"20 minutes. It's my final offer." Josh states firmly.
"Your final offer? You have no power in this situation." I almost laugh, placing the remote well out of his reach.
It's been two and a half weeks since Josh was admitted to the hospital and he's going a little stir crazy. I can understand his need to be entertained, and I've offered on multiple occasions to watch The Price is Right with him, but he'll stop at nothing short of CNN.
"You know the rules," I warn. "You're already having a high blood pressure day."
"And who's fault is that?" He rebutts.
I give him a glare and he has the good decency to look sheepish.
"I'm just so bored!" He lets out an exasperated sigh.
"Well," I saunter over, "we've always been able to think of other things to do besides watch the news while you're bored. Why should this be any different?"
"Close the curtain." He smirks at me. And though we're both aware it's going to be a long time before he's cleared for any of our old favorite activities, the mood in the room lightens considerably. It's nice to have a bit of privacy now that he's in a normal room. I run my fingers up his right arm and rest my forehead against his. We're flirting shamelessly with each other right now, whispering playfully back and forth to each other, and I can't help but to lean in and kiss him deeply.
"Ack. People are here." Joan loudly announces her arrival from the doorway.
"Go away." Josh halfway shouts, attempting to pull me back to his lips. I swat his arm playfully and he pretends to pout.
"I brought lunch," Joan announces and Josh perks right up.
"Thank god. The food in this place sucks."
"Joshua!" Sarah chastises. "Watch your language!"
Joan and I exchange a glance and try to stifle our giggles over what Sarah considers to be bad language. If only she'd ever heard her son speaking to a Republican Senator.
"I thought you were going to be here an hour ago. I'm starving," Josh complains just for sport.
"We were, but Miss Havisham got out and I had to chase her down the block to get her back into the building."
"Who?" Josh is completely lost.
"Their cat," I supply.
"You have a cat?" Josh stares at Joan.
"Yes." Joan is short in her response.
"Like a pet with a bell around its collar?" Josh is completely straight faced.
"Yes. She's a long haired Persian."
"And her name is Miss Havisham?"
"Sam named her," Joan replies somewhat smugly.
"Oh-ho-ho. I'm not going to let that go," Josh chuckles, genuinely amused. "And I really can't wait to tell Toby."
Joan passes out each of our orders and Josh visibly deflates when he opens his to go container to see a piece of unseasoned, grilled chicken breast and steamed vegetables.
"Here, dear." Sarah picks up half of her sandwich and places part of it on Josh's plate. "A little treat won't hurt you."
Josh has the good sense to glance over to Joan and I for approval before picking up the turkey and provolone on wheat toast.
I sigh. "Take off the cheese and most of the mayo and you can have that section."
He quickly agrees to my terms and savors his lunch.
Sam stops by to say hello just as we're finishing up. He kisses Joan and greets the rest of us jovially.
"Do you want the rest of my lunch?" Joan offers.
"No thanks," Sam states cheerily. "Majority council sent Josh a huge gift basket of cured meats and assorted cheeses with a variety of spicy mustards. So Toby and I ate that."
"Hey!" Josh protests. "Hands off the smoked meats!"
"Who sends a man in the cardiac unit a basket full of sausages and cheese?" Joan asks in borderline disbelief.
"Well… the opposition leaders," Sam responds in a matter of fact tone as he grabs a remote and takes a seat. "What are you watching? Is this an infomercial?"
"That serrated knife can cut through the metal on a half ton pick up truck, I'll have you know. And it can be yours for three easy payments of $19.99 plus shipping and handling." Josh spouts off. Clearly he's seen this one a few times before.
"Ok. Well how about we watch some baseball instead?" Sam suggests with an amused look on his face.
"While you guys do that, we better be off," Joan begins casually. "Donna? Why don't you join us."
Josh raises an eyebrow and looks at me. I shrug my shoulders with no idea what's going on.
"Hold it." Josh commands. "Nobody leaves until I know what's going on."
Joan sighs a bit. "I'm going to meet with potential candidates for the night shift of home healthcare."
"Oh. Well, I can save you some time there. Don't need one."
"I knew you were going to be this way," Joan complained. "Don't act like a petulant child about this. You're going to need help when you're released and Mom and I can't do it all."
"I know. Donna's going to be there, though."
He reaches his hand out to me and I take it, giving him a huge smile. We've already had this talk privately and came to the decision that I'd stay with him. I know it won't be easy, but I want to be by his side through this. And he seems more comfortable with the thought of me helping him than a stranger.
Joan raises her eyebrows at us. "You're sure about this?" She asks.
"Absolutely." I respond with a smile.
"But what if he needs professional care?" Sarah asks.
"She can do it, Mom." Joan responds firmly. "There's no one I trust more than Donna."
It's high praise coming from Joan, whom I respect immensely.
Josh gives my hand a little squeeze and I turn back to him. He's giving me a full dimpled grin. He's been completely adorable for the last two days. He asked me to stay with him last night by sending two dozen red roses to his room with my name on the card. And then he told me how much he loves me and asked if I'd live with him. He seemed so sincere. It was really very sweet.
Sarah announces that she will be heading back to Connecticut the following day. I think we're all a little surprised that she made it this long, though she has been in a borderline comatose state the entire time she's been here. Josh practically expected it, but I can tell it's been very hard for Joan to watch.
He talked to me about it yesterday. It was late and dark in the room, and he stared at the ceiling and clutched my hand and softly told me about the house fire when they were kids. He told me how much of that night he remembers. The heat and the smell and the chaos. Running outside and hiding in a far corner near the hedges that lined their yard. Waiting for his sister to follow him, and freezing with fear when he realized she wasn't right behind him. He was just a little boy, and he did what he was supposed to do, I remind him, but the words feel as though they fall on deaf ears. It's clear that he carried a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened to Joan that night.
He then recounts the months that follow. Joan's lengthy hospital stay, her multiple surgeries and the considerations that had to be made for her health. His mother stayed with her, in a hospital in the city, for an amount of time that Josh can't pinpoint, but he knows it was months. Through her days in the ICU, her stay, and her recovery.
Josh was in Westport, with Noah when possible, and was looked after by a combination of neighbors and families from their synagogue the rest of the time. His father did the best that he could, trying to comfort a guilt ridden, traumatized child at home while finding the family a new house, visiting Sarah and Joanie in the city on lunch breaks and evenings before he'd head home and the occasional weekend, all while working full time.
The weekends, Josh thought, were the hardest. Noah would head into the city on Saturday mornings, and Josh would sit with Mrs. Ebbert from next door until his mother came home. He'd be happy to see her, but she'd kiss him hello and immediately retreat to her room and sleep the day away until Mrs. Ebbert would return in the later afternoon so Sarah could catch the train back into the city and switch places with Noah.
Josh had once, in the early days, convinced his father to take him to the hospital to visit Joanie. Sarah was skeptical but Noah was sure that the two needed to see each other. Though Joanie was bedridden at the time, Josh brought her a new stuffed toy that he'd picked out especially for her, and excitedly told her all kinds of stories. It was only a few minutes, however, until Josh made Joanie laugh and caused a coughing fit that was nearly too much for Joanie's weakened lungs. It was the last time Sarah permitted Josh to visit.
So he threw himself into doing whatever he could to please his parents. He tried hard in school, he behaved and he helped out around the house where he could, picking up his toys and learning to set the table. It wasn't much different when Joan came home, either. Special considerations were always taken for her, and his mother doted on her in a way she never had with Josh. By the end of the following year, Josh had skipped a grade in school, and Joanie's absences had caused her to be held back.
On top of that, as Joan's condition improved Noah was spending more time at the office and Sarah was spending more time sleeping the day away in her room with the help of a prescription from a doctor in the city.
I think it's fairly obvious that this is bringing up old memories for everyone.
So while they have all done their genuine best to provide Josh with love and support, I think it will be good for everyone to try and get back to their normal routines.