Page 32 of When the Leaves Fall

DREW

“ W hat do you mean you found nothing?” I question the doctor. “Something is wrong. Her heart stopped. A lot. It came out of nowhere. Something must have caused it.”

“We’re thinking it might be viral or stress-induced.” The doctor replies.

“Are you kidding me right now?” I ask in all seriousness.

The doctor shakes his head. “It’s actually good news, though.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I wave him off.

Dad gives the doctor an apologetic look and pats me on the shoulder. “Drew, they’re doing everything they can.”

“None of this makes sense, Dad.”

M om’s being discharged today, and we get to drive her to the care facility. Since Dad and I both have vehicles here, we decide he’ll drive Mom, and I’ll follow close behind. I have all of her suitcases packed and loaded in my vehicle already.

Dad and I both pull our vehicles up to the hospital loading zone, where a nurse pushes Mom out on a wheelchair and helps Dad get her into the front passenger seat.

The nurse hands over the final discharge paperwork, says goodbye to Mom, and heads back inside.

Dad leans over to buckle Mom’s seatbelt.

“We finally did it, Sandra.” My dad is beaming. “We’re one step closer to being home.” She smiles up at him, and he leans down to give her a peck on the lips.

My heart warms at the sight. I’ve always admired their love for one another. Through everything, the good, the bad, and the downright terrible, they’ve always been there for each other. For others. For me.

And now, I’m going to leave them…again.

Dad shuts Mom’s door and turns to me, clapping his hands once, then rubbing them together. “Ready, Freddy?”

I force a small smile and nod. “Sure am.”

W hen we arrive at St. Mary’s, we’re greeted by the friendliest staff. They take us down to Mom’s room to let us get her settled. As we enter the room, I notice a large bouquet of sunflowers sitting beside the bed.

“Oh, that’s so nice of you all,” I say, nodding toward the flowers.

“Oh, that wasn’t us.” The nurse walks over to the vase and plucks the card from the holder, handing it to Mom. “They arrived about fifteen minutes ago.”

Mom carefully opens the little envelope, pulling out a card. “Ahh, that’s so sweet,” she smiles warmly. “It’s from Luca.” She hands the card to Dad.

Just hearing his name makes my chest hurt. “Wha..what?”

Dad takes the card and reads the message. “Such a good man,” Dad says as he hands the card to me. I shake my head. I don’t want to read it. I wish I didn’t know he sent the flowers at all.

Dad shrugs and places the card on the bedside table. “Well, that was very thoughtful and definitely livens up the room. But now he’s making me look bad,” Dad jokes.

“Oh, shut up, Frank.” Mom smacks his arm gently.

My lips curl into a small smile. Watching them together, almost back to their normal selves, makes my heart hurt a little less.

Dad gets Mom settled into the bed while I unpack her suitcase into the drawers. I place all of her activity books, color pencils, and books in the drawer next to her bed for easy access. Her glasses rest on top of the nightstand, next to the flowers Luca sent .

“There, I think you’re all set.” I stand tall and wipe my hands together. “Anything else I can do for you, Mom?”

Please, please give me something to do.

“No, honey. You’ve done enough.” She looks from me to Dad. “You both have. Please go home and get some rest. I’m exhausted and want to nap anyway.”

“You sure, love?” Dad asks.

“Yes, the point of my being here is to rest and gain strength so I can go home. So go away, Frank.” She smirks at him.

Dad playfully rolls his eyes at Mom, but I can still see how much he worries. How much they both worry.

“Alrighty then.” I pat Dad on his back. “I guess we should get going.” I lean over to give Mom a hug goodbye.

I wait in the doorway as Dad says goodbye to Mom. He gently kisses her forehead, cheek, and then her lips. He doesn’t want to leave, but who can blame him? I’m honestly scared to death as well, but we have to give her the space she’s asking for if we want Mom back home where she belongs.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” he whispers to her.

“See you tomorrow,” she nods.