Her Legacy

XXXIII. Begin Again

"We all want to break our orbits, float like a satellite gone wild in space, run the risk of disintegration. We all want to take our lives in our own hands and hurl them out among the stars." David Bottoms

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Chapter XXXIII – Begin Again

Mom watched the front door for several moments after Dad left. I didn't say anything. I didn't want to interrupt her train of thought.

Finally, she took a breath and turned to me. She blinked, her mouth opening to speak, but she didn't have words. Small sounds escaped as she tried to start sentences, but she couldn't form anything coherent.

"That ... that was your dad ... that was Ronan," she finally murmured in disbelief, as though her eyes had been tricking her.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, hon, I don't even know what I am right now." She knotted her fingers in her hair as she sat down beside me on the couch. I immediately wrapped me arms around her and rested my head on her shoulder. Turning her head, she kissed my hair.

We sat together on the couch for a while, quietly considering what had happened. I wasn't sure I still fully understood what had happened between them, and what had happened to my dad, but all I knew was that I had my dad back. Selfishly, I was so glad.

Unselfishly, I didn't know what this would mean for my mom. I didn't know how my dad would cope being around her. I then shuddered at the thought of him leaving. What if being around Mom was too much for him?

We were both startled by the sound of my phone ringing. In all the commotion, it had fallen down the side of one of the couch cushions. I fished it out and saw that it was Shea calling me. I also saw that it was lunch time. Shit. How long had we been here for?

"Hey," I answered.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. I could hear in his voice that he was itching for news. He really had protesting going to school today.

My eyes darted to my Mom, who was still sitting, quite bewildered, beside me. "Um," I paused, but then forgot to finish my sentence.

"Um?" Shea prompted. "Sara, are you okay?" he demanded to know. "I'm leaving. I'm coming right now." I could hear in the background that he was in the cafeteria. I could hear him clambering to his feet, and I could hear the questions from his friends.

"No, no, I'm fine!" I promised. "We're just a bit tired." That was an understatement. "Mom's home with me." I couldn't exactly tell him what had happened with my Mom sitting right next to me.

"Your mom is there?" he repeated. "Are you okay?" he pressed. "Are you sick? Do you have a fever? An infection? Is your incision site red or tender at all?"

Clearly someonehad been spending a little too much time talking to my mom at the hospital. "I'm fine!" I said again with a smile. "I'm not sick, and I've got snacks, and a whole lot of Real Housewives to watch."

I knew it was difficult for him to be apart from me, especially when I wasn't one hundred percent.

"Would it be too much to ask you text me your temperature every so often?" he asked quietly. "I know your mom wanted you to do that, and I've been researching –"

"Shea," I stopped him. "People function completely normally without their spleens," I assured him. "You will be the first to know if I develop a fever. Which I won't."

Shea sighed in a way that told me he knew he was being over-protective. "Is it still alright for me to come by after school?"

"You want to watch Real Housewives with me?" I teased.