Life,Sex, Delusions - Book 1

Chapter 15

It turns out I jinxed myself. A week later, I was ready to head to the airport, when I received a call from a number I didn't recognize. I picked up. "Hello?" "Cal, it's David..." It was Dr. Giles. "Your mother is in the hospital, she's in a coma... She was really weak and passed out. She had Hepatic Encephalopathy (In Se Fa Law pa thee) which is caused by liver failure... They say she needs a liver transplant, but they don't know how long it will take..." That's one thing that bothered me about hospitals, they always leave you waiting. "I'll be right there..." I said as I hung up. "I need to go to St. Therese... Can you give me a ride?" I asked, holding back the river of tears I felt. "Yeah of course, what's wrong?!" She asked, a concerned look upon her face. "My mom's in the hospital..." I said, still fighting back the tears. I didn't want this to happen now. I was supposed to be in Denver. What if I was stuck in some other state? The thought that I couldn't be close with Molly and my Mom all the time, started to drive me nuts. "I need to call Kurt..." I said, as we headed out to the car. "Yeah, I need to call work and tell them I'm gonna be late..." She replied.

She got on her phone when we got in the car to call her clinic and I called Kurt. "Hello?" He answered. "Hey, I'm on my way to St. Therese. Mom is in the hospital." I told him. "What happened?" He asked, his voice calm, but shaky. "She has some kind of liver disease and has something called Hepatic Encephalopathy. She's in a coma. I guess she needs a liver transplant, but they don't know how long it will be..." "Okay..." He covered the phone to tell Uncle Jared. "Ok, yeah... We'll get a flight at the airport and have Casey drive the bus back..." Uncle Jared said in the background. "We'll be there..." Kurt replied. "Okay, later..." Then we hung up.

At the hospital, Mom had her oxygen mask on, with all the tubes connected to her. Her face wrinkled, her body looked lifeless. It was so hard to watch. After Dad died and Kurt left home, she was all I had for a while. She was rarely sober back then, but she still supported me. We both shared that sad feeling of loss, after Dad died. I fought the demons off by playing Mario and ignoring the rest of the world, she fought hers with alcohol. It's sad to think that something people do to enjoy themselves and relax, can destroy you in time. I wasn't at that point yet, but I was heading in that direction slowly, with my rate of consumption increasing. On the other hand, it was funny how we loved doing something that could make us feel so sick. That slow and gentle poison.

Molly rubbed my shoulders and said "I have to go... I'm sorry... Will you be okay?" I nodded and kissed her scarred lips. "I can pick you up tonight after work, if you want?" "Okay..." I said. She hugged me and walked away. We didn't hug or kiss much that week because of the pain she was in but at the moment, we didn't think about it. Love, during dark times, erases all other issues that surround us. She was very supportive of me, just like I was with her. She didn't get scared or uncomfortable, like Sarah did at times. I felt like things really worked with us. I was always on my guard though, you never know what could happen, as a second passes by.

Kurt and Uncle Jared came in a few hours later. We gave each other a bro hug and sat there watching Mom, to see if by some miracle, she would pull out of her coma. Dr. Giles came in, he was still working, but checked on her frequently during his rounds. "She was really tired and disoriented all week. I thought she was just working too hard. I didn't think anything of it, when she had a few drinks after work.." He said. "Yeah... Well, if she makes it out of this, no more drinks, Doc..." I said, a slight hint of attitude in my tone. I didn't even look at him. I never really talked to him long enough to know him, but I still didn't quite like the guy. He looked down and sighed. "I'll be back to check on her in a bit... My break is in 30 minutes..." He said in his deep tone, as he walked off. I guess what really bothered me about him was, not that he was in the spot where my Dad used to be, but that he never gave me a good reason to like him. He gave us money, but he was trying to support our Mom. There was nothing that really made me want to talk to him.