Chapter 28 Caring for Mom
“Ian, I’m staying here for a couple of days.”
She was in his arms within moments, the air was breezy and Blair just realized that she was missing the beautiful scenery surrounding her mother’s house.
“Blair… are you sure?
“Ian, I just talked to her nurse and she said her condition has been declining since my disappearance. I need to call her doctor and assess her condition, I don’t know how I’m going to…”
“Give me her doctor’s number, let me take care of everything for you.” He caressed her cheek and kissed her softly.
“Ian…” she didn’t like to owe anyone a favor, especially him who she had already depended too much on.
But then she knows that there was no way she could afford her mother’s medical at the moment not without a job and a husband.
“Blair, don’t do this to yourself. Let me help you, I love you… people help their loved ones you know that, don’t you?” he smiled and pecked her nose sweetly.
She pulled his body closer and hugged him tighter. Resting her head on his chest she sighed and finally agree with him.
“Actually I just had a conversation with my captain and he wanted me to be on a case as soon as possible. So, you staying here will be better than if I leave you alone in the house. Do you have your stuff here?”
She smiled at him then told him that she has her clothes and everything she needs there. That afternoon right after lunch Dr. Steven arrived and gave her the bad news after he checked on her mother.
“She’s not doing so good, her stats are way down than my last visit. I’d say she has a couple of months left, we could give her further tests and examinations but at her age and her condition I’d like to give her the rest she needed…”
Blair was holding on to Ian while he never let go of his hold on her. She was wiping her tears repeatedly.
“It’s all my fault… I should’ve…”
“… actually no…” the doctor cut her words before she could blame herself. He knows in his line of work and being an oncologist for decades that family members would often blame themselves for everything.
“… with her age and the stage of her cancer, she has surpassed my expectation. But as I said years earlier when your mother was first diagnosed, the life expectancy might differ from each patient…”
Dr. Steven kept on explaining to them, and at some stage, she finally stops crying while Ian did not once take her arm off of her shoulder.
Half an hour later Dr. Steven was gone after he adjusted her mom’s dosage and talked to nurse Amelia regarding her medication, IVs, and her late-stage cancer home care.
It was dark when Blair and Ian headed for dinner at a nearby restaurant. He decided that she needs a break before he heads back to the city. Her mom was already asleep from spending the whole day talking to Blair then the doctor’s examination and consultation.
“… I’ll call you once I arrived at my place. Then I’ll get back here a soon as I have a day off. I’m going to miss sleeping next to you.”
He took her hand and kissed it, she smiles at him and took her hand back in seconds. He chuckled, making her pout at him. She was still not comfortable with the public display of affection and he knows it.
“You are a rare gem, you know that right? you’re so innocent yet wildly arousing at the same time.”© NôvelDrama.Org - All rights reserved.
He teased her knowing that she would bite her lip and fiddle with her hand in her nervous state.
So sexy.
That night they both sleep miles away from each other, both feeling like they were missing someone next to them, both toss and turn for the longest time until they finally drift off to sleep.
It was early in the morning when he called her mobile, informing her that he was getting ready for work.
“… okay, please be careful.”
“I will, I love you, Blair, take care of yourself and be strong for me okay? call me if you need anything, text me if you can’t reach my phone.”
“Okay, I love you too. See you in a couple of days?” she was missing him already and they barely parted for more than twenty-four hours.
“Gosh… I missed you baby. I think I’m sleep deprived, couldn’t sleep without you next to me.”
She was smiling like a maniac hearing his confession, as she was feeling exactly the same last night. But she took a deep breath and replied with a simple me too. Though in actual she wanted to scream that she was missing him so much more.
They ended the call when he had another call on his phone, then she starts her day with her morning routine then go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
She greeted her mom with her breakfast specials every time she visits her. But that day her mom was having her off days where she was having her delirium and having difficulties in communicating her thoughts.
Blair was always down every time her mother was experiencing her off moments, and at that time she wished Ian was there to comfort her.
“Hey baby, have you had your lunch?”
His low manly voice made her miss him even more. She longed to be in his arm, to be soothed by his words and just to be loved by him.
“No, my mom is having her bad day. I wish you’re here with me Ian…”
“I wish I could, you know I would, right? do you need me to call her doctor for you?”
“I know… and no, she would have this kind off days, Dr. Steven had already told us to expect more of her episodes. Hopefully tomorrow she would be better. There’s a possibility she will stay like this again tomorrow, but I’m hoping she would get better.”
They talked for another half an hour then ended the call after Ian told her that he would call her again that night.
“Are you cheating on your husband?” her mom was suddenly behind her.
“Mom?”
“I heard you, and your husband’s name is not Ian.”
She helped her get back to her chair and pull her blanket on for her.
Her tears fall as she didn’t know how she was going to explain to her mom about what has been happening to her.
“Mom, Benjamin had died.”
“What? when did that happen?” then she started crying for Blair’s loss.
“He’s such a nice young man, you looked good together. And why did you change your hair color? Oh… honey, was it because he loves you in your natural hair color?”
She hugged Blair, while they both sobbed for all the wrong reasons. But she just let her mom be, then nurse Amelia came and brought her medication.
“It’s important that your mother had her steroid treatment for the swelling before two pm so she wouldn’t have insomnia tonight. Dr. Steven had changed her dosage since his last visit.”
Amelia gave Blair an assuring smile, and her heart broke looking at her mom who was sitting there, tears dried and just looking out her living room window as if she didn’t just sob in Blair’s arms moments ago.
She backed away and gave Amelia some space to work while she suffocates and paced her step faster then dropped to her knees when she reached the front porch.
Why… why do I have to go through all of these?
Blair’s thought as she rests her back on the porch wall.