Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Blair

The following days were difficult, my father was to have surgery next week, and my mother became more and more depressed as the day approached. On top of that, I discovered that being the owner of a large apartment was not easy at all, I would get things dirty faster than I could clean them, I would get in the way of my mother's feeding and medicating schedule, which by the way did not make my life any easier, and I still had to find time to visit my father and not leave him completely alone.

In the beginning I took my mother with me on the visits, but as the days went by, she started to eat less and less, increasing her weakness, so sometimes I asked a neighbor who was her friend to keep her company while I went to the hospital.

What worried me was the surgery that would happen the next day. How could I go to the hospital and follow it closely if we were already in the middle of the afternoon and I couldn't even get my mother to drink a glass of juice? I couldn't leave her alone for so many hours, it would be impossible!

But I couldn't miss it either. What if something happened and I wasn't there?

I was collecting the dishes from the dining room and kitchen. There were some untouched dishes and packages from my mother's favorite restaurants, where I placed a few orders in an attempt to get her to eat something.

" Blair, my stomach hurts, can you get me some painkillers? " Her tired voice came from the living room where she was settled on the sofa.

I had never seen my mother in such a state, she was such a strong and determined woman. That sight frightened me more than I would like to admit.

I abandoned what I was doing and went over to her, feeling exhausted.

" This is because you have been taking your medication without eating. It's bad for you!”

" I don't feel hungry," she whined, curled up on the sofa.

" But your body feels weak, you need to at least make an effort," I sighed.

This situation made me feel as if I had switched places with my mother. She just stared at me, causing exasperation to creep back up on me.

" If you continue like this, I will be forced to have you hospitalized, and you can be sure that I will choose a hospital far away from where Dad is. So if this is a scam to get close to him, give up! " I was one step away from screaming.

My mother cringed even more at my outburst, making me feel like the worst daughter in the world.

What's wrong with you, Blair? She's in pain, scared, and away from the person she loves!

" I know the situation is scary and I'm scared too, but I can't make you react, Mom! I need you to be okay! " I tried another approach, feeling on the verge of tears.

She just stood up, settling into her wheelchair before heading for the bedroom.

And now that!

I waited a few minutes, wondering what might cheer her up before I had an idea

" Mom, do you want a quinoa avocado salad? You love it, right? " I went into her room, finding her curled up in bed.

" Blair, it's a California salad…”

" If you promise that you'll at least try to eat it, I'll get one for you," I assured her.

She thought for a moment before accepting, much to my delight. Now I just need to find this salad!

As I was searching the local restaurants for the salad, the doorbell rang. I might have been surprised, since no one was announced by the doorman, but if there was one thing I discovered during these days, it was how popular my mother was with the women in the building, she was always having a visitor.

"Please tell her I'm sleeping”

A message came on my cell phone almost instantly, making me smile as I walked to the door. Who could it be? The old lady in 45A? Or that girl in 78B who seems to have adopted my mother?

I looked through the magic eye, freezing to see who was on the other side.

It's a mirage!

The doorbell rang again, forcing me to open the door, my heart hammered hard in my chest and my hands were trembling. It had been exactly five months and twenty three days since I last saw him. What is he doing here?

Dimitri looked exactly as I remembered. In another time, I would have thrown myself into his arms immediately, but after so long, I could only remain defensive. My ex boyfriend seemed to have noticed my hesitation, as he was quick to explain.

" Before you say anything, I'm not here looking for a reconciliation or anything, so you can relax," he warned.

Part of me was relieved to hear that, all I didn't need at the moment was to go through it all one more time. Not when I was feeling so vulnerable!

" So, what are you doing here? " I stammered without giving him room to enter the apartment.

" I heard about what happened, and thought you might need a little help and support, so I managed to cancel my flight to Milan and have two days to help you with whatever you need," he explained.

I took a deep breath keeping the tears from reaching my eyes. This was exactly what I needed, if he could keep my mother company tomorrow, I could…

" Why?”

" You are my priority," he shrugged.

I couldn't hold myself back any longer, shedding all the tears I had been holding back since I got that damn phone call days ago. All I could think about was everything I had to do for them and how I had to take care of them both. All the visits we received were for my mother, all the calls were seeking information about my father.

Nobody even asked me how I had been the last few days, and now he was here for me.

I was wrapped in his arms, hiding my face in his chest while he rested his chin on my head, waiting for me to shed all the tears that were trapped inside me.

I'm not sure how long we stayed like this, until I remembered that we were in the hallway of the building, where any neighbor could see us, and I stepped aside, giving him passage to enter, feeling my face heat up from the scene of moments ago.

" I'm sorry for getting your shirt wet," I asked, locking the door.

" I don't mind, how are you? " he asked, looking around.

The place looked nothing like the organized environment my parents liked to keep together, and that only made me feel worse.

" I don't know, I'm overwhelmed. I have less than two hours to find an avocado salad I promised my mother, who has been refusing to eat, I have to at least try to organize everything here and go to the hospital to visit my father before I come back and make my mother take her medication. All this while I feel like the worst daughter in the universe for not being able to handle everything," I blurted out.

He came closer again, holding my chin and forcing me to look into his face.

" First of all, you are a wonderful daughter, you got on a plane and came to take care of both of them, and you have been trying hard to do everything, even though you have no idea how to do it exactly, and secondly, you don't have to do everything, I am here to help you," he assured me.

" Thank you," I stammered.

God, how I missed him!

" Are you going to buy the salad? " Dimitri asked.

" I can't find it anywhere, I saw some avocado salads, but not the same one.”

He looked around frowning, seeming to think of a plan.

" Do you have the ingredients? " he asked finally.

" I probably do, my mother usually makes them. Why?”

" Here's our plan, we'll clean the kitchen, make a salad for her…”

" Make it? The two of us? Remember that we don't know how to cook? " I interrupted my ex.

" It's a salad, Blair. It's not hard. I guarantee we won't blow up the kitchen chopping avocados," he sneered.

I couldn't help but laugh at his response, he made me feel better in such a short time!

" Then you'll go to the hospital and I'll make sure your mother eats everything," he assured her.

The last part I doubted he could do, but decided not to argue. I got the recipe for the salad and started separating the ingredients while Dimitri put the dirty dishes in the washing machine.