December Solstice

Chapter 35

Saturday

"How's my sister this Christmas morning?" Lala asked as she entered Lenna's hospital room.

"Just in time!" Lenna said with a not-so-subtle bite in her voice. Lenna glanced at her digital watch.

"Well, now, are we a little impatient this morning?" Lala placed a leather duffel bag on the bed.

"Of course! You're having all the fun while I languish in this room." Lenna slowly rose from her chair. "I've been thinking all morning about how the house must look after all our planning."

"It looks even better now that Ethan has arrived." Lala opened the bag and took out the neatly folded clothing.

"He has?" Lenna could feel her heart jump. "I mean, he's there . . . I mean, already?"

Lala smiled and placed the clothes on the counter in the bathroom. "He seemed excited when he learned you had been discharged."

"Well, he should," Lenna ran her hand over the bag's soft leather and crossed the room. "I asked him to our Christmas dinner."

"A date?" Lala crossed her arms and smirked.

"Think of it as part of the terms of my release." Lenna stepped into the bathroom. "The hospitalist yielded when I told him I would be under medical supervision all day."

"So, that's it," Lala said. "You're paying Dr. Samuelson a professional fee to observe you all day."

"Of course not." Lenna dropped her hospital gown to the floor and nudged it aside with her foot. "That would be stupid."

"He volunteered his time?" Lala smirked, pulled the jeans from the counter, and held them as her sister stepped into them.

"Not exactly." Lenna grabbed her pants at the knee and pulled them up. "I'll be glad when I can touch my feet again. It's surprising how important that ability is."

"You're changing the subject," Lala said.

"Exactly." Lenna looked at the reflection of her body in the mirror. "How do you like my accessory?"

"The chest tube? It's very becoming," Lala said dryly.

"Yeah, sure. If everything works as it should, my doc will take it out Monday." Lenna groaned as she buttoned her jeans. Lala helped her with the zipper. "I should have asked for sweats. What was I thinking?"

"The need to look good," Lala said, "like every red-blooded American woman. You may have a tube from under your shirt to that machine, but you still look good."

"I'm glad you understand." Lenna ran her fingers through her hair. "I need a hairbrush."

"I brought a T-shirt for under your shirt. Do you want it?"

"Will I have to unbutton my jeans?"

"Nope. Lift your arms, and we'll get this on." Lala helped guide Lenna's arms through the t-shirt arm holes. Next came the flannel shirt. She left the flannel shirt unbuttoned for effect; the t-shirt nicely complemented the green and reds in her flannel shirt. The two women looked at Lenna's reflection in the mirror. "I think the chest tube poking from under your shirt adds to your mystery, but I'm not sure it does much for your seductiveness."

"If my Quasimoto face didn't put him off, I doubt tubes running out of my body will either," Lenna said, but she wasn't as sure as her words suggested. Lenna turned for a side view in the mirror and noticed Lala's reflection holding a hair brush behind her.

"You are an awesome sister," Lenna said, grabbing the brush.

"I know," Lala said, "but when you see the cosmetics and jewelry in your bag, you will think I'm an angel."