Lost on Brier Island (5 page)

“She's been sleeping a long time,” a voice whispered. “Is she okay?”

“The doctor said she didn't have any broken bones, but maybe a concussion. She was unconscious for over a minute. And then she seemed disoriented on the helicopter.”

“Well, Gus said she hit her head pretty hard!”

“I can't…can't handle this again,” a teary voice said. A voice Alex recognized.

“Mom,” she croaked.

“Alexandra, thank god!”

A cool hand gripped hers. Alex slowly opened her eyes. Her mother's pale face hovered over her, her light blue eyes filled with tears.

“What are you doing here?” It was like a dream. She couldn't remember the last time her mother had actually looked directly at her. Maybe she
was
dreaming.

“Sophie called me. I was in Moncton visiting Lucy and Anna.” She gestured towards her friends standing by the door. Her mom's voice shook. “When she said you'd hit your head…it was Adam all over again.” Sobbing, she collapsed in the chair beside the bed, leaning her forehead against their jointly clasped hands.

Her mother's warm tears ran down the back of Alex's hand. Alex swallowed at the sudden tightness in her throat as
she was transported back to all those days and nights in the hospital, keeping vigil by Adam's bedside. A sickly, familiar smell of antiseptic snaked up her nostrils, burning like acid. Instantly, nausea erupted from her stomach in a raging volcano.

Alex turned her head and threw up. Rolling over on her side, she clasped her midriff as she heaved again and again, continuing long past when there was anything left inside her. When the spasms stopped, she collapsed back against the pillows, gasping.

“It's okay, sweetheart.” Her mom's quivering voice attempted to reassure her.

“Hey, kiddo,” Aunt Sophie said. She reached over and placed a cool, damp cloth on Alex's forehead.

Alex sighed and closed her eyes. The throbbing under her lids eased. That was just what she used to do for Adam. Had it made him feel better too? She never knew.

“Am I in the hospital?” She didn't know why she asked. The smells had already told her where she was before she'd opened her eyes.

“Yes, in Halifax. We came by helicopter. Do you remember?” Aunt Sophie asked.

Images of blue sky and roaring engines flickered in her head. “Sort of, I guess. It's a little fuzzy.”

“We were so worried.” Her mom's voice cracked as she wiped her eyes with a tissue.

Alex leaned back against the pillows. “Can we leave?”
She had to get out of this place. She looked at her mother. “I'm okay, aren't I?”

“Well, I think you'll need to stay here overnight.” Her mother seemed to regain some of her composure and smiled through her tears. “That was quite a smack, and you were unconscious for a while. Let's hear what the doctor has to say.”

A while later, a man in a white coat entered the room. Alex watched him warily. He looked nice enough, but she didn't care much for doctors. They were at the top of her hate list, along with hospitals, big dogs, and cooked liver.

“Well, we've had a look at your scans and they're clear. But we'll keep you overnight for observation, just to be on the safe side.”

“I thought you might,” her mom sighed, nodding. “I know quite a bit about…head injuries.”

“Is that so? Are you in the medical profession?”

Her mom and Sophie exchanged a long look

“Not really,” Aunt Sophie said.

The doctor glanced from her mom to Aunt Sophie again, waiting for an explanation. When none came, he shrugged and consulted his chart.

“The nurse will be in to check on her through the night and I'll be back in the morning,” he said. “I suggest you get some rest, young lady.”

A nurse came in and hustled everyone out a few minutes later, stating that the patient needed quiet and rest. Alex played along, making a production of blinking sleepily and yawning. Her mom's friends, Lucy and Anna, gave her a small wave and left.

Her mom whispered that she'd be back in a little while, and then she and Aunt Sophie quietly slipped out as well. Alex's gaze roamed around the empty room. She could still feel the imprint of her mom's kiss on her cheek.

She couldn't believe this was happening. It was like living a nightmare. And where was her dad? Why wasn't he here? Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead as a wave of panic suddenly overwhelmed her.

Here she was, back in the same hospital—the place she'd sworn she'd never return to. Not even if she broke every bone in her body. Not even if she was about to die.

“Wake up, dear,” a voice whispered.

Alex blinked, reluctantly leaving her dream behind. Only a trickle of a tear slid down her cheek this time. Usually, when she woke up from the dream, she was sobbing rivers of tears. Maybe she was finally running out of them.

“Sorry, I have to check on you every few hours,” the nurse said softly. She held a finger to her lips and pointed to Alex's mom sleeping in the chair.

“It's okay.” Alex could still hear Adam's whoop of excitement, but as if from a distance. The dream was always about Adam.

The nurse gave Alex a brief check-up, asked her a few questions, and then left.

Wide awake now, Alex sat up. Her head was aching and she reached up to touch the bandage on her forehead.

Her mom was still asleep in a chair by the bed. She had pulled a corner of Alex's blanket over her legs and put a rolled-up towel behind her head.

Her mom hadn't stirred during the nurse's visit.
She must be exhausted
, Alex thought as she slipped out of bed. The floor was icy cold on her bare feet. She draped more of the blanket over her mom, tucking it around her arms. When she touched her hand, Alex noticed her mom's rings were almost slipping off her fingers. That was odd—she was always complaining they were too tight. Had she lost weight?

Alex crawled back on the bed, shoving her toes under the covers. She gazed around the room. It was frightening how much it was like the one Adam had been in. The only difference was that it had one window instead of two. Why were they all so ugly? They should each be different, with patterned curtains and brightly painted walls—cheerful. The blah surroundings only made you sicker, she was sure.

Curling in a ball, she closed her eyes, trying to block out the sights and sounds. She wished she could escape back to her and Adam's fun adventures, exploring the woods.

But her dreams never took her there.

It didn't matter how hard she tried before she went to sleep, concentrating on the woods, wishing she could dream of those days again and remember every detail. How fast could Adam climb a tree? She should know that.

She squeezed her eyes tighter. If she couldn't control her dreams, then she would search her memories—search for a perfect one. But her mind was not quick to obey, either. No, not the one of Adam scampering over a tower of rocks, while she painstakingly picked her way around them. Nor the one of him hopscotching on slippery stones across a swollen brook, while she trod carefully along the bank until she found a safe crossing on a sturdy fallen log.

No. No. No.

Then, as bright as its blue wings, the playful jay from last summer popped into her head. Alex had wanted to go to Shakespeare by the Sea, so her mom had dropped them off at Point Pleasant Park for the afternoon. Adam had agreed to go with her, but only after she promised she'd fork over her allowance for two weeks.

They were sitting by the Cambridge Battery before the show, eating their lunch. Adam had brought a bag of peanuts. Alex asked for one and he tossed it underhand to her. Out of nowhere, a blue blur swooped down and snatched it in mid-air.

Alex watched the blue jay land on a nearby tree branch. Thinking it had to be a one-time trick, she asked Adam to toss another. The blue jay again caught it in mid-air. They couldn't figure out what he did with all the peanuts, but time after time he'd catch them, until the bag was empty. They sat there under the warm summer sun, laughing until their sides ached.

A perfect memory
, Alex thought, as she drifted off to sleep.

Alex woke to find her mom already up. She looked agitated
and was talking to herself. “It'll be all right,” her mom said. “Everything will be all right.” She was balanced on the edge of the chair, rocking back and forth.

“Mom, I feel fine.”

Her mom stared at the wall.

“Mom!”

“What? Oh, sorry, honey. Yes, of course you're okay.”

“Are you sure?” Alex watched her mom's clenched hands.

“The doctor should be here any minute.”

The hospital room was stifling. Her mom obviously didn't feel like talking. Where was everyone? “How come Dad's not here?”

Her mom stiffened in the chair. “Oh, he's…away. We'll call him later, okay?”

Alex slumped back against the pillows. “Where did Aunt Soph go?”

“She's visiting one of her Brier Island neighbours whose son is in the cardiac unit. Mr. uh, R…something or other.” Her mother went back to staring at the wall and kneading her hands.

Alex picked up a pen and a newspaper from the bedside table. In no time, she had completed all the word puzzles. Her hand automatically started doodling. She often made designs out of names.

Alex sketched a lion mane and a boat around Gus's name. Then she printed Eva's name and drew flowers around it. Eva…something tickled her brain. Eva…she looked at the boat around Gus's name again. Evania, she doodled. Wasn't that what Gus had named his boat? The
Evania Rose
? Could the similar names be a coincidence? Maybe.

The rest of the morning passed by so slowly, it was torture. Aunt Sophie returned around ten with coffees and juice. Alex got poked and prodded a few more times. Then they waited, and waited, and waited some more.

Finally, after twelve, the doctor returned and said she could leave. Other than the cut on her head, he pronounced her on the mend. “Now, just keep an eye on her, like I told you,” he said to her mother. “If she shows any symptoms, bring her back in. Everything you need to know is in the pamphlet on concussions I gave you. But she should be fine.”

Free at last, Alex sucked in a deep breath as she, her mom, and Aunt Sophie walked across the parking lot. The fresh air smelled extra sweet. As soon as she got in the back seat, she rolled the window down and rested her chin on the frame. Her stomach growled.

“Mom, can we get a donair at Pizza Corner?”

“Not a chance.”

“C'mon, please?”

“That stuff will rot your stomach!”

“Aunt Sophie, help.”

“Barkin' up the wrong tree here, kiddo.” Aunt Sophie winked at Alex in the rearview mirror. “I'm with your mother on this one. Donair meat? Come on! I raise my own chickens, for Pete's sake.”

“I was in the hospital. Don't I get, like, a mercy meal or something? I'm starving.”

“For heaven's sake,” her mom huffed.

But she looked like she was wavering. A guilt trip can be a beautiful thing. “Mom…” Alex whimpered.

“Oh, fine,” her mom relented, “but only a small one.”

Aunt Sophie scowled as she veered down Spring Garden Road. “This traffic is insane,” she muttered, slamming on the brakes as a blue
SUV
cut in front of them.

“Bogs!” Alex yelled and waved her fist. “Watch where you're going!”

“Bogs?” her mom said. “What's that, some new kids' slang?”

“More like an old dog's slang,” Aunt Sophie smirked. “I think my island's rubbing off on you, Alex.”

Alex frowned. “Yeah, rubbing off like a virus,” she muttered. She pictured Gus and Eva being shocked at her words and bit her lip. It didn't seem to matter what she did; guilt was never far behind.

Swearing again, this time at the lack of parking, Aunt Sophie dropped Alex's mom off and circled the block.

“I miss home,” Aunt Sophie lamented as she leaned back against the headrest. Having given up on finding a legal parking spot, they were now double-parked in front of the pizza shop.

Alex watched the pedestrians scurrying along the side
walks as they chatted into cell phones, at the same time balancing lattes and lugging briefcases. The women were the most amazing—some of them doing all those things while teetering on three-inch heels.

For some reason, she thought of Aunt Sophie's friend Henry, the old parchment-paper guy riding the museum bike on the quiet dusty road. Brier Island and Halifax—they were so different. It was hard to believe they were in the same country, let alone the same province.

“Do you ever miss the city? You know, shopping and movies?” Alex asked her aunt.

“Not even for a second.”

Alex thought of Daredevil.

“Maybe you and your mom can come back with me.”

“What about Dad?”

Aunt Sophie didn't answer, instead turning on the radio and then rooting through her bag.

“Did Mom talk to him?”

“I think she left him a message.”

Her mom opened the door and eased into the front seat, balancing an enormous platter covered in aluminum foil.

“Jeez, Mom, that's humungous!”

“I know…I got in there and it smelled so good—”

Aunt Sophie's mouth was hanging open. “You didn't!”

“I did.” Her mom giggled self-consciously. “I couldn't help it. I got an extra-large one…and three forks.”

“Three forks? Don't drag me into this. You two are on your own.” Aunt Sophie looked disgusted.

The hot, spicy smell of the donair filled the car. Alex's stomach rumbled louder. “Pass it back!”

“It'll get all over the seats. Soph, drive to Point Pleasant.”

At the park, they walked past Black Rock Beach and onto the grass to a picnic table by the water. With the feast spread out in front of them, Alex and her mom loaded up their forks with the warm donair meat, pita bread, chopped tomatoes, and onions lathered in sauce.

Aunt Sophie apparently grew tired of the moans of pleasure and reached across the table to stab the smallest piece of meat. Wrinkling her nose, she nibbled it delicately. “Mmmm, not bad,” she said, gulping down the rest in one bite.

It was a feeding frenzy.

Forks flew and mouths chomped. The gulls squawking nearby were out of luck. Within minutes, all that remained was a slab of soggy pita sitting in a puddle of sauce.

“I can't believe we just did that,” her mom said. “I haven't had one of those since I was a teenager.”

“It was my first,” Aunt Sophie said, then burped. She slapped a hand over her mouth.

Her mom hooted. “Ha! Your first? You used to scarf them down too! Remember, back in the days before you got into all that organic stuff?”

“I don't recall—must have blocked it out,” Aunt Sophie snickered.

The two sisters doubled over, their shoulders shaking with laughter.

Suddenly, the warm taste of the donair turned sour in Alex's mouth. It was wrong—wrong to be sitting here by the ocean like normal people, laughing in the sunshine.

“Donairs were Adam's favourite.”

Her mother gasped and looked like she'd been slapped. Aunt Sophie's laughter broke off as if the mute button had been pushed on the remote.

Alex immediately regretted it. Why had she said that? It just popped out.

No one spoke.

The circling gulls' screams filled the silence.

Her mom eventually stood up and headed back the way they'd come. Without saying a word, Aunt Sophie picked up her bag and followed her.

Walking as slowly as possible to delay returning to the car, Alex stopped halfway to the parking lot and glanced back at where they had been sitting. Two gulls had landed on the picnic table. They were fighting over the pita bread, ripping it apart with their long, sharp beaks. The huge brown speckled one nipped at the other, making it drop the pita, then snatched up the bread in its beak. It took off, soaring over the trees.

Alex tilted her head back and watched until the gull had disappeared, then slowly made her way back to the car.