Stephanie's POV
Today was the day she was supposed to see her mother in the hospital, and she was so scared. She didn't know what to do or what to expect. Kate had been doing her best to calm her down and comfort her.
Kate had gone back to her house in the morning to freshen up so they could go to the hospital together. She wasn't sure what she'd do without her friend.
Kate came back, and they decided to let her drive since she was the one with the clearer head. As they drew closer to the hospital, Stephanie's nerve increased in folds.
Finally, they got to the hospital, and it was time to go in. Stephanie took a deep breath and tried to gather herself before going in.
"Do you want me to stay here while you go in?" Kate asked, obviously trying to give her privacy, but Stephanie wasn't having any of it. She needed her friend.
"No, I can't do this alone. I'm ready. Let's go in." Kate turned off the engine, and they went into the hospital. It smelled of antiseptics and sadness. Stephanie wasn't exactly sure what sadness smelled like, but she knew hospitals smelled like it.
They told the nurse they met who they were looking for; she asked about their relationship with her and then directed them to her room. Stephanie gathered her courage and went into the hospital room.
Her mother blinked her eyes slowly and stared at her. "Rose?" Her mother asked. Stephanie never knew who Rose was, but her mother always called for her.
"No, ma, it's me, Stephanie. I'm here with Kate," she corrected gently. At the beginning of her mother's condition, she always played along, but the doctors told her she could always correct her as long as it didn't make her agitated.
"Oh, Stephanie, my baby? Come sit, and this is your pink-haired friend." She said referring to her friend's end-of-high school hair color.
They went to sit beside her and listen to all the things she had to say. Half the time, Stephanie could not understand what her mother was talking about, but she didn't care. Her mother looked so fragile, and it made her teary. Although she tried her best not to show it for her mother's sake,.
After about two hours of hanging out with her mother, the nurse came to administer her medication, and she warned that she'd be lucid before the medication finally put her to sleep. She told them, too, that she could be out for hours.
When her mother started slipping in and out of consciousness, she said her goodbyes and told her she would be back to see her soon. She told her mother she loved her and kissed her on the forehead. As they were about to leave the room, her mother whispered, 'I love you too'. She turned around and smiled at her mother. She left the room and the hospital with tears in her eyes. She began to cry when she entered Kate's car. She could not believe that was her mother, the strongest woman she had ever known.
After she had calmed down, Kate suggested they go have coffee and go bowling to take her mind off it.
They drove to the coffee shop, and she had her favorite thing to drink. The bowling alley, however, was too crowded, and she most definitely wasn't in a waiting mood. They headed back home and spent the rest of the day watching movies while she tried to forget her hospital visit.
Kate got on a call with her boyfriend, and then Stephanie realized she hadn't spoken to Alexander all day, which was weird because he always texted her during the day. She decided to shoot a short text asking how he was.
Kate got off the phone with her boyfriend a while after Alexander asked if she was available to go bowling. She asked Kate if she was busy tomorrow, and she was hoping a little that she was, but Kate said she wasn't, and she didn't have any plans with her boyfriend anymore.
"Well, Alexander asked if you were available to go bowling," she said, showing her the text. Kate stared at her like she had grown another head.
"Girl, are you crazy? Gimme that," she said, and then collected her phone. She typed something down and handed the phone back.
Stephanie took her phone and saw that Kate had sent Alexander a text. She turned to ask Kate what she just did when she received a text.
Alexander: It is a date, then.