Fifty-Five

Curled up on a couch, a copy of Emma on her lap, Riley didn’t realize a worried frown had taken up residence on her face. She twirled her ring round her finger. At this rate, I’m going to be completely gray by the time they’re both out of surgery.

“Rye…it must be going well.” Sitting beside Riley, Piper licked her finger and flicked a glossy page of a waiting room magazine. “Seven hours, no word. No news is good, right?” She glanced at Casey sitting across from them, a venti quad, no-whip, extra hot mocha with coconut milk, caramel drizzle, and extra butterscotch topping hovering by his lips.

“Pip! Don’t lick your finger in here. God knows where that magazine has been!”

“Case, if this place is such a nightmare, go outside, hit up Walgreen’s, and bring back Swedish Fish, Funyuns, and Fanta.”

“Hello? What’s my number one rule?” Scrolling his phone, Casey grimaced. “I never buy food where sick people shop.”

Piper loudly flicked another page.

“Hey, have you seen the crowdfunding page?” Casey raised an eyebrow. “It’s over twenty thousand dollars now. Mark’s fans are a bloody army!”

“Keeganites rock,” said Riley.

“I still can’t believe you got to meet him.” Piper tossed her head back against the sofa, bored. “Anything interesting in Ben’s bag of junk?”

“I haven’t looked.” Riley had felt so guilty looking through his phone contacts, she didn’t even think about snooping through his belongings.

“Heard from the princess?” Piper enquired as she yawned, referring to Erika.

“She’s still honeymooning, and kinda out of the loop.” Riley’s phone buzzed in her tote. “She doesn’t know about the transplant.”

“How?!”

“You know better than to ask that, Pip.” Casey sneered like he smelled something rotten. “Erika’s all about Erika. Bridezilla-itis only made it worse.”

“To be fair, I didn’t tell her.” Riley dug into her tote, rifling past Ben’s phone to find her own.

Casey shook his head. “Yeah, because what’s the point?”

Riley looked at a long text running off the screen. Speak of the devil. It wasn’t like Erika to reach out during a self-indulgent vacation.

Hey. Life as we know it is over! Chillin on beach and Scott’s agent texted. Scotty’s been traded! To WINNIPEG. I HATE the cold, what am I going to—

Woah! Traded? Riley stopped reading. But…jeez, the sky’s not falling. Trades are part of hockey—she knows that! I’ll answer later. She spied two other texts. Ben? That buzz in my bag before they took him away…was him?

Ben’s first text: Riles!!! Look inside my bag—for a bag!!!!

She giggled. You’ve got to be kidding me.

Piper stared over Riley’s arm. “That boy uses too many exclamation marks.”

Riley reached inside, past his bracelet and clothes. She pulled out a white paper bag with thick Sharpie writing on the side: WAITING ROOM BOREDOM KIT. Ben made me a care package! Contents included: an apple, two packages of Reese’s, a bottle of grape Fanta, a Keroppi PEZ, a small bag of Funyuns, and three packets of Fun Dip. Her hand searched inside again, touching something plastic. She peeked—the gallbladder from the surgeon’s office! BEN! She left it in the bag and grabbed a roll of candy. Smarties? No, it’s bigger. She pulled it out, and Ben’s accent swirled in her head. “Once you go Brit, you just can’t quit.”

“LOVE HEARTS? British ones!” Piper’s hand dove toward the bag.

Opening an end of the roll, Riley pulled out pale-colored candies exclaiming, ‘Ever Yours’, ‘Be Happy’, and one that featured a winking emoji. She put the wink in her mouth, catching the next message waiting inside the roll—‘Don’t Cry’.

“Aw, lucky ducky.” Piper held out her hand. “Can I see?”

Savoring the sweet lemon candy melting on her tongue, Riley handed over the roll and shared the peanut butter cups with Casey. She checked Ben’s second text, three new songs joining his growing ‘4 Riles!!!’ text playlist:

“Doctor, Doctor” by The Thompson Twins

“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” by Michael Jackson

“Absolute Beginners” by David Bowie

She rooted in her tote for her earbuds.

“Riley?”

She jolted, almost dropping her tote and Ben’s plastic bag. Dr. Ricer walked toward her, his light green surgical mask untied and hanging down on the chest of his scrubs.

“Yes!” She sat up. Piper nervously stuffed several Love Hearts in her mouth, and Casey chewed the brim of his empty cup.

“Ben’s surgery went well. He lost some blood so we gave him a transfusion, but he’s now resting in recovery and will be taken to the surgical intensive care unit.”

Thank God! Happy tears stung Riley’s eyes.

“That’s a relief,” said Casey as Piper blew out her cheeks.

“Can I see him?” asked Riley.

“Soon. Once he’s awake, a nurse will take you to him.”

Riley accepted a tissue from Casey. “Any news on my mom?”

“It’s going as planned. Her surgeon will be able to tell you more once she’s in recovery, but she’ll still be a few hours. Do you have any questions?”

She shook her head. “Thank you for taking care of Ben.”

“He’s young and strong. He’ll be sore for a bit, but he’s over the worst part.” He nodded and left the room.

Piper waited to speak until he was out of sight. “Rye, did you buy a naughty nurse costume?”

Casey rolled his eyes as Riley threw Piper a tired smile. “No, Pip, it completely slipped my mind.”

“It’s okay, babe—I’ll lend you mine,” said Piper, winking theatrically as she moved in to hug her best friend.

• • •

Monitors beeped and flashed their lights as Ben groggily blinked, his eyes hazy and unable to focus. “Heyyyyy…” His hand lazily swatted at the tube in his nose. A second tube, thinner and more flexible with prongs for each nostril, was out of place and blowing oxygen below his lips.

“Hey you.” Riley leaned over the bedside railing, a smile brightening her whisper as she brushed his hair from his eyes. “Thanks for the Love Hearts and the…uh…gallbladder.”

His hand pawed his nose again.

“Benjamin, you’ve got to keep your hands away from your face.” The surgical intensive care nurse, an older Filipino woman with a shock of bright blue in her gray hair, placed the oxygen prongs back in each of Ben’s nostrils. “If you do it again, I’ll have to put you in wrist restraints, you understand?”

His lips curved up, feeling no pain as his watery gaze landed on Riley. “Ooooooooo…yassss, tie…tie meee UP…” His scratchy voice dissolved into a dopey giggle.

Riley tried to stifle a laugh unsuccessfully.

“We’ve got a live one here.” The nurse winked at Riley. “He might settle down a bit if you hold his hand, keep talking to him.”

“Oh, good. I wanted to.”

“The oxygen is just a precaution, but the nasogastric tube in his nose shouldn’t be pulled.” The nurse adjusted Ben’s pillows, propping him up higher. “It goes down into his stomach and helps keep it empty. We don’t want him throwing up. Ants in his pants aside, he’s a good kid.”

Riley nodded and held his hand, careful not to touch the tape and tubing from his IV. She smiled. “Ben, you did good.”

“Yaaaaaay.” He tried a shaky fist pump, but his rubbery arm flopped down on the blanket. “Soooo, I neva donut an orgun bfoe…” Woozy but determined, he swallowed a few times and wouldn’t shut up. “I ’ave more neva-duns than yooo. Game ova. I-I wwwin, Wiles.”

“Yeah, you win, Ben.” And so do I, because you came back to me—you kind, unselfish boy. She kissed his stubbly cheek, and a crooked smile slowly crept across his face.

• • •

A few hours later, a nurse retrieved Riley from Ben’s bedside and took her to the intensive care unit. The ICU was similar to where Ben was resting, but the care was reserved for the hospital’s most fragile patients. Visiting hours and patient monitoring were more controlled, and the row of small, private rooms were eerily quiet apart from the soft beeps of medical devices.

Relief and hope swirled in Riley’s chest. I can’t wait to see her! A few days here and then she moves to the transplant recovery floor. Then, she’ll start to feel better—hopefully, cancer-free.

Holding her breath, Riley peeked into Maggie’s small, dimly lit ICU room.

Mom…?

All the questions in Riley’s head, the hunger in her belly—everything hit pause.

Her mother looked so tiny and pale.

The jolt drew tears to Riley’s eyes.

Tethered to several glowing monitors, Maggie slept in the middle of a web of cords, tubes, and cables that crisscrossed the bed. The trail of wiry, tangled spaghetti leading from her hands, arms, and chest constantly fed information back to the nurses’ station. A plastic tube similar to Ben’s was inserted in one nostril, whisking away fluids from her stomach. More cords—a catheter and three drainage tubes in her abdomen—snaked away from the blankets, but it was the ventilator that had Riley reeling. Despite being warned by the nurse, the image of her strong-willed, vibrant mom with lips parted by a large breathing tube, and her chest inflating and falling like clockwork—was a shock. “It’s normal, only for a few days,” the nurse had said, but the reality of seeing her mom breathing with the help of a machine was frightening, no matter the nurse’s explanation.

The windowless space gave no hint at the time or weather outside. Life elsewhere didn’t exist. Riley’s uneasy fingers played with her puffin charm. She didn’t know what else to do.

“Your mom will be asleep for a while,” said the ICU nurse, jotting down new readings on Maggie’s chart. “But she’s doing well. You can stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you.” Riley grinned softly as the nurse left them alone.

She pulled a well-worn chair to the bedside and covered Maggie’s cold hand with her own. “Mom, I’m here.” Seeing her mother lying motionless brought goose bumps to her skin. Maggie didn’t do still—ever.

“Ben’s okay and they said you’re doing great…no complications,” Riley whispered, laying her head on the blanket. “Third time lucky, Mom…you did it.”