Signatures
Ally picked petals of a flower on the roof of the treehouse. Ally and her little brother were alone at home at the insistence of their mother. Tomorrow was the book signing, a Saturday so important. Yet so complicated.
Go. Don't go. Go. Don't go. She picked off the petals and let them float down in the grass. Billy was sleep soundly in his room, but Ally was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even think of sleep until a call from the hospital came.
"Hello?" Ally was alert at once.
"Is this Ms. Gunderson's daughter Ally?" A nurse's lilting voice asked, way too perky for 11:45 pm.
"Yes, this is... Is my mom awake?"
"Yes, she asked to speak with you."
Ally waited patiently until the phone was in her mother's hands.
"Ally," Her mother breathed, sick. She had chosen to endure the couple of days needed before surgery to diagnose and get ready the operation instead of transferring somewhere else to receive it immediately.
"Mom," Ally muttered, flower falling the the ground twelve feet below.
"Are you still awake? Do you have something on your mind?" Ms. Gunderman rasped. Ally smiled.
"No, Mom."
"Don't lie to me, Ally. Just tell what's up." Ally sighed. She felt urged to talk about.
"The truth is, our book, the one me and Aaron wrote, will be distributed by Barnes&Nobles if I sign the contract at 1:00 tomorrow. But I don't want to leave you and Billy by yourselves when you get surgery."
Her mother cackled and hen started coughing. "Don't worry about me, Ally! Are you stupid? I'm with certified medical personnel. Go and leave Billy with someone. Ask Aaron's aunt to take care of him during that period time, and go sign the contract. She seems nice. I'll be done when you come back, but I'll be asleep anyway."
Ally pondered. "But Mom—"
"Ally, don't worry. Just come back and be there when I wake up. Okay?" Without letting her answer, her mother disconnected from the line.
Ally sat there, frozen, in awe. Her face broke into a smile and she breathed in the cool night air.
