The Gift

I sigh, uncover my food and start eating my breakfast – again – with the fork that was still in my hand. I clean my plate and feel like I’ve eaten more than one meal. Maybe I have. No matter. I know I need it and it’s unusual I’m able to eat so much, so I won’t complain.

I don’t imagine anyone else would either.

Just sitting here I find I’m fidgeting, not able to sleep still. I decide I might as well put some of this extra energy to use, so I grab some clean pj’s underwear, some towels, and a washcloth.

Heading to the bathroom, there was a knock on my door just as I opened the bathroom door.

“Come in,” I say, bathroom door still in hand.

The room door opens and it’s Jason. “Done?” he asks.

“Yep.”

“Where’s your… uncle?”

“He left.”

“Oh? I didn’t see him leave.”

I just shrug, thinking Me either.

“I’ll take your tray. Buzz when you’re done and I’ll get your vitals and change your cath dressing.” I frown. “It’s time, sorry,” he says.

“Fine,” I say grumpily.

Jason takes the tray and leaves, closing the door behind him. I put the stuff in my hands down on the seat in the bathroom and go back to get my clothes and grab a tank top.

Going back into the bathroom, I drop off my top and turn on the water to warm while I undress.

I shower, rinsing my hair but not washing it. I don’t want the color to wash out yet. When I’m done, I dry off, not worrying about the state of my central like dressing since Jason is going to torture me in just a little while.

I pull on my underwear and bottoms, then slip on my tank top instead of my pj top. Since I had no IV, I had grabbed a long sleeve top which I’d have to change so Jason could redo my dressing, so this way I could just slip my top over my tank afterwards.

I gather my dirty laundry and head back into the room, putting the laundry into the proper container – mine and theirs.

Glancing into the mirror on my way back, I run my fingers through my hair to stand it up, then sit in my chair.

I’m putting on my socks when someone knocks on my door. “Come in,” I say as I continue putting my socks on.

I suspect it’s Jason, back to torture me, but instead I hear, “Hey girl.”

Sitting up, I look over my shoulder to see Holly standing in my doorway. “Hey yourself. Come in, I’ll move,” I say getting up and sitting on my bed instead.

Holly comes over and sits down in the chair I just left. “Casual Friday?” she teases, looking at my tank top.

I sigh and say, “Dressing change day. This is easier for all involved. You going for the plain Jane look today?”

Holly was wearing her candy striper uniform, which was a red and white stripped jumper over a plain white shirt, but she had her hair up and held back with a blue bandanna. She blushed.

Yes! Finally, someone besides me, I think.

“I, uhh, wanted to surprise you.”

“You did. I didn’t expect you here until this afternoon,” I say.

“No… I mean… Well, I took your advice,” she says, reaching up. She pulls back the bandanna, letting her hair loose, and shakes it out. It comes down her shoulders about four inches. What used to be a brownish-blond hair is now a light purple hue.

“Oh my God,” I squeal. “It looks so cool. I wish my hair were longer like yours.”

“I don’t look stupid?” she asks skeptically.

“No,” I say, jumping up and hugging her.

Jason walks through the now open door. “Ahem. Am I interrupting something?”

I giggle and say, “Yes. Go away and come back tomorrow.”

“No can do. Duty calls. I enjoy torturing small kids and teenage girls. Little animals, not so much.”

I roll my eyes and let go of Holly. “I’ll leave,” she says but I stop her.

“Un-uh. I’ll need a witness for court,” I say sticking my tongue out at Jason.

“Bite your tongue again?” he says with a smirk.

I groan and say, “Not nice.”

He laughs and looks at Holly. “Well, well. Little Miss Candy Striper joined the neon hair club too huh?”

Holly blushes again, but he just smiles at her. “Hello Holly. You look very pretty, along with that tart who was hugging you.”

We both blush at that.

“Now,” he continues, “who ordered the nasty cleanup?”

“I believe that was the doctor,” I retort.

“Funny…but correct. So up in bed.”

Ugh. I hop into bed and lay down.

“Why don’t you go around to the other side Holly so you can watch.”

We both know she wants to be a nurse or doctor. She scoots the chair around the bed and sits.

Jason looks at my top and says, “Nice choice. Makes it a lot easier.” He moves my table over and sets the wrapped package he brought with him down.

This is a long drawn out process, mainly because it’s all done sterile. If it weren’t for that, it would take five minutes maybe.

Jason carefully peels off the old, clear plastic bandage, making sure not to pull on my line. Once it’s removed, he opens the package edges outward and starts with the gloves. Net comes a mask and gown, followed by a sterile drape that he puts around my collarbone where the plastic catheter enters my body. The alcohol swabs come next to clean my skin around the tube and then outwards in a concentric circle.

He waves his hand over the site to dry it, then uses the betadine swabs to help disinfect it all again, starting at the entry point and working out in another concentric circle. Last comes the new clear dressing and changing the end cap.

Now done with that, he collects up all of the used items and trash and throws it all away.

Holly held my left hand while Jason did all this, watching raptly, not mentioning the times I squeezed like when Jason pulled off the old dressing, or the alcohol swabs on the tender skin. If I hurt her, she didn’t complain.

After finishing, Jason left us alone again. Holly told me how our talk yesterday helped her decide to color her hair. If I had the guts to do it, then she could be as strong as I was and swallow the fear and just do it. She thought her parents would have a problem with it, but they didn’t, telling her it was her hair, and she could do what she wanted to do with it as long as she understood that she was the one who had to live with the consequences.

So she did it. She was happy with how it turned out and I told her I was too.