"hey good to see you how you doin?" morgan said opening the door of her house to let me in.
"sick. Um," I said indicating that I wanted Lily and Alexa out of the rm. When we discussed this.
"oh. Right. Girls? Go upstairs please."
"hi ladies," I greeted them.
"hi shawn," they said together.
"shawn calls us 'ladies' ," alexa said giggling.
"oh I know," lily said.
"they get a kick out of that," morgan said.
"ladies. Alexa lily. Upstairs now please," leo morgan's friend said.
"ok," they said getting up: "bye shawn."
"bye."
we waited until they got upstairs.
"shawn drink?" leo asked from the kitchen: "morgan i've been drinking whiskey ourselves."
"thanks man," I said going into the kitchen w/ morgan following: "and the whiskey is...? oh," I said spotting here.
"here," leo said handing me a cup.
"yeah thanks. Again. How's your mom doing?"
"she's ok has trouble w/ her hands so I help her bake the bread."
leo's mom was 60 and made really good bread.
"oh."
"um yeah she. Jasmine I mean," I clarified as morgan lifted reached up and got a cup out of the cabinet.
"um so today. She alternated between being sick and sleeping. I got her ice she's. Not sure how well she'd do w/ swallowing pills or anything right now. She remembered who I was. And she's. In a lot of pain."
"oh that must be hard," morgan said.
"yeah um it is."
"i remember how hard it was for you after you-oh," morgan said realising this is something I might not want brought up in front of leo.
"it's ok."
"um. How hard it was for you right after. Your concussion," morgan continued.
"you had a concussion?" leo asked looking at me.
"yeah it was during the war. Er the iraq, war that is since none of us are old enough to have been in the other, 'the war."
"no not yet. God," morgan said and we all laughed.
"it was right after college. I had to be discharged actually."
"oh. Wow. Sorry man."
"yeah thanks. I'm better actually but it was. It was hell. And right now. Well see jasmine's not allowed visitors."
"how long will it take. Until..." morgan asked peering at me.
"3 – 6 months. Which reminds me angela I need to talk to the school. Well we do. Have you talked to your brother and topanga yet?"
"no I thought we'd wait until everyone was available to have dinner at...well after the girls are done w/ school they usually come here...so. Also jasmine probably shouldn't be left alone. But if we do it during the day well w/ work."
"i'll take them honey. Out for pizza or w/e," leo said.
"ok. Who would you want to be there and when?"
"no. you're right she shouldn't," I told morgan: "and myself, you, cory, topanga and angela. And at my house. Er our house. Er her...house."
"ok."
"i was actually going to go over to lily's so."
"ok. Call if you need anything esp. right now. You're not made of granite," morgan said.
And neither apparently was my daughter. The full fragility of life and the situation hitting me. I took a drink so I wouldn't tear up.
"thank you," I said.
"good to see you too," morgan said hugging me.
"be careful w/ that," she said looking at my hand around the whiskey.
"yeah."
"good to see you man," leo said.
"yeah um. You too. Tell your parents I said hi."
"ok. Shawn," morgan as I left the kitchen.
I turned around: "yeah?"
"do you um. Want some bread?"
"no i'm. I'm good thanks though."
"ok well we. Usually have it so."
"right."
I left going on my way to lily's.
On my way there my phone buzzed.
"yeah?" I asked opening it.
"hey is it ok if I tell my mom?" morgan asked: "your decision."
"um well...right now just. Tell her to keep me us, in. their thoughts. I love your mom she's a sweet lady but."
"no I get it this is a hard time for you your family. For all of us."
"ok. And if. When you talk to cory tell him to tell them, the same thing."
"ok."
"i. yeah."
we hung up and I walked more.
My phone buzzed.
"yes?" I said opening it a bit exasperated.
"hey," it was morgan.
"oh. Sorry. I'm a little tired."
"it's ok i'd be too. Um hey I mean to ask. Why did you smell like alcohol the night of?"
"oh cause lily and i'd gone to a bar."
"right I figured."
then w hy'd she ask?
"oh so I texted cory and told him to tell mom and dad what you told me."
"ok that it?"
"yeah."
"ok."
we hung up.
And I continued on my way to lily's.
