24. Tara

Tara hated hospitals. She always had.

She hated the harsh lights and sickening smell of antiseptic. The long, white hallways always made her anxious. They made her think of her mother’s rapid, horrible decline.

Being in a hospital – or worse, this same hospital – always brought her right back to those days, the endless drips of chemicals that had turned her mother into a ragged shadow of the woman she had once been.

Tara had successfully avoided setting foot in the hospital for years. She had birthed her babies at home, and she used butterfly bandages to close the kind of wounds that other people might get stitched up.

There wasn’t much that could persuade her to walk those sterile halls, but today she felt compelled. Just a few minutes, to drop off some food and ensure her friend that she had everything in hand. Lani deserved that much.

‘ōlena had texted her the room number, so she slipped past the front desk and found them without much trouble.

Tenn was unconscious, his face a terrible shade of gray. The hospital bed was at a slight incline, and various tubes ran to his nose and arms.

Tara tore her gaze away and looked for Lani.

She found her slumped in a chair, looking as wan and miserable as Tenn. An older man sat next to her, looking similarly shocked and exhausted. Tenn’s dad, she guessed.

Outside, the gray light of dawn filtered weakly through the morning fog.

Lani’s eyes met Tara’s, blank and unseeing, until she blinked in recognition and straightened slightly in her seat.

“‘ōlena told me what happened.” Tara kept her voice down, just above a whisper.

“You won’t wake him,” the man said, his voice horse. “He just got out of surgery. They say he’ll probably need another.”

“Sorry,” Lani mumbled. She blinked rapidly, like she was trying to wake up. “This is Tenn’s dad, Ken Nakamura. Ken, this is my neighbor, Tara.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he mumbled in a voice that was nothing of the sort.

For a split second, she imagined Cody lying unconscious in the hospital bed. The thought was too painful to contemplate, and she quickly pushed it away.

“I brought some food,” she said quietly, setting the bag down on a small table that stood against the wall. “I don’t imagine you feel much like eating, but it’s important to keep your strength up.”

Ken nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes not focused on her or on anything in particular.

“Thank you.” Lani’s voice cracked. She stood up and took a few unsteady steps forward.

Tara met her in the middle and put her arms around her, holding her up. For a long moment, she just held her. Then she spoke quietly, into her ear.

“I spent a lot of time in this place with my mom. Too much.” She leaned back so that she could look Lani in the eye, keeping her hands on her shoulders. “You need to eat, okay? Even if you don’t feel like it. And you need to get outside, get a bit of sunshine. You won’t be any good to him if you make yourself sick.”

“I need him to wake up,” Lani said, her voice barely audible. Tears spilled from her eyes, and Tara put her arms around her again. She held on tight as Lani shook with silent sobs.

“He’ll be fine,” Ken said, his voice gruff. He wasn’t looking at them, or at his son. He was still staring at some random spot on the wall. There was a pleading note to his voice when he followed up with, “They said he’ll be fine.”

Gently, Tara pushed Lani back into her seat. She pulled two jars out of her bag; they were still warm. She handed one to Lani and pressed the second into Ken’s hands.

“It’s Tom Ka Gai. Just the broth. There’s food in the bag when you’re ready, but at least sip on this for now.”

Neither of them moved to open the jars.

“He’s going to wake up soon. When he does, you don’t want to be dehydrated and half awake.”

Slowly, they twisted the lids off. The warm, nourishing scent of chicken broth and lemongrass filled the air, followed by a sweet hint of coconut. Lani drank deeply, and Ken took a few noisy sips. Then Lani looked up at her with a start.

“The goats! I forgot about the goats!”

“We’ve got the animals covered,” Tara assured her. “I milked the goats, and Cody took Dio for a run this morning. He’s going to feed him and the other animals when they get back.”

Fresh tears spilled from Lani’s eyes. “Thank you.”

Tara cracked a window and let the warm scent of Tom Ka Gai chase out the last of the antiseptic hospital smell. Then she turned and looked at Lani. She found that when she focused on the people in front of her, the hospital itself fell away.

“Do you want me to stay a while?” she asked.

Lani nodded rapidly. “Okay.”

Tara pulled a chair over so that she could sit right next to her neighbor, holding her hand.

Lani clutched her fingers with one hand and drank her broth with the other. When it was gone, she set the jar aside and hesitantly took Ken’s hand in her own. He didn’t pull away.

Side by side, they waited for Tenn to wake up.