Road to Arcadia: the Path East

Chapter Thirty-seven: Delays

They spent their remaining hours in the hospital catching up on everything and anything, with only occasional breaks from nurses checking in on the baby. Kai was surprised with the ease of words and how they came to him. There was no hesitation, no censorship of thoughts. He bore everything in a way he hadn't ever done before.

He talked about the road and the months of solitude. He spoke about the odd jobs he picked up to make enough money to sustain himself. He was, perhaps, too up front about the many mistakes he made and the near impossible situations he'd found himself in.

The only part he couldn't bring himself to talk about without reservation was the last week of his journey. The moment he stumbled across the kids in the dark. Sara had to ask about it first, excitedly imploring him to expand on the details he only hinted at in his letters. She wanted to know names and faces instead of the concepts he had written around, taking time to prod him about a certain stubborn older sister he was clearly--according to her--in love with.

He was honest with her. He told her their names, their stories, but his words were only beige. There was no flowering detail he had spent the first half of his journey lauding. Something about it felt taboo. His worlds were supposed to be crossed by now, but these two things were like the same end of two different magnets.

Sara didn't seem to notice. And if she did, she kept it to herself, instead choosing to continue with their story.

He told her about Arcadia, highlighting the parts he thought she would like most. He explained the R&R and the weeks of training he did for the opportunity to see her again. The longer he went on, the less detail he gave and the less questions she asked.

That was okay. It was so much easier to talk about things that had already happened than scrape fingers against the raw hide of the present.

In the middle of speculating about what Mrs. Romero's ghost may be up to these days, another nurse poked her head through the door. "Sara, sweetheart?"

Kai's sister turned.

"Your mom's here."

Sara quick sought out the nearest clock. "Oh, shoot. It's already time." She looked at Kai. "Mom usually picks me up to eat dinner at home. She's probably been waiting for us for like fifteen minutes now." She leaned over the hospital crib. "They want to keep him overnight for more observation. If it goes well they should let him leave tomorrow." She bent down and placed a kiss on the crown of his head. "This part's always the hardest."

He could only place a hand on her back.

When she pulled away, he took his turn, lightly rapping a finger on the baby's chest. "See you soon, Starbeam."

They managed to pull themselves away and exit the hospital. Their mom's sedan wasn't far from the entrance, waiting for them with the patient hum of an idle car. Despite her earlier insistence, Sara didn't have any problems giving up shotgun.

"I take it you two were getting caught up?" their mother commented lightheartedly as they buckled up.

"Sorry," Sara laughed. "We lost track of time."

She shifted the car into drive. "Don't apologize, I'm glad. How's my little bean?"

"He's good," Sara nodded. "They still want to keep him for a little longer."

"Better safe than sorry," she reminded.

They were quiet as they pulled out onto the road. The late summer sun had begun to set, street lights threatening to pop on but not yet carrying through. Kai had almost forgotten what those were.