章節 4: News Travels Fast
February 11th 2010, a little while after Jay's awakening.
Helen was curled up on the living room's couch sipping on wine while she watched her daughter play with her dolls on the soft and fluffy white rug. Lou Eleanor Aslan had turned 5 a while ago and watching her had become something Helen loved to do.
The little girl had dark black hair that she had gotten from her father, Lee. Her eyes were a deep blue which had startled the couple at first as Helen had soft amber eyes while Lee's were a dark brown. Helen inferred it came from her side of the family since her own grandfather who had been Swedish had had blue eyes too. It wasn't rare for genes to jump generations.
Despite not sharing her most prominent features with her mother, no one could deny the two's resemblance. Lou had the same dimple on the left side of her face, fine eyebrows, impossibly long eyelashes and a button nose. Her eyes seemed to disappear when she smiled and that was something she had gotten from her father. She and her brother had that in common.
When she thought about her son, Helen could almost feel her heart squeezing. Her baby, it had been 6 years... She felt herself tearing up at the thought and maybe her daughter sensed it, because she stopped playing and looked up, her eyes blinking.
"Mommy... sad?" her voice was soft and held a tinge of worry. She didn't want mommy to be sad. The only times mommy was sad was when they took the big plane to fly in the sky and then go to the place where all the doctors were... Hmm... Ah, the hospital. They would go to see big brother, but he was always sleeping.
She didn't understand how he could sleep for so long but mommy said he couldn't wake up, that's why. She didn't like going there because mommy would always cry when they did.
One day she had tried talking to her big brother and had asked him to play together but he had just kept sleeping. Lou puffed her little cheeks in annoyance when she thought about it. Her friend Anna was right after all, boys were mean! Anna had told her that her big brother would always steal her toys whenever he had the chance. Since then, Lou made sure she didn't take her dolls at the hospital when they visited big brother for fear he would steal hers too.
Helen looked into the bright little doll's eyes and felt bittersweet. He had always wanted a sibling, he probably would've been overjoyed, right?
She smiled. "Hm hm, mommy's just thinking."
She saw her daughter bow her head down then look up and make eye contact. "About big brother? Mommy... are you mad that I didn't share Sammy and Brenda with him?"
Hearing her, Helen was first startled before laughing out loud. She laughed so hard she had to straighten up and put her glass of wine down on the low table for fear of it spilling on the rug. She couldn't help picking up her daughter and pinching the little minx's cheeks.
"I don't think he would care about them baby." Helen answered.
Lou opened her eyes wide in disbelief, "How could he not??"
"Because... he's a boy." Helen chuckled. Her daughter's naïveté was the most precious thing in the world. She wished she could just bundle her up and keep her in her pocket forever, never to experience the world, its cruelty and ruthlessness.
She thought back to the accident and her eyes dimmed a little, but before Lou could inquire about that change, the phone rang.
The little girl wriggled out of her mother's embrace and ran towards the phone who had been left out on the kitchen isle. She struggled to climb up the chair and grab the phone before rushing back to her mommy's side.
"Upsy!" she said and her mommy lifted her back onto her lap.
"Thank you baby, but don't do that again, alright? You could've hurt yourself." Helen gently chided.
Lou bowed her head, "Hm... sorry..."
Helen smiled, she gently caressed her daughter's hair and kissed her temple. She took a look at the calling number and frowned. Well, that was unusual.
She put Lou back down on the rug. "Go and play, mommy needs to answer this."
She walked away a little, still keeping her daughter in her line of sight before she answered.
"Hello?"
[Hello, Mrs. Aslan? This is Dr. Philips from the New York Presbyterian Hospital.]
Helen's frown deepened, this time in worry. Why was he calling? He had never called before, not in person. Why was there a need for him to personally call... unless...
"Yes Dr. Philips, is something wrong?" She felt increasingly worried, it couldn't be... it just couldn't... and right when fear started to grip her heart so hard she thought it would break, Dr. Philips spoke again.
[He's awake. Jay... is awake.]
Helen froze, almost dropping the phone.
"Wha... what?" she asked, unsure, wanting to believe but too afraid to do so.
Dr. Philips probably sensed the unease in her voice because he gently repeated.
[He's awake. He woke up 35 minutes ago, it was brief and he passed out afterwards. I didn't immediately notify you because I was afraid it would be a false alarm, it's not uncommon for things like that to happen after all. But...]
"But what?" Helen hastily inquired.
Dr. Philips let out the breath he was holding. [There are signs of cerebral activity. He has truly come back. It's a miracle.]
Lee chose that moment to come down the stairs and was startled at the tears running down his wife's face.
"Daddy!" Lou saw him and ran with her arms outstretched. Lee swooped her up and told her to be good before staring at his wife in silent worry.
Helen looked at her husband and smiled through her tears, "He's awake, our baby... is awake." she said, choking on her emotions.
It was Lee's turn to freeze, but that only lasted a moment.
He took out his cellphone and dialed his assistant's number. Once he heard the voice at the other end, he wasted no time.
"Book me three plane tickets for the first available flight to New-York." then he hung up.
Lou looked at her daddy and mommy curiously. They were acting so strange!
"Daddy, are we taking the plane?" she asked.
Lee looked at his daughter then at his wife who still hadn't stopped talking on the phone and smiled.
"Hm... we're going to meet your brother."
Lou opened her eyes wide. Again? They had went not long ago...
She looked at her Sammy and Brenda dolls in worry, she should find them another hiding place.
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Elawn
Elawn Chapter of the day, you get a glimpse at Jay's family ~
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