“You’re not planning on breaking up with me on the ride home, are you?” I teased him.
“Little gun-shy, are you?”
“A little,” I confessed.
“Angie wouldn’t let me. She needs you to get Kyle back under control. He’s a little jabberer now. It’s almost like he’s having a conversation with you. It’s cute to see him explain things.”
“I can’t wait,” I told him.
“I was hoping you’d feel that way. Would you babysit him tonight? Angie wants me to take her to dinner. We won’t be out late,” he assured me.
“That’s good because I have some friends who have plans for me. I guess being away for back-to-back camps for almost a month has them being a little demanding.”
“So did you have fun with the models?” he asked.
“What do you think? Five girls around my age who all are, well, models. We had little or no adult supervision, and they ran around in their underwear ...” I told him.
“You suck, little brother. Have I ever told you that?”
“I think once or twice. Speaking of things you should be jealous of, did you see that jet water board?”
“It was awesome. When are we getting one?”
“As soon as Devin can fix it, but trust me, we want it fixed. When it broke, that sucked.”
“It looked like you bounced. Did it hurt?”
“Hell, I don’t know if the landing hurt, it knocked me out. I was pretty sore when I woke up, though.”
“Yeah, let’s wait till they fix it.”
I had missed my talks with my brother. The ride home was fun. I was going to miss him, even more, when he went off to college.
Chapter 19 – I Couldn’t Say Goodbye
Monday August 4
I HAD JUST RETURNED home from my morning workout when Mom made me promise that instead of swimming at Beth’s, I would go with her to the hospital. I’d been putting it off. Every time I thought of it, in my mind’s eye I would see Terri, the girl Mom was friends with at the cancer center at Stanford, and who’d passed away. What finally convinced me was when Mom said I knew one of the children.
As we parked, Mom gave me some pointers.
“This is a traumatic time for these kids. Be patient when you talk to them. Always respect them. Not everyone wants people to know they have cancer. If they don’t tell you, then don’t pry. Just let them talk about whatever’s on their mind. Listen to what they want or need to talk about, without interrupting or being judgmental. Get them to focus on the future. Talk to them about football or anything to get their mind off what they’re going through, and where they are.
“Offer to help them with anything which might be too strenuous for them right now. Ask, don’t assume they need help.
“Here’s the big one: if you’re going to be visiting once a week, tell them. One of the biggest mistakes people make is dropping out of their lives because they don’t know how to handle it. These kids need structure, and they need to know they can count on you. So if you tell them you’re going to stop by next Sunday, keep your commitment. For today, just tell them you’re there to see someone you know. This can be stressful, so if you don’t think you can do it again, I’ll understand.”
“So who is it I know?” I asked.
“Billy Felton; he told me he met you at the church ski trip. I think you know his sister, Lisa,” Mom told me.
“Yes, the little shit gave my cell number to his sister. I think I need to kick his butt,” I told her.
MOM LED ME TO BILLY’S room and then left me to do her volunteer work. The room was a double, and the little boy who was Billy’s roommate was asleep. Billy stared out the window. When he heard me enter the room, he turned and smiled at me.
“David, how did you know I was here?” he asked.
“I think you talked to my mom. She told me you were camping out here, so I figured I’d come to see you. Mind if I sit down and stay a while?” I asked.
He gave me a sly look.
“You just want to wait until my sister gets here.”
“Speaking of which, I think someone gave their sister my cell number.”
He giggled. Then his parents and Lisa came in. I could see him stiffen, and his mood changed. He was not a happy boy. I was confused by his attitude and figured they might need to talk, so I told him I’d be back later, and left.
I went from room to room and said hi to the kids. The nurses had given me books to read to the younger children. The older ones, I just spent time talking to. For the most part, it was okay. There was one little girl who was so weak my heart went out to her. She had a smile on her face when I was done reading a story about a china bunny.
“You need to practice,” she said.
“I do? You didn’t like how I read the story?”
“You have to do the voices,” she told me.
“Do you have a favorite one we can try?” I asked her, showing the books they gave me.
She pointed to one about a little princess. She helped me come up with the voices for each character. We were both having a good time when the nurse came in.
“I see you conned someone into reading to you,” the nurse said, trying to be stern, but failing. “What did I tell you about taking a nap?”
“I’ll sleep later.”
“You’ll sleep now, or you’ll be overtired later. Now let Mr. David go see his friend Billy. He wants to spend some time with him, too,” she said.
I went back to Billy’s room and found him alone.
“So what’s up with your family?” I asked him.
“They treat me like a baby. I’m twelve years old, not four,” he huffed.
“Don’t be acting like that,” I said, shocking him. “They love you and are worried about you. You have to think about others, not just yourself.”
“But I’m the one who’s sick,” he shot back at me.
“So what? That doesn’t give you the right to be mean to them. What if they quit coming to see you?”
“Fine by me!” Billy exclaimed.
“I don’t buy that for a minute.”
We sat there staring at each other. He then burst into tears, and I went and sat on the bed with him and hugged him. Lisa peeked in as Billy cried.
“I’m so scared. They won’t tell me anything. I can tell it’s bad by the way they treat me. I just wish they thought I was old enough to handle it.”
The floodgates opened and he told me all about it. He needed someone he could talk to. He finally wore himself out and fell asleep; I laid him down. When I walked out, I found Lisa sitting on the floor with tears streaming down her face, and her mom and dad were holding each other. They came up to me and hugged me. I knew right then I would be doing this the rest of my life. I felt I was making a difference and could see why Mom was passionate about it.
I helped Lisa up, and she gave me a hug.
“I need to get out of here for a while. Would you take me to the diner across the street?” she asked me.
I sent Mom a text telling her where I was going. The diner had a sign advertising homemade pies and ice cream. That sounded good. When the waitress came over, I was surprised to see Kim Sun. I knew she worked at her dad’s pharmacy, but I didn’t know she a job here.
When she came up to the table, her smile faltered when she saw I was with Lisa. She quickly put it back on.
“I didn’t know you worked here.”
“I fill in for my cousin once a week. My aunt and uncle own the place,” she explained.
“I think David wants pie and ice cream. What’s good?” Lisa asked.
“The peaches are in season, and I heard they just made peach ice cream,” Kim told us.
“David, get that and we can share,” Lisa told me.
“Not happening. I know you: if you like it, you’ll eat it all. I’m buying, so bring us two,” I told Kim.
The pie was huge. I now knew why Lisa wanted to split. It had to be three inches thick. It was still hot, right out of the oven, and the ice cream had a home-churned taste. I’d get fat eating here. I got a text from my mom that said she was ready to go. I needed to get back for my afternoon workout.