Chapter 5

“You just wanted water?” the nurse barked. Dylan rose from the floor, his knees shaking like jello. “Well, I’d hate to see what would happen if you wanted some lemonade. Look at this mess! And what did you do to Kelly?”

Dylan’s mind raced. “Well… I-”

“Angie!” Kelly limped into the room with the help of another nurse. “Back off! He didn’t do anything.” Kelly snatched the clipboard from the larger nurse. “I went to get him water and had a dizzy spell.”

“A dizzy spell?” Angie tilted her head back, peering down her nose.

“Yes! A dizzy spell!” Kelly fired back. “By the way, thanks for being concerned about me, Ange.”

“So, what happened in here?” The nurse waved her finger around the room. “I heard a racket, and someone screamed. What was that all about?”

Dylan sat on the edge of his bed. “I heard something outside the door and went to see if Kelly was okay. I slipped in the water, grabbed the IV pole and hit the floor.” Dylan could work the innocent eyes routine with the best of them. “Sorry if I screamed.”

Angie reached toward Dylan’s face. “Then what’s this?” And wiped the blood from his cheek. Before he could respond, his nurse inquisitor answered herself. “Well, that’s weird. It’s a lot of blood, but you’re not cut at all.”

“Maybe it’s from the IV. It ripped right out of my arm.” Dylan shrugged, offering an explanation to the self-appointed detective.

“All that blood from your IV?” she grabbed Dylan’s forearm.

“Angie, I’m serious! Back off!” Kelly stepped between them. “He’s my patient and I’ll attend to him.” Kelly glared at the larger woman, no sign of backing down.

“You’re outta line, Missy!” Angie’s eyes flared. “I’m the charge-nurse and I’ll write you up so-”

“Maybe Dylan should file a report through patient relations,” Kelly folded her arms, “describing this interrogation over his immediate care.”

“Fine!” Angie’s face flushed. “Take care of your patient, and clean this mess up, pronto!” Angie stormed out the door, grumbling.

“Thanks.” Dylan smiled, impressed by how the younger nurse stood her ground.

“You’re my patient. It’s my job to look out for you. So, back in bed.” Kelly pushed him playfully by the shoulder. “I’ll get everything cleaned up. Then we’ll check your vitals.”

Kelly made a quick work of the room and after taking his blood pressure announced, “You’re as right as rain! Except-” She winced. “I still can’t believe the cath got pulled out. I’m glad you didn’t notice. You’re one tough kid to go through what you have and be as good as you are.”

“I guess,” Dylan replied, determined to change the subject from catheters. “You were pretty tough yourself back there with Nurse Battleaxe.”

“She was totally out of line.” Kelly shook her head. “You have to do the right thing, especially if you’re responsible for other people. Anyway, I kind of feel like I owed you one.”

“What do you mean?” Dylan asked, perplexed.

Kelly rolled her eyes, slightly embarrassed. “Well, when I was a kid, I took my new puppy for a walk. He wiggled out of his collar and ran into the woods. He was gone for three days and I cried the entire time. My mom called this guy who owned an animal trapping service and found lots of people’s pets, too. A few days later there was a knock at the door and-” Kelly took a deep breath, collecting her emotions. “There was your Max…with my puppy. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier than at that moment. It was because of Max. I’m sorry to bring it up, but I thought you might like a nice story about him.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

A wave of happiness overwhelmed Dylan. “I love hearing stories about him. Now that he’s gone, I’ll probably love them even more. And yeah, he had a way with animals. It was like he could talk to them.”

Kelly sat on the edge of Dylan’s bed. “My dog’s name was Mischief, and I hardly ever looked at him without thinking of Max. It was kinda weird, but for someone I hardly knew, he made a huge difference in my life.” Kelly smiled, recalling her childhood. “I always had to watch my little sister. She had bad seizures. But Mischief, he could tell when she was gonna have one, and would start barking like crazy. He saved her more than once, and she’s why I wanted to be a nurse. And I have Max to thank for that. And now I’m your nurse. It’s a synchronicity, for sure.”

“Synchronicity?” The word rang through him.

“You know… like, karma?” Kelly shrugged.

“Karma?”

“Ok, so my aunt is kind of a hippie, and she always talked about how all things are connected by some unseen force.” She wiggled her fingers at him. “You know, what goes around, comes around. Like you and me. She said it was God’s way of remaining anonymous.” She laughed, searching Dylan’s youthful eyes for a sign of understanding. “Don’t worry, Grasshopper, you’ll get it. You’re an old soul…like Max. I can tell. You’re gonna be a good one, Dylan. But now it’s time to get some rest.”

The doctor showed up early and agreed to release Dylan. To his surprise, Kelly had stayed a little longer to help get him check out and was finishing her notes when Nan arrived.

“Dylan!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. Her slight features could not contain her excitement or her relief. She did her best to control herself but squeezed him hard, pressing her short white hair hard into his cheek. “Thank heavens. I’ve been worried sick. I couldn’t lose-” Nan stopped short, shaking her head. “Are you alright? Are you hungry?”

“Hi, Nan,” Dylan wrapped his lanky arms around her tiny frame. “I’m good.”

“Then let’s get you home.”

Through the car window, Dylan regarded the familiar scenery, more aware of his surroundings than usual. He had driven this road more times than he could count, yet Dylan had the bizarre notion he was seeing the world for the first time. His thoughts drifted from the funeral to the hospital, to simply observing the nature along the way. He’d never actually noticed the flowers in people’s yards, but today he thought he could even smell them. Taking note of the blue in the sky, he studied the clouds, moving and morphing like a painter gently spinning a brush of shaded white. Nan turned down their street, onto Second Avenue, its dense canopy of trees, a roof over the road. She pulled into the last driveway on the left of the dead end.

Their house was an old Victorian style three-story, like many of the homes on the street. The dark green shutters and arched wood-framed windows stood out like pristine eyes against its rustic white facade. A thin slate stone path led from the driveway to four brick stairs and the entry to their home.

Nan shut the car off. Silence consumed them. Dylan had not said a word since leaving the hospital. He looked at his great grandmother. Her face cast the patience of a saint.

“Nan?” He took her hand, making sure his eyes connected with hers. “I’m sorry.”

She paused before speaking, purposely letting the apology hang in the air. “I know. And I forgave you right then. This is not going to be easy for either of us. The bad side of living to a ripe old age is saying goodbye to the people you love. We’ve been through this before, but now you’re old enough to understand. We have to be strong for each other.” She patted his hand and pulled it to her lips for a kiss before opening her door. “Let’s go home.”

Dylan approached the house and detected a slight buzzing in the air. He tried to determine the origin of the noise, growing louder, assaulting his ears like a surround-sound system. “You hear that, Nan?”

“Hear what?

“That buzzing noise.” he shook his head, trying to make it stop.

“Buzzing? Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Nan balled her fist. “This darn hearing aid has been more trouble than it’s worth!” She fumbled with her keys, mumbling to herself about expensive things that don’t work before heading inside.

Dylan entered his home as he had done countless times. The buzz faded, replaced by a feather-light tingling on his skin. Guess everything’s gonna be a little weird. He headed up the stairs, scratching his arms, hoping to soothe the tingles which only seemed to get worse.

Along the stairs, he adjusted a picture of himself and Max on the roller coaster at Great Adventure amusement park. It had always been one of his favorite memories, and for the first time since Max had died, Dylan thought of him without an unbearable sadness.

“Dylan!” Nan called from the kitchen. “Norm left a few messages. He sounds a little excited. He wants you to meet him at the bus stop.”

“Thanks, Nan.” Dylan pulled himself back to the moment. “Hey, did anyone find my phone? I lost it at the cemetery.”

“I’m sorry, Dylan.” Nan poked her head through the doorway. “Norm found it. He and your computer-y friend tried everything, but they said it was… toast.”

“I’m gonna stop wondering what else can go wrong.”