Dillon

 

I can’t help but smile at the little minx’s back as she walks away. I notice Dr. Jesson looking at Jackie and he looks none too pleased at her instigated showdown here in the wide open with all the patients as witnesses.

“Jackie, a word,” he calls out to her, beckoning her his way with his head. I watch silently as he leads her into an office behind the nurse’s station. I’m pretty sure she’s being reprimanded and don’t want to be standing here when she gets out of that office with him. So I follow Ariel towards her mother’s room, I pick up her chart and begin to scan it as I head in that direction. I’m still reading her file as I enter the room, just as I suspected they would do, I notice while reading that they’ve lowered her levels. Not a large amount, but still enough that it gives me hope that she’s on her way to making a full recovery. As I walk in the door I check her vitals and observe that she’s still maintaining her oxygen level.

“Good news, they’ve lowered her levels and she’s maintaining it on her own. This means they’ll slowly wean her off until she’s breathing all on her own.”

“Yeah, that’s what Emory told us the doctor did and he said the same thing you just did. Mom’s a fighter, she’s a strong woman and she’ll overcome this…. I’m positive.”

“Keep those positive thoughts, that’s what will help her get through this, Ariel.”

“Are we on a first name basis doctor, does this mean I can call you Dillon?”

“Yes, please call me Dillon, your mother means a lot to me as well. I don’t know if you know this or not, but she changed the course of my life when I was a teenager.”

“I know, she talked about you all the time. She believed in you and wanted you to believe in yourself.”

“She talked about me to you?”

“She talked about you to all of us, she was so proud of you and the accomplishments you made in her classroom. I don’t know if you’re aware of this little fact or not, but she and my dad sponsored you in college.”

“What? I had no idea, it was listed as an anonymous donation and no matter how hard I tried, I could never figure out who the money came from.”

“Not a lot of people know this, but my mother was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She doesn’t act like it and never has, but she uses that money to help wherever she can.”

“Damn, now I feel like a charity case.”

“You were never a charity case to her, Dillon. You meant something to her and she only wanted to help you out where she could. This is exactly why she didn’t want you to know…. I should’ve kept my mouth shut and not told you.”

“No! I’m happy you did, it means everything to me that she believed in me the way she did.”

“I was investing in your future… good thing I did too. You saved me didn’t you, Dillon?”

“Mom! You’re awake. You have no idea how happy that makes me,” Ariel cries out.

“Oh, sweetheart, I just needed a little cat-nap,” Mrs. Masters says soothing her daughter.

“Don’t scare us like that again.”

I smile down at Mrs. Masters and tell Ariel, “You should call your sisters.”

“Oh God! Yes, they’ll have my ass if I don’t call them immediately.”

“Ariel, girl you’ve got your father’s mouth on you,” Mrs. Masters reprimands her eldest daughter.

“What can I say, he rubbed off on me.”

“Mouth like a sailor and your mother’s looks, lord help the male population,” I say, causing both of the women to crack up.

“Dillon, while Ariel is calling her sisters, tell me about yourself. Are you happy to be home? Are you enjoying your new job here at the hospital?” She fires off question after question at me. We sit and talk until Ariel comes back into the room, I can’t help but admire the graceful way she moves her body while doing the simplest things such as walking. I look over and notice her mother smiling at me, giving me a knowing look. I look away in embarrassment for thinking the things I am while her mother is present in the same room.

“Dillon, we must celebrate your homecoming! Once I’m out of this joint we should all go out to dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I say as her doctor walks into the room.

“It’s so good to see you awake, Mrs. Masters, you had your daughters and all of us really worried about you. Let’s lower those oxygen levels some more and see how well your body tolerates and maintains it.”

“Quicker road to recovery and getting yourself out of here as you stated you want.”

“Sounds good to me, let’s do this, doc.”