Page 44 of Double Exposure

Chapter Twelve

Jade Choi

My father is sitting in his hospital bed, smiling, full of good news. My mother had ducked into the bathroom beforehand and told Carter and I not to say anything about her being there.

Talk about drama. I think she wants to make an entrance, but I don’t care. I’m just glad to be here.

Dad’s chatting with one of the male nurses. “This is my new friend, Jamal,” he says. “Look at him. He just got out of nursing school last year.”

Jamal is good looking, with thick brown-black hair and tight mid-length braids, full lips and a short, trimmed beard.

The computer monitor in the corner blips and Jamal takes a quick look.

“Everyone here is family, right? This is some medical info.”

Carter raises his hand. “I’m not. I can step out.”

My father laughs. “Certainly not. Out with it. Talk to us Jamal.”

“They are scheduling you for surgery tomorrow morning,” says Jamal.

My father is surprised. I can tell by how suddenly quiet he’s become. I think he thought he’d heal up in a week or two.

Jamal notes Dad’s sudden malaise. “You win though. Dr. Obuya is great. He will be by later to talk to you about next steps.”

“Fair enough,” says my father. “Wait, before you go,” he says to us, “Jamal, here, is an amateur photographer. Actually, he is a photographer.”

“We can just use the ‘amateur,’” says the nurse. The man looks a little embarrassed. “I'm just an amateur,” he says to me in an aside, as if we share some secret.

“Oh no, I wouldn't say that. Anyone who points and shoots a camera is a photographer. Don't disqualify yourself. What's your favorite camera? My daughter has hers.”

The man looks at me. “Oh, you’re a photographer, too? Shit. I mean. I feel out of my league here.”

“It’s a little more complicated than pointing a camera, isn’t it?” says Carter. He winks at me. I detect some chivalry and it’s thrilling.

I change the subject. “How soon after surgery can he be released?”

Jamal, equally relieved to be tasked with something else in conversation, looks at the chart.

“That is so not my call. That’ll be up to both doctors.”

The door opens and my mother steps into the room. She seems small, overwhelmed, and her eyes are red. Again. Was she crying in the bathroom? Is that why she wanted to come in later?

My parents stare at each other for a moment and I see her shoulders tremble. She too, has never seen Dad like this—hooked up to machines. Weak.

His breath quickens.

Jamal takes his leave. “Just ring the buzzer if you need anything.”

Their gaze does not waver from each other. It’s only after she leans on the edge of his bed and picks up his hand, that she drops her eyes. She takes her index finger and traces the outline of his veins. He tells her in short soft sentences what he’s just found out about the surgery. She closes her eyes and holds his hand in her lap.

It’s intimate. I avert my eyes.

“I should probably go,” says Carter. I’ll let you all—”

“Absolutely not,” says Mom.

“It would be nice if you stayed awhile,” I say. “I mean if you can.”