Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119548 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 398(@300wpm)
“Deli,” Aunt Bonnie whispered. “You’re here.”
She nodded. “Is it… Is this it?”
“Yeah,” Lucy said, her voice breaking. “She’s so tired. I don’t think she can fight it anymore.”
I walked Deli over to the bed, and she perched on the edge of it. I squeezed her shoulder before turning to Aunt Bonnie. “I’ll leave you alone with Nana for a bit. Is there anything I can get you?”
She looked at me, her brown eyes red and bloodshot. “I… Um, some water. Lucy… Lucy needs to eat, too.”
“So do you,” Lucy replied sadly. “You haven’t showered for three days, either.”
I looked between all three women. “Aunt Bonnie… There’s a relatives’ area nearby. Why don’t you take a break?”
“No, I…” Her voice broke as she looked at Nana. “I can’t leave her.”
“If she was awake right now, she’d tell you off for not looking after yourself.” I walked over and crouched in front of her, taking her trembling hands in mine. “One hour. Go and take a short shower, eat something, and I’ll stay here with Nana.”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “What if she—”
“I’ll come running if anything changes.” I squeezed her hands. “I promise.”
“Go, Mum,” Deli said, her eyes fixed on Nana. “I’ll stay here for a bit then come and find you to eat.”
Aunt Bonnie sighed tiredly. “I… Oh, all right, fine, you’re right.”
I smiled sadly at her. “Do you need anything?”
“No, love.” She held my hands in hers, exhaustion seeping from her pores. “Just… I don’t want her to be alone.”
“I won’t leave her. Not even for a second, I promise.”
Slowly, she got up, and I offered Lucy my arm to help her to her feet. She eased herself out of the chair and took Aunt Bonnie’s arm, and they both quietly left with lingering looks in Nana’s direction.
“You don’t have to stay,” Deli said once we were alone, her gaze transfixed on Nana’s sleeping body.
“Stop talking bullshit.” I sat down in the chair Lucy had just vacated and stretched my legs out. “What would she say if she woke up and I wasn’t here, eh? She’d come and haunt me for not saying goodbye.”
Deli huffed through her nose the way she always did when she was trying to hide a laugh. “I’m just saying. You don’t have to sit here all day.”
“Delilah Elizabeth Wellington.”
She dragged her gaze to me. “Yes?”
“Shut up.”
Her lips parted, but she quickly pressed them together again, clearly thinking it was better to just not argue with me.
“There’s nowhere else for me to be other than by your side. Understood?”
She stared at me, then licked her lips and swallowed before jerkily nodding at me.
“Good. So, stop arguing with me. I’m not going anywhere. Deal with it.”
She reached over and took Nana’s hand, placing it between hers. “See what you did, Nana?” she whispered. “Look what kind of bossy man I married because of you.”
My lips pulled to one side, and our eyes briefly met, and a flash of the Deli I knew passed through her gaze for a moment.
“She knew exactly what she was doing,” I replied. “I’m the only person you listen to. As if anyone else could deal with you like I can.”
“Shut up,” she murmured, turning away from me. “You’re so annoying.”
I smiled, leaning back in the chair. I’d let her have the last word this time—she needed it more than I did, and she wasn’t exactly wrong.
I lived to annoy her.
I also lived to look after her, and sometimes, letting her win was doing just that.
We sat in silence for the next half an hour. The room was filled with the beeping and whirring of machines and the gentle sound of our breathing. Deli’s gaze never strayed from Nana, while mine flickered between the miserable view of the hospital carpark and two of the women I loved more than my own life.
“Hey,” I said softly, walking over to Deli. “It’s going to be a long night. Go and rest a bit with your mum and Lucy.”
She drew in a deep breath, and her shoulders sagged as she sighed it out. “Yeah. Are you sure you’re okay with waiting here with her?”
“Of course. Just bring me back a cup of tea or something when you return.” I helped her to her feet and wrapped my arms around her. “She won’t be alone, don’t worry.”
She nodded gently, hugging me back. She stayed in my arms for a moment, and I rested my chin on top of her head, breathing in the soft scent of coconut from her shampoo.
“Fred, I… I’m so scared.” Deli’s voice cracked. “What if this is the last time I see her alive?”
I closed my eyes and brought my hand up to cradle the back of her head, drawing her into me a little more. “It won’t be. You know Nana. She’ll wait until everyone is here to see her so she can be the centre of attention one last time.”