The wire handle of the green plastic vase cut into my palm as I walked down the third-floor corridor of Oak Ridge Methodist. The hallway smelled of industrial bleach and boiled cabbage, a heavy, sterile heat that seemed to cling to the yellowed linoleum. Through the small rectangular window of room 314, I saw my husband, Gavin, leaning over the hospital bed to kiss my younger sister.
I stood there for three seconds, holding thirty-four dollars’ worth of white peonies.
I did not knock. I pushed the door open with my shoulder, the plastic vase sloshing cold water onto my sleeve.
Gavin did not startle. He slowly drew his face back from Brooke’s, but his hand remained on her shoulder, his thumb stroking her collarbone. He looked at me with the same calm, professional interest he used when reviewing our food cost margins at Sterling and Sage. He straightened his right cuff with a smooth, practiced flick of his wrist.
“Audrey,” he said. His voice was quiet, steady, and perfectly modulated. “You are early. I thought you had the vegetable delivery to sign for at the kitchen.”
Brooke sat propped up against three pillows. Her hospital gown was patterned with small blue flowers, and her hair was swept over one shoulder. She twisted a single dark lock around her index finger, her blue eyes fixed on my face with a soft, blank look.
“We did not think you would come until after the lunch rush,” Brooke said. Her voice had that thin, childish tone she used whenever she wanted someone to protect her.
My mother, Helen, was sitting in the vinyl armchair by the window. She immediately stood up, her hand going to her sleeve to brush away a speck of dust that was not there.
“Audrey, dear,” Helen said. She forced her voice into a high, cheerful register that made my teeth ache. “You brought flowers. How lovely. Set them right there on the tray.”
In the corner, near the wall-mounted television, my father sat with his hands clasped between his knees. Richard did not look up. He rubbed his temples with his thumbs, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor.
