"I love you, too, baby sis. Oh hey, they need me to fill something out. Call me here if you need anything, okay? I'll be curled up in the waiting room, but I'll check for messages at the nurses’ station."
Well, at least she'd be warm in the waiting room. "Okay. Bye, Mar."
"Love you."
I paused for a second, staring at the phone and when Kyland looked at me questioningly, breathing into his hands to warm them up, I said, "They're okay. Settled in. They'll be there through Christmas, which . . . well," I straightened up, taking in a deep breath, "that's just the way it is." I was silent again, considering something. I picked up the phone book again and looked up a number in Evansly, and then dialed it. It rang twice and then a man's voice answered.
"Hi, Doctor Nolan? Sam?"
"Yes? How can I help you?"
I cleared my throat. "This is Tenleigh Falyn . . . I, shoot I . . ." I suddenly had doubts. Marlo would kill me. What was I doing?
"Tenleigh, what's wrong?" He sounded tense.
"I . . . well, our mama, uh . . . had an incident and well, Marlo's at the hospital with her and I just thought, I mean, I wondered if you'd want to . . ."
"I'm putting my jacket on, Tenleigh. Which floor is she on?"
"The twelfth." I knew it by heart.
He was quiet for a second. "The mental ward?"
"Yes," I whispered, closing my eyes, shame making me doubt what I was doing again. "I know you're a dentist, not a doctor, but I thought . . . God, I don't even know. I'm sorry. It's Christmas Eve." I glanced at Kyland who was watching me closely as I fumbled my way through the phone call.
"You did the right thing. At the very least I can go and keep Marlo company. Are you okay?"
I released a breath. "Yes, I'm fine. And that's really nice of you," I said. And I said it squeakily. Gratitude overwhelmed me.
Kyland's face grew concerned, but I nodded at him, letting him know everything was good.
"I'm really glad you called me. Thank you, Tenleigh."
"Okay, thank you. Truly, thank you. Bye, Sam."
I hung up and took a deep, calming breath. Marlo would likely murder me, but I felt good about what I'd done. Maybe Marlo didn't want to date him, but he was a nice guy. I had a good feeling about him. And everyone could use a nice friend or two, right?
"That was a friend of Marlo's," I said to Kyland. "I just called him to see if he would go sit with Marlo. The floor my mama's on, it's not the most pleasant of places."
He nodded sadly, and we set off up the hill. I was glad Kyland didn't ask me any questions at that moment—I wasn't quite ready to say any more. Half an hour later, we were at my trailer, where I threw the door open and we hurried in. At least Marlo had closed the door before running after mama or it'd be freezing inside. Our breath still plumed in the air. I turned on the two small portable heaters we had, although I knew it'd be a while before our drafty old trailer felt even remotely comfortable. I started stripping my wet boots off and when I looked up at Kyland, he was standing by the doorway uncomfortably.
"You should get dry," I said. "I mean . . . unless you need to get home. Oh!" I slapped my forehead. "You need to get home. Your mama . . ."
He shook his head. "No. My mama's fine. She's not waiting up for me. I just . . . I wish I could offer you a ride to the hospital. Will your sister need you there?"
I threw my boots aside and started peeling off my wet socks, still shivering. "No. We . . . take turns. It's what we do." I said. I didn't offer more than that, but Kyland nodded as if he understood, removing his shoes and socks, too. We took off our coats and I tossed him a blanket folded up on the couch where I slept. I pulled one around me as well and settled back, nodding to the spot next to me.
He hesitated for a second, but then sat down and pulled a blanket around himself, too.
"I like your tree," he said, nodding at our small Christmas tree. I smiled. We'd cut it down ourselves. It was small and we didn't have a lot of decorations, but we had a string of white lights and I loved them. Somehow, even our small, dingy trailer looked pretty in the glow of those twinkle lights.
"Thanks."
We were quiet for a minute before he spoke. "Tenleigh, I’ll understand if you don't want to talk about it, but if you do . . ."
I sighed. "My mama? You mean what's wrong with her?"
He nodded, but his eyes were tender.
I pulled the blanket more tightly around me, finally feeling warm. The wind whistled mournfully through the trees outside.
"My daddy brought her here when she was pregnant with Marlo. He left when I was three days old. Walked right out the front door of this trailer and never looked back."
"Shit, I'm sorry."
I shook my head. "Don't be. Not for me at least. I never knew him, and after what he did to my mama, I'm glad I didn't."
"Is that what . . ." Kyland paused, seeming to be searching for the right words.
"Made her the way she is?" I shook my head. "No. I mean . . . maybe it made her worse, I don't know, but my mama, she's always been up and down . . . delusional sometimes. The doctor in town who prescribes her medication says she has a depressive disorder, but I'm not sure. It seems like a little more than that and he doesn't seem to know what he's talking about anyway." I looked down, feeling exposed. I'd never discussed any of this with anyone except Marlo.