Jake balled up the last fast-food wrapper and dropped it in the garbage. On the way home from the hospital he and Emily had stopped at McDonald’s. Emily usually only got to eat fast food as a treat, on special occasions. Today Jake was too tired to cope with anything more complicated.
It had been hard to leave Abby and Wyatt at the hospital. He felt he should be spending every second with his son, but Abby was right when she said it made more sense for him to take Em home and let her keep her routine. Their daughter had school tomorrow, and Jake had to see a few patients before he could cancel the rest of his week.
Once home, Emily went off to her room and Jake wandered into the kitchen to tidy. He contemplated pouring a rye and Coke but didn’t. He decided he’d have a celebratory drink when Wyatt came home. That’d be a much better reason.
Emily had been quiet on the way home from the hospital. He asked her if she had any questions or wanted to talk about anything but she’d said no. She’d always been a smart but quiet kid.
He left the kitchen and headed down the hall. There was faint music coming from her room, and he found her crouched over Wyatt’s video game, watching the screen intently and pushing buttons. He thought it was odd because she rarely played it.
“What’re you doing?” he asked her.
“Playin’ a video game.”
“Yeah,” Jake said, “but why? You never play that.”
She kept pressing buttons. A bouncy little tune emanated from the small, gray-plastic rectangle. “Wyatt never lets me play when he’s around.”
“Oh,” Jake said in a comical voice, as if she had just solved a great riddle.
“Dad!” She sounded exasperated. “I just wanted to, okay?”
“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with you playing. I think it’s kind of nice.”
She glanced at him but kept playing. “Why?”
“Well, I know it’s weird not having Wyatt here, so playing that game probably makes you feel closer to him.”
She didn’t respond.
Jake figured his analysis was a little heavy for a seven year old. He sat next to her, trying to see the screen. “What game are you playing?”
“Mario versus Donkey Kong,” she said. “It’s Wyatt’s favorite.”
“What do you have to do?” To Jake the screen was incomprehensible. There were little men, ladders, fireballs, and multiple floors in a building. He had no idea what was happening.
“See that present?” Emily asked, her eyes on the screen and her fingers dancing on the buttons. A little Mario character suddenly backflipped through the air and snatched a tiny square. “I need to get it and then find the key and open the door.”
Jake nodded. “And then what? You fight Donkey Kong?”
“No,” Emily said, shaking her head as though that would be ridiculous, “then I have to find the Mario toy in the bubble.”
“The bubble?”
“Once I get all the Mario toys, I lead them through a room and put them in the toy box.”
“Okay,” Jake said slowly.
“And then I fight Donkey Kong,” she announced as though that idea finally made sense.
Jake watched the Mario character jump over gaps, lift up massive gold keys, and run past moving black bombs. He could-n’t tell how Emily was doing.
There was a sad little noise, and the Mario character crumbled to the ground, then disappeared. “I’m not as good as Wyatt,” Emily announced. “He can double jump somehow and get past stuff. I don’t know how he does it.”
“Yep, he’s pretty good at it, isn’t he?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe after school tomorrow we should take the game to the hospital.”
She nodded but Jake could sense some reluctance. It was probably hard for Emily to think about her little brother being at the hospital. For kids it was easier to just pretend someone is at a friend’s house or down in the basement. Being reminded that Wyatt was at the iwk waiting for surgery must have been difficult.
Jake wanted to distract her, keep her thinking positive thoughts. “I think tonight would be a good night to buy a movie on one of the movie channels. What do you think about that?”
She looked up, her face alight. “Really? But it’s a school night.”
“I won’t tell Mom if you don’t.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
“Get your pajamas on, I’ll grab some pop and chips and bring them down, and I’ll meet you in the family room.” Jake stood to leave.
Emily clicked the game off and snapped the screen shut, slid off the bed and bolted to the dresser. “Can I pick the movie?”
“You bet!” Jake said.