Page 11 of When the Leaves Fall
LUCA
“ W hy don’t you invite Sean over here?” Mom suggests, after I’ve begged and pleaded to stay over at his house this weekend.
“No way,” I say out loud instead of in my head.
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Why not?”
“His house is way more fun, Mom. There’s nothing fun to do here,” I whine.
“We have…” She looks around the house but quickly realizes we sold a lot of the “fun” things I’d be referring to. The Switch and Xbox, plus all the equipment and games, all gone to help cover some of Dad’s medical bills. “Board games,” she finally completes her sentence. “And you can watch TV.”
“But we only have local channels. Mom, please. Please, please, please. Just one night, let me go to Sean’s,” I plead.
She sighs. “Maybe I can see if Aunt Lorraine can come stay with your dad one night this weekend.”
“Thank you so much, Mom!” I yell, running to her and wrapping her in the tightest hug I can manage.
“ D o you want me to read to you? Or maybe watch some TV? They have the Hallmark channel.” Drew asks her mom.
I know the doctors and nurses have talked to her and her dad about the possibility of Sandra having brain damage, and I can tell Drew is desperate to connect with her mother. To feel her mom is truly still here.
Sandra’s eyes light up, and she points to the remote.
Drew can’t hold back her smile, happy that her mom responds.
She grabs the remote and turns on the Hallmark channel, which is playing an autumn-themed movie about a failing apple tree farm.
I have a feeling the news reporter and the farmer will fall in love.
A smile spreads across Sandra’s face, which brings a smile to Drew’s face as well.
“I’ll be right over here, Mom,” Drew points to the couch. “I have a little work to catch up on.”
Sandra is too engrossed in the movie to even acknowledge Drew’s words. Right now, she can only mentally handle one thing at a time. Drew squeezes her mom’s hand once more before pulling out her laptop and sitting on the couch, using Sandra’s tray as a makeshift desk .
I should probably let Drew get work done, but I also don’t want to miss the opportunity to talk with her without a million things going on around us. To get to know her better.
“Do you want to play cards or something?” I ask her.
“Oh?” Drew looks at me, surprise plastered all over her face. “Uh…” She looks at her laptop and then back at me. “Yeah, work can wait. Let’s do it.”
“Yeah? Alright!” I jump up from my seat and walk toward where Drew is seated. “Do you happen to have cards?”
Drew chuckles before reaching into her bag and pulling out a deck of cards. “You’re lucky I’m always prepared.”
“Sure am,” I smirk back at her. “What do you want to play?”
“Something I don’t have to use my brain a lot,” she replies. “I’m exhausted.”
“Noted.” I clumsily attempt to shuffle the cards, Drew eyeing me curiously.
“Give me those,” she says as she snaps the cards out of my hands. “You shuffle like a toddler.”
“A cute and highly educated toddler,” I huff back playfully. I don’t miss how her lips curl, though she tries to hide the smirk.
“If you say so,” she replies. The cards move quickly through her hands. “My mom taught me to do the bridge when I was a kid.” I watch as she slightly bends the cards, and they fall into place .
“You two seem to have a close relationship,” I acknowledge, and she nods.
“Here, you deal,” she hands me back the cards.
“I’m going to use the bathroom quickly.” She strides out the door as I start to place cards in front of both of our spots.
Then I hear, “and no cheating.” I turn to see her peeking her head back through the door, eyes squinting, and two fingers going back and forth between her eyes and mine. “I’ll know,” she adds.
When she returns, I have the table set up to play Garbage. She takes her seat and jumps right into the game without a word. We play silently for a minute or two.
“So, tell me more about the work you do for the travel agency,” I say.
“I don’t know if there’s much to tell. I manage all of their social media. Luckily, we have an awesome team. Someone handles the graphic design, and someone else handles all the posting and content creation. My job is to develop the marketing plans and make sure we’re sticking to them.”
“Sounds fun,” I reply.
“It can be.” She picks up the two of clubs from the pile and places it in the correct spot in front of her, switching it out with the card that was already there.
“It’s a lot of work to manage a team. But I love that I get to travel sometimes as part of the job.
And marketing tactics are always changing, so there’s always something new to learn.
To explore.” She discards the Jack of Hearts, indicating it’s my turn .
“What made you decide to go into nursing?” she asks me.
My body stills a bit. Even though it’s been over a decade since I was playing caretaker for my dad, it can still be hard to talk about.
“My dad had a stroke when I was twelve,” I say quietly.
“He refused to go to a care facility, and his insurance wouldn’t cover in-home care.
” I inhale a deep breath and hold it for a few moments.
“My mom worked nights so she could care for him during the day, and then I took over when I got home from school.”
“You were your dad’s caretaker at only twelve?” Her eyes are soft. “That’s a lot.”
“Yeah, it was. I missed out on a lot for those few years.” I agreed.
“A few years?” she gasped. “How long?”
“Until I was fifteen and he was finally able to return to work,” I reply. “If he had gotten the proper care he needed, he probably would have been better and able to return to work within a couple of months instead of a few years.”
“Are you and your parents close now…or?” she stutters over her question.
“We talk. We have a better relationship now than we did even five years ago. But I still think there’s some lingering…” I hesitate.
“Resentment?” she finishes my sentence.
“Yeah, I guess.” I place my final card down, ending the game. “I win.”
She eyes the cards on the table. “Yeah, I guess you do.” She looks back at me, and our eyes lock on each other. I can’t take my eyes off her beautiful blues. She pushes her dark blonde hair behind her ear, never breaking eye contact.
“So…” she said quietly. “That made you choose to enter the medical field and be a caregiver for others?” She starts collecting the cards from the table, stacking them into a pile ready to shuffle again.
A small chuckle escapes. “I want to be there for others in a way no one was there for me. When someone has a loved one in critical care, they are suddenly put into the position of a caregiver, and I know firsthand how difficult that can be. How life-changing. If I can help make that easier for someone, my job is worth it.”
“That’s so…sweet,” she whispers. She starts to shuffle the deck without breaking eye contact with me. This stare-down has become extremely intense. And personal. Intimate.
A cough from Sandra startles us, and cards go flying all over the table and floor.
“Oh, shit!” Drew scrambles to the ground to start cleaning the mess.
I kneel to help pick up the cards, and as we both reach for one, our hands graze.
Instant sparks run through my entire body.
Her eyes dart to mine, darkening with need.
I glance down at her pink lips, wanting more than anything to know what they taste like.
“Luca…” she whispers, and I bring my eyes back up to meet hers.
“How is everything going in here tonight?” a cheery voice calls from the door.
Instantly, I jump up, hitting my head on the table.
Rubbing my sore spot, I turn to see Doctor Erickson entering the room, rubbing hand sanitizer into her hands.
“How is Sandra tonight?” She’s looking at Drew’s mother, but directing the question at me.
I place the cards I picked up on the table and walk over to Sandra’s bedside. She’s still awake and watching the Hallmark channel. I glance at the clock before replying. “She’s been awake for about thirty minutes now. Just enjoying a good cheesy romance movie.”
“Cheesy?” a quiet voice croaks. I look down and see Sandra giving me the stink eye, and the next thing I know, Drew is by my side.
“Mom!” she exclaims, tears welling in her eyes. “You spoke.”