“Quit being a drama queen,” I tell my sister.
Maria laughs. “You’re the one wearing the crown.”
“Exactly. How long will I have this contraption anyway?”
“Six weeks at the very least,” Jason says from his perch behind a rolling computer stand.
“Ugh, I’m sorry I asked.”
“We need to keep your neck as still as possible until we’re certain you’ve healed properly.”
“Is he always this much of a drag?” I ask Carmen, who’s swapped out with Austin.
“Not usually, but he knows what he’s doing around here, so you need to listen to him.”
“Yes, Mom. How are you feeling?” She was sick during Nochebuena and still doesn’t look quite right in the eyes.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you knocked up?” Maria asks her.
“Maybe. Maybe not. Are you?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Wait a minute.” My eyes, the one part of my head I can move without a problem, dart between them. “What gives?”
“If I tell you,” Carmen says, “will you keep it between us? We were waiting until after the three-month mark to tell people.”
“We were, too,” Maria adds.
They go into a girly squealing thing as they hug each other, for a second seemingly mindless of the fact that they’re in an ICU hospital room.
“That explains the nonstop crying,” Carmen says.
“And here I thought it was concern for me,” I say.
Maria’s eyes fill again with tears. “Of course it was.”
“Stop. I’m joking.”
My older sister wipes her face with the back of her hand. “It’s not funny. You have no idea what an ordeal we went through last night.”
“Sorry to do that to you.”
Maria runs her hand over my arm. “I’ve decided to forgive you, but only because you lived through it.”
“Gee, thanks.”
I enjoy visits with Vincent, Vivian, Abuela, Nona, Domenic, his parents and several close friends before Gianna says it’s nap time, ushering my visitors to the waiting room for now. I’ll never admit to being relieved to hear her say that, because I’m so tired, I feel like I could sleep for a week.
“You’re a popular guy,” she says.
“Tell me the truth. Have they completely overtaken the ICU waiting room and set out a buffet for everyone?”
“How’d you guess?”
“I know how they roll. It’s all about quantity in my family—people and food.”