The Saint's Lips

Chapter Seven

By the time Katherine drops me off in my driveway, the sun is beginning to set and the light in the sky is glowing in a light mesh of purples, blues and pinks. I make my way to the same familiar wooden doors, unlock them with my keys, and step into the cool foyer. The interior air conditioning is always a little cooler than normal for my father's sake, and I immediately make my way upstairs.

An unfamiliar nurse greets me this time, and her crooked teeth smile up at me once I enter the room.

"You must be Ava?" She asks and I nod politely.

"How was he today?" I ask her and she scrambles to look for a clipboard. She must be new since her hands are shaking as she continues in a frantic search.

"It's fine, you can take your time." I tell her in hopes of calming her nerves and allowing for the scene to seem a little less serious.

"It's okay, I'm fine. Uhh, yes, well he was unresponsive for most of the day, but he did wake up for a few minutes. I made sure to inject the nutrients through the IV, which has been continuously hooked up. His heart rate is steady, and he seems to be alright." The nurse takes a deep shaky breath and then looks at me with a familiar gleam of pity.

"Okay, thank you. What's your name by the way?" I ask and she looks at me with a petrified glance. "It's just so I can get to know you, I won't report you or anything don't worry." I give a light chuckle to try to ease her tension.

"Oh, my name's Barbara. Is it that obvious that it's my first day?" She asks with a smile and I shake my head.

"No, not at all. Just try to minimize the shaking." I tell her and point to her fingers that are still twitching while holding her clipboard.

I move out of the room and leave the new nurse, Barbara, to continue her shift. Loretta is making something in the kitchen, and I rush down the stairs to see what the smell is.

"Wow, this smells delicious. What is it?" I ask her and she turns to give me a smile stained with years of smoking. I don't blame people who smoke, especially not Loretta. She has been trying to quit for as long as I can remember, and so far the longest she's been able to go is about two months. It's still a sweet thing to attempt for my sake. Her pudgy frame and short dirty blonde hair makes its way over to me before embracing me in a tight hug. I look over her shoulder to see what looks like a thicker version of crêpes, but not quite pancakes.

"What are these?" I ask and she manoeuvers herself back to the stove.

"Palachinka. I used to make them all the time when you were a baby. You loved them." She tells me and I give her a smile while going to set two seats at the table.

We eat the Slovenian version of crêpes in peace, as Loretta asks about my first week of school. I tell her all about my homework load, my classes, how nice it is to see my friends again, and even sneak in a little sentence about Harry.

A moderately uneventful Friday evening ends when Loretta tells me she's off, and I make sure to pay her for this weeks work. Along with being like a second mother to me, she also cleans the house, which usually takes several hours every time she comes.

I continue my TV Documentary about some rare ocean fish that lives in one of the deepest parts of the Marianas Trench. I don't usually advertise the fact that one of my favourite pass times is watching a series of strange and eclectic collection of documentaries, but when I'm home alone, it isn't usually hard to hide.

I'm halfway through the episode when I hear a knock at the front doors. I check the flashing numbers for a time estimate, and it reads 9:34pm. The windows are pitch black from the sunlight that has died down for the day, and I pause my program to make my way towards the door.