Nine Gates of Hell (15/?)
Part 15
“The good news Mr Deschanel is that you should recover quite nicely, the test results show that you suffered from some relatively minor heart tremors because your heart is being forced to work far too hard. I’m going to get you on some medication but I’ll also recommend a change in lifestyle, particularly dietary. Cut back on alcohol, fatty foods and so forth, make sure you’re getting some regular low impact physical activity, but nothing too invasive. Have you ever considered taking up golf?” Zooey and I exchanged a look, our father had spent the last thirty years complaining about how pointless golf was both as a sport and an exercise. The doctor caught his grimace.
“Well, maybe not golf, but there’s plenty of different activities you could take up. Walking maybe, or tai-chi, some low impact swimming.” Zooey let out a giggle, presumably at the thought of our father in a bathing suit or of him doing exercises like the high horse, or the crane, or some such nonsense. I had to admit it did offer and amusing mental image.
“Okay, I’m going to leave you to get some rest, we should be able to get you out of here sometime today or in the morning.” The doctor nodded before disappearing through the open doorway leaving the tiny room a little less cramped. I slipped out a few minutes later while my mother and Zooey were eagerly discussing the changes that would need to be made in Dad’s lifestyle.
“He’s going to be fine” I announced to David finding him sitting just outside the room wehre I knew he would be.
“What did the Doc say?”
“He needs to make a few lifestyle changes, you know eating healthy, exercising, stuff like that and he should be fine. They’ll put him on medication” I relayed the information from the doctor to David who listened carefully.
“That’s good news isn’t it?”
“Yeah” I agreed.
“Not that I can really imagine Caleb out on a bike, in one of those lycra suits, or worse velour” David tried to lighten the mood offering a new, equally disturbing mental image.
“Thanks” I offered “You know, for being here today. I really appreciate it” Even despite the public setting I leant down and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
“Anytime” he promised “What are you going to do now?” he added after a few beats of silence.
“I think I’ll hang around here for a bit longer. I can catch a ride with Zooey if you want to head home” I didn’t really want him to leave, but it wasn’t fair to keep him sitting at a hospital all afternoon waiting for someone who wasn’t even family.
“In case you’ve forgotten I don’t have a home to go to” he reminded. In all the craziness of the last few days neither of us had stopped to consider what would happen when we got back to the city. David was no longer welcome in his home.
I barely had to consider my response, maybe I should have “Well, if you’re okay hanging here a little longer then you’re welcome to stay at my place tonight. But you have to go and talk to your wife in the morning. You can’t avoid her forever” He nodded sadly, the next day would be our final day off before the gruelling sixteen hour days began again.
Ideally David and I would have been able to spend the day curled up together in bed, or lounging around the living room, maybe with Zooey for company, though for once I would prefer not. But sometimes life gets in the way of idealism.
We spent most of the afternoon in the hospital, until a nurse ushered us out. If Zooey was surprised that David came home with me then she didn’t say anything, instead she just nodded and wandered into the downstairs section of our duplex after helping David and I drag our bags upstairs. The moment she was gone I collapsed onto the sofa my feet resting on the furniture, something I never usually did with shoes on. David rounded the edge of the couch and bent, slipping my sneakers off my feet gently and letting them fall to the ground before taking a seat and pulling my head into his lap. His fingers massaging my scalp gently has almost lulled me to sleep when Zooey wandered in from downstairs not bothering to knock.
“Aaw, aren’t you two adorable.” I threw her a glare “Right... Well I cooked some pasta and I figured you wouldn’t want to cook so I made enough for both of you as well” I nodded, pasta sounded good, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“Okay, well I can bring it up here if you want”
“It’s easier if we just come down there” I decided pulling myself from David’s lap and onto my feet. I slipped my feet into my old sloppy ugg boots that were still sitting next to the couch where I’d left them a week ago and followed the other two downstairs.
The pasta was good, especially by Zooey’s cooking standards. The conversation on the other hand was almost non-existent. Zooey did little but push her food from one side of the plate to the other occasionally taking a bite when she saw me watching her. She was still pushing her cold pasta around her plate when David threw me a meaningful look and stood.
“I’m going to head back upstairs. Grab a shower, get some rest” he announced easily, I nodded him a thank you that Zooey didn’t see, her eyes focussed on the gluggy mess on her plate.
“There are towels under the sink in the bathroom. You’re welcome to anything else in there too” he nodded and stared pointedly to Zooey, I sighed. Sometimes being the oldest sucked.
“You going to eat that or just push it around?” I asked once I thought David was out of ear shot. Zooey looked up suddenly as if she’d only just remembered I was there “Okay, I’m guessing no. I’ll put it in the fridge for you and give you a hand with the dishes” Zooey nodded blankly making no move to stand up and help. I waved an arm vaguely in front of her face on my way past with some dishes and it seemed to pull her out of her trance enough to help me.
As usual she grabbed a dishcloth, effectively calling dibs on drying. She’d done it for as long as I could remember, it was years before I began to appreciate washing dishes and came to prefer it. Neither of us spoke until I’d finished scrubbing the last of the dishes clean. While Zooey dried and put away the last few pieces of cutlery I finally broached the subject I knew I needed to.
“Do you want to talk?” she shook her head no, but I didn’t believe her. It was only a few seconds before she nodded yes, although she made no move to speak.
“You know he’ll be okay Zooey. You heard the doctor” She nodded, her blue eyes filled to the brim with unshed tears. I didn’t have to think twice before pulling her into my arms, I knew her almost as well as I knew myself, inside and out. I knew that her head fit perfectly in the crook of my shoulder because she was a few inches shorter than me, and that her brow always crinkled slightly when she was about to cry. I knew that when she was stressed she liked to play ‘Let it be’ on whatever surface was closest, though she preferred a piano, my back was an appropriate substitute. Even with my limited piano ability I knew what tune her fingers were tapping out on my back, I knew it off by heart, it was one of the few songs I could play, though only Zooey knew why.
Neither of us spoke after that as Zooey spilled hot wet tears on to my shoulder until long after the shower stopped running upstairs. I kept her crushed to my chest my hands rubbing soothing circles down her back even though all I really wanted was to be upstairs curled up next to David, so I didn’t need to be the strong one for a change. I could barely hide my relief as her tears drifted into sobbing and then deep careful breaths against my shoulder.
“You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah” she nodded, and I knew she would be.
“Okay well I’m gonna...” I trailed off not quite sure what I was trying to say, or how much I wanted my baby sister to know.
“It’s okay, go up there and see him. Have fun” I could feel the blush creeping over my cheeks before I’d even turned around, but it only seemed to grow when she added “Just because you’re screwing David Boreanaz doesn’t mean I’m not getting you that Kama Sutra” I wanted to melt into the floor.