“She does. She lives in a farmhouse that has always been too big for our little family.” As it was told to me, when my parents were house hunting, Mom saw the house and fell in love with it, so Dad bought it for her. They had hoped to fill it full of children, but it wasn’t in the cards for them. Mom had a traumatic delivery with me, and though neither one of us lost our lives, she did lose the option of having more children.
River waved her fork in front of my face and pulled me from my thoughts. “Did you hear me?”
I shook my head, “No, sorry, what did you say?”
“I said it was fine with me as long as your mother doesn’t mind having a houseguest.”
“She won’t mind. She likes having people stay at her place. I’ve been trying to convince her to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast for years, but she won’t do it. She said she likes having friends and family stay with her, but she has no interest in opening up her home to strangers,” I explained.
River nodded in agreement. “Can’t say I blame her there. It’d be one thing if she was staying in a different place, but I wouldn’t be able to sleep if there were people I didn’t know staying in my house.”
“Yeah, that makes—” I was cut off by an electronic tone blaring through the room followed by a loud commotion in the hallway.
“Code Blue, Room Two. Code Blue, Room Two,” was announced overhead.
“Gotta go,” River said and placed a quick kiss on my lips before she ran out the door and into the fray.
***
River arrived in my mother’s room a little after eight o’clock in the morning looking like she was ready to drop.
“Busy night?” I asked.
She sighed and dramatically fell into the reclining chair in the corner of the room. “Yes,” she groaned. “I don’t know why, but stuff always happens in threes in the hospital. Without fail. It’s three car accidents, three broken bones, three strokes, three deaths. We had three respiratory arrests last night. One right after the other.”
She paused and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Mrs. Jackson, please forgive my rudeness. I blame it on exhaustion. How are you feeling?”
Mom grinned and waved her hand dismissively, “I’m fine, sweetheart. And more than ready to get out of here.”
“Has your doctor already been by to see you?”
Mom nodded. “You just missed him. He said I was good to go as soon as he finishes with the paperwork.”
River nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’ll be at least another hour or two, if not more.”
Mom sighed. “Yeah, that’s what he said, too.”
The room fell silent for several minutes until it was filled with River’s soft snores. Without thought, I raised the footrest on the chair and covered her with a blanket so she’d be more comfortable.
When I returned to my seat, Mom was watching me with a goofy smile on her face. “What?” I asked.
Her grin morphed into a broad smile. “You two are going to make me some beautiful grandbabies.”
I turned away from Mom. “Nope, not going there,” I stated causing her to snicker.
“Keep telling yourself that, Son.”
When we arrived at my mother’s house in River’s car, I helped Mom inside while she continuously tried to swat my hands away. “Mom,” I snapped, a bit harsher than I intended. “You’re lucky I’m not carrying you inside. Pay attention and let me help you.”
She grumbled something under her breath and moved closer to River, who she did let help her up the few stairs in front of the house. I held the door open for them while they made their way inside. Mom was moving slower than I’d expected, and I made a mental note to ask River about it.
We entered the living room to find Harper, Carbon, and Titan, as well as Duke, Reese, and their son James. Harper motioned with her hand, and they all whispered, “Welcome home.”
Mom’s brows furrowed and she looked back and forth between me and them. Harper stood and engulfed Mom in a hug. “We didn’t think it would be a good idea to startle someone who’d just had a heart attack,” she explained causing Mom to laugh.
“Well, I appreciate that. Now, let me sit down so I can hold that sweet boy,” she said referring to James. Reese and James had come up a few days ago, but Reese didn’t want to bring him to the hospital while the flu was still prevalent.
While Mom played with James, I showed River to the room she’d be staying in. “Go ahead and lay down,” I said and gestured to the bed. “When you wake up, I’ll take you back to the house so you can get your clothes and whatever else you need before work tonight.”