A month later, Dad and I decided to invite Miranda and Stephanie over for Thanksgiving and they both accepted our invitation. We added another bed in my room last week. I don't think Stephanie and I will have an issue to share a room. We'd do just fine. Stephanie didn't know we added a new bed in my room. I didn't tell her we're going to share one anyway although she knows we live in a two-bedroom house. Also, we would be seeing Mom every other weekend and see her dad together every other weekend together. That would be fun.
At school, I said, "I can't wait for having Thanksgiving lunch together."
"Same here," said Stephanie.
"I have something to show you when you come over after school," I said.
We had plans to spend the afternoon at my house.
"Okay," said Stephanie.
"What is it?" asked Samuel.
"It's a surprise I'm not going to tell her until later," I said.
"That's right. If she did tell me, it wouldn't be a surprise. It would be spoiled," said Stephanie as we giggled.
After school, I was getting tired. I've been like that lately for the past two weeks. I had no idea what it is.
"Do you want me over another time?" asked Stephanie. "You look a little tired."
"That's okay. You still can come over so I can stay awake," I replied.
"Are you sure?" asked Stephanie as I nodded.
When we got to my house, I showed her something new in my room.
"Oh, cool. You have another bed," said Stephanie.
"Yeah. Remember how this is a two-bedroom?" I asked as she nodded. "We'll be sharing this room. I hope you're okay with that. We have no other rooms."
"I don't mind. We share mine when you sleepover at my house," said Stephanie.
"I didn't want to tell you because I wanted this to be a secret until I get an extra bed," I said.
"I understand," said Stephanie.
"Dad told me he had a meeting and then, we'll be going out, but I might be too tired to do that," I said.
"I believe it," said Stephanie.
Twenty minutes later, Stephanie left before Dad came home from the meeting. He knows how tired I am and he's getting concerned about it.
"We can go out shortly," said Dad.
"I don't think I will. I'm just tired," I said.
"I told your doctor and she said she'd have you checked," said Dad.
"Oh, good," I said. "I don't know why I'm so tired."
Later, at the doctor's, I had my blood drawn.
"The blood results will be in a few days," said the doctor.
"Okay," I said.
"In the meantime, I want you to stay home from school so you can get some rest," instructed Dr. Duarte.
"Sounds good. I don't want to fall asleep in class," I said.
I was glad that I got checked on. I didn't want to feel tired anymore. I went home. I didn't feel like going anywhere else. Dad was fine with that. When I got home, I was lying on my bed. I even went to bed early.
Two days later, Dad had a phone call.
"Becky has mononucleosis. That's why she was tired for two weeks," said Dr. Duarte. "Good thing you took her in early."
"I know. What should I do about that?" asked Dad.
"The bed rest is the only cure. It could last one month or two," said the doctor.
"Okay," said Dad. "I'll call the school when we're done."
"And, it's better off for her to wait until she goes back to school to do homework or classwork because she gets too much, she might not want to do any of it," added Dr. Duarte.
"That would be a good idea to do," said Dad.
After they talked, Dad called the school and talked to the principal, who didn't blame my doctor for wanting me to wait until I return to do everything. After that, he wanted to talk to me, but I was sleeping. He decided to let me sleep. He would probably tell me later when I'm awake.
Later, I was getting orange juice when Dad saw me.
"Your doctor called earlier while you were sleeping," said Dad.
"What did she say to you?" I asked.
"You have mononucleosis, which caused you to be tired," replied Dad.
"I've heard of it before," I said. "I'm glad I saw her early."
"She said the same thing. She said the only way for you to get better is to stay in bed," said Dad.
"Okay. For how long?" I asked.
"It may take a month or two. I called the school. Also, the doctor prefers you to wait until you get back to school to do any class or homework in case you get too tired to do so if you get too much of it and the principal didn't blame your doctor on that," said Dad.
"I don't either," I said. "It would give me time to recover. The only question is that would Miranda and Stephanie be allowed to come for Thanksgiving or should I see how I feel first because would that be catchy?"
"You can see how you feel first. You're right if you don't want to take a risk to give it to one of them. If not, we can make up for it on Christmas," said Dad.
"Okay," I said.
Later, I called Stephanie while I was in bed and she answered. She wondered how I was doing.
"I have mononucleosis. I'm glad Dad brought me to see my doctor," I said.
"Me, too," said Stephanie.
"We don't know if you and your mom still could come over Thanksgiving. It could take a month or two for me to recover. Dad said I can see how I feel first," I said. "I'll let you know when time comes."
"Okay, if not, don't worry about it," said Stephanie.
"I was afraid one of you could catch it from me," I said.
"You have a good point," said Stephanie.
Two weeks later and a few days before Thanksgiving, I still had mono. Dad had to cancel Miranda and Stephanie to let me rest in case they get it from me. My recovery was slower than I expected. Miranda understood.
"We can make up for it during Christmastime," said Miranda.
"I agree. That's what I said as well," said Dad. "I won't bother with turkey."
"I don't blame you," said Miranda.
"I'll let her eat soup in bed. I've been letting her to do so," said Dad.
A few days later, I was too tired to get out of bed.
"Happy Thanksgiving," said Dad. "Do you want soup in bed?"
"Sure. I can't wait to get better. I don't like being cooped up in the house," I said.
"I know," said Dad.
"Being sick on Thanksgiving is not a way for me to enjoy the holiday," I added.
"That's true," said Dad.
"If I was better in time, we still would've have Miranda and Stephanie over today. I hope I get better before Christmas," I said.
"I'm sure you will, honey," said Dad. "You're due to see Dr. Duarte tomorrow morning."
"Oh, good. At least I can finally leave the house," I said.
I was glad to hear that. I'm serious. I started to hate to being in the house all this time. Don't me wrong, I don't being home instead of falling asleep in school, but I want to get better by now. At noon, I had soup and orange juice.
The next day, Dad and I left the house for my doctor's appointment, which was at 9:30 am. We were the first ones to be seen.
"It seems that your recovery is slow than I expected," said Dr. Duarte, who was looking at me.
"Yeah, I can't wait to get better. I'm starting to hate being cooped up in the house," I said.
"I don't blame you. But I'm sure you will get better soon," said Dr. Duarte.
"At this rate, I won't get better until December," I said.
"You're probably right on that," said the doctor.
"I hope I'd get better for Christmas," I said. "We had to cancel Miranda and Stephanie a few days ago in case mono could be catchy."
"That was a smart thing to dos," said Dr. Duarte.
"That's why I hope I'd be better by the holidays because we decided to make up for it," I said.
"You'll never know," said Dr. Duarte. "Sometimes mono takes a long time to recover. You might even still have it next month."
"What?" I asked in a surprised tone. "I might miss January?"
"Possibly. We'll see how it goes first," said the doctor. "If you're not better by Christmas, you might not able to have anyone over at all. Also, I don't want you to get too excited when you open gifts, especially any excitement could cause a relapse, which means you may get sick again if you overdo it."
"Would I get better before Dad's wedding? I'm due to be a bridesmaid with Stephanie," I said.
"You should be. When is that?" asked the doctor.
"Sometime in February," replied Dad.
"You'll have time to get better before that," said the doctor.
"Oh, good," I said. "I didn't want to miss that special day."
I remembered something else: Mom had mono herself before she left me and Dad. I'd be the second person to have that. Dad would take me places while we let Mom sleep. That was a big help. She had that for two months. She had to miss work during that time. Her boss was nice enough to let that happen: she would get paid sick time. That was luck.
After the doctor's appointment, we headed back home.
"At least I'd get better in time for the wedding. That's all I care about," I said.
"That's true," said Dad.
"Didn't Mom had mono for two months?" I asked.
"Yes, I remember telling you that," said Dad.
"I bet that could happen to me," I said. "I don't want to be sick for any holidays at all."
"I don't blame you," said Dad.
"I pray that I do get better before Christmas," I said. "At least Mom knew I couldn't visit her because of mono. She also remembered having that herself."
At home, I was on the couch.
"I'm glad mono won't harm the baby," I said. "That's all I care about as well."
"I know," said Dad.
Two hours later, I was feeling nauseous. I felt better after I had some water. That night, I had some orange juice. I had soup again.
Two weeks later, I started to feel better, but I still felt tired. Of course, I still had mono. Luckily, Christmas is only two weeks away. Dad started with the tree. I wanted to help him out, but he wanted me to relax. He didn't want me to get exhausted from doing any decorating. He did other decorations as well. He didn't seem to mind to do it on his own since I had no choice. And, I'm used to help him with that every year. Decorating the house for Christmas is my favorite part of the year. But that's okay: there's always next year when I help out.
What I'm terrified the most is that I'd miss Eliza's birthday. I can send her a birthday card along with a Christmas card. So, I'm not worried about that part. Two weeks later, I still couldn't have anyone over. I still haven't recovered from mono. We couldn't have Miranda and Stephanie again, so that was a bummer. I just hate it when that had to happen again. I wanted to get better as soon as possible. It would be nice if I recover during Christmas Vacation.
I spent the whole day in bed on Christmas Eve. I was getting bored. There was nothing else to do at all. At least I can open presents tomorrow. I already sent Eliza her cards yesterday- thankfully. I was glad about that. She already texted me saying she loved the cards. She knew about mono, so she understood that I couldn't leave the house or do anything.
The next day, I was able to get out of bed and opened all of my gifts. I was being careful not to get too excited to avoid being exhausted even more. I felt good to be out of bed although I've been on the couch off and on. Dad and I had chicken pot pies for our Christmas lunch. I was glad I had an appetite this time. We had it in the living room on the couch.
"I'm glad I was able to open my gifts," I said.
"I bet," said Dad.
A week later, I finally recovered from in time for school! I was glad about that. Dr. Duarte had to make sure of that and luckily, I was cleared to go back for school Monday. After we left, I was happy.
"I'm glad I can finally get back to school after all this time," I said.
"I believe it," said Dad.
"I'll wait until next weekend to be with Mom," I said.
"That would be the best thing to do," agreed Dad.
"I'll just let her know," I said.
That's what I did and she replied by saying it was fine by her. At least I was able to let her know ahead of time. The weekend was almost over anyway- it's only Saturday and there is no point to spend one night with Mom, which is why I decided to wait until next weekend to do so.