"Alright Miley," I said as I opened the door to our car and got in. "You got your school books and everything?" She nodded, and put her seatbelt over herself as I turned on the car. By the time we'd made it to the highway, Miley had turned on music, and had started looking out the window as cars went by us. I sighed at the sight, and kept my eyes on the road until we got to Oliver's house.
"Do you want to get him?" I asked Miley, "Or should I?"
Miley looked at me once, and turned to open the door. Then she ran outside and up the steps to the front doors of Oliver's house, knocking furiously until someone came out. Before both Oliver and Miley came back to the car, I waved to Oliver's parents who were standing on the front deck holding Oliver's backpack and bagged lunch – which Oliver grabbed when he and Miley ran out of the house.
"Thank you Mr. Stewart," Oliver said as he climbed into the back on the car with Miley in his tow. "For picking me up and stuff." I nodded my head, and waited until Oliver and Miley had their door shut before I turned the car back on, and headed towards the highway again.
Behind me, the kids were quietly sighing to themselves or humming, in Oliver's case. I smiled at the both of them through my rear view mirror, but neither or them saw until they noticed that I'd missed the exit for Century City Hospital.
"Mr. S!" Oliver had yelled to me from the back, "You just missed the exit for the hospital!"
I nodded my head and looked for a way off of the highway and back to the exit that I was supposed to be getting off of. "Gosh daddy," Miley smiled. "You would have driven us to Nevada if Oliver hadn't told you."
I laughed out loud, and nodded my head again before finding the real exit and quickly making my way to the emergency room entrance as the clock struck 9.
When I found the entrance, I let Oliver and Miley out so that I could find a parking space without them being anxious to get in. They ran towards the sliding doors and made no sign of slowing down when they reached the front desk. I laughed at them both, and moved the car to an empty space a couple feet from the entrance. And when I got to the front desk, Miley and Oliver were still there trying to convince the nurse to give them information on Lily Truscott.
I smiled, and came up behind Oliver, tapping the desk with my hand, "I promise you ma'am," I told the nurse behind the counter. "Mr and Mrs. Truscott would want Miley and Oliver to see Lily."
The nurse stared at me for a while, and then wheeled her chair over to the computer on the other side of her desk. "I'll check and see," she told me as she picked up a phone near to the computer.
Then as the nurse talked I got Miley and Oliver to go sit on the grey chairs in the corner of the room.
"Sir, could you tell me your name please?" The nurse asked, now that she was off of the phone and sitting at the computer.
"Robbie Stewart," I told her, and she typed it into the computer and nodded her head.
When she finished, the nurse turned to me again, "and your kids names?"
"Miley and Oliver," I told the nurse, not bothering to tell her that Oliver wasn't my kid. "Now can we go in and see Lily?"
The nurse nodded, and handed me a slip of paper with Lily's room number highlighted. I thanked her, and went to where Miley and Oliver were sitting, and we walked together towards the elevator. I pressed the button for the fifth floor, and we were silent for the rest of the way. Which is how I noticed how Miley wringed her hands as a nervous habit. And how when Miley did this Oliver had given her a look of reassurance.
"Are you guys ready?" I asked once the elevator door had opened. Miley and Oliver nodded and I lead them out into the hallway towards where the nurse told me Lily's room was. Miley and Oliver, I noticed, walked slower than usual so that it would take them forever to reach the door. So that when we did, visiting hours were almost over.
"We better go in," I told Miley and Oliver, who were standing in front of the door of Lily's room. Miley looked at me, and I nodded encouragingly.
"Come on Oliver," she whispered to him as he stayed behind when she opened the door. "We've got to see Lily before we go off to school." Oliver nodded, and he followed Miley into the room, with me close behind them.
And to be frank, I was almost shocked at the state that Lily was in. Although Miley and Oliver didn't know Lily had just been through a major surgery, to me it was hard to miss. Underneath a purple and green stripped hat, I could see the edge of a white bandage wrapped around her head, and the IV that was stuck into her arm was for pain, but only when the pain was excruciating. Thankfully, Miley and Oliver didn't notice this, because I was sure that Lily didn't want to tell them yet, and they peacefully sat on the end of the bed near Lily's feet.
"Hey Lily," Oliver smiled at her, and Lily gave a weak nod towards him. "How are you doing?"
When asked this, Lily looked down at her sheets, and mumbled, "I'm fine." Lily forced a smile, and closed her eyes before looking back up at Miley and Oliver, "But obviously not enough for the doctors to let me out of here."
Oliver cracked a smile, and Miley started to wring her hands again, "Do you know when you'll get out?" Miley asked, anxious, of course, to have her friend home again.
Lily shook her head, even though I knew that Lily was told by her parents that her hospital stay would be for three weeks. "I just want to get back to school, and hanging out with my friends."
Miley nodded, and looked back at me when Lily looked down at her sheets again. I shrugged my shoulders and raised my eyebrows, and turned around to face the waiting room where I was about to sit next to Mr and Mrs. Truscott. Now noticing their current condition, I decided that it would be best if I walked up to them slowly and didn't engage in too much conversation.
"Hey Bill," I nodded towards Lily's dad, "Hey Martha." Her mother waved weakly.
"How are Miley and Oliver taking it?" Mr. Truscott asked, nodding towards the room where I had left them.
"Okay, considering," I told him. Completely avoiding the many things I could tell him about Miley and Oliver mopping around the house, because I knew that Lily's parents were worse off, "Seeing as they don't know anything."
Lily's dad nodded, rubbing his wife's back with his other hand as we talked, "I keep telling Lily that she'll have to tell them eventually." He told me, shrugging his shoulders, and messing up his hair with his free hand, "it's just going to add on the stress." I nodded, "Stress is not something she needs right now. And I just wish that Lily could go back to school, and have sleepovers with Miley and go to the beach."
"When will Lily be able to do these things?" I asked, hoping that the three week line was just an estimate.
Mr. Truscott seemed to consider my answer as he buried his head into his hands. "School she can start in another week," he sighed. "But she'll have to have a full time nurse with her at home. And then, Lily can start sleepovers again once she gets stronger and healthier. But the beach might never happen, or at least not while she's got the tumour." I nodded my head again.
"It's tough," I told him, offering the coffee that I hadn't touched to him. "But you've got me and my family to help you all along."
Lily's dad gave me a half of a smile, and turned to Lily's mom. "Would you mind," Mr. Truscott turned back to me. "Would you mind staying at the hospital while Martha and I go home to rest and get ourselves together?"
I nodded my head, "of course." I told Mr. Truscott, "Take your time."
He smiled again, and got up from his seat with Mrs. Truscott behind him as they hugged me and then walked into Lily's room to say goodbye. I sighed, and waved goodbye to them as they walked towards the elevator. I didn't have any idea how long they were going to be, but considering the bags under their eyes, and the wrinkle of their clothes – I figured I'd give them until tonight to get themselves together.
Once they were gone, I took a seat and watched the door of Lily's room. From where I was sitting I could hear selected words of what Miley, Oliver and Lily were talking about, though it sounded as if Miley and Oliver were doing all the talking. And I smiled when I heard Miley talking about the performance they would be doing on Wednesday, which meant her and Oliver would be doing the play.