177 - Brothers
*I’m only releasing her to go home because her specialist has assured me that she has a private nurse on retainer. Otherwise, I would advise that she go into the hospital. – Urgent Care Doctor*
Dutch changed out the cool damp cloth on Camille’s forehead. This time, the one that he was taking off was not as hot as the previous ones. She stirred slightly and he soothed her with a few soft-spoken words in their family’s native tongue.
Mitch walked into the room and his uncle smiled at him as he held out an arm. He wrapped an arm around the young teen, offering him comfort and quiet assurances. The boy reached out and took his adoptive mother’s hand in his own.
“You’re sure she’s going to be okay?”
He could hear the fear in the soft voice, and it broke his heart. Unfortunately, he knew that sound well. The marriage between him and his ex-wife ended roughly, but he did not wish anything ill on her or her new husband. A few years ago, when she battled leukemia, he heard the same fear in his own kid’s voices.
Treating this child much like he had when his own children asked the exact same question. The difference was that this time, he was certain that the assurances were true and not just lip service. Hugging the scared boy close to him, Dutch pressed his lips to the dark hair.
“Yes, she’s going to be fine.”
“Do you promise?”
“I do,” he smiled and rested his chin on the boy’s head. “I know it’s scary seeing her like this. We’ve seen her do this for the majority of her life, and you are just now experiencing it.”
“She was like this in Arkansas for almost a full day.”
Dutch nodded, “Critter told me about that. That was caused by stress; this time, it’s because she’s sick.”
“Will her illness make being sick worse?”
“In a way,” he admitted. “I don’t know if it’s related to her disease or just because my sister cannot be normal, she can’t take some medications. But her specialist is working with her other doctors to make sure that she’s getting the best treatment that she can get.”
“She doesn’t have Covid, right?”
“No, bud, she does not have Covid. I know, seeing her like this is scary, but she’s going to be okay.”
There was a soft sniffle before Mitch pointed out, “She’s been like this for nearly three days.”
“You know how when you get sick, you want to sleep a lot?”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, it’s the same thing. The difference here is that you may wake up every few hours, my sister will not. She’s going to sleep until this illness passes.”
Critter walked into the room carrying a syringe and fresh saline bag. Removing the damp cloth from her forehead, he placed it on his brother’s head. “Hold that.”
“Yeah, sure,” Dutch replied dryly. “Just telling our nephew here that she’s going to be okay.”
“If for no other reason than to annoy me,” Critter agreed as he removed the empty bag from the pole sitting next to the large bed. “Which this,” he flipped open the door on the bedpost that hid the swivel D-ring, “is way more than what I ever needed to know about our littlest sister.”
“Probably more than what her son needs to know about,” Dutch pointed out as he closed the little door.
“Kid,” Critter said as he pushed the antibiotics into the port on his sister’s arm, “your albino mom is a freak.”
“Seriously?” Dutch asked.
“What?” the younger brother asked innocently.
“Albino?”
Pointing at the little door with the syringe, he replied, “After seeing that, and that,” he pointed at the tall pedestal table with a fake ivy on it, “I can *not call our sister vanilla.”
“Oh my God! Why did mom bring you down here?”
“Because I’m a nurse,” he disposed of the syringe and empty bag.
“When are you going home?”
“Hopefully before I completely melt.” Looking at Mitch, Critter grinned, “Oma has gone to the store and cookies are on the counter and we, young sir, are unsupervised.”
“I’m here,” Dutch growled.
“Yeah?” he grinned as he put an arm around Mitch’s shoulders and guided him towards the door. “Rosie said that she would stop by in a little bit.”
“Did she say when?” Dutch asked as he followed his brother and nephew.
Critter chuckled as they went down the stairs to the bottom floor. “After work.”
“Where’s Nicki?” Mitch asked.
“She went with Oma,” his younger uncle replied as they approached the bottom of the stairs.
As they stepped off the bottom stairs, the front door opened, and Darkness walked in. Tink trotted in next to him and headed for the water bowl in the kitchen. Seeing his nephew looking worried, he held out his arm to young teen as he dropped the Jeep keys on the hook.
Dutch watched the boy and thought about how scared he appeared at that moment. He had already lost his parents and now he was worried about losing his new mother. Critter nudged his brother’s arm and when he looked over, the younger tilted his head towards the kitchen. With a slight nod, the older one followed to the kitchen and the unsupervised cookies.
“Physically, he looks like a young man,” Critter said softly as he handed over a chocolate chip cookie, “but then he looks so young and…”
“Vulnerable,” Dutch offered before biting down on the soft cookie.
Nodding, Critter picked a cookie that was a little crunchier but not overbaked as their father preferred the treats. “You know, Rosie and I were talking shop. I think that she’s right, when they move back home, a nurse that Momma Dee knows and feels comfortable with should go with her. Help her settle in.”
“That makes sense,” Dutch agreed. “She’s what? A hundred and five?”
“Close,” Critter nodded. “You could probably very easily convince Rosie to be that nurse.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know why she became a bunny?”
“For the sex?” Dutch grinned.
Chuckling at his older brother, he admitted, “She said that was a benefit. Also said that without having to pay for rent or utilities, she’s been able to pay off her school loans. They’re all paid off now.”
Narrowing his eyes, he looked at his brother as he picked out another crunchy cookie. “Okay, smart guy. I don’t have a fancy degree like you; I just did trade school. Help me pick up what you’re putting down.”
Smirking, Critter cocked his eyebrow at his brother, “Trade school or not, you had better grades than I did. But I’ll lay it out for you. If Rosie goes up north with Momma Dee, you could probably convince her to stay. Back home, it’s a new life, she would be a nurse, not a bunny.”
“Yeah, but….”
“But what? You and Spider and your Eiffel Tower fetish?”
Focusing too much on finding a gooey cookie, he shrugged.
“You realize that our brother has two wives, and your kids are used to seeing Spider around your house. It works for Evie and her men.”
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