Bears Know Best

Chapter 23: Goodbyes and Time

THE NEXT MORNING, I was shaken awake by Mom, before anyone else, "Taylor, you need to wake up and take care of 'stuff.'"

I groaned, but she succeeded in getting me to go upstairs and begin on my regular care... It sucked, as usual.

By the time I showered, she had breakfast on the table and we woke the other girls up. Dad chose that moment to show up. I gave him a hug, "Good morning Daddy," I told him.

"Morning Princess," he told me as he kissed the top of my head.

We all sat down and dug into the variety of breakfast food that Mom had put together. She had set out scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, toast, and cut fruit onto the breakfast bar for everyone to dig into.

"How come you're already dressed?" Breanna asked while munching on a piece of fruit.

I sighed, "This surgery requires some... umm... care of the area."

She raised her eyebrows and I heard her breathe, "Ouch!" I guessed Alyssa had kicked her under the table.

"I'll tell you sometime, not at the breakfast table with my Dad here," I said. He knew about it, but he was every bit as uncomfortable about it as I was.

I had intentionally sat next to Dad as we ate breakfast, and found myself just being quiet and sad about him leaving. It seemed like just five minutes later the two of us were standing outside next to his rented car. "Be a good girl," he told me as he hugged me. "Hang in there, and I think this will all be fine. You have some really great friends already... and I'll see you in a few weeks," he assured me.

I was crying as I hugged him, "I love you Daddy," I told him. "I wish you didn't have to go," I added.

"I know sweetie," he said. "You know you can always come back with me..."

I shook my head, "Daddy, I love you so much, but I will not live in the same house as Rachel."

"I really wish you two could get along," he sighed, just as upset about it as I was.

"I know," I said guiltily.

"Maybe when you come visit you two can work things out." He told me hopefully.

I wanted to make a comment about Hell freezing over first, as an ode to the way I'd been raised the first thirteen years of my life, but I was nice and nodded, giving an unconvincing, "Maybe."

He gave me one more big hug, kissing me on the top of my head, before getting into the car and driving off. I was wiping away my tears as I walked back inside to my friends. They saw I was crying and all of them gave me a group hug and worked to make me feel better. They used my bathroom and Mom's bathroom to shower and got ready for the day. Other than Alyssa, everyone was gone by noon.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Alyssa asked me.

I shrugged, "Not sure, I kind of feel like a nap..." I admitted.

She gave me a hug, "Let me know if you want to come over and do something later." She told me and made her own exit after collecting her stuff.

I ended up napping off and on over the next few days, but gradually began to feel more like myself. By Friday I was excited to have permission from the doctor to attempt to play horn again. I was to take it easy still, but I was allowed to see if it was painful or not. Truth be told, I didn't care if it was! It hurt at first, but I soon found that playing a bit softer and adjusting my posture on the donut made it bearable. 'I'm just glad my teacher can't see the way I'm sitting!'

I spent three straight hours practicing Friday morning before I was startled with a tap on my shoulder. "Ack!" I fairly screamed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Alyssa told me.