Barbara reached over and picked up the spoon. She scooped up one square of the green substance, offering it to her daughter. “Just try one bite, baby. You don’t need to eat it all.”
Carey reluctantly opened her mouth and accepted the bite. Her mother offered a second bite and Carey frowned. “I thought I only had to eat one?”
“Just one more. Please?”
Carey sighed. “Okay, but this is the last one.” She took the bite, then closed her eyes and let it melt in her mouth, not having the energy to chew.
“That’s my girl,” Barbara said.
Grace, who had been standing on the other side of the bed, reached over and squeezed her hand. “See, that wasn’t so hard.” She looked up at Barbara and silently mouthed, “thank you.” She had been trying to coax Carey into eating with no luck at all.
Barbara just winked at her and smiled. “I know I’m leaving you in good hands, so I’m going to go to the hotel now and get some rest. I didn’t really sleep at all last night and I’m beat.” She leaned over and kissed Carey on the forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow, baby. Richard and I are going to meet for breakfast, then drive out to your place together.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Barbara walked around to Grace and surprised her by pulling her in for a hug. “You take good care of my little girl, now.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
Grace watched the older woman leave the room. “I really like her.” She turned back to Carey. “You’re so lucky to have a mother like that.”
Carey smiled. "I know."
Grace's stomach growled and she looked at the Jell-O sitting on Carey's hospital table. "Are you sure you don't want to eat a little more of that?" she said, pointing to the green squares.
"I'm sure. The doctor said I had to be able to keep something down, he didn't say I had to eat it all."
Grace reached over and picked the dish up. "Good, I'm starving." She spooned a bite into her mouth. "I like orange best, but beggars can't be choosers."
Carey shook her head and managed a small laugh. Then her eyes rested on something behind Grace. "Uh-oh."
Grace turned to see what she was looking at and found a nurse standing there with her arms crossed. She looked down at the empty dish in her hand and smiled sheepishly. "She ate all she wanted, honest."
The nurse walked over to Carey and picked up her wrist to take her pulse. "Any nausea?"
"No," Carey said. "When do I get to go home?"
"The doctor will be in to see you shortly. If everything looks good, you should be released to go home." The nurse checked her blood pressure, then walked to the end of the bed and made a note on her chart.
"I'm going to give you a quick lesson on how to take care of the drain," she said as she walked back up and pulled the cover back. "Don't worry, it's not difficult," she added when she saw Carey cringe.
Grace watched as the nurse pulled back the covers and picked up a bulb that was attached to a slender drainage tube that disappeared into the bandages under Carey's armpit. The bulb was clear, and Grace could see liquid in it.
"You'll need to empty this several times a day," the nurse said to Carey.
Carey frowned and looked over to Grace. "This is going to be fun."
She looked back at the nurse. "Just kidding."
"It's very important that you keep the liquid drawing, or your arm will swell up like a balloon." Removing the bulb, the nurse emptied it out. "Now this is the important part. It's easier for the liquid to collect in your arm than to run into this tube, so we need to create suction." The nurse squeezed all the air out and folded the bulb in half so it could not re-inflate itself. She then reached for the tube to re-attach the bulb. "This creates a vacuum that will help siphon out the fluids that would otherwise build up in your arm." She opened her hand and allowed the bulb to open up and begin drawing liquid.
"How often does it need to be emptied?" Grace asked.
"That's hard to say. When it gets full, empty it."
Grace nodded and sat on the bedside chair. She reached out and took Carey's hand, squeezing gently. "Piece a cake."
"You think so?" Carey said. "Then you get to empty it."
"Do you need anything?" Grace asked for the tenth time that morning.
"I'm fine, hon. You don't need to hover over me."
"You didn't sleep well last night. You woke up before dawn and you didn't eat much, are you sure I can't get you something?"
"Grace, sit down." Carey patted the empty spot on the couch beside her.
Grace sat down and Carey reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. "Sweetheart, I'm okay. Really, I am." She lifted the hand and pressed it to her lips. "If I need anything, I promise I'll let you know. Okay?"
"Okay, but remember, you promised. I'm gonna wait on you hand and foot. I don't want you lifting a finger. You got that?"
Carey smiled. "I got it."
The phone rang and Grace jumped up to get it. "Hello? Oh, hi, Dad. I didn't expect to hear from you this early. What? I don't know, hang on." She held the phone to her chest. "Carey, is your mother allergic to flowers?"
"No, she loves flowers," Carey said. "Why?"
"I don't know," Grace said, turning her attention back to the phone. "Carey says she likes them...I didn't ask that." She sighed and took the phone away from her ear again. "He wants to know what her favorite flower is."
"I have no idea."
"She said she has no idea. No...no...I don't know...try carnations or something." She sat back down on the couch next to Carey. "That sounds fine, Dad...uh-huh...yes, that's very nice...uh-huh...no idea, Dad...hold on, I'll ask."
"What?"
"He wants to know what her favorite color is," Grace said, making a circle motion at her head, then pointing at the phone.
"Blue," Carey said, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know."
Grace put the phone to her ear. "Blue...well, if they don't come in blue then buy them in whatever color they do come in. Dad...Dad...hey Dad, Carey needs my help. I've gotta go...yes, Dad...uh-huh…I'll ask her...okay, Dad...yes, Dad...okay...Dad, what do you want? A biography? Okay, Dad, hold on." She covered the receiver and turned to Carey.
"What does he want to know?"
"He wants to know if your mother likes chocolate," Grace said, holding out one finger. "And if so what kind." A second finger joined the first. "And if you knew what topics she liked to talk about." She held out a third digit. "And what her favorite type of restaurant is."
"Your father and my mother?"
Grace chuckled. "Yeah. Can you believe it?"
Carey shook her head and smiled, then held out her hand for the phone. "Hi, Richard, this is Carey. My mom loves chocolate. Any kind. She especially loves See's nuts and chews." She thought a moment. "And you can't go wrong with Chinese. She loves Chinese food. You're welcome. I'll see you in a while...bye." She looked up at Grace and grinned. "Your dad is so darn cute. He sounds like a teenager with his first crush."
Grace plopped herself down on the couch next to Carey and snuggled close. "I guess it runs in the family."
"Good night," Carey said as she watched Grace's father open the door and stand aside so that her mother could go through first.
"Good night, kids," Barbara said, linking her arm with Richard's. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"He held her chair for her," Grace whispered.
“And she's giggling like a schoolgirl," Carey whispered back. "I think she's flirting with him."
"Think?" Grace nudged her. "She's looking at Dad like he's the last single man on Earth."
"Your father was the one who asked her why some lucky man hadn't snatched her up," Carey said.