Part 35 (1/2)
”I'm having the surgery tomorrow,” she says. ”Splenectomy.”
I spin around slowly. Amy is looking at me. Her dad already told me, but I pretend to look surprised.
”Piece of cake,” Adam says.
I walk to Adam's side and look down at her, trying not to let the fear inside me show on my face.
”Easy for you to say,” she's saying to him. ”No one's carving you open like a Thanksgiving turkey to remove your spleen. Anyhow.”
She waves a finger at both of us like she's a teacher and we're her bad little pupils. ”You two? You're totally together now. Aren't you?”
”Totally,” Adam says and winks at her. My cheeks turn bright red and I open my mouth wide.
”Good. I told you my bracelets were magical. I expected this.”
She leans back against her pillow. Her face is paler than usual, I notice, and she seems tired. ”Does everyone at Tinkerpark know?”
”No!” I say. ”We're keeping it secret.” I don't want everyone knowing about it.
”Why?” she asks. ”Are you ashamed of each other?”
”No,” I say and notice Adam doesn't say anything.
”Morgan,” Amy says, ”are you worried about what people think?
You do know you're kind of an a.s.shole sometimes.”
I laugh. ”You're right. I am.”
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J a n e t G u r t l e r ”Wait, are you embarra.s.sed to be dating me?” Adam asks, grab- bing at his heart and pretending to be shocked.
”No. Well, maybe at work, since you're a manager.” I make air quotes on the word manager.
Amy clucks her tongue. ”You're better than that, Morgan.”
My cheeks heat up. ”Never mind me,” I say. ”How about you?
How are you feeling? Are you okay?” I resist putting my hand up to feel her forehead as if she's a little girl.
”Yeah. Great.” She doesn't look up though, and she twirls her ID bracelet around and around her wrist. She doesn't have her usual string bracelets on. I wonder if the hospital made her take them off.
”You know, for someone who has cancer.” She tries to grin but isn't quite successful at making her lips turn up.
”You beat it once; you can beat it again,” I say to her.
”Come on. Amy doesn't need that kind of stuff,” Adam says and frowns at me. I wonder if he's mad I haven't wanted to ”come out”
at work as the girl he might sort of be dating- maybe.
”No Hallmark card- isms,” he says, and the words sting and my cheeks warm. I'm worried I'm doing this all wrong, and he's kind of confirming it by critiquing me.
”And you know that because you're going to be a doctor?” I ask a little too snarkily and put my hand on my hip.
”It's a routine operation, but you don't have the right to mini- mize how she feels about it,” he says, narrowing his eyes.
”Whoa.” Amy waves both hands in the air without sitting up. ”No fighting allowed, you two. It's bad for my health.” She glares at Adam.
”And I know what she meant. People don't always know what to say.”
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1 6 t h i n g s i t h o u g h t w e r e t r u e I grit my teeth. ”I'm sorry if I sounded like a jerk.”
”I forgive you,” Adam says.
”I was talking to Amy,” I snap, even though he's trying to joke. I think we're both angry at the wrong person. Or maybe the situation.
It's not easy to see Amy in a hospital and not be able to do anything.
I've been shoving down bad feelings for days, and they're piling on top of each other, trying not to spill out at the wrong person.
”I'm so glad you're my friends. Don't fight,” Amy says, trying to bring us back together. ”Our trip was so much fun...” She glances at me. ”Other than your dad, I mean, and, uh, your mom.” She stops. ”Have you talked to them?”
I shake my head and pretend to search for something in my purse. Bob and his wife have been calling lately. Texting too, but I've ignored them. I don't know what to say yet, what I even want from them. And besides, I've been preoccupied with her.
Mom and I aren't talking. Well, I'm not talking to her. It's been surprisingly easy to give her the silent treatment, but it adds more layers to my mountain of repressed feelings.
”What time is your surgery?” I ask Amy. ”I want to be here when you wake up- if it's okay with your parents.” I tug on the sleeve of my Tinkerpark s.h.i.+rt.
She scowls. ”I don't know.”
Adam rests his b.u.t.t on the bed so he's sitting beside her. ”We totally should have picked up that hitchhiker. Don't you think, Amy?” he says to change the subject.
”You are such a dork!” she says but smiles. ”We'd be in pieces on the side of the highway by now.” She giggles. ”I never would 243.
sixteenthings.indd 243 9/9/13 2:21 PM.
J a n e t G u r t l e r have guessed Morgan could change a tire. Right? Or that you were afraid of cows.”
”I'm not afraid of cows,” Adam interrupts. ”I don't like them.
There's a difference.” He glares at her, but it's a mock glare. She makes a chicken clucking sound and they both laugh.
”I loved that hostel, even though I thought I was going to hate it.