“Ms. Lander,” a doctor said, as he stepped into the room. She whipped her head around and looked at him with both fear and hope. Nothing could’ve happened to Patsy. She wouldn’t survive it.
“Yes?” she said barely above a whisper. She was terrified but needed to know.
“Your sister is out of surgery and it looks like everything will be fine. The next few hours are critical but it looks like your sister is going to make a full recovery,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she sobbed and threw her arms around the doctor, clinging tightly to him. He patted her back and whispered reassurances. She was so relieved the nightmare seemed to finally be over. She had to see for herself she was alive and breathing.
Nicole didn’t know when Patsy was transferred but she noticed her sister was being held by Ryan. The doctor was nowhere to be seen. He was rubbing her back and whispering reassuring words to her. She finally managed to pull herself together and was led into Patsy’s recovery room.
Ryan sent the rest of the family home, as Patsy wouldn’t be awake more than minutes at a time. There wasn’t any point in them staying there. They reluctantly left and exhaustion took over Nicole as she lay in the chair next to Patsy’s bed. She fell asleep for the first time in a long while, with peace in her heart.
The night was long, with Patsy only waking for short periods of time. Every time the nurses came in to check on her they assured both Nicole and Ryan, who also refused to leave, she was healing fine and it looked like she would be okay. Nicole wouldn’t completely believe them until she walked out of the hospital but she was happy.
“You’re coming out with us today. You’ve done nothing but sit here and worry about your sister and she’s fine. She has a million magazines, doctors and nurses at her beck and call and food being brought in. You, on the other hand, look like you haven’t eaten in a month, have dark circles under your eyes and are in desperate need of a manicure,” Jasmine said to Nicole.
Nicole stared at the two women before her, feeling slightly shell shocked. They were trying to get her to leave the hospital room but she would feel so guilty doing so. Patsy needed her there and she had an irrational fear if she left her side something would happen to her.
“I can’t leave her,” she pled with them.
“Nicole we simply aren’t taking no for an answer. You can either walk out of here with us, or we will get the guys to come and drag you out but you’re going out for a day of much needed pampering,” Trinity said.
“Go with them Nicole. You have been amazing and I love you to pieces but you need to take care of yourself and not just me all the time. Now get out of here and I’ll tell the doctors you aren’t allowed back in until tomorrow,” Patsy told her.
“Patsy, you don’t mean that, you need me here,” Nicole said, a little hurt by her sisters words.
“I do need you and I love you more than anything. I know how much you sacrifice for me and how much you have always given up for me. Get the shocked look off your face, I’m not blind. You make sacrifices every day to take care of me and I love and appreciate you even more for that but please take care of yourself. Now get out and I mean it when I say you aren’t allowed back until tomorrow,” Patsy reinforced.
“You’re never a sacrifice because I love you,” Nicole told her.
“You heard your sister, let’s get out of here,” Jasmine said.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get out for a few hours,” Nicole conceded. Both women nodded encouragingly to her. She gathered her purse and made sure Patsy was properly covered before reluctantly following the women from the room.
“First thing we are doing is getting you a hot lunch,” Trinity said.
“Then, we’re going to the salon for manicures and pedicures,” Jasmine added.
“After all that fun we’re doing some shopping and don’t you dare shake your head at me. It looks as if you haven’t pampered yourself in a long time. I’ve demanded Ryan’s credit card and your day’s on him. Seriously, you’ve got to quit shaking your head at me. The man isn’t going to go broke because you purchase a few outfits,” Trinity said.
Nicole was thinking there was no way she was going to spend Ryan’s money. He’d already forked out an arm and a leg on Patsy’s operation but she could live with that because it wasn’t for her. She didn’t find it acceptable to have him buying her personal clothing, though.
“We can argue about it more once you’re fed and pampered, then I’ll feel better winning because my opponent doesn’t look like she’s about to blow over in a small wind,” Jasmine said with a smile.
The three women ate an amazing lunch, which had Nicole groaning and wishing she could unbutton her jeans. On the way to the salon, she realized that she’d never had either a pedicure or manicure and the thought of that luxury was out of the world. She sat back in the plush chair, while a woman rubbed lotion over her feet and knew in that moment she’d died and gone to heaven. If there was a greater pleasure in life she wasn’t sure what it was.
“Okay that was a slice of heaven, now let’s do some shopping,” Trinity said with a pleased look on her face.
“Seriously, the lunch and the salon were amazing and I really am feeling much better but Ryan and I have just started seeing each other and I’m not comfortable with him buying me clothes,” Nicole told them. She couldn’t tell them she was basically selling herself to the man for her sister’s operation.
“Nicole, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Jasmine once again threatened.
“Why don’t we wander around and I can be with you guys while you get new things,” Nicole tried to compromise. The two women smiled at each other and dragged her off toward some fancy store.
Nicole ran her hands along the silk of some gowns and knew it was all beyond her normal price range. She wouldn’t even be able to afford a pair of panties in a store like the one the girls had brought her to. When Patsy graduated and she was able to get some more education, maybe she’d be able to spoil herself a bit but that would be several years away. She really didn’t mind the menial sacrifices though, as long as her sister turned out okay. It would be a miracle considering the parents they were unfortunate enough to have received.
“Derek and I are throwing a masquerade ball and you need a stunning gown for it,” Jasmine told her.