“The Bahamas.”
Valerie rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, Jess, not now.”
I looked at my mother. “I was in the ICU.”
“And we came as soon as we could,” Mom said.
“When?”
“We had limited flights.”
“You had my money.”
Her mouth tightened.
Dad looked at the floor.
David said, “Can we not do drama? Hospitals stress me out.”
I turned my head slowly toward him.
He looked away.
Mom leaned closer. “You don’t understand what it was like. Valerie was already there, and everything was nonrefundable. We were frantic, Jessica. Absolutely frantic.”
“You were scouting a wedding venue.”
“We were trying to keep the family together.”
I laughed then, a small painful sound that set off one of the monitors.
Marlene appeared almost instantly.
“Jessica needs calm,” she said.
My mother straightened, offended. “I am her mother.”
“And I’m her nurse.”
I loved Marlene in that moment with a purity I had not felt for anyone in years.
Valerie crossed her arms. “We flew back early, you know.”
“From a vacation I paid for,” I said.
“It was not a vacation!”
“Did you tour the resort?”
No answer.
“Did you swim?”
Valerie’s face reddened. “That’s irrelevant.”
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