Call Your Girlfriend

Chapter 21: In Which Helen Holds On

We've waited for nearly five hours.

My whole body feels as if it's an Earthquake.

The only thing I can do is hold Luna tight as she sleeps against my chest. Looking down at her, she sucks on her pacifier and has a bit of my hair in her little hands- every so often opening and closing it as she dreams. Precious little one. This darling babe. My darling babe. I stroke her cheek with my thumb and Lauren comes over with some coffee. It's 4:00 and I'm tired beyond belief.

"She looks comfortable." Lauren quietly says and smiles at us.

"I think with all this going on, she needs rest just as much as we do." I kiss the top of her head and push her little blonde hairs out of her eyes.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm here..." The corner of my lips quiver as I try to smile, but I'm not convincing anyone.

"How's your Dad?"

"Mum called a bit ago. Said he was home resting. He's out of the woods...for now." She glances down at my shaking knee. She puts her hand on it.

"Helen, he's going to be fine."

"And what if he's not? What if all of this is for nothing and this poor, sweet little girl has to grow up without a father."

"She'll be okay...because she'll have a mother." My eyes flick to hers. My chest tightens. If Max doesn't wake up and he dies. I'll be Luna's guardian. I'll be the closest thing she has to a mother. It's both a blessing and a sad curse for her. The possibility of losing both parents...it's unfair. It breaks every bit of my heart to think about. "Helen, you can't sit here and worry. It does you no good. Vijay says he has a little bit more to do and then he'll be done. He's made it this far. Don't count Max out yet."

"I can't help but think I could've caught this sooner if I would have looked at the signs. If I would have been around more..."

"No. Helen this is not on you or any of us. Who would have thought Max would develop a brain tumor? Honestly?" I can barely contain my tears as I sit there, just waiting. Iggy comes down the hall and hands Lauren the newspaper before leaning against the opposite wall. "Thanks, did you bring a pen?"

"Shoot. I knew I forgot something." Groaning, Lauren tosses the paper on the end table and slouches.

"Wanted to do the crossword...you had one job..." She grumbles and Iggy just shakes his head.

"You know you can just do them on your phone right"

"It's not the same. The paper doesn't give you hints and cheats. It makes you think." Rolling my eyes, I stand up to stretch a bit. My whole body is stiff from the constant sitting. "Taking a walk?"

"No...just stretching." The O.R. Door opens up and Vijay comes out. He removes his gloves and his face mask. "How is he?"

"Oh, Helen! I did not know you were here..."

"Vijay?" I ask again.

"Surgery was successful. Dr. Garcia is doing the biopsy right now to check for cancer cells. The mass was removed and thankfully, I saw no damage to the surrounding tissue. He should wake up in a few hours. It may take a while for his speech to return."

"How long?" I ask and he frowns slightly.

"Could be a couple days...could be a few years. I don't know. With this- the seizures and tumor- Max may not recover fully from this. Most times memory problems and confusion are factors of this kind of health problem. I'm not saying that will be the case, but it very well could be. It may take him 4-8 weeks to fully recover. That is if he has no swelling in the brain and his over all motor function is still properly with him." We all sigh. This is better than him being dead. By a long shot. "I'm recommending him stay for at least a week inpatient before he goes home- with monitored care of course. He can't be taking care of Luna at this time. He is not to lift anything heavier than 3 lbs, he should sleep sitting up for a few days, and I am going to recommend different kind of exercises to get functionality working again. It'll be a long road for sure. But it's one I know we can walk with him."