Isaac Hanson
We had been in Rochester about three days now and I was finally going to get to see Taylor. Why my parents had waited so long to let me see him, I was never sure but as I stood outside his door that day, my courage suddenly absent, I began to wonder about it. There must have been a good reason, right? Was he really in that bad a shape? Had he changed somehow? I stood outsid the door, staring stupidly at it as if I had never seen a door in my life, unsure of what was behind it, if only I could figure out how to open it.
"Pull, not push!" I suddenly heard from behind me and whirled around to see a frustrated nurse pushing an old woman around in a wheelchair, the old woman having been the one who had called to me. She stared at me harshly through her old, beady eyes, waiting for me to follow her instructions as the nurse pushed her along.
"Edna...," the nurse said warningly.
I cautiously put my hand on the handle of the door, half-expecting it to burst into flames. I breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't and pulled it open a little ways.
"Thanks," I barely whispered, feeling that I should probably say something to the old woman.
"You're welcome," she said as she disappeared around a corner with the nurse.
I shuddered at the creepines and let myself into the room. Taylor was sitting on the bed, staring out the window as if his soul had left his body for a place far away and was using the thoughtful look to cover up its departure. I noticed the magazine he had balanced on his lap and announced my presence by lifting it up in order to see what magazine it was.
"GQ?" I said, raising my eyebrows. Taylor looked at me for the first time and then looked down at the magazine he was holding and grinned sheepishly.
"I got bored," he explained, shrugging a little bit.
"I hope so," I said back. "At least, I hope you don't need Viagra," I added, noticing the full-page ad for it which was next to the beginning of an article that I guessed was about Harrison Ford by the picture. "Are your parties of one not doing anything for you anymore?"
He turned bright red and proceeded to glare at me. "Can we move on to something else, please?" he pleaded.
"Yeah," I said. "Trust me, talking about your...problems...down there, isn't on my top ten list of things I want to talk about in greath depth."
"Good," he said as I pulled up a chair next to the bed. I was surprised that I was finding it so easy to talk to him. I had expected awkward silences and small talk, but we were already joking like we always did. Well, no, I was joking like I always did and he was being uptight about it like he always was. "So...how are you?"
"I'm supposed to ask you that," I pointed out.
"I thought if I beat you to it, you wouldn't ask. I've had more people ask me that in the past three days...," he trailed off threateningly.
"Okay," I said. "You have a point."
"So, how are you?" he asked again.
"Fine, I guess," I said, shifting uncomfortably in my chair.
He nodded, knowing that that wasn't the full truth, but obviously not really wanting to cover the topic so soon either.
"Where are you guys staying?" he asked.
"Believe it or not, Gina and Parker's house," I answered. "They insisted."
"How did they find room?" he asked, raising one of his eyebrows skeptically.
"Imagination," I said with a laugh. "Me, Zac, and Parker are in Parker's room. Jessica and Avery are sharing Gina's bed. Gina is sleeping on the couch. Mom, Dad, Zoe, and Mackenzie are sharing the attic, which they have fixed up a little bit like a guest room. Apparently, it's really hot up there, though."
"Wow," he said. "I can't believe they actually fit everyone."
"Neither can I," I agreed. "It's kind of creepy, though, sharing a room with Parker. Sometimes we forget he's Parker and not you. I think he's getting pissed that we keep calling him Tay so much."
Taylor laughed. "I bet he is. I know I was when Gina kept accidentally calling me Parker. After a while, I was just Par-er-Taylor."
"Yeah, Parker's become Tay-er-Parker," I said.
He nodded.
"So what took you so long to come and visit me?" he asked good-naturedly.
"Mom and Dad," I said. "I don't know why. I think they thought that all of us coming so soon would upset your or something, so they wouldn't let us come when they'd go to see you."
"That's weird," he commented
"I thought so," I said matter-of-factly. "Oh well."
"Where's everyone else?" he asked.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" I asked back, grinning.
He rolled his eyes. "If I told you yes, would you be hurt?" he joked. "I mean, no offense, but, someone who starts off the conversation with asking me about my 'problems...down there' isn't someone I want to keep around for too long."
I laughed, though I couldn't get it out of my mind that Taylor's good spirits seemed a bit incongruous, considering the things that may or may not have happened to him only three days before, especially since Taylor was reknowned for being a bit melodramatic about things. I passed it off as maybe he was trying to forget about what had happened, choosing not to think about whether or not that was a good thing.
"But, really, he said. "Where is everyone?"
"Uh, mostly in the waiting room," I answered. "Zac and Parker are at the Lowell's, though."
"Why?" he asked.
"I think Parker said something about having to go to work later. Zac said he wanted to keep Parker company, but I think he might be afraid to come," I said. Taylor nodded, knowing what I meant. Zac had a thing about hospitals. He hated coming to them to visit anyone. It had started three or four years ago when one of his friends had gotten hit by a car and died in the hospital.
"Well, tell him I'd like to see him when you get back," Taylor said. His brow was creased with worry as he was no doubt thinking back to how crushed Zac had been when his friend had died. And how we had had to drag him, kicking and screaming, to visit our mother when she had had Zoe.
"Yeah, I'll do that," I said. "Well, I suppose I really should go now. Everyone else is dying to see you and I don't want to take up too much time."
He smiled. "See you later," he said as I bent down to give him an awkward hug.
"Yup," I agreed, starting for the door.
As soon as I was out of the room, I let out a sigh of relief. That had certainly been a lot easier than I had originally thought it would be. Maybe I didn't have to worry so much about losing Taylor.
Fine! Just leave me here, alone, in the dark!
Don't tell me what I'm doing right or what I'm doing wrong. I won't be hurt.
Index
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Eight