Chapter 5 - Siblings' Day Out
Sorry about the lame title--couldn't think of anything better
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Thursday came rather quickly for Reggie. Unfortunately, in this case, it was a bad thing. She only had 48 hours until her surgery. She was still nervous deep down, but she maintained her brave composure. After all, the pain she was experiencing now was probably much worse than the pain she might feel after her tonsils came out. In fact, the pain was getting worse, so relief couldn't come too soon. In the meantime, Reggie tried her best to maintain a sense of normalcy in her life. She still went out as much as possible, although she wasn't as spunky as usual and didn't talk much. And, of course, there were the frequent drink and milkshake breaks at the Shack. The others didn't mind, though. After all, they enjoyed ice cream as much as the next kid.
The past two days had been a little odd. She hadn't mentioned her predicament to anybody yet, but it seemed that everyone was somehow finding out about her condition. First, her brother, Twister, and Sam overheard her conversation with Ray earlier that week. Then all of a sudden, she started receiving calls from other people. Trish and Sherry called the previous morning, expressing much sympathy and wishing her the best. It was funny though, but Reggie thought she heard muffled crying in the background.
A few hours later, Keoni called from Hawaii. He sounded concerned, too. In addition to wishing her good luck, he said he'd come up to visit as soon as he could. Before he hung up, he said that he'd miss hanging with her and the gang, but he hung up before she could ask him what he meant by that.
Next, Reggie received an IM from Cleo. After catching up on the latest news, Cleo also sent her best wishes. The crying emoticons, however, surprised Reggie. However, she shrugged it off and continued to chat for a while longer until she felt tired enough to want to go to bed.
The biggest surprise, however, happened Thursday morning when Reggie opened the front door to find a bouquet of roses in her name. When she opened up the card, she was surprised to find Trent's name on a sympathy card. "That was sweet of him. Maybe a little overboard, but sweet," she thought as she walked inside to find a vase.
She thought that concern was OK, but why was everyone so sad that she was having minor surgery? Also, how did the news spread so quickly, especially without her help? The name Otto did come to mind, but she wasn't too mad, especially since he hadn't apparently created any trouble--just brought her some attention from her friends. Although she was very curious, she did not feel like putting a lot of energy in to the matter at that moment. Instead, she decided to wait until after her surgery to ask why everyone was so pessimistic. She had to laugh, though. Maybe everyone was more scared about the surgery than she was. Now she didn't feel so bad.
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"Hey, Rocket Girl. Why don't you and I go and do something today? Just the two of us," Otto suggested at breakfast.
Reggie smiled back. To Otto, that definitely meant yes. "How about a little surf competition then a bike ride on the back trails?" he added. Obviously, Otto was in his normally competitive mood.
"Sure," Reggie replied hoarsely. The grin on her face implied that she was eager to accept her little brother's challenge.
After they finished their meal and changed in to their surfing gear, they left the house and skated down to the beach. Securing their skates in Ray's rental shop, they ran towards the ocean, stopping before placing their boards in the water. Giving each other a look that stated "Bring it on," they both hit the water at the same time.
Otto was the first to paddle up to the growing wave. While it wasn't as big as the waves he had always imagined of battling, it was about as good as anyone could get during an average summer in Ocean Shores. The height and curl of the wave were perfect. "No wave is anything I can't dominate," he thought as he stood up and found his balance on his board, with his sister right behind him. As usual, Otto's goal was to gain as much air as possible and to make very skillful moves. And, to nobody's surprise, he did just that. Reggie was right behind him all the way, matching almost every single move as they glided parallel to the wave. When the wave began to crest, both quickly and effortlessly exited and let the wave's remnants float under their boards as the two siblings rested.
"OK, sis. Your turn to lead," Otto offered as the next wave began to form out in the water. The two siblings paddled out once more to take on the wave. Everything worked as well as it had the time before, and the two alternated leading the other, trying to outwit their sibling. Not surprisingly, neither one fell off during the whole challenge. The score was tied by the time Otto and Reggie decided to head out. They needed to break the tie, though, so they decided to attempt one more wave. Reggie was to lead.
As the two caught the wave, Otto thought, "Oh man. This will probably be the last chance for her to beat me at surfing." As much as he loved to win, he knew that she would never be able to again. He suddenly shifted his balance and began to wobble. The shift did its job; Otto fell off seconds later. Reggie, glancing behind in response to the resulting splash, knew that Otto didn't usually lose that easily, especially since she hadn't tried anything he couldn't perform flawlessly. She exited the wave and waited for her brother to emerge. When he got back on his board, she gave him a glance of distrust.
"Look, Reg. I didn't lose on purpose. I was just....uh...thinking about something and was distracted," Otto quickly replied.
"Sure," Reggie retorted sarcastically as she splashed her brother, smiling the whole time.
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After a fun day of surfing and biking, Reggie and Otto rode down to the Shack for dinner. They had played hard all day and were very tired. Nevertheless, they had lots of fun. To Reggie's surprise, she had won their little bike race as well. She was still suspicious that Otto was up to something. They were pretty close during the race, but he never tried to overtake her. He knew he would have tried at least once normally. Again, he insisted that he was just tired and that he hadn't lost on purpose. Reggie went along with his excuse, figuring that if he did have a motive for losing, she would find out soon enough.
While Otto ate his "usual"--a Shack cheeseburger with fries and a glass of chocolate milk, Reggie slowly picked at a chicken salad, applesauce, and a chocolate milkshake. Her throat still hurt enough that she didn't feel like the good-old burger and fries. After they helped Ray clean up, they left together, stopping to gaze at the beautifully-lit Pier, including its majestic Ferris wheel, as they headed back up the hill for home. As Otto looked back at the ocean, he began to think of Reggie. What would it be like with nobody to criticize his sometimes selfish attitude? What would it be like to not have someone he could talk to when he was in trouble, and who would always be there when he woke up and when he went to bed each night? Yeah, Ray would be there, but he was much older and, of course, he was a parent. Those were a parent's jobs. What set Reggie apart was her maturity, youth, and compassion. Without her, there would be a huge emptiness within him.
"Reggie, there's something I want you to know. I know I've been a jerk to you sometimes. OK, maybe more often than that. But the thing is, you've stuck by me regardless. That means a lot to me. I'm sorry for all the times I have made you feel angry, sad, or frustrated. And I want you to know that despite all the times that may have made you think otherwise, I love you. Always have and always will, no matter what happens to us. After all, you're my one and only sister."
Reggie was very moved by what her brother had just said. There was definitely more to him than his tough and obnoxious exterior. She gave her brother a long hug as they gazed at the setting sun over the Pacific. As they embraced, Otto began to think about how he would ever express his feelings for his sister in a eulogy.
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Little did Otto know that Twister was pondering the same thing. He had known Reggie for all of his life (well at least as far as he could remember). She had become a part of him. In fact, he wondered if he wasn't even developing a crush on her. Well that wouldn't matter anyway, because he knew she would be gone in a little more than a day. As usual, Twister's brain caved in from the pressure and he had a hard time expressing his thoughts in a meaningful speech. He eventually fell asleep at his desk, on top of the random thoughts he had scribbled on a sheet of paper.
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Sam, on the other hand, was still in denial. How could a very active 12-year-old go from a state of complete health to being on the verge of death without being sick to the point of belonging in an Intensive Care unit? His quest for the truth took him to the Internet. He began to browse various health sites, trying to figure out what was happening to Reggie. She couldn't have mono because she was still strong enough to go out with the guys and wasn't getting gravely ill in the process. While her mother had cancer, it was very unlikely that the type of cancer that claimed Mrs. Rocket would appear in an active preteen girl. Besides, she hadn't shown any classic symptoms of cancer treatment, including the loss of hair and, again, anemia (a.k.a. sluggishness).
"What could it be?" he wondered as he began to eliminate serious (and sometimes fatal) diseases from the list of possibilities. He then focused on the symptoms she appeared to be having: frequent and painful sore throat, occasional fever. After he entered her symptoms in to one health website, several options appeared. Flu? Nope, the flu mainly hit in the winter. Cold? Yeah, some of the symptoms were classic, but why would she keep coming down with one cold after another? Finally, there was only one possibility left: strep throat. Now that was a common ailment. Upon further investigation, he discovered that a tonsillectomy was a possible treatment for recurring strep throat.
"OK, that explains her disease. But what could she have meant by being put out like a dog?" Then it hit him. They would probably have to use general anesthesia during the operation, which would temporarily put her to sleep so the operation would be completely painless and worry-free for her.
Once he placed the puzzle pieces together, Sam felt a sense of stupidity and relief. He was relieved that his best friend was in virtually no danger of dying and that he was going to witness nothing more than a commonplace operation. On the other hand, he felt ashamed that he had accepted Otto's interpretation of Reggie's conversation with Ray without checking the facts with the source herself.
He had to set things straight in the morning. It was too late at night to call anyone, so he figured he'd tell the guys the good news the next day before things got out of hand. Little did he know that they already had and that the damage had already been done.
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OK. I'll start working on the next chapter. I'll be busy on and off the next few days, so if I don't post the next chapter in time, Happy Holidays :)