Beauty & the Beast

When Ronnie woke up, all she saw was white. She knew she was in the hospital. It was a familiar place due to all the times that she had been there because of her damn heart. Ronnie pulled herself up into a sitting position and noticed a single rose on the table. It was beautiful. It was placed in a thin clear, glass vase. She wondered who sent it. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to get up and find out. She had an IV in her hand and a heart monitor hooked up to her chest. She guessed maybe Becca had sent it.

Before Ronnie could think about the rose anymore, the doctor walked in. He carried his trusty clipboard in hand and a warm smile on his face. Normally, Ronnie didn't like doctors but he was alright.

"Hi Ronnie, how are you feeling?" He asked as he checked the monitor. Ronnie shrugged and sat up a little more.

"Eh, I'm okay. Just a little lethargic." Dr. Walter nodded his head and jotted something down on his clipboard.

"That's normal. Well, it seems that everything looks fine now so we can send you home. Please, please continue to take your medication and pay attention to your body. You missed the signs last time. I also wanted to bring up another alternative. You know about the heart surgery. It would work, you wouldn't have to worry about anymore episodes."

Ronnie sighed and nodded her head, showing that she understood what the doctor was saying. How could she make a decision that quick? Did she have to? How would it get paid for? She needed to talk to her mom. Dr. Walter sensed a little hesitation.

"I'll send in your mom, okay?" Ronnie nodded and the doctor left. She twiddled her painted thumbs and tried to wait as patiently as possible. And soon enough, Ronnie's mom, Elizabeth, walked into the door. Her mom was beautiful. For someone almost 40 years old, her skin was still young. Elizabeth had long dark hair, tan skin, and blue eyes just like her daughter. They often got mistaken for sisters which tickled Elizabeth pink.

"Hi my baby." Elizabeth said softly as she walked over to the bed. Ronnie grabbed her moms hand and sighed. Her mom knew surgery was an option but she didn't realize that it would stop everything. From the numb fingertips to the fainting.

"He brought up the surgery again. He said that it would stop all of my symptoms and I wouldn't have to take medication anymore." Elizabeth was stunned for a moment before her eyes widened and her mouth dropped.

"That sounds fantastic!" Ronnie didn't want to bring her mom down but she needed to bring up the whole payment issue. Sure they had a nice house, nice cars, nice clothes but they weren't exactly rich and there was no way that a heart surgery was cheap.

"Yeah it is but we can't afford it."

"Honey, you don't know that." Ronnie gave her mom a look.

"Mom, I do your taxes!"

Elizabeth waved her daughter off with a laugh. She brushed Ronnie's hair out of her face and smiled softly.

"If this will help you, we can find some way to pay for it. Maybe even our insurance will cover it." Ronnie could only hope.

♏♏♏

Ronnie collapsed face first onto her bed. She had only gotten home a few minutes ago and she needed to take her medicine. Luckily she had been able to go back to the school to get her pills and her uh, special stuff, otherwise that would have been really bad. She sat up on her bed and started getting everything set up. She really didn't like having to smoke weed to keep her heart at a steady rhythm, there was too much risk involved, even though she had a medical marijuana card.

She took a hit and held it in. Technically she shouldn't be smoking anything at all but this seemed to help the most. She only took a few hits and then put the rest away. She never wanted to get high, she just wanted to get to the point where her heart was just a tiny bit slower. Ronnie glanced over at the rose and picked it up.

The card read 'I'm sorry -B'. Who the hell was B? Maybe it really was just Becca who had sent it but it didn't make any sense. Becca's would have had a lot more on it. And she wouldn't say sorry, she would say 'Shit luck dude! I love ya!' or something like that. Ronnie dropped the rose back on the table and changed into more comfortable clothing. She just wanted to get some ice cream and watch tv. And she did just that.