Life Ain't Always Beautiful

Chapter Eleven: Hospital

Luke was anxiously pacing back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital. They had left the kids with Bo at the garage, and Luke would pick them up later at his house to take them home. He still hadn't told them about their mother's health problems. He wished he had done it sooner. They would be full of questions when they couldn't find Ali anywhere when they got home.

The doctor had begun the laser surgery on Ali's lungs at one o'clock that afternoon---it was now afer three. Luke hadn't heard anything so far from anybody---nothing about her condition, how much longer it was going to take, etc. He was too nervous to eat; the cafeteria food was sorry anyway. Everytime he heard someone call over the intercom for help with a "Code Blue" or something to that nature, he would freak out thinking it was Ali.

At last, he resorted to flipping through an old "Home and Garden" magazine that had been left by another visitor. Just when he was getting past the first ten pages, he was approached by Dr. Moncrief, wearing his green surgical scrubs and was still in the process of taking his gloves off. Luke jumped up immediately, the magazine falling to the floor.

"How is she, doc? She gonna be okay?"

"Your wife is doing fine, she made it through the surgery without any difficulty."

Luke blew out a sigh of relief.

"But I do have some bad news, but it's not too terribly bad. We couldn't get all the cancer cells out with the laser beam, so we are going to have to resort to radiation therapy to kill what is left so she won't have to go through this again."

Luke knew she wouldn't be very happy about that, but she would surely agree that it was best. He just nodded his head to acknowledge the information. "Uh, can I see her yet?"

"Oh, of course. They've taken her to room 236, the nurses will tell you where to go.

Isabella flittered her eyes open slowly as she woke up from her nap. She yawned and rolled over on her side to finish taking it when she startled at the sight of three different kids and one overweight tabby cat staring at her from the adjacent couch.

"What are you looking at?" she asked in a shocked voice.

Everybody suddenly jumped up and scattered in different directions, as if they were trying to make her think that they hadn't been there the entire time. The only one that stayed was the cat who was staring at her intently with big yellow eyes. Isabella glared at it before barking at it to scare him off. Instead he reared up and jumped on her to scratch at her then when yowling off to the back of the house.

"Ugh!" the lady growled, throwing a pillow on top of her head in frustration. Which was furthered by someone knocking at the door and then coming in when no one answered.

"Bo?" she heard a familiar voice ask, and she took the pillow off her head to see---

"Luke?" she asked.

Luke started and gave her a strange look. "Isabella? What are you doin'---"

"Daddy!" Lizzy called out, running up to him to throw her arms around his waist. "We missed you!"

"I missed you too, sweetie," he told her with a smile, patting her head. "Have you been good?"

"Uh-huh."

"Where's Momma?" she asked, of which Luke was saved from answering when Bo peeked his head around the corner and used his finger to give him a "come hither" motion.

"Hang on, honey," Luke told his daughter, following Bo to the back where they wouldn't be bothered.

"What on earth is she doin' here?" Luke asked his cousin through gritted teeth. "I don't want her around my kids!"

"Luke, I'm sorry, but she came to the garage to get an oil leak fixed an' when she was leavin' she sprained her ankle. I couldn't just leave her there."

"Ya coulda took her to the hospital or somethin', instead of pollutin' her in your own house."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you wanted her to be in the same place you an' Ali's been all mornin'?" Bo asked, his arms crossed angrily.

Luke sighed aggravatedly. Bo had a point. "Fine, whatever, I just don't want her near my kids. Or me for that matter."

"Your wish is granted. How's Ali?"

"They got most of the cancer out, but they're gonna have to go into radiation therapy to get the rest. She was sound asleep when I left her to come get the kids."

"You gotta tell 'em, y'know."

"I will. When we leave, I'll take 'em by there to see her an' I'll explain it."

"Mom's sick!" Jesse exclaimed as the three drove down the road from Bo's house. "An' you're just now decidin' to tell us!"

"I didn't want y'all to worry---"

"Worry? I'm past worried, Dad!"

Lizzy looked up at Luke with big eyes. "Can we see her?"

"Of course you can, that's what we're doin' now," he explained. "Just don't touch anything that's in the room, okay? An' don't be pokin' on her or huggin' her real hard either, she's still sore from the surgery."

"What else do we not know about?" Jesse challenged him, feeling brave for once.

"Nothin'. There's nothin' else ya don't know about," Luke replied with a curious look on his face.

"I overheard you an' Uncle Bo talkin'. How come ya don't want Isabella around us, huh?"

If he had been drinking something, he would have spewed it all over his windshield. "WHAT?"

"You heard me, why don't ya want Isabella around us? Are you scared she'll say somethin' ya don't want us to hear?" Jesse continued. He was referring to the day that he and Rachel had witnessed Isabella laying a wet one on his dad.

"Jesse, what on earth are you talkin' about?"

"You know."

Luke was getting a little worried about his son, so he pulled over and asked him to step out while Lizzy stayed inside. Jesse slammed the door shut and sat down on the rear bumper of the truck with his arms crossed and an angry look sketched on his face. Luke leaned up beside him, not quite sure how to start it off.

"Mind tellin' me what's goin' on?"

"You tell me. You're the one that's cheatin' on Mom."

Luke nearly fell over. "Excuse me?"

"We saw you, me an' Rachel," Jesse told him, looking at the ground and tears coming to his eyes. "We saw Isabella give ya that kiss an' you didn't tell her not too, so what else do you expect me to think?"

Dammit. Luke ran a hand through his hair and thought of what he could say. "Jesse, what you saw---I didn't ask her to do that. That was all her idea an' I wasn't even expectin' it. I don't even like her that much."

"You said she was a nice lady."

"She is, but that don't mean I like her. I don't like anyone that tries to break up the family."

"What about Uncle Bo? He's takin' care of her."

"He's just bein' a Duke, takin' care of people whether we like 'em or not. Don't change the subject. Y'know I love your mom, right?"

"Yeah," he said sheepishly.

"Y'know I love you an' your sister, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, nobody especially some woman is gonna change that, okay?"

"Okay. I love ya, Dad."

"I love you, too, son. How's 'bout we go see your mom, all right?"

Lizzy was staring at all the devices that were hooked up to her mother with a mixture of fear and curiosity. Luke had taken Jesse to the cafeteria to get something to eat. It didn't matter if it tasted bad or not, Jesse would most probably eat it. "Does it hurt, Momma?"

"Does what hurt?"

"The machines stuck to ya. Do they hurt?"

"No, baby, they keep me from hurtin'. That bag up on that pole has pain medicine inside."

"Like Tylenol?"

"I think it's a little stronger than Tylenol, but yeah it's kinda the same I guess."

"Did the surgery hurt?"

"No, I was asleep."

"I think I could feel someone cuttin' into me if I were asleep."

Ali smiled at her. "I was in a very deep sleep an' I couldn't feel anything."

"How long you gotta stay here? I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too, but the doctors say I have to stay here for a while until I get well enough."

"When will that be?"

"I don't know, sweetie . . . I don't know."