My Life as a Doormat (in Three Acts) by Rene Gutteridge

Author:Rene Gutteridge
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2010-09-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

[She ducks into the shadows.]

After cleaning myself up and grabbing my stuff, including my new laptop, I arrived back at the hospital at 11:00 a.m. Dad had been moved to a room with a nice view. Kate and Mother sat on opposite sides of the bed, staring at a man who lay perfectly motionless, breathing shallow but steady. Neither noticed when I walked in.

“Hey.”

They turned. I tried not to let my jaw fall open when I saw Mother. I’d seen her look this terrible only one other time in our whole lives. Kate had started her rebellious streak and had disappeared. Mother was certain she’d been kidnapped. Turned out she’d just skipped town for the weekend with friends, but that was the longest weekend of my mother’s life, and the only time I saw her stay in her pajamas all day without a stitch of makeup on.

To this day, Mother still talks about it like it was a kidnapping. And when Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped, my mother’s only comment about it was how pulled together Lois Smart looked every day. “How can she get up and do her hair and face?” my mother remarked. “When Kate was missing, I could hardly get out of bed.”

I went to Dad’s bedside. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s mostly slept,” Mother said. “The doctors said that’s normal, and that they don’t expect him to be awake much until tomorrow, or possibly this evening.”

Kate added, “He woke up one time, smiled at Mom and tried to give the thumbs-up, then went back to sleep.”

I watched him for any movement. Then I looked at Mother. “Kate, why don’t you take Mother home to get changed and take a rest—”

“No, no. I’m staying here,” Mother said firmly. “He needs me.”

“Mother, I’ll stay here. Go home for an hour or two, change clothes, take a shower. Get a little bit of rest while he’s resting. You’re going to need your energy once he starts recovering. You know he’s not going to want to take it slow. You’re going to have to make him.”

Mother glanced at Kate, who I noticed looked particularly sophisticated with her hair tied up in a messy French twist. She was even wearing close-toed shoes and a blouse that you couldn’t see through. I made myself stop staring. “I’m not sure,” Mother said to Kate. Why was she asking Kate?

But Kate nodded authoritatively and reached across the bed for Mother’s hand. “It’s okay, Mom. Let Leah sit here for a while. You need to go home and get a bag packed for you both anyway. I’ll come and help you. Leah’s right.”

I tried to smile, but it was hard hearing that line come out of Kate’s mouth. Leah’s right. Of course I was right. Why did that need to be stated by the daughter who had suddenly decided to act her age?

Mother looked at Dad, then slumped in resignation. And my mother never slumped. She was a total mess. “All right. But Leah, you can’t leave. I want someone here with him the entire time.

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