Chasing Thunder

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Elevators always seem to take longer whenever one is needed desperately.

The red numbers shrink as transportation slowly arrives on my floor. Finally the doors open with a faint ring and I step inside, already reaching for the metal buttons on the menu board. The seven lights up as the doors start to close and I glance up at my blank mobile screen impatiently.

I had received the frantic phone call nearly forty minutes ago and I had dropped everything at work in my haste to get to the hospital. This was just something my family quickly learned to respond to automatically. Though my family has received multiple calls over the years of this exact nature, the frightening intensity never quite dulls. It’s still scary and nerve-wracking to put everything on hold and rush to the hospital. The majority of the time the severity of the situation is rarely told over the phone and during the anxious car ride down, the mind wanders and comes up with all sorts of explicit and dire problems, though things are very rarely as bad as they seem.

The elevator doors ping open and I hurry out into the sterile hallway, the smell of antiseptic making my stomach twist uncomfortably. I surely must look a mess, staggering into the oncology department wildly, still clad in my black work apron with hair pins still fastened at the hem and a plastic styling comb peeking out of the pocket.

The nurse at the desk looks up in surprise at my sudden appearance, but her face quickly dissolves into one of recognition. “Addy,” She greets me with a bright smile. “What are you doing down here?”

“Deborah,” I step towards the desk and grip onto the counter tightly. “I got a phone call about Sid being brought in here and so I rushed down—how bad is it? Did anyone get a hold of my parents?”

Deborah’s wrinkled brow smoothes out as she realizes what is happening. “Sid is fine; her nurse brought her in because she fell. She was so adamant that she was alright, but the poor girl—“

“Jennifer,” I supply the nurse’s name automatically, my clench on the plastic counter relaxing slowly. “She’s new on the job; she just graduated from nursing school a few months ago.”

“Oh,” Deborah makes a face as she straightens out a stack of papers in a bin. “I’m surprised your mother hired her then.”

I shrug, exhaling the lungful of air that I hadn’t even realized I had been holding. “She came recommended and Mom needed help fast. Where is Sid now?”

“She’s in the back room with Dr. Wagner,” Deborah motions towards the swinging white doors lazily. “You can go back and get her, you know the way.”

I nod my thanks at the nurse before I turn on my heel and make my way further into the department. Over the years, I had been on this floor of the hospital so often that I could probably walk through it blindfolded with no problem. The same goes for the staff here. I had grown close to the nurses and doctors who worked tirelessly to help and diagnose patients.

I hear Sid’s laugh as I walk around the corner and I briefly marvel over how pretty her laughter is and how much more I had grown to appreciate it since the diagnosis. But before I can look around for my sister, I spot Jennifer, the nurse who was supposed to be taking care of Sid while my parents are at work.

Jennifer was sitting outside of a room, wringing her hands fretfully. She was young and over-protective, which was understandable as she only graduated from nursing school recently. Once she realizes who I am, she springs up from her seat and starts towards me, already apologizing and trying to explain herself in one breath.

“Jenny,” I laugh, reaching out and grabbing her shoulders. “It’s okay. You were just doing your job.”

“So you’re not mad that I called you away from work?” She asks softly, looking sheepish. “I just panicked—she fell and she was bleeding but it wouldn’t stop and I didn’t want anything to be seriously wrong with her. Then I couldn’t reach Dr. Ross on her cell, I even paged her but nothing—“

I shake my head, effectively silencing her worried babble. “It’s better to be safe than sorry. I’m going to take Sid home now, so you can have the rest of the day off.” I don’t quite catch her reply as I walk through the open door into the examination room.

Sidney is sitting on the bed, laughing happily at something. And in that moment, just before she realizes that I’ve entered the room, I’m struck with how truly beautiful my little sister is to me. Her hair had long ago fallen out due to treatment and despite the fact that radiation left her looking pale and skeletal, her cheeks glow red with life and energy.

“Addy!” Sid starts to slip off of the bed with some assistance from the elderly physician next to her.

“Careful,” He chides as she rockets towards me, wrapping her bony arms around me in a tight hug. “Hello Adrienne.”

“Hi Dr. Wagner,” I greet him with a smile as I pat Sid’s back lightly. “What’s the damage today?”

Dr. Wagner makes a face, shaking his head a bit. “Just a nasty spill and a worried caretaker, that’s all. Sidney here is fit and healthy.”

“I could have told anyone that,” Sid states matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes at his words. “In fact, I did tell everyone that but no one wanted to believe me.”

“Jenny just thought that maybe Sid was fibbing because of you-know-what,” Dr. Wagner exchanges a knowing glance over Sid’s head and I have to bite back the laughter at the incredulous look on my sister’s face.

“Well she did take a pretty bad fall,” I shake my head slowly, trying my best to appear serious and concerned towards the situation at hand. “Maybe it would be best if Sidney were to stay in bed for a few days and take things easy.”

Dr. Wagner nods, looking very grave with his hands folded behind his back. “I agree. Rest and relaxation should do just the trick. Cancel all plans you have for the next week because Sidney shouldn’t be exerted whatsoever.”

At his words, Sid’s head snaps up and she looks at her doctor with wide eyes. “But I have my meeting in two days! My wish is happening; I can’t miss that. It’s the best thing to ever happen to me ever.” The look of absolute horror on her face is comical and if I didn’t know very well just how much these next few days meant to her, I would laugh.

But I do realize how much this means to her so I smile down at her, rubbing her back gently. “Relax kiddo, no one is taking that away from you. We all know how much you’re looking forward to it. It’s all you’ve been talking about for months now.”

“They’re my favorites,” Sidney begins but Dr. Wagner clears his throat in front of us and I’m torn away from the conversation.

“I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to make rounds so I’m going to say goodbye. It was nice seeing you again, Sidney. I hope to not see you back in here for a long, long while.” His eyes are twinkling merrily. “And it was so nice seeing you again, Adrienne.”

“Thank you,” I call out as he leaves the room. “Are you ready to leave?”

Sidney nods, yawning slightly as we start to make our way towards the exit. “Do Mom and Dad know about this?”

“I’m sure Jenny left messages on their phones,” I answer absentmindedly as we pass through the double wide swinging doors and by the nurses’ station. I wave at Deborah before we arrive at the elevators. “But you’re fine, so I’m sure it won’t be a big deal.”

Sidney is quiet for a moment before she looks up at me with questioning eyes. “Do you think Mom will make me stay home on Wednesday?”

I hesitate to answer, debating between soothing away her concerns or being brutally honest. Mom really did tend to over exaggerate things, especially when it comes to fourteen-year-old Sidney. “She knows how much this means to you,” I say finally, going with a vague medium between my two options.

Sid looks appeased as we ride the elevator down to the parking garage where my car was waiting. I hold open the door for her before beginning to lead her towards the black and silver Mustang that was parked in an open lane all by itself.

I unlock the car with two clicks from my keys before I open my door and lower myself into the driver’s seat. My purse goes in the back seat as Sidney slips into the passenger’s seat and closes the door behind her. Immediately her head goes back against the headrest and her eyes close. She looks exhausted. Her surprise visit to the hospital must have taken more out of her than she let on.

As I turn the car on and back out of my parking space, her eyes crack open and she looks over at me. “Was your boss mad that you left your job?”

I shake my head, glancing over at her from the corner of my eye. “No, he was really understanding. Don’t worry about it, Sid. Hey, look at what I’ve been doing,” I announce finally, reaching down and picking up a silver CD that had been sitting in my cup holder. “I’ve been doing my homework.”

Sidney’s entire face lights up when she realizes what I’m holding and she takes it from me, going over the printed faces on the front almost reverently. “Can we listen to it on the way home, Addy? Please?”

“Sure,” I grin as she ejects the record that had previously been in my player. It was an old mix CD that had been made for me back in college.

The radio is cut abruptly short as the album loads before an alarm blares out of the speakers, nearly startling me to death. Sid has the volume cranked up to an ungodly level and I make a halfhearted attempt to turn it down before I look over at her face.

She was singing loudly, moving around in her seat to the music as we drive. I realize that Mom would never let her listen to her music this loudly, which was a shame because she genuinely looked like she was having the time of her life singing along to the unfamiliar lyrics.

Which is why my hand hangs uselessly in the air for a moment before I place it back on the steering wheel and let my baby sister sing along with her Tokio Hotel album to her heart’s content.