We Belong: Chapter 13

580 words

5 minute read

HOSPITALS ARE BORING

(Jesse)

A lot of the hospital stay is boring.  

We watch TV and make Dad promise not to tell any jokes or talk to any telemarketers like they are his friend in front of us.  Laughing hurts too much.  No teachers visit and that’s a good thing.  Lexie said before that one time, her teacher came and visited and she was in hospital pajamas.  Who wants their teacher seeing them in hospital pajamas?

The bad thing is, the TV in our room only has basic cable.  Not even any Netflix!  The only channel even for kids at all is the one Seth watches all the time.  We watch it mostly every day because we don't like watching the news or talk shows.

We have good nurses, though.  One’s name is Evan, he’s for me.  The other one is Annette.  She’s for Lexie.  They tell jokes, but not too funny.  They write funny messages and little notes and leave them lying around.  Evan keeps saying he'll challenge me to video games when I feel better.  Annette always pretends she can’t tell us apart.  They tell stories after Mom and Dad leave about all the fun stuff we can do when there are “no parents around.”  Like order pizza and have dance parties.  Evan knows I play baseball and asks me all about it.

“What position do you play?” he asks, while he is turning me.  (We have to get turned every two hours.  It’s the worst.)

“Right field,” I gasp, blinking back tears.  Everybody knows losers play in right field.  But Dad puts me there because no lefties ever bat, so no balls ever get hit to me.  I’m not a great ball player.  I should have told him I was pitcher or something.  

[Image: A child pitching in a red shirt and a white hat]

“That’s good.  You’re out there where the lefties hit.  Those lefties can be sneaky sometimes.  It’s good you’re on the case.”

“Dad just doesn’t want any balls to come to me…” I manage.

“I know the feeling..." Evan says, like he really does.  "But I also know you need somebody you can really trust out there.  Someone patient.  Someone who really takes their time.”

Did Dad tell Evan I’m the slowest on the team?

“Well, I definitely do that,” I answer.

Across the room, Annette is asking Lexie to share what her favorite animal is.  “We want a dog,” she manages.

“But we could never get one,” I add.  “Because we didn’t have the space.”

“We did just move, though.  So maybe now we have space,” Lexie ventures.

“What kind of dog would you get if you could get any kind in the world?” Annette asks, typing something.

“I like the golden ones that come in sometimes.  The therapy dogs.  They’re nice.”

Lexie’s right.  They are nice, but I mostly just stay crabby.

Everything seems bad today.  Even getting toys and cards from home, because it just makes me want to be there, and not here.

Here it feels like it’s always gross o’clock.

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Questions for Discussion:

Evan and Annette are Jesse and Lexie's nurses.  They help Jesse and Lexie feel better.  Who helps you feel better when you're hurt?

Lexie wants a dog.  Do you have a pet?  If so, what kind?  If not, what would you choose if you could have any pet?

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