Golden Birds

Chapter eleven

In the perspective of her mum

The day was Tuesday, I think but who knows, when you are this sick each day seems to blur into each other and become one, so I think it was Tuesday. When my nurse comes in and tells me I can't have breakfast as today is the day I go into sugary, my daughter and husband walk into the room as she leaves. Kayla runs up and hugs me, for brief second I am clam but that changes when I am reminded that the surgery is to try and remove the tumour in my oesophagus as part of the plan to get me better but they weren't sure whether it would work. This whole surgery wasn't confirmed to work and that after I would have to stay at least two more weeks so they can keep a close eye on me. My heart pounding just like a kid before exams, I stutter "Where's Vaughn?"

"He had to go to school as he couldn't miss the lessons. Well that what he says I think that he just being weak." Kayla replied, my husband stared at her.

"Oh, right. Yeah he must keep his grades up, I suppose." I took a pause to breathe and carried on, "Why aren't you at school?"

"Mum," she said. "You are going into surgery I had to come see you before you go in."

Tears come to my eyes as I hugged them good bye, my nurse re-enters with a wheel chair, I stumble into the chair and she walks behind me and pushes me out into the hallway and then down it to the surgery ward, we're was signed in and left in the waiting room. My hand trembles as each minute seemed to feel like an hour.

"Martha Samuals."

I wheeled my self to the lady standing by the desk, were she helped me to where I had to go.

~•~

I lay on the bed assigned to my name, preparing my self for what's to come. I was dressed in a light blue and white night gown and my light blue slippers were put in a pigeon hole for number 13, my bed number. My head rested softly on the rather flat pillow, I imagined how my chestnut hair would of stretched out over the white pillow case and how all I am left with now was a smooth bald head. When I was taken into the surgery room the doctor told me to think of something happy as gave me the gas which knocked me out.

I opened my eyes to room full of light, looking around I found my self at Kayla's 5th birthday party, I was just about to give her her cake, it was a rabbit, I was very proud of that cake. I sat on the garden wall and, as though I was watching it on tape, I restarted and played the situation over and over again. The everything went bright again but this time it stayed like that for a while and just as it was about to go dark I am back on the garden wall.

I then think of my first trip with Jacob, my husband, Kayla and Vaughn's dad, when we traveled to Belgium stayed there a week then went over to France. And it was in France where I told him I was pregnant, then as if queued I was at that exact moment. We were in a French cafe and we had just ordered lunch we had milkshakes in our hands when I tell him 'we were successful'. He looked at me blankly as I grinned, so I said 'we are expecting' he then suddenly grasped my hand over the table, his grin from ear to ear. We sat like that for a while before he told me congratulations. We had ordered French fries with snails and frog legs, oh and some muscles. By the end we payed up and walked to the end of the harbour opposite the cafe and sat down are legs were hang off the edge and are hands were firmly together.

~•~

"She's waking up!"

"Fetch a damp cloth!"

My eyes flickered open just as a nurse placed a damp cloth on my forehead, Jacob and Kayla were standing at the end of the bed with Vaughn this time. My little watch to the side of me read 3:40pm, meaning school had barely finished; "You guys got any homework?" I asked, to start of the conversation.

"No!" Kayla said.

"I have but I will do it on the way home." Vaughn explained.

Jacob moved then to one side as he opened his mouth to speak, "We just came to see how you were doing we don't want to disturb your rest though, so now we have said are hellos we should leave you in peace." My heart sank but they were right I needed rest if I were to get better so I said my good byes again.

I want getting comfortable in my bed when a nurse comes in with some food immediately my tummy started to rumble, I must have looked Hungary as the nurse told me 'don't worry love this for you' since the day was Tuesday, I had pie with mash and vegetables. And for pudding sponge cake and custard. I soon had polished that of, and my eye began to droop, I wasn't aware of the exact time I drifted off to sleep.

I was alive and that's all that matter right then.