A Drop in the Ocean

Chapter 20

"So, when do you get out of this place?" I asked Aimie once she had gotten off the phone with the boys.  They wished me a happy birthday, since that was in fact today, and went back to whatever they were doing.

"In a couple more days," she replied.  I nodded.  I hated seeing her like this.  She didn't deserve this.  Nobody does.  

"Where are your dad and Drew?" I asked her.  I twisted her face in thought.

"I don't really know.  I think they went to get something for lunch.  They should be back soon," she told me.  I smiled, thinking of Drew.  Although Drew had apparently had a crush on me for the longest time, I always thought of him as a younger brother.  One of Drew's things was basketball.  I loved basketball, and I was actually pretty good at it.  Drew and I would always play in their driveway.  

"Cool beans.  Maybe Drew and I can hit up a YMCA for a quick pick up game," I chuckled.  She laughed.  She'd never been super athletic, especially once the whole cancer thing took hold.

"I've always wondered why you call him Drew.  I always call him Andy," she laughed.  

"I guess it just stuck.  I don't even remember when I started calling him Drew," I said.  As if on cue, David and Drew walked through the doors of the ICU toward us.  

"Jordan!" Drew quietly called out.  He opened up his arms as he was walking toward us.  I stood up and wrapped him up in a hug.  Drew was very tall, standing at a towering six feet and four inches.  Needless to say, even with my five feet and eight inches, I was still dwarfed by his height.  After he released me, I hugged David, breathing in a scent that reminded me of home.  A bit of sandalwood and a sharpness that could only be described as the air when it snows.

"I missed you guys!  It's been a while!" I told them. 

"That it has," David said.  He walked over to Aimie's bed.  "How are you feeling, kid?" he asked, stroking Aimie's hair.  She smiled up at him.

"I feel better, Dad," she told him with a small smile.  He sat in the chair next to her bed, holding her hand.  

I'd always wondered what it would be like to have a father.  When I was younger, my mother showed me a picture of my father.  It was the only image I have of him.  A man who never smiled.  I don't even know his name.  My mother changed Rosie and my last names to her maiden name when he left.  I keep this photo in the very back of my wallet in case I ever see him on the street, although it is very unlikely.  I want to tell him that my mother is dead.  I also want to tell him I hate him.  But  more than that, I want to see the look on his face when I tell him that I'm his daughter.

"How's Australia?" Drew asked me, startling me from my thoughts.  I turned my head up to look at him.  

"Fine.  Hot.  It's really hot," I told him.  He laughed.  

"I've heard that.  But Sydney isn't too bad, is it?" he replied.

"It depends on your definition of bad.  Compared to New York, Sydney is a sauna," I told him.  Again, he laughed.  I'd noticed that as we grew older, Drew's crush on me had depleted into a simple friendly relationship.  It would've been super awkward otherwise.  "Hey, do you wanna maybe find a YMCA later and shoot some hoops?" I asked.  His eyes widened in excitement, and he nodded viciously.

"Go," Aimie told us, shooing us away with her hand.  We both looked at her alarmed.  "I've had my catching up party.  Go play some basketball."

"I can't argue with that logic," I said, shrugging.  I went over to the chair, and David rolled a little ways so I could grab my bag and my coat.  I went around to the other side of the bed and hugged Aimie.  "I will see you when you get back.  I'll probably just drop your idiot brother off here or at the hotel so I can get home at a somewhat decent hour.  Get better.  I will be super pissed if you don't," I told her, kissing her forehead afterwards.  She laughed, but it was raspy.  I gave her a small smile before waving.