NOVEL NEXT 186: Yeah, I Ran
SLYDAR
You've been wondering what it's like to be surrounded by a telepathic family your whole life, haven't ya? Well, I 'spose it's like most other things, only another layer of familiarity. You eat dinner around the table, laughing and joking, old memories meaning no one needs to say much to rib someone else, and you're all jibbing at each other on the mental plane too.
Then you go play a game or watch a movie, and slowly, everyone gets a little quieter, withdrawing back inside their own minds a bit.
Three days at the hospital while Muller was in surgery meant we were all bonkers and not about to connect telepathically, so my in-laws took the kids home while my sibs stayed with me and Rory waiting for dad to wake up.
Looking at my dad bedraggled from surgery, I was struck by how much older he looked these days, like the knowledge of the cancer's return had sapped something out of him that we could never get back. He was always pale, of course, albinism was like that, but he just looked so much less lying there helpless in that hospital bed.
It wasn't any better when his eyes opened, looking for my dad Slick. Face contorting, he didn't scream, but it looked like he wanted to, then a mental shield unlike anything I'd ever felt slammed between me and Muller and pushed.
It was my dad Slick, sending the message to get out right now! Rory tugged my arm, and we bustled my siblings out the door into the hallway.
Every step I took only made the feeling of dread grow. Rory wrapped herself around me, and my brother Dav pulled Beace and Jenks into a hug. But the door to dad's hospital room never opened, and the wall around his mind didn't welcome us back in.
Whatever was going on in there, Slick didn't want us knowing about it, so we gave up and left the hospital. Rory took my hand and ordered spicy noodles delivered to our apartment for when we got home.
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Dazed, we downed noodles in front of a movie I could barely watch, then fell asleep on the couch, Rory on top of me, exhausted from the long, worried days in the hospital. When I woke, the apartment was dark, and she wasn't with me anymore. Ugh, I rubbed my face, feeling like a greasy potato chip, and my mouth tasted like day-old fish farts.
Down the hall, I heard the shower, and everything about that sounded like a good idea. Stripping off clothes that probably should've been bleached or burned, I brushed the nasty out of my mouth before joining Rory in the shower where she was soft and everything I needed.
Yeah, she was happy about it, and it went exactly as you'd expect. Well, maybe a bit more tender and less wild than what you're thinkin' because it was an emotional time, ya know, but satisfying for everyone involved.
Eye roll. Yep, I'm rolling my eyes atchu. 'Cuz you're always up in our bizness, wanting deets, but that shower scene was ours alone, so you'll have to live with it. I'm telling another story, and it's about my dad dyin,' so shut your yappin.'
Yeah, gotcha with that one, didn't I?
Showered and refreshed, we went back to the hospital. Dad tried. He made it through the first three days, in pain, but persisting. Only, it didn't go so well after that.
I love my family. Remember that when you read this next bit. And try not to judge me, if you can.
Dad got an infection which set him back. Then he started the cancer treatments which made it even harder to keep going. It was another few weeks before we found out that the medicines weren't enough to stop the melanoma from spreading, and his recovery got delayed. Eight weeks after surgery, my dad Slick called us together at the hospital.
"Kids, this is a conversation no parent wants to have, and you already know the facts. You know how your dad is doing. I'm asking you now to support him and support me. If you need to leave for a while and wrestle with this in your own way, no one will blame you. We've already made the decision. We're stopping the treatments and focusing on giving your dad the best life he can have for the time he has left."
Yeah, I ran.
