Savannah’s face looked forlorn with faked sadness. “We are friends at Kennedy High. Best friends and I’m devastated at what happened. Wilhelmina is sweet and didn’t deserve to have something bad like this happen to her.” Savannah sniffed and wiped fake tears away with a Kleenex. Mina rolled her eyes and would’ve given a million dollars to see if the hanky was actually wet. Savannah continued. “I only wish that I could’ve taken her place.”
“HA!” Nan yelled at the screen. “You’re only saying that because you wish it were you lost in the woods so you can get all of the attention. You crazy attention addict! Can you believe the nerve of her, saying she’s your best friend and she doesn’t even know that you prefer Mina, not Wilhelmina. Geesh!”
“When did that interview happen?” Mina pointed at the screen.
“Oh, just this afternoon. The hospital has been really good at keeping the crazies away and giving you a bit of peace.”
“They didn’t keep you away,” Mina remarked dryly.
“That’s because they don’t have a meter able to measure my amount of craziness. Plus, I just told hospital security that I was supposed to bring my future stepdad his lunch. They all know me by name now, so the security and front desk didn’t blink an eye. But the head floor nurse, Dierdre, a.k.a. Dragon lady, she was another story.” Nan shuddered.
The news story changed on the TV and a picture of a middle-aged gentleman wearing a brown U.P.S. uniform flashed on the screen. Mina read the words carefully that scrolled across the bottom. Dan Williams, a local U.P.S. worker, disappeared during his morning route. His truck had been left running on Main Street, but no one had seen him. A tip line number appeared if anyone had any information about his disappearance.
“Oh, my goodness, that’s horrible! I can’t watch this anymore.” Nan clicked off the television with the remote. “By the way, are you hungry?” She reached over to pull out a brown paper sack and the sandwich that was inside.
“But I thought that was for Dr. Martin?”
“No way, are you kidding me? Do you know how much he makes? He can afford to buy his own lunch.” Nan took a large bite out of one half of the turkey sandwich and handed the other to Mina, who quickly took a small bite.
Loud footsteps interrupted their picnic, and Nan scrambled to hide the evidence of their lunch. She shoved the food back into the bag and thrust it under Mina’s pillow. Mina had just enough time to wipe her face with the sleeve of her gown when her mother, and a chagrined looking Charlie, entered.
“You! Sit over there and don’t move,” Sara pointed to a chair and Charlie walked slowly dragging his feet dramatically, as if walking to his own execution. Sara’s brown hair was pulled into a pony tail, and she looked frazzled. Charlie sat down on the chair and gave Nan a knowing grin. When Sara looked up, she was surprised to see Nan.
“Oh, hello, Nan.”
“Hello, Mrs. Grime,” Nan chirped merrily.
Nurse Diedre walked in, gave Nan an angry glare, and went to the bed and unhooked Mina’s IV. Nan scooted quickly out of the grey haired nurse’s way and went to lounge on the chair next to Charlie. Nan sat texting on her phone, while Charlie played with the items in his box; the whole while Mina tried to make small talk with the nurse.
The nurse refused to smile, talk, or comment, and her bedside manner was terrible. Nan was right. The nurse really was mean.
But the cream of chicken soup, with the help of the forbidden sandwich, really gave Mina her strength back. She felt so good that she let her best friend brush her hair and paint her fingernails an obnoxious purple that only Nan could pull off.
Sara’s phone beeped, and she went into the hall to answer it. A few minutes later she stepped back in, her face scrunched up with anger.
“I’m sorry, honey. That was my boss, there seems to be a problem with one of the houses I clean, and she demanded I come right away. I told her that my daughter is in the hospital, but she was quite insistent. Do you think you will be alright with Nan, alone? I can pick up some more clothes for you, too. Is there anything in particular you want?”
Mina made a shooing motion. “I’m not going anywhere until the Doctor says I can. I’ll be fine, and grab any old pair of jeans and shirt that is clean.” Sara hugged Mina before her and Charlie left.
A few minutes later, Nan, bored out of her mind, went looking for some magazines and left Mina alone. Grateful for the solitude and the silence that came with it; she leaned back in her bed and stared out the window across the hospital campus. She couldn’t help but admire the architecture of the brand new hospital.