JENNIE
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Uncle D didn't open his eyes again that day. I called my mother to come get me and drive me back to campus. Lisa couldn't leave. I didn't want to abandon get there, but I intended to come back after work tomorrow. I'd have to explain to Tae, but I couldn't let Lisa deal with this alone. She had looked so lost when I left. I asked Mom to take her something to eat and visit with her tomorrow until I could get back.
She had promised she would.
Later that night my phone rang, and I quickly answered it.
"It's Lisa." Her voice was hoarse and I gripped the phone tightly. Afraid of why she was calling. "I hope I didn't wake you. I just needed to talk."
The panic eased, and I went into the bathroom so I wouldn't disturb Tzuyu as she slept.
"I was awake," I assured her.
"Your mom came by late with a slice of chocolate cake and a big glass of milk. It was nice." I hadn't known she was taking Lisa anything tonight. But I was thankful she had.
"Good. Has he opened his eyes?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer.
"No," she replied. "Doctor says he doubts he will again."
I wanted to be there. I wanted to hug her. I hated her being alone right now. If JK hadn't started his job at the bar in town, he'd have gone with us today. But he had to work evenings.
"I should be there by two tomorrow at the latest," I said.
"Thank you. It's hard being alone. Watching him breathe. Wondering if he's hurting or just resting. I want him to go peacefully. What if I hadn't gotten here when I did? What if he'd closed his eyes and I didn't get to see him one more time?"
"He was waiting on you, Lisa. He was fighting it because he was waiting on you. Seeing you was what he needed. That pat on your hand was his way of telling you he loved you."
I heard her inhale deeply. I hadn't meant to upset her. Just reassure her. "I should have told him I loved him," she said.
"He knew. Your actions were enough."
"He should have gotten the words," Lisa argued.
Sometimes we don't get that. "You didn't know it was the last time you'd get to speak to him. He's resting now because he knows you are there and he is loved."
She was quiet for a moment. Then I could hear her move around. "Thanks, I needed to hear that."
"You're welcome," I replied.
"And, Jennie?" she said.
"Yes?"
She paused, then sighed. "Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow."
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The next morning, work was hard to get through because my mind was somewhere else. Worrying about Lisa and how she was handling things. My mother texted me when she arrived at the hospital to let me know she was with Lisa. That helped. But I still wanted to be there.
I had called Tae the day before to explain what was going on, but he hadn't answered his phone. It was the last Saturday before game season began, and I knew he had practiced hard all day. I typed out a text explaining it and told him to call after twelve. I was working this morning. Again, something else we hadn't talked about. I wasn't even sure he knew about my job. The last two times we chatted he told me all about what he was doing but didn't actually ask about me.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized it had always been that way. Tae liked to talk about himself, and I had liked to listen. I never wanted attention or the spotlight and I knew he did. It had been okay then. But since waking up, that bothered me. Along with so many other things.
Winter asked me several times at work if I was okay. She noticed my mood and I liked that about her. She paid attention and cared. I explained a friend's uncle was dying. I needed to leave as soon as I could to get to the hospital. It was slow by eleven, so she told me to go on.
When I pulled up to the hospital, my phone rang and it was Tae. I parked and answered.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey, so you got a job?"
"Yeah. I need to work and help my parents with my costs, like JK does." He hadn't asked about Lisa's uncle first. I found that odd. It was the bigger issue.
"I just woke up an hour ago. I was going to come get you for brunch, but I got your text. So, you know this Lisa girl that well? I thought she was JK's friend."
The touch of jealousy in his tone didn't go unnoticed. I almost mentioned the herd of women surrounding him this week but didn't. It was pointless and I didn't have the time or energy for the argument that would start.
"She read to me when I was in a coma. Gave my family a break regularly and brought them coffee and muffins. That makes her my friend, too. Even if our friendship started while I was asleep."
He was silent for a moment. I let him think about what I'd said, and hopefully he'd have a reasonable response.
"You know her reputation, don't you? I mean, you don't want to be heaped in the pile with those girls. People will assume that's what you are."
I gripped the phone a little too tightly in my hand. I couldn't blow up on him. That wasn't fair. He had his concerns and I needed to let him have them. But I wasn't bending to his will. Those days were over.
"She is my friend. She needs a friend right now. I don't care who says what. I know the truth and that's all that matters. Do you have a problem with that?" My tone had gotten snappy and I could tell he was startled by it.
"Uh, no. I guess I don't."
"Good. Mom's in there with her now. I need to go. I'll text you when I'm headed back." I almost added that we could get together but didn't. Because I wasn't sure I'd be in the mood to see him. Not after what I was about to face.
Ending the call the way we had for years, we said, "I love you," but this time it felt different. Like I didn't truly mean it. I shoved those thoughts from my head and made my way inside.
My mom sat in a chair beside the window and Lisa sat beside her uncle. She had one of Uncle D's hands in hers. When I stepped inside, her head turned to me and I saw gratitude and relief. My mom was there, but it was me she needed.
"Hey," I said, walking over to her. "How's he been?"
Lisa sighed. "The same." She glanced over at my mother, who was watching us. "Your mom has been great. I just wish I had more of an appetite to eat the food she brought. What I could eat was really good."
"There's more where that came from. You just eat when you can," she said gently.
"Thank you," Lisa told her.
"Mom, you go on. I'll stay until tonight."
She stood up and walked over to Lisa. With a squeeze from her hand on Lisa's shoulder she said, "Your uncle is a lucky man. He is loved by you and he knows it."
Lisa nodded, but she didn't say anything. I could tell she was having a hard time with her words. She swallowed hard.
"Call me if you need anything. I'll bring some dinner over later."
"Thanks, Momma."
She hugged me, then left us there. Watching her uncle hold on, but barely.
"He's bleeding internally from the fall. Nothing they can do, though," she said when the door closed behind my mother. "They don't think he'll make it through the night."
"I'll stay with you." There was no way I could leave her.
"You have classes in the morning," she argued, but it was weak. She wanted me here. She was afraid.
"I'll get what I miss from someone else in my classes."
She didn't try to talk me out of it. Which was good because I wasn't going anywhere.
"I'll have a farm to think about. Not sure how I'm going to handle that. Uncle D owned all of it. Worked his whole life to own it in full. He told me this summer when he got sick that he'd left everything to me. It was my decision what I did with it. I can't run a farm right now, but I can't just sell it. It was his life."
There were going to be a lot of decisions like this for her to make. Things that wouldn't be easy. I knew they were all starting to run through her mind.
"Does the farm support itself financially?" I asked her.
She nodded.
"Well, why don't you find someone to run it—live there, take care of things, and pay them? When and if the time comes that you want to live there, it will be waiting."
Again, she nodded. "Okay. Yeah, I think in town there'll be some folks who would want to do that."
"Don't stress and worry over things like this just yet. It will work out."
She didn't respond and I figured she needed a moment. I walked over and sat in the seat my mother had deserted. I could smell her homemade doughnuts in the box beside me.
"I've never had someone in my life who would do this," she said, looking over at me. "Stay when things were tough. No one I could trust other than Uncle D."
That made my heart hurt. I had a big family. I had been blessed with so much in life and I'd taken that for granted, while Lisa had no one else.
"You have my family now. Me and JK. We're your friends. With us comes our family."
A sad smile touched Lisa's lips and her gaze shifted to the doughnuts. "Yeah, you've got a great family. Not sure what I did to get their support."
I knew what she had done.
"I think it all started with the coffee and muffins you brought to them when they were watching me sleep, wondering if I'd ever wake up. And the reading to me when they needed a break. Kindness like that isn't forgotten."
She shrugged. "JK was my friend and…" She paused and her eyes locked on mine. "And I wanted to see your eyes. I wanted to hear your voice. I wanted to know you. Sleeping Beauty."
Oh.
Oh.
I blinked several times and my face heated.
She chuckled and the sound was nice in the quiet sadness of the room. "You were exactly like I imagined, too. Maybe even better."
I didn't know what to say to that. So I reached for the doughnuts and took one out, then held the box toward her.
"Doughnut?" I asked.
Then she really laughed. And my heart did a silly flutter in my chest.
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