Redemption Song (17 page)

It wasn’t until Ethan pulled into the parking garage of the University of Birmingham Treatment Center that Ben finally began to stir.

“Hey Ben,” Alaina said lightly as her brother rolled over and grudgingly rubbed sleep from his eyes. He sat up slowly, eyes not quite open.

“Are we there yet?” Ben replied in his usual singsong voice he used when he knew exactly how far they were from the center.

“Yeah, bub, we’re here.”

“Really?” He seemed a little surprised. He usually just asked that question to be a pest. “Wow, I slept the whole way this time!”

Alaina’s heart broke a little. Ben talked as though this was some kind of small accomplishment when she knew it was only because he was getting worse. She wondered how long it would be before this trip was no longer an option for him.

Ben shifted his focus, noticing that Alaina was not driving.

“Ethan! I didn’t know you were coming!”

Ethan glanced at Alaina and grinned with a slight wink. “Sure thing, little buddy, and your sister told me you’ve got to do this treatment thing and it takes awhile but that you get to hang out with your friends while you’re doing it so . . . I brought you a little something to pass the time.”

Ben’s weak eyes sparkled and Alaina thought she saw a little life returning to them. “What is it?” he asked.

“It’s in the trunk. C’mon I’ll show you.”

Ben scrambled out of the back seat and met Ethan at the back of the car. Ethan used the key to pop the latch of the trunk. The door swung open to reveal his black leather guitar case lying flat inside.

“Wow! You brought your guitar!” Ben smiled ear to ear. “Are you going to play for me and my friends while we get our treatment?”

Alaina had noticed Ethan’s guitar strapped to his back that morning, but she’d been so tired, she hadn’t thought a lot about it. He surely wasn’t going to play for the kids. It would give away his identity to everyone there. She wondered what he had up his sleeve.

“Actually, rock star, I was thinking that maybe you could show off your new skills.” Ethan gave Ben a little wink.

Ben’s eyes widened. “Really? Do you really think I’m ready to go public?”

Ethan unsuccessfully tried to suppress his amusement. “Yeah I think you’re ready. Besides, the girls will love it.”

Ben smiled. “Cool.”

Alaina watched, not having the slightest clue what either of them was talking about.

“Someone want to clue me in on this conversation?” Alaina said.

Ethan spoke before Ben. “Don’t you worry about it, big sis. This is a guy thing.”

Alaina cast Ethan a skeptical look.

“Let’s get you to that appointment, Ben.” Ethan pulled the guitar from the trunk, wrapped the strap around his back, and his arm around Alaina, leading them toward the entrance. Ben reached up and grabbed Ethan’s hand. Ethan glanced down at Ben’s smiling face and his ball cap with the messy curls. Ethan looked a little surprised and Alaina waited to see if he’d let go . . . but he didn’t. He grinned at Ben and gave him a pretend punch across the cheek with their intertwined fingers. Ben dramatically acted as if it hurt. They both laughed as if it was a joke that only they understood.

Alaina knew that Ethan had chosen to hang out with Ben the day before, which by now she was pretty sure was just a way for him to try to impress her, but what she hadn’t realized was how well they’d hit things off. Ben was sound asleep when she and Ethan arrived home and she hadn’t been able to ask him how his day had gone. She hoped he’d had fun. She had to admit that the idea of Ben hanging out with someone who didn’t know his condition scared her a little, but she really wanted Ben to have a chance to hang out with his “idol” without the worry of Ethan being nice to him strictly out of pity. Obviously it worked out fine because Ethan hadn’t reported any problems to her. She was sure he would’ve told her if anything had gone wrong. As far as she could tell, he’d been honest with her about everything.

Alaina and Ethan managed to get Ben to his appointment a mere five minutes early. On the elevator ride, Ethan leaned over and murmured in her ear, “So what’s it going to be like up here?”

She could detect the angst in his tone, and she knew it well because it was the same way she had felt the first time she’d taken that same elevator ride. She’d expected to walk into a stark white hallway filled with the echoes of children screaming in pain and parents crying in agony for them. That thought was comical now that she knew what it was really like.

“Let’s just say it’s not what you’re expecting,” she whispered back.

When the little light above the elevator doors reached the number five, a ding sounded and the double doors slid their separate ways. Ben immediately let go of Ethan’s hand and ran to meet the nurses that looked forward to seeing him every week. Alaina paid close attention to Ethan’s reaction as he stepped off the elevator.

It was just as she expected. Ethan’s eyes widened and he released her hand walking a little ways ahead into the large mural painted waiting area. “Wow,” he breathed, not realizing she should hear.

“Told you,” she grinned. “You haven’t seen anything yet. C’mon, I’ll introduce you to the nurses.”

Alaina took Ethan’s hand back in hers and led him around the corner to the nurses’ station. There they found Ben, already seated in the middle of three of the nurses, laughing and licking a sucker. How that kid managed to find candy in the first five seconds, every time they arrived, Alaina would never know.

“Hey Ali!” One of the nurses, Katrina, waved with a huge, greeting smile from beside Ben in the station.

“What’s up, Kat?”

Ethan leaned near her ear. “I thought only special people got to call you Ali.”

“Yep, and you have no idea how special these people are.”

The nurses were laughing and joking with Ben when they suddenly became very much aware of the fact that Alaina was not alone this time. They all became silent about the same time, eyeing Ethan, unsure of what to say. Knowing her and Ben’s situation, they too were not accustomed to Alaina even talking about boys, much less bringing one to the hospital.

A tall African American nurse, named Rache`, that Alaina had grown to love from the first time she’d met her, was, not surprisingly, the first to speak.

“Well, well, who do we have here?” she asked Alaina in an overly dramatic voice.

Alaina’s head dropped and she felt her cheeks grow hot. She knew these nurses pretty well by now and she felt sorry for Ethan for what he was about to go through.

“This is my friend . . . Brandon,” Alaina said, smiling at the use of Ethan’s alias.

Ben’s head popped up and he let out his most disbelieving, argumentative ten-year-old voice. “No it’s not.”

Alaina’s mouth popped open a little and she turned to Ethan, unsure of what to do. She had completely forgotten to explain Ethan’s situation to Ben and hadn’t even considered the fact that Ben would never go along with the story unless prompted first. But then, once again, Ethan took her by surprise.

“It’s cool, lil’ man,” he said to Ben. “Sometimes I go by Brandon, too. I think we’ll use that today. Is that okay with you?”

Ben cocked his head with a confused expression that was so cute, if Alaina hadn’t been so worried about messing up Ethan’s cover, would’ve made her want to run and hug him. She thought for a second he would argue in typical Ben fashion, but Ethan had a way of talking to Ben that Alaina didn’t think she’d ever master.

“Sure. Whatever, dude,” Bed said, sounding much older than he really was. “If you wanna be Brandon today, it’s fine with me. What should I be? How bout Will? Or maybe Chuck?”

Ethan laughed. “I like Ben. Just Ben.”

Ben grinned. “Cool . . . Brandon.”

The nurses remained silent throughout this entire exchange, but Alaina knew Ethan wasn’t off the hook yet.

“So, Brandon,” Rache` continued, putting on a protective expression, “how did you meet our sweet Ali?”

To Alaina’s surprise, Ethan didn’t so much as flinch beneath her harsh gaze. “I came to visit my grandma. I think you’ve probably met her? Her name is Mae.”

“Oh, Mae’s your grandmother?” Rache` went on, not lightening up a bit on her accusatory tone. “So I guess that means you are sharing a house with Miss Ali, and I see that you are holding her hand, so that leaves me with only one question.” The nurses behind her giggled and so did Alaina. Technically, Alaina could have jumped in to rescue Ethan at any time, but sadly, she was kind of enjoying this. “I take it you are behaving yourself,” Rache` cleared her throat, “if you know what I mean . . .”

Ethan slipped Ali the quickest of glances, causing her to bite her upper lip to keep from laughing. “Yes, of course, ma’am.”

Rache` eyed him up and down one last time before turning back to her file that sat on the front counter.

“Mmm-hmm, you’ve got a long day ahead of you, child. We will see.”

Once the nurses recovered from trying to hold back their laughter, all the while Ben was completely unaware of anything but his sucker, Katrina got up and grabbed hold of Ben’s hand.

“C’mon Benny Boy, let’s go get you hooked up. A few of your buddies are already here and they’ve been asking about you.”

Ben jumped up and walked with Katrina down the colorful hall, entering his usual room at the third door on the right. Alaina and Ethan followed quickly behind.

“That lady was a little . . . intimidating,” Ethan said once they were past earshot of the nurse’s station.

“Who, Rache`?” Alaina pretended to be clueless. “Nah, she’s just protective that’s all. They kind of like me here.”

Truth be known, these women had become a bit of a second family for Alaina. They had seen her through about everything in the past year. They’d made her laugh on days she never thought she’d be able to again. They’d cried with her on days she knew she couldn’t laugh no matter what. They’d bought her and Ben birthday presents and Christmas presents. They’d even taken up a private collection a few months back when the transmission broke down on the car and Alaina was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get Ben to his treatments. Their donation, along with the one from her church family, had been just enough to fix the car like brand new. Albeit their job or not, these women were her family, and like she’d told Ethan earlier, they were very special.”

They’d reached the doorway to Ben’s treatment room and Alaina paused before turning the steel handle.

“Ethan, I think there’s something I should tell you before you go in there.” She wasn’t sure how to tell him this, and she wished she’d been more honest about it from the beginning. “Ben’s hat . . . that he wears all the time . . . isn’t just a hat. It’s actually a wig. The chemo that Ben is on has made all of his hair fall out. He insists on wearing the hat at home, but he doesn’t wear it here. None of the kids do. I just wanted you to be prepared before you see him like that.”

Ethan opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but shut it again quickly. Alaina didn’t quite know what to make of it, but before she could ask, he spoke. “I’m not worried about whether or not Ben has hair, Ali. I just want him to get better.”

Alaina let out a breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. She still couldn’t believe she’d found a guy that was as understanding of her situation as Ethan was. She didn’t say anything in reply. She did the only thing she knew to do to thank him for his consideration, the only thing she wanted to do. She reached up on her tip toes and laid the lightest of kisses on his lips, and then turned the doorknob to the treatment room and walked in. Ethan gave her hand a slight squeeze and followed in behind her.

“Sissy, can I have another one please?”

Alaina sighed with an amused grin. “Ben, you’ve already had three!”

“Yeah, I know, but I think that four might make me feel a lot better!” Ben flashed his cutest grin, showing as many teeth as possible.

Alaina and Ethan were seated in straight-back chairs next to Ben’s race car bed in the treatment room. The walls were covered in murals of a crowd filled stadium with the brightest blue, cloud covered sky. Around the base of the walls, a race track curved in a large circle around the room. There wasn’t a dull color anywhere. Even Alaina and Ethan’s chairs were multicolored. The same few kids that received treatments the same time as Ben every week occupied the other beds that lined the wall. Their parents, or whoever accompanied them to the appointment that day, sat beside them. They colored and listened to music and put puzzles together on a little sliding tray. Anything to keep the kids minds off of what was really happening to them.

“Aww, c’mon, sis!” Kat said as she stopped by to check Ben’s IV line. “What possible harm can a fourth Popsicle do to anyone?”

“Oh, why not,” Alaina caved, knowing she hadn’t cared in the slightest to begin with. She just liked to play with Ben when he was getting his treatment. Anything to make him smile. “If fact, Kat, I think we could all use another one.” She gave Ethan a slight wink and he nodded in agreement.

“Comin right up,” Kat smiled, disappearing into a side room. A moment later, she immerged with an entire tub of Popsicles. She started at the bed at the end of the room, distributing one to the little girl who occupied it—she was three years younger than Ben—and one to each of her family members. Kat continued this process, allowing everyone to pick their favorite color until she’d covered everyone in the room. Ben, not fully understanding the concept of savoring his food, managed to scarf his down quicker than anyone—except Ethan. Those two boys had way more in common that Alaina would have ever guessed. And she couldn’t believe the difference in Ben’s attitude with Ethan present. Ben was always fairly good natured during his treatment, and he tended to have a pretty good outlook on the chemo despite the consequences he knew would soon follow when he got home. But today had been even better than most. Ethan made jokes about Ben’s treatments, referencing the IV tubing to tentacles extending from Ben’s alien body, which cracked Ben up and led him to holding his arms up and trying his best to act like a scary alien. He insisted on rubbing Ben’s bald head for good luck, which in turn, led to Ben making each and every nurse stop and listen to his new business venture in which he charged ten cents per person to rub his head for good luck. Surprisingly, a couple of the nurses even took him up on it.