It was a strange way to spend a Saturday night, but we all hung out at the apartment and drank and talked about anything but Dad. It was exactly what I needed.
Ryder got us all howling with stories from when he was in rehab in the woods of Colorado. They were all wildly inappropriate, but that didn’t matter. After a few more glasses of wine, we played Cards Against Humanity, which was our go-to party game.
“You should get some sleep,” Lucah said in my ear when my eyelids started drooping. I knew he was right, but I wanted to stay up as long as I could. This was easy. This was fun. When I went back to the hospital, I’d have to deal with everything.
“I don’t want to,” I moaned. I’d managed to not drink as much as I had on Friday night so hopefully I wouldn’t be as hung over tomorrow. Lucah had also been bringing me water and food periodically.
“Too bad, Sunshine,” he said, putting his arms around me and picking me up.
“Goodnight, Rory!” everyone yelled and I waved to them. The game was still going when Lucah closed the bedroom door and set me in bed. Gently, he pulled my clothes off and then put one of his t-shirts over my head.
“They’re all going to stay here and at Sloane’s. You have very special friends,” he said.
“Uh huh,” I said. My eyes had closed, but I could hear him moving around and taking off his clothes.
“Go to sleep. We’ll go see your dad in the morning. He’s going to be fine.” I wanted to respond, but it would have taken too much energy, so I didn’t.
~*~*~
Waking up early the next morning after only a few hours of sleep was somehow worse than waking up with a hangover.
“I’m so sorry, but we have to stop at your parents’ so we have to get going,” Lucah said in my ear.
“Yup,” I said. He brought me something to eat, but I wasn’t hungry. I got dressed in my nicest comfy clothes and Lucah put my hair up for me. When I left the bedroom, Marisol was sacked out on the couch.
“Should we tell her we’re going?” I whispered.
“I left her a note and some breakfast,” Lucah said. He thought of everything.
~*~*~
He drove us to the house and I let myself in with my spare key.
“It’s so quiet,” I said. I wasn’t used to that at all. The house seemed sad. Lonely. There were no smells of cooking and no sounds of my mother’s laughter.
I shook off the feeling and went upstairs. I filled one of Mom’s designer bags with a few of her most casual outfits.
“Does your mother own sweatpants?” Lucah asked as I packed the clothes up and put them in the bag.
“Uh no. Not unless Valentino makes loungewear.” He snorted.
“Do you want me to get something for your dad? Sometimes they let you wear your own clothes in the hospital. I know they let Ryder.” That was right. Dad would probably feel much more comfortable in his pants and his shirts.
“Make sure to grab him a tie? And socks and dress shoes?” Lucah gave me a thumbs up and went to Dad’s closet. I picked out some underthings for mom and the most casual shoes I could find. My mother really did need to expand her wardrobe.
When Lucah got back, I had my bag packed.
“I also grabbed his toothbrush and so forth from the bathroom. He’ll probably also want to shave, so I got that stuff too,” he said.
“You think of everything, you wonderful, wonderful man,” I said, grabbing his face and kissing him.
“I do it all for you,” he said.
“And my family,” I added.
“Your family is an extension of you.” He took the bag from me and put both over his shoulders, and it was back to the hospital we went.
“This feels so familiar,” he said as he pulled out of the driveway and headed back into the city.