Tuesday April 4th
Stan was due to pick Wendy up from work after she clocked out at the Jolly Bean Coffee Shop at the mall. It was now 8:45 pm. She got off at 9. He had been standing outside the entrance of the mall for an hour now, dressed in his best black slacks and a red long-sleeved shirt. He had his guitar with him. He waited for her to walk outside her work. He had his eyes peeled in the direction she usually took to leave. She would be walking out any moment now from the front of Burlington Coat Factory. He had to be patient. For extra measure Kenny was stationed inside by the book shop to text him when he saw Wendy leave so he could be ready.
Wendy had a terrible day and kept asking the boss at the coffee shop if she could finally be switched to the small, intimate bookstore section of the shop. College kids got to work with books, high school kids got stuck in food service. She finished washing the dishes and wiped her forehead with her apron. She made sure everything was filled up and prepped for the morning shift and let her boss Brenda know she was clocking out now.
She didn't notice Kenny as she grabbed her purse and jacket to go home for the night.
Stan felt his phone vibrate. He looked to see it was Kenny. Licking his lips nervously, he threw his strap over his shoulder and began to gently strum the guitar. He moved to the left side where she would always leave.
Wendy stepped into the light in the entrance of the Burlington. She checked her texts. No word from Stan and he always texted her when she was off. She stopped and texted Bebe and Red and her newish friend Sophie back.
Stan started to sing as he played.
It's looking like a limb torn off
Or altogether just taken apart
We're reeling through an endless fall
We are the ever-living ghost of what once was
Wendy looked up face to face with her boyfriend. "Oh my god." Tears fell down her eyes as she got closer as he sang.
He walked over to her now as he continued to sing.
But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do
No one's gonna love you more than I do
Wendy approaches him, a grin on her face. She wants to throw her arms around him but that would interrupt the singing and playing. She's near him now, continuing to watch, genuinely touched at his thoughtfulness.
And anything to make you smile
It is my better side of you to admire
He couldn't help but smile, dimples framing his face as he sang to her.
But they should never take so long
Just to be over then back to another one
Wendy is now as close to him as she can be without interrupting him. She wipes her eyes again.
And no one is ever gonna love you more than I do
No one's gonna love you more than I do
But someone
They could have warned you
When things start splitting at the seams and now
The whole thing's tumbling down
Things start splitting at the seams and now
If things start splitting at the seams and now
It's tumbling down
Hard
Stan maybe felt weird with the more depressing aspects of the song he chose for her. But it had been in his mind lately and the chorus had described how he felt. He played and sang on.
And anything to make you smile
You are the ever-living ghost of what once was
I never want to hear you say
That you'd be better off
Or you liked it that way
… And no one is ever gonna love you more than I do
No one's gonna love you more than I do
Stan sets his guitar down now and hands her a bouquet of roses by Kenny's quick hand as he casually walks by.
"Wendy, it would be my honor if I could take you to prom." He says, handing her the bouquet.
"Yes, of course. Oh Stan." She embraces him and plants a kiss on his lips. "You didn't have to do all this, I appreciate it. You're so sweet. The best boyfriend anyone could ask for." She hugs him tight.
Stan kisses her back as a few passersby's clap and cheer for them. "Of course, I had to Wendy. You mean so much to me. I want to show you just how much. I want to give you the most perfect night."
Wendy blushes and wipes her eyes. She kisses him again. "You must have been nervous. Oh Stan, that was beautiful." She hugs him tight again. "Were you nervous? I can feel your heart pounding. I wasn't going to say no, no matter what. But this was so romantic." She sniffs the roses again.
"Meh, I'm used to singing in front of people. Then again singing for such a beautiful young woman such as yourself. I don't know if I can ever truly feel at ease with that." He hugs her close, Kenny waving before taking Stan's keys to borrow his car for a ride home.
Wendy laughs a bit and goes in for another kiss. She wipes her eyes. "Have you heard lately you're the best boyfriend in the world?"
"I might not have heard it over all the times I tell you that you are the best girlfriend." He kisses her as he smiles.
Wendy sighs a bit. "I have to study for AP Calc tomorrow, but what the heck? You want to hang out until my curfew?" She leads him to her car.
"Of course. Want some ice cream? I know it's not too romantic, but Ice Cream Palace doesn't close till ten and it's just up the street." Stan asks, holding her hand now. "We can share the birthday cake milkshake. You know how massive their servings are."
"Yeah, that sounds good. Something nice and sweet before bed. Nothing as sweet as you." She kisses him again as she unlocks her car. "You need a ride now?"
Stan touches the back of his neck. "Yeah. Could you give me a ride? If it's not too much trouble?"
"Okay." Wendy stops. "Of course, Stan. You want to drive? I'm kinda tired" She hands over her keys now.
Stan sat behind the driver's seat and leaned over to unlock the passenger side for Wendy. "I know I'm a helpless romantic and shit, but I wanted to ask, did you have a color in mind for us? For your dress? I'll just coordinate with whatever you choose."
Wendy smiles. "Purple of course. It's my favorite color and it'll bring out your eyes."
"Damn. Okay. Not the first time I've heard it. I guess there are worse colors. I still refuse to wear the color yellow. Just- no." Stan started up the car and fiddled with the radio.
"Why not yellow? Not that I was thinking about it. Maybe a nice light lavender. Anything but a deep violet." She stops smiling for a bit as she leans over on the car for another hug, her head on Stan's chest. "Light lavender would be cute."
"I just look stupid in yellow! It's too bright. It doesn't reflect how I feel most days." Stan insisted.
"You're okay in purple? Please calm down." Wendy can hear Stan's heart speed up. "I didn't say anything about yellow. Or if you wanted a pretty blue so we both like it." She leans against him, interlacing her fingers with his.
"Sorry sorry. I know, I gotta chill. I swear lately things have just been getting to me." Stan places a hand on his chest. "We can do lavender. You would look beautiful in it. I won't mind it at all."
"I don't want to piss you off when this prom proposal was so great. You're okay right? Medicine and all that?" She kisses him on the cheek, trying not to look too worried.
Stan smiles and kisses her back. "Never been better. Thank you for tonight."
"Good. Let's go get a milkshake and you can tell me all about what's stressing you out and I'll help make it better." She buckles her seat belt.
"I don't think I'm too stressed. But yeah, let's go." Stan puts the car in gear, and they drive off.
Sunday April 9th
Carol McCormick came into The Sandwich Kingdom, a medieval themed sandwich shop. She started setting up to manage her employees, mostly high school kids, for the busy lunch shift. She had been the manager of the Sandwich Kingdom for over a year now, it wasn't glamorous but kept bills paid for her family. She looked over the reports for the day and looked over the schedule. She has Stan, Bradley, and Elise on the schedule. Her best team.
As per usual as soon as Stan clocked in, he went about to make sure the restaurant was clean and ready for the day ahead. Whoever closed last night didn't do a very good job. He went about wiping down the tables. No one wanted to walk in as soon as they opened to find a messy restaurant. He had his cape tied on but hadn't slipped on the bronze crown yet, putting it in his back pocket until customers came in.
Bradley Biggle came in next, tying his cape around himself. "Hey Stan. Ready for today?" He smiled as he started to count the cash in the register.
"Yeah, let's do this." Stan frowns as he sweeps. "Fucking Clarice and Sam. They can't close for shit. This place is a mess."
"Night crew is getting worse and worse." Bradley shakes his head. "No wonder they want us for Sunday lunch."
Carol comes out of the office. "Stan, can I see you for a moment?"
Stan looks over and bites his lip. Oh crap! What did he forget to do? "Y-yeah?" He slipped his crown back on and followed Carol to the back.
Carol remained stern. "Step into my office and close the door."
Bradley gives him a wide-eyed look but continues to open the store.
Oh shit oh shit oh shit. Stan felt like his legs were jello as he walked over and nervously shut the door. His heart beats so fast it hurts.
Carol looks up from her desk. She gives Stan a weird look. "You okay, kid? Not gettin' sick on me or anything?"
"I don't know. Are you getting sick of me?" Stan misheard her. His heart beats even faster. He puts a hand to his chest to try and calm himself down.
"No, I have good news. Please sit down, you're lookin' pale. You almost are remindin' me of Kenny when he's...anyway." Carol looks through some paperwork behind her manager's desk.
Stan takes a seat, still worried. He takes in a few deep breaths to calm himself down. His head swims.
"So, you've been doin' a good job Stanley. So good in fact I wanted to give you this." She still looks at him weirdly as she hands over the silver crown with one purple jewel. "That and a .50 cent raise."
"Wait- really?" Stan smiles and takes hold of the crown. His anxiety dissipated but his heart was still hammering away.
"Yeah, I know Elise is leaving soon for college and we need another shift lead. she'll train you to take over by the middle of May. You'll get another .50 once you're fully trained." Carol gives him a little smile.
"Wow. This is great." Stan smiles at her widely now. "Thank-you so much, Mrs. McCormick."
"No problem, Stanley, please don't scare me like that. Okay hide your silver crown for now and call Bradley back. I want his promotion to be a surprise too." She smiles at him and pats his hand.
"Yes. Thank you again." Stan folds up and hides the silver crown under his arm and walks out. He takes some deep breaths to try and calm himself down. Irritated at himself, he can't just chill out these days.
Fifteen minutes later Bradley comes zooming out of the office with a new platinum crown on his head. "Behold it is I! Night shift lead." He grins at Stan.
Stan smiles from where he's setting up the meat and veggie station. He places his own silver crown on his head now. "Congratulations dude!"
Bradley smiles wider and goes in for a hug. "Congrats to you too, Stan! We'll have this place in tip top shape for the summer."
"Yeah, finally. We get to oversee things and tell others to stop goofing off and to treat this as a job. Not a school gossip zone." Stan rolls his eyes.
"You, me and Elise are the only ones who take this seriously and she's off to Texas for college." Bradley sighed, he would miss his friend and coworker. "Oh, speaking of, we were gonna throw a surprise party for her next month. Before she leaves. We're going to say we're taking her out for a picnic but we're going camping the weekend after graduation. You're invited." Bradly smiles at him.
"Camping? Sounds nice." Stan rubs his neck. Mentally calculating how his social calendar was filling up.
"Well, I wanted to get a nice camping spot and we can grill good food and make s'mores for her. I could use the help setting it up. I also wanted to tell her how I feel about her." Bradley turns bright red. "I know I chickened out asking her to prom before someone else asked her but maybe if I tell her before she leaves... I just need support. Bring your girlfriend. I wanted to see what Call Girl has been up to."
"Okay. Yeah, I'll talk to Wendy. I'm sure it will be a fun night. I'm sorry dude. If it'll make you feel better to tell her you like Elise, but then be stuck in a long-distance relationship. Just be careful man." Stan sighs as he starts to wipe down the counter, willing himself to calm down. He knew he and Wendy were also headed to a long-distance relationship once she left for the University of Chicago. Stan wanted a break before he applied to college, but seeing his friends succeed in their colleges made him feel bad. This thought made him remember he had math homework and an English essay to finish up. He put his hand to his chest again, he deserved a break from homework.
The bell to the shop dinged and Kyle entered holding the hand of his girlfriend Sophie Gray. Another important person to him leaving, but Kyle at least would be in Colorado still. Kyle was going to study biochemistry at University of Colorado: Boulder. Stan was still upset they hadn't accepted him in. He pushed his sad thoughts aside as Kyle grinned at Stan and Bradley. "Aww my two favorite sandwich dudes, looking as sparkly as ever."
Bradley did a little spin. "With new crowns too!"
Sophie smiled shyly as she held Kyle's hand. "Congratulations you two! I know you are both the hardest workers here in the first place."
Stan laughed as he put his new crown on. "Yeah. About time we move up. Even if this hat is super dorky."
Kyle looked at Stan, his reflection showing up in the jewel. "I don't know, the purple is cute. Congrats. Oh, I wanted to ask if you wanted to rent a limo and go eat dinner before prom?"
Stan shrugs. "Before or after? I don't want us to ruin our clothes."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Ruin our clothes? What are you five? It's our senior prom. We have to show our girlfriends a good evening and you can just put a napkin over your tux while we eat."
Stan glares from behind the counter. "I just want things to go perfect. Sorry, damn." He puts a hand to his chest instinctively.
"You okay? You're not looking so great." Kyle frowns.
"I'm fine. I admit, when Kenny's mom called me in the back earlier to tell me about my promotion, I was a bit startled. I'm still reliving it I guess." Stan gives a sheepish grin.
Sophie looks at him concerned. "Was it really that traumatic?"
Stan is saved by a man that walks to the counter. He steps into his character while at work. "Hello sir, welcome to the Sandwich Kingdom where you're royalty. How might thee serve ye?"
Kyle lets the other guy go ahead as he whispers to Sophie. "Stan looks pale and worn out, it's not just me?"
Sophie sat back with him, crossing her arm. "Paler than usual. But you know how Stan can be. If he says he's fine you have to trust him."
"He says he's fine and he's in the hospital the next day. Shit now I'm worried." Kyle smiles as Stan catches his eye. "Deciding our order."
Stan rolled his eyes, dropping his medieval act. "Well hurry up. You know we get a lunch rush by twelve."
"Umm turkey with avocado and jalapeño." Kyle says, trying to gauge any movement out of Stan. "Have you had a doctor's appointment lately?"
Stan glares. "You think I get away with stuff like doctor appointments when my mom works at the hospital? What do you want, Sophie?"
"Hey, don't talk to her like that. I'm just worried. You look worn out. In a bad way." Kyle looks at him but puts an arm around Sophie.
"It's okay, Kyle." Sophie pats her boyfriend's arm as she glances at the menu. "I'll take The Baron please."
Stan punches in their order. "Any drinks or desserts, fair knight and lady?"
Sophie laughs a bit at the restaurant's gimmick and looks at the dessert case, shaking her head as she grabs a few cups. "Do you want a large drink, Kyle?"
"Yeah, of Diet Coke? Can I see your hand really quick Stan?" Kyle asks again.
Sophie his hand. "Either that or water. Depends on our blood sugar." She reminded him.
"Maybe water. You never know what goodies they'll have at the comic convention. I hear the Star Wars section will be really cool this year." Kyle smiles and kisses her.
Stan rings them up. "Okay, One Lancelot, one Baron, and two large drinks. Your total is $8.64. I gave you my store discount."
Bradley finished up making Sophie's sandwich. "Aww I wanted to see the comic con. Kevin was going but I had to work all weekend. Tell me how it was."
"No problem. We'll bring you back a little baby Yoda, you too Stan?" Kyle hands over some cash to Stan and grabs his hand, putting his fingers to his wrist. "Jesus Christ...dude."
Stan pulls back, startled. "What the fuck, Kyle? You can't just grab me like that!"
"What the fuck, Stan? How long has it been like that? You need to go to the fucking doctor and not be such a pussy about it!" Kyle yells back at him.
Stan hisses at him. "I'm at work you idiot. Don't you ever try to grab me again when I'm behind this counter!" He looks up to see an old lady at the line now. Smiles at her. "Hello Fair Lady. How Might I serve thee today?"
The old lady smiles. "Hello, Stanley. Your Grandma Mara told me you worked here."
Kyle put twenty dollars on the counter and grabs his and Sophie's food. "Keep the change." He said sadly, waking away.
Stan ignores him as he helps the lady. "Mrs. Gellar! Hi! You sit with my grandmother at church, don't you? She told me you made the best chicken noodle soup."
Kyle goes to sit at a booth with Sophie. "I'm going to be worried all day now. Stan doesn't take care of himself like you, and I do. Says he's afraid of hospitals and lands up in them because he does shit like this." He looked at Sophie and hugged her. "Sorry."
Sophie looks troubled as she sits down, pulling out her pen to check her blood sugar. "It's good you worry over him, but you can't keep doing it Kyle. In a couple months you'll be in Boulder. What are you going to do? Call him every night before bed? Stan needs to start looking after himself on his own. As horrible as it is to say that."
Kyle nods as he starts to eat. "I'll call you every night while you're at NYU. That's so cool you get to live in New York City. Art school is such a long shot, glad you got into a prestigious one." He smiles at her.
Sophie makes a little face as she takes a drink. "Well good thing I have enough talent to be accepted. It'll help me get a career in the set design or art department for film or television in the future."
"You could work for Disney one day. The Star Wars department of course. I'll be a doctor. It'll be great." He gives her a kiss again.
"Wow, what a dream. But that's so far from now. I hate looking too far ahead. I just want to enjoy things as they come. Such as our time together." Sophie takes his hand and smiles.
Kyle looks at his watch as he eats. "The doors to the convention open in an hour. I'm excited." He grins. "I'm also excited for prom. What color dress were you thinking?"
"I was thinking of a baby blue or turquoise. How does that sound?" Sophie looked through her phone to show Kyle some ideas.
"Your choice. I'll match what you tell me. You'll look beautiful either way. Do you want roses or lilies for your corsage?" Kyle asks.
"Lilies. Roses are kind of overrated, aren't they?" Sophie smiles at him.
"Hmmm, pretty blue lilies. I'll have to do some searching but I want you to be happy." He kisses her again.
Elise Thompson comes into the store to clock in. Bradley freezes as he works, he's counting the days until she moves away, and he was too much of a coward to at least let her know he liked her. They could have had prom together or something. He smiled over at Stan, who knew he liked Elise. Stan even admitted he had a thing for her back in fourth grade but was with Wendy. Stan seemed lost in thought working as he took customers and cashed out their orders. Bradley shrugged it off and went to help prepare sandwiches.
As Stan began with the usual lunch rush, he felt overwhelmed. All the people coming in and out. Asking him to explain the menu. Stepping in to help make the sandwiches when the newbie Allie was too slow. Cashing the orders out. He was feeling his heart beat fast again, feeling hot and sweaty despite it being a cool seventy-two degrees outside. He couldn't wait until the rush died down so he could get a drink of water.
Elise came up behind him. "Switch, Stan? Can you go get more pickles and ham from the walk-in? Maybe take a quick breather?" She patted him on the shoulder while she took the next customer and helped Allie out in teaching her the sandwich book.
Stan blinked but grit his teeth. "I'm okay. Nothing I haven't handled before. Let's just get through this rush."
"Okay, well we're almost out of ham and pickles so can you go grab and restock them? Salami too?" Elise asked again before taking over the cash register.
"Yeah. Yeah okay, can you cash out the couple at the register?" Stan said, his head swimming.
"Of course." She smiled at him and continued helping the next couple without missing a beat
Stan went to the back where the water cooler was and filled up a cup to slowly drink. He stepped into the walk in to cool off some more. The last thing he needed was to get a flu or something before prom. This had to pass. He took in slow deep breaths, hand on his chest. His heartbeat felt a little off. He just had to calm down then he'd be okay. There was simply a lot to stress out over lately.
He looked down to see a text from Kyle. We're taking off to comic con. Let me know if you want anything Batman and I'll keep an eye out. Feel better. See a doctor. Love ya dude.
Stan smiled and texted back. Sure. You'll know what I like. I'll pay you back. Love ya.
Evening hit and it was time for the night crew. Stan switches the drawer to count the money in the register and goes with Elise to have her show him his new shift lead duties.
Carol had left for the day and Elise sits in the back with Stan. "Okay so we have to count the cash for the day and make sure to leave 100$ in change and small bills in the drawer. We record the amount and put the reminder in this pouch for the safe. Bradley or Carol will take it to the bank later. You can count this cash, Stan? I'll be here if you have questions."
"Yeah. I'm not the best at math but I can count money." Stan says, grabbing a stack of bills out of the register.
"Okay, we want lots of one and five dollar bills and change of course. Here's a chart of the breakdown of how that adds to a hundred bucks." Elise pushed the chart to him.
Stan looks over the chart and begins to break down the money. He rubs his tired eyes and yawns. Remembering he had math homework and the report still due.
Elise puts a hand on his shoulder, shaking gently. "Stan, Stan?"
Stan jerks his head up from his task. "Yeah? What's up?"
"It kinda looked like you nodded off. You okay?" She shakes him again, giving a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine. Oh crap! I just remembered- "Stan gets up to his locker and rummages around in his backpack. He pushes aside his antiarrhythmic meds in favor of a small blue plastic container. He pulls out his blue and orange mouth retainer. Smiles and shows Elise. "I forgot to put this thing in today. I knew something was up." He slips the plastic piece in his upper jaw and sits back down to continue counting the money.
"Haha omg Broncos color of course." Elise laughs. "By the way, I'm having a graduation party the weekend after we graduate at my parent's house. You're invited. Invite Kyle too, and Wendy of course." She smiles at him.
"I heard. Yeah it should be fun. I haven't been able to talk to Wendy about it yet. But I'm sure she'll want to go." Stan says quickly, trying to concentrate.
"You heard? But you're the first person I invited...is there another party for me?" Elise asks, a bit confused.
"Crap. Um. Well, I just figured- I mean, everyone is having parties." He clears his throat. "I think I'm done counting. Do I put the money in this bag now?"
"Yeah, now the remaining amount you put into the computer here and put it in a pouch and drop it in the safe." She shows him the spreadsheet on the computer.
Stan rubs his eyes again as he focuses on the amount in hand and the information on the computer. He coughs, and just stares at the screen.
"Kyle told me... you having problems with your asthma or something?" Elise looks at him worried. "You've been counting that same stack for like five minutes."
"Have I?" Stan frowns and sets the money aside. "Maybe I am. Maybe it's allergies. It is April. I think I'm going to take a nap when I get home. Shit I still have homework too."
"If you're not feeling well, I'll finish the counting and you can try again Wednesday. I want to get out of here already. I'm sure you'll feel better after a nap." Elise tells him.
"Yeah. Only so far my stubbornness will get me through today." Stan gets to his feet and stretches. "Thanks Elise. You have a good rest of your day."
"You too, feel better." She counts the cash easily and puts it in the safe. She can hear Stan clock out and go home.
Sharon had a rough day, she cried on her drive home. She lost both a mother and baby today and she had to tell the devastated family. She wiped her eyes as she entered the quiet house. "Stanley?" She called out. "You home?"
Stan ended up falling asleep on the couch, still in his work uniform. Arm over his eyes.
Sharon approached him carefully. She shook him gently. "Stan? Stan!" She shook him harder.
"Wha-? What?" He sits up quickly. "Oh hey, Mom." Stan yawns and his retainer pops out. "Damnit." He looks around to put it back in.
"Stan, when's the last time you had a nebulizer? You were breathing kind of shallow and slow." Sharon bursts into tears.
"Sorry. I'll do a treatment before bed tonight." Stan sighs, worried about her. He hugs her quickly. "Mom? You okay?"
Sharon hugs him tight and cries. "No, I lost two patients today. Thought maybe we could save the baby, but it was too late." She sobs into his shoulder. "Couldn't get her to breathe."
"No. Oh Mom I'm sorry." He lets her cry on his shoulder and hugs her. "I'm so sorry."
"Days like this I wonder, what else can go wrong. The baby... you looked like that when you were born. It's just. Take care of yourself son. Please." Sharon says into his shoulder.
His heart beats fast again as he let's go. "Well to tell you the truth, I think I might be coming down with a cold or flu or something. Nothing big but I've just been feeling a little worn out today."
"Me too. Must be the season changing. Tomorrow is Monday but you need to stay home from school? Make a doctor's appointment?" She looks through her phone. "Maybe we can order takeout for dinner, but I'm not hungry."
"No, I don't think it's that bad. Just allergies or a cold. I have too much to catch up on at school and work. Maybe I'll go to the doctor later. I don't wanna go but Kyle came into work today and of course he saw me and got worried. Told me to see the doctor too. I guess I will, to shut him up and to make you feel better." Stan sighs, knowing he might have to switch shifts with someone at work or end up going to the doctor on his day off work. What a waste. He just got a promotion and couldn't call in.
"Why was Kyle worried?" She dabs her eyes and gets up to grab herself some wine.
"Cuz it's Kyle?" Stan shrugs but then smiles, trying to not worry her further. "Oh Mom, I wanted to show you something. Stan reaches into his backpack and pulls out his silver crown.
"That's the theme you want for your graduation party?" Sharon asks, returning with a glass of wine.
Stan laughs. "No, I've been made shift lead at work!"
Sharon gives him a big hug, now with a smile. "Oh Stan, that's wonderful!" She sits on the couch next to him. "That makes my day better. You still don't know what you want for a graduation party?"
Stan looks at his crown and plays with it. "I dunno. I was talking with Kyle. We might want to just do a big collab kind of party somewhere. Maybe at that nice park in Middle Park. BBQ. Batting cages. They have that sprinkler system area now. Something casual but fun."
"Aww, you entered school together might as well leave together. I can call Sheila and we can plan it out." She looks at him again, stroking his hair. "You sure that's all you want to tell me?"
Stan wasn't exactly sure what his mom was getting at. "Yeah, that's all. I need to get upstairs; I still have homework." He sighs, wanting to go to sleep already but knowing he had stuff due Monday.
Sharon went over the voicemails in her phone as she sipped her wine. Stan sat at his desk trying to open his textbook, when he heard his mom knock on his door. "Ah, come in." He said.
When his mom entered his room, she looked angry. "Stanley, why am I getting messages from the cardiologist you're a month overdue for your yearly checkup? You still haven't done it? I wanted that done back in February or March. Son, you can't do this!"
Stan gets to his feet, sliding his books over. "I didn't know I had to set it up myself! You usually set up appointments for me! I'm still seventeen, Mom!"
"I told you I'll need your help now that I'm taking a different shift at the hospital." Sharon starts to cry again as she sits on his bed. "Stan you can't drop the ball on this stuff, it's very important. I'll make the appointment for you. Stan, you have to take care of yourself and show up." Sharon is overwhelmed again with her work day. She tries to take a deep breath to calm herself.
"Mom... god damnit." Stan sits next to her and hugs her. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a pain in the ass. I'm not used to doing stuff like that for myself yet. I don't think about my own doctor appointments Mom. It's just not something most teens think about."
"You're not most teens, you've had health problems for how many years now? You can't just help me a bit? After the kind of day I've had?" Sharon continues to sob. "It's hard losing patients, it's harder to lose a son."
"Mom... Mom, don't cry please. I'm sorry. You know I hate when you cry, especially if I'm the reason. I'm just useless and need reminders for some stuff. I don't mean to toss shit aside like my health. I'm sorry." Stan puts his arms around her again.
Sharon hugs him tight. "You're not useless, don't ever say that. I couldn't go on if I lost you. I saw a family lose a daughter and granddaughter today, a husband lost his wife and child. You never get over that. I never got over seeing you in a coma at three years old. Cardioversion and heart surgery at thirteen. I'm sorry." She rocks him gently.
Stan feels tears sting his eyes as he lets his mom hold him. "Maybe you need to write me a list of all the doctors I need to see when I move out. So, I won't forget anyone."
"I will sweetie. I will. Or worse I'll give a copy of the list to Kyle, so I know you're reminded of it." Sharon wipes her eyes and gives a little laugh.
"Thanks. I guess it's overwhelming. I don't know where to start. Do I find a family doctor? What's the difference between that and a general practitioner? Do I need a new cardiologist? I guess I can ask Dr. Steels for any dental references in Park County... I dunno where I'm going after high school." Stan feels his heart beat fast again as he pushes away from her. He tries to ignore it to not scare his mom.
"That's why I want you to make these appointments, so you get the hang of it once you're an adult. But I'll help you." Sharon gets up to leave Stan alone so he can study.
"I need to turn in." Sharon says, finishing off her glass of wine. "I can get us some food. Maybe Chipotle or something. Sorry I don't feel like cooking tonight."
"Yeah, that's fine. I'm going to nap in my room. Order what you want, and I'll take a chicken burrito." Stan says, Sharon kisses him on the cheek and goes downstairs to order the food.
Stan looks over his math homework, but he can't shake the feeling of his heart pounding. Too much to do and stress about. He laid down on his bed and fell asleep without realizing it.