Matt stood at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed. It took him a second to register my presence, but as soon as he saw me, he unfolded his arms to capture me in an embrace.
“Oh, Birdy. I’m so glad you’re home.”
“What’s going on? What’s wrong with her?” Tears welled in my eyes, and I sniffed hard to keep from crying.
My brother supported my shaking figure and patted my back. “To be honest, we don’t know. Ms. Mimsy said she’d been going to bed earlier and waking up later than usual, but tried to act like nothing was wrong. And then, she demanded everyone stop hovering over her one more time and came up here to take a nap.”
Mimsy spoke from the doorway. “I thought all Vivi wanted was a few moments of peace, so it didn’t occur to me that anything was wrong. When we couldn’t wake her up, I called Doc and your brother.”
“Did anyone try shaking her? That’s how Mason woke her up when he found her before.” I reached my hand out to touch her blanket-covered foot.
“Of course we did,” he said, glancing at me with typical older brother arrogance. “Doc’s done everything he could to try and rouse her, and nothing’s worked so far.”
The healer hushed us as he concentrated, and Matt and I clung to each other. We waited as the clock on Nana’s bedside table ticked out every excruciating second. After the painful eternity, Doc pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his moist brow.
“I’m sorry, you two. I can’t find any trace of a magical reason for her to be knocked out like this.” He took off his wire-rimmed glasses and wiped them.
I approached with hesitant steps until I could grasp my grandmother’s hand, finding comfort in its warmth. “She’s not…do you think she’s…” I couldn’t finish the question I dreaded getting the answer to and looked at Matt for him to give me some hope.
He shook his head and shrugged. “Doc? What’s her status?”
The healer stood and faced the two of us. “Her vital signs are good. Her airway’s clear. There’s no temperature. Physically, I can’t find anything wrong with her.”
“Then the problem has to be metaphysical!” I roared, stomping my foot like a petulant child.
“There’s absolutely no trace of a spell, charm, hex…nothing I could detect. Whatever has her passed out like this for so long has to be strong enough that I should be able to sense the threads of it.” The good doctor gazed at his patient with tangible frustration.
“Wait. She was fine before I left with Mason. How long has she been like this?” My voice wavered from sheer panic.
Doc Andrews pushed himself up from the bed and faced me. “It’s hard to say exactly when her symptoms got worse.”
“Your grandmother was never good about letting others care for her. She always has to be the caretaker,” Ada said with quiet sympathy. “I think she didn’t want any of us to know she was struggling.”
“Or she was in absolute denial,” Mimsy muttered under her breath.
Ada hushed her friend. “Being mad at her isn’t going to help, Mims.” She addressed me again, “We were going to call you, but we knew there wasn’t anything you could do other than to worry.”
Nobody gave me a direct answer, and I turned my agitation on my brother. “How long?”
“They found her like this yesterday,” he answered, his face blank of any emotion.
My heart pounded inside my chest, and I failed to contain my anger. Closing the distance between us, I punched his arm. “Why am I just hearing about this now? Why didn’t you call me?”
Instead of defending himself, my brother took the blow. “It’s like Ms. Ada said. Nana made us promise not to bother you on pain of being hexed. She said that something important was going to happen for you, and none of us were to ruin the moment.”
Anger and regret cast a gray shadow over my time with Mason. It may have been a significant moment for me, but if it cost me precious moments with my grandmother that I could never get back, I would never forgive myself.
Giving into rage, I pounded my fists against Matt’s chest. “You should have called. Why didn’t you call?”
He let me aim my fury at him until my cries quieted down to sobs. Capturing my hands in his, my brother pulled me in tight and let me cry into his shirt. Once my wails subsided into whimpers, he let me go.
“I’m sorry, Charli.” Matt closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. When he let it out and looked at me again, his shoulders slumped under the weight of the whole situation. “Maybe I should have defied Nana and contacted you sooner. But I agreed with her, that you deserved the time away. And really, nothing would be different.”
I sniffled. “Except I would have been here sooner.” Once my tantrum evaporated, the rational side of my brain took over. “But you’re right. Whether it was a day earlier or not, we’d still be where we are right now.” Taking his hand in mine, I squeezed it three times.
He breathed a little easier and offered a weak smile. “I did try calling you this morning, but you didn’t pick up.”
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I checked to see if I’d missed any calls. No record of my brother’s attempt. “I didn’t get it. I also texted you. Did you get that?”
Matt checked his spell phone. “No. Weird.”
I scrolled through my contacts, wanting to call Mason and share the problem with him. His support might help me, but it wouldn’t do much for my grandmother. We didn’t have time to waste if we wanted to find a way to help Nana.
Thinking about Mason
