Page 30 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout
“No.”
“If you say so,” Sienna said, wondering if her daughter had put on fake eyelashes.
Grace grabbed a banana. “Are you ready?” she asked Henry, who was at the sink rinsing his dish.
“How about real breakfast? Something with protein, maybe?” Sienna eyed how Grace swam in her sweater as she pranced around the kitchen, gathering notebooks and her backpack.
“I had a yogurt,” Grace called from the side door. “And I took my medicine, so you don’t need to nag me about that.”
Sienna sighed. “Is the cafeteria open this early? Get her something, would you?”
Henry dried his hands. “She said she already ate breakfast.”
“Henry—”
“Sienna,” her brother began, his voice quieting. “You can just let her live, you know. She’s a normal teenager. Did you ever eat breakfast?”
But she’s not a normal teenager,Sienna wanted to remind Henry before she stopped herself because, at the moment, Gracewas. She might take a lot of supplements to help rebuild her immune system. She might need to see an endocrinologist to talk about hormone therapy. She might wear a wig. But Grace was the same back-talking, non-breakfast-eating, sassy teenager Sienna had been in this very kitchen.
“I’ll see if we have time to stop for a donut. Just relax, though, alright?” He paused when Grace honked the horn. “Overbearing mother never suited you, Sienna. You can take that hat off now.”
Sienna folded her arms across her chest as Henry walked out the side door. She eyed the hot sludge in her mug and dumped it, walking into the pantry prepared to make a fresh pot of coffee.
Grabbing the canister, Sienna was about to turn off the light when her hand paused, hovering over the switch as a basket on the shelf caught her eye. The obnoxiously orange pill bottles had been labeled AM and PM. There were multiple thermometers, so Sienna could triple check for accuracy, as well as a large plastic bag containing extras of all medication Grace had been on. Sienna had dubbed it “the admission kit,” so she had everything on hand when she knew, deep within her mom gut, that Grace would end up staying in the hospital. On the wall hung a list of numbers and information, like Grace’s oncologist’s name, Grace’s blood type, the type of chemo she had been on, and a highlighted note that her daughter was allergic to Penicillin.
Sienna frowned. There was so much more to say about Grace. Favorite food: broccoli and ricotta pizza. Favorite color: Tickle Me Pink, like the Crayola crayon. Favorite animal: giraffe. Favorite movie:The Notebook.Hidden talent: double-jointed arms.
Reaching, Sienna tore the paper down from the wall, crumpling it in her hand. She tossed it into the trash.
Today she wants to live, Sienna thought,and so do I.
* * *
Sienna quietly squealed, holding the door so Emily could get in easier. “Welcome little Miss. Abigail!”
“Thanks for giving me a reason to get out of the house.” Emily placed the car seat on the floor. “I think you can go crazy staying at home for so long.”
Sienna hugged Emily. “I’ve missed you. You look great.”
Emily was the first employee Sienna had hired after she bought Maloney’s. At some points, Emily was heronlyemployee, taking on everything from bartending to cleaning the bathrooms, and unofficial sister, helping Grace with her math homework and relieving Sienna at the hospital so she could shower when Henry was busy with parent-teacher conferences. Emily had been through it all with Sienna.
“Don’t lie.”
“Okay, tired, but still great.”
“Reallytired,” Emily added before pointing to her red hair plopped into a messy bun. “Like too tired to take my hair down and put it back up. Tell me you have coffee.”
Sienna pulled out a chair from the kitchen table. “I put on a fresh pot. Sit. I made muffins too, but you’ve been warned.”
Emily laughed, taking a mug of coffee. “I’m not hungry. I eat all night while she’s up doing the same.”
“Oh, she’s perfect.” Sienna bent down, admiring the small sleeping baby. “You really forget how small they are in the beginning.”
“I know. Six weeks already. Can’t believe it.”
“Me either. I swear, I remember Grace this size like it was yesterday.”
Sienna’s mind turned, recalling the blur of the early newborn days and sleepless nights she spent in bed or on the couch with a warm bundle of Grace on her chest, counting her breaths, falling in love repeatedly with her tiny fingers and toes.
