The sports car pulled up to our coffee-colored two-story house. I looked at the shutters on the windows and the roses planted along the walkway to the cream-trimmed door. When Karen turned off the engine, it was eerily quiet.Where was everybody? I slowly advanced out of my side of the car with Karen’s help. I wondered if the kids were hiding in the bushes waiting to jump out at me.
“You know, it’s not a good idea to scare a woman who’s just had a heart attack!” I yelled toward the house.
“Relax, heart attack honey, I got you covered,” said Karen as she supported my weight. Her touch felt foreign to me. My purple dress hung on my thin shoulders, flapping in the wind.
“Is that my new name, ‘Heart Attack Honey’?” I inquired.
“Yeah, babe, I think it’s kinda catchy.”
“Fuck you,” I responded.
“Not for at least six weeks,” she smirked.
I had to bite the inside of my mouth so that I wouldn’t laugh. Karen opened the door and ushered me in. The living room was spotless and looked the same as always. I glanced toward the kitchen, not looking forward to entering that room. It was the place I had created all those heavenly and luscious meals whose ingredients had lovingly clogged my arteries. My relationship with my kitchen would be a different one now. A feeling of melancholy came over me as I entered and inspected the room I had once found solitude in. I adored cooking, whereas Karen couldn’t care less. She hadn’t cooked a meal since I’d known her. When I was away on a book tours, she’d take the kids to restaurants or get take-outs.
I left the kitchen and headed back to the living room to look around. I heard muffled voices coming from the dining area. “Can I say it now?” I could hear my little Kira asking Danny.
“Yes, now!” I shouted, ever so delighted to see her.
Kira burst through the dining room door. “Welcome home, Mommy!”
She ran to greet me with a huge hug. I buckled over, but Danny caught me. My little princess wore a crown we’d her got from a costume shop downtown. I noticed she only wore it when she was nervous, which was understandable given the current circumstances.
“Mommy missed you so much,” I said, tears rolling down my cheeks.
Kira lifted her head and smiled the smile that always stopped me in my tracks. With her sparkling ruby slippers on and her magic wand in hand, she said, “I command you not to be sick anymore.”
“Me too, my love,” I said hopefully. I looked up at Danny, who was trying to be brave. I gave him a big hug as well and observed that his shirt and jeans looked the same as the ones he’d worn when he’d visited me. Alice, Danny’s girlfriend of two months, was also in attendance. She was dressed in those kind of short shorts that might as well be a pair of underpants. I tried not to be critical of her, but she really didn’t seem to be Danny’s type.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t come to the hospital, Ms. Tyler. They just sorta freak me out,” Alice explained.
“It’s okay, they freak me out too,” I said.
Kira pulled on my dress. “But, Mommy, you didn’t say how much you liked the balloons.”
“Yes, I love the balloons so much,” I said, starting to feel dizzy.
“Okay, let’s get Mommy to bed,” interrupted Karen. “She’s had an exciting day so far and needs to rest for a little bit.” Karen took me by the arm as Kira held my hand tightly. They led me toward the dining room and I saw that it had been transformed into a bedroom.
“No, no,” I quietly protested. “I want to sleep in my own bed, upstairs.”
“Remember what Dr. Casey said; no going upstairs until you have healed,” said Karen.
“Yeah, Mom,” Danny pitched in. “We spent a lot of time and effort making this room cozy. Alice brought down all of your pictures and your favorite comforter.”
“What about me? I helped too!” Kira chimed in. “I gave you Sammy, look he’s right here.” She led me to her stuffed bunny, which now had a weird mouth and only one eye.
“Okay,” I smiled at her. “As long as I can have Sammy, I’ll be fine.”
“Good!” Kira said. And all was right in the world again. I had to admit, they had done a nice job with the decorating. Though I would have loved a warm soak in the tub for three hours to get rid of the hospital stench that permeated from my body, I knew it wouldn’t be allowed. No, it would be sponge baths for me until my sutures were gone. I dreaded Karen seeing me in the nude, all diced up. She might recoil at the sight of me. Hell, even I was disturbed when I saw myself in the hospital bathroom mirror for the first time. I had dressed quickly, unable to look at myself a second longer. Yes, I was one sliced up writer.
As I slowly stretched out on my new bed, Kira placed Sammy by my pillow. Karen covered me up a blanket that had a wonderful mixture of aromas that made me feel at home. I glanced at the four individuals who stood around my bed, and then I drifted off to sleep, wondering, will I ever be normal again?
Amber Tyler is living every author’s dream: her books are all best sellers and she writes full time. She has worked hard and is well-accomplished in her career, and she has the support and love of her beautiful children and girlfriend.
But the dream soon turns into a terrible nightmare when her latest manuscript is stolen. She decides to fight for what is rightfully hers, only to find that the harder she tries, the easier it all slips through her fingers, putting her career, her family, and her life in jeopardy.
But the dream soon turns into a terrible nightmare when her latest manuscript is stolen. She decides to fight for what is rightfully hers, only to find that the harder she tries, the easier it all slips through her fingers, putting her career, her family, and her life in jeopardy.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Thriller
Rating – PG-13
More details about the author
0 comments:
Post a Comment