks you guys," she said. Joanne brushed her hair out of her face. "I'm going to go see if Maureen's up to some visitors." With that, Joanne left the room.
When Joanne got back to the room, Maureen was propped up in bed. based on body language, the lawyer figured that she was either sleeping or at least trying to sleep.
"Maureen?" Joanne
asked. Maureen jumped slightly and began to look around.
"Everyone's out in the waiting room. Are you up for some
visitors?"
"Even the girls?" Joanne sat on the end of
Maureen's bed. she started to shake her head but then remembered
that Maureen couldn't see her.
"Angel took them home. So, you up to seeing everyone?" Maureen shook her head. "Why? These people are your best friends!"
"I don't want them to see me like this! I feel like shit and probably look ten times worse." Joanne took Maureen's hand in her own. It was true, Maureen didn't look the best. Joanne sighed.
"Fine, I'll tell everyone to come back tomorrow." Joanne patted Maureen's leg. "I'll be right back." Then, Joanne got up and went to go talk to the other Bohemians.
The Bohemians were very supportive of Maureen's decision not to see them. However, Joanne was frustrated at her for being a diva and not seeing her best friends. the Bohemians all promised to return the following day and left to go home. Joanne returned to Maureen's side where she remained for the rest of the day.