The Education of Hailey Kendrick - Eileen Cook [74]
“I think she’d be pretty ticked at me, too,” I said.
“We’d both be grounded.”
“Remember how when she was really mad she would give herself a time-out?” I said.
My dad laughed. “She used to crawl back into bed with a book. She said life would be better if everyone took a time-out when they needed one.”
“I miss her.” My eyes spilled over. With all the crying I’d been doing lately, I was going to have to increase my water intake or run the risk of dehydration.
“I miss her too. She was a hell of a woman. You remind me of her.”
I wiped my eyes. “How?”
“Your mom was persistent. She used to say it didn’t matter if she won the race but that she kept going even when she fell down. She wasn’t a quitter. That was one of the reasons I was crazy about her. I was always worried about what other people thought of me. I didn’t ever want to look stupid. Your mom didn’t worry so much about other people. She kept her focus on not letting herself down. I can tell you’ve got that same focus. You’re going to go far. She’d be the first person cheering you on.”
I smiled. I had a memory of her being at one of my school recitals in elementary school. She’d been the only parent giving a standing ovation. Maybe that’s how you know someone loves you; they make you want to be a better person by believing in your effort, not just your accomplishments.
My dad handed me my bowl of ice cream. “Okay, let’s get back to the issue. If you like Drew, why did you hit him when he kissed you? Was it that bad of a kiss?”
I laughed. My leg was broken, I had a concussion, and I was most likely in the largest amount of trouble I’d ever been in at school, and suddenly it felt like things had never been better.
31
I shifted in the wheelchair. I had wanted to walk out on my crutches, but the hospital had some sort of policy against it. You would think they would want people to walk out. It would make it look like people got better in the hospital, but no. I was parked in the lobby waiting for my ride.
I’d sent my dad home yesterday. He’d offered to be the one to take me back to school, but I knew he needed to get back to work. The past three days we’d talked like we hadn’t in years. We’d made plans for spring break. We were going to go down to North Carolina, just the two of us, but on the way back my dad was going to arrange for me to meet Linda. He’d offered to cancel his summer plans in London, but suddenly it didn’t seem as important as it had earlier. We’d talked about how London was full of history and maybe I’d spend at least part of my summer with him over there. I didn’t know what else I would do with my summer, but I was okay with that.
Finally the car pulled up to the hospital doorway. The nurse who was pushing my chair through the doors let out a gasp when she saw who it was. She was so focused on him, there was the very real chance she would have let me roll into oncoming traffic.
Tristan opened the passenger door of his car. “Your chariot awaits,” he said, bending low.
“My chariot is late,” I pointed out.
“Not just late, fashionably late.” Tristan put his hand on my back as I crutched my way into his car. “Watch the ice. You don’t want to end up back in there five minutes after getting out.”
Tristan turned on his charm for the nurse as he gathered up my bags and took the discharge papers. If she asked him for an autograph, I was going to push her down with one of my crutches. He climbed in and waved to the crowd that was gathering near the door. I was starting to feel like we were in a parade. Tristan jacked up the heat in the car before taking off. We drove in silence out of town toward school.
“Thanks for picking me up,” I said.
“What are friends for?” Tristan glanced over and smiled. “Kelsie wanted to come too, but Dean Winston wouldn’t let both of us leave campus. She’s looking forward to seeing you. I should warn you, I think she’s planning some sort of welcome back party.”
“I’m not sure Winston’s going to approve a party.” My dad had met with Dean