Page 143 of Places We've Never Been

CHAPTER 36

I awoke to the sounds of commotion. Instead of my head resting on Skyler, it was now resting on a pillow. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?” I asked my mom, who was riffling through her suitcase.

“It’s eight o’clock,” she said.

“In the morning?” I asked, still groggy from sleep.

“No, at night. We’re leaving in the morning.”

“Olivia is okay, then?”

“Just our family. The Huttons are flying home from here after the doctors observe her overnight.”

“Wait, what?” I stood up and immediately got light-headed. I sat back down again. “Is Olivia not doing well?”

“She has a low-grade fever, but she’s doing fine. The doctor here and her doctor from home agree that all this travel and exertion is taking its toll. It’s time for her to rest before her treatment starts.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t mentally prepared for that development. We were supposed to have a week left.

“They were always going home at the end of this trip, Norah. It’s just happening a little earlier than expected.”

I watched my mom refold a stack of clothes, avoiding eye contact with me. “Are you ever going to not be mad at me?”

“What?” She looked up.

“I know I didn’t take your advice, but maybe your advice was wrong, Mom.”

She sighed, then came and sat next to me. She took my hand in hers. “I’m not mad at you. I’m worried about you. I’m worried about him. I’m worried about Olivia. I’m just this big ball of worry right now.”

“I love him. And we’re good for each other. Maybe having more love in his life this coming year will actually help him, not hurt him.”

“You could be right,” Mom said. “Love is a pretty powerful thing.”

“It doesn’t take away all of life’s disappointments, but it can provide a nice place to fall.”

***

I knocked on the open door to Olivia’s hospital room. She was watching the television in the corner and looked my way with a smile.

“Skyler isn’t here,” she said.

“I wanted to talk to you. I know it’s late. Is it okay if I comein?”

“Yes, come in.” She pointed the remote at the television and turned it off.

I sat in the chair next to her bed, not quite sure what I wanted to say. “I’m sorry that I hogged Skyler this trip” was the lame sentence I decided on. “I’m sorry if it wasn’t the amazing family bonding time you were hoping for.”

Olivia took a sip of water. “The only thing I hoped for at the start of this trip was for my kids to have some fun before having to face hard things.”

“What about you, though? Did you want to have some fun before facing hard things?”

“You don’t think I had fun?”

“No, well, I don’t know.”

She smiled. “Your mom is my very best friend. We’ve had some disagreements these past couple weeks over how I’m handling things, but we’ve had so much fun. Best friends are important.”

I nodded, thinking about Willow. I missed her.