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This was really getting out of hand.

Chapter Eleven

Jo

Larison’s mother was having surgery, so I’d been tasked with distracting Juniper. I told Larison that I’d bring Juniper to the hospital and wait with them, but she’d turned that idea down. Instead I’d be waiting until Larison told me that Allison was out of surgery and I’d bring Juniper over for a quick visit. The hospital was only ten minutes away, which was lucky.

One of my other tasks was fielding all of Juniper’s questions and worries. Larison had explained the surgery already and Juniper was very interested in the medical part, but the idea of it was still scary for someone little.

“Jo Jo?” she asked just after I’d gotten the message that Allison was officially in surgery.

“Yes, PJ?” I asked. The nickname had come naturally, and Juniper seemed to love it. A special little thing that only the two of us shared.

“Is MeeMee going to be okay?”

We were both at the dining table coloring. It wasn’t fair that coloring was seen as just an activity for kids. Coloring was the best.

“Yes, she’s gonna be fine,” I reassured her for the fourth time. I’d explained that surgery took hours and that Larison would let us know as soon as it was over and how things had gone. “She’s going get a brand new hip and she’s gonna feel so much better.” I had done a bunch of research on hip replacements just so I could assuage some of her fears.

“Okay,” Juniper said, going back to her picture and coloring with intense concentration.

We were both quiet for a little while.

“If you get scared, you just tell Mozzarella, okay?” The little dragon was now an essential friend. Larison told me that he accompanied her in the bath and she tucked him in with Juniper every night. I loved how much she adored the little guy.

Juniper thought about that and then leaned down to whisper something to Mozzarella.

Juniper looked up at me. “Did he tell you?”

I shook my head. “No. He doesn’t tell me if you’ve got a secret. Only the things you want me to know.”

Juniper nodded, as if that made sense. Kids were so accepting that way.

About two hours later, Larison finally called and said that Allison had gotten through her surgery.

“The doctor said it went perfectly and she’s in recovery right now. Big relief. If you want to bring Juniper over, you can.”

Juniper jumped up and down.

“We’re on our way, aren’t we, PJ?” I said.

“Great. Love you, baby!” Larison yelled.

“Love you, Mama!” Juniper yelled.

It was a little stressful driving Juniper in my car for the first time, but we got to the hospital in one piece and I parked in the garage, which Juniper thought was really cool for some reason.

“Hey, why don’t we stop at the gift shop and get something for MeeMee?” In hindsight, I should have gotten Juniper tomake Allison a get-well card, but it was too late to do that now. Maybe they had something in the gift shop that Juniper could sign. I had crayons in my bag. For emergencies like this.

“Presents for MeeMee!” Juniper cheered as we moved through the automatic doors and swung a right toward the gift shop on the first floor.

I found a simple card and Juniper picked out a stuffed bear that was probably meant as a present for new babies, but it was what she wanted to get, so I wasn’t going to rain on her parade.

In the hallway, I had Juniper sign the card and draw hearts on the envelope.

It was a little odd to be coming with her to something that involved just the family, but someone had to be in charge of Juniper. Once I passed her over to Larison, I’d just make myself scarce until it was time to take Juniper back.

The hospital had a lovely garden out back, as well as a cafeteria. The food probably wasn’t that bad.