Daisy paced anxiously in the atrium of the Indianapolis Airport, glancing down the hallway every few moments. She looked for any sign of her sister in the stream of people coming toward them, pulling tiny suitcases on impossibly small wheels.
“Daisy, relax. She’ll get here when she gets here,” Lily patted Daisy’s shoulder reassuringly, but Daisy shrugged it off.
Andi was getting closer. Somehow, she could feel it. Her heart lifted inexplicably.
Andi was here!
Daisy stepped on a bench to get a better view and spotted her sister, sporting desert-sand army fatigues and a short pixie-style haircut.
Her heart soared and Daisy waved enthusiastically, meeting Andi’s gaze. Her sister smiled and rolled her eyes. “There she is, guys!”
Everyone stood and unfolded their signs. “Welcome Home, Andi!” and “All I want for Christmas is my sister home.” Hawthorne held balloons and a giant picture he’d printed of a dandelion. Always a smart aleck.
They made quite a sight among the stream of people talking busily on cellphones in their business suits.
Finally, Andi was beyond the security guard, and Daisy ran to her. Andi’s giant, brown duffel bag hit the floor as the two sisters embraced. Travelers in the airport stopped and clapped as they watched the reunion. Embarrassingly, Daisy started to cry, and she tried to wipe the tears on scratchy patches on her sister’s shoulders.
“Hey, Daze,” Andi said with a quiet chuckle, “Miss me?”
“Not even a smidge, big sister,” Daisy sniffled. “But I’m sure glad you’re here now.” There was something Daisy couldn’t explain about having her sister so far away. There was always a piece of her tied up in knots with worry. It started immediately upon hanging up from one of their video chats, gradually ratcheting tighter and tighter until she saw her sister’s face again through the screen. Even then, she never fully relaxed until she held Andi in her arms. Daisy kept a hand on Andi’s arm as they walked back to the rest of the family.
Andi smiled and hugged each sibling in turn. Until she got to Hawthorne and his dandelion sign, which she responded to by putting a hand on her hip and staring him down. He smirked and asked, “What?”
“Hawthorne Bloom.” The warning in her voice was clear.
Hawthorne didn’t know when to quit. “Dandelion Bloom,” he mimicked.
Andi faked a punch to his gut and gave him a firm tap on the head when he curled to protect it. He laughed and handed the sign to Poppy before wrapping Andi up in a hug.
“It is so good to see you guys!” Andi said. “How’s Dad?”
Lily had officially become the family spokesperson, answering that question when people called or stopped by with casseroles. “He’s doing better. They’ve got him in a rehab facility for another few days, but he should be home for Christmas. Physically, he’s doing quite well, but the stroke impacted his speech and mental function.”
Daisy had been amazed to find her dad walking around his room with a walker at the rehabilitation facility. He had brightened at seeing her, but Daisy’s heart broke when he soon became agitated and angry. Daisy’s mom seemed to think it was because he recognized everyone, but could not remember or say their names. “Mom wanted to be here with us, but she didn’t think she should leave Dad.”
Andi nodded firmly, “I understand. I want to go see him first thing.”
Their large group moved through the round atrium and went to baggage claim to get Andi’s things.
“Seriously, you guys couldn’t bring two cars?” Andi asked from the middle seat of the second row of their mom’s SUV.
“Lavender insisted that a road trip would be fun,” Daisy chimed in.
“What?” exclaimed Lavender. “I volunteered to drive my car with three people so we wouldn’t have to be so packed.” Daisy gave a sheepish smile. Okay, it had been her who talked the group into cramming into one vehicle.
“Oh, get over it. It’s good for the environment, right Poppy?”
Poppy nodded. “As the hippie in the family, I officially approve.”
“Well, as the old person in the family, I officially do not,” Lily said.
“What do you have to complain about? You’re riding shotgun,” Hawthorne pouted. “I’m the one back here with my knees jammed to my chest.” Daisy glanced back to Hawthorne in the third row and stifled a laugh. He did look pretty uncomfortable.
“Who’s hungry?” Daisy yelled, changing the subject. They pulled through Andi’s choice of fast-food restaurant. She always complained about not having it while deployed.
They ate their food and talked on the drive to Terre Haute to see their dad. This would be the first time their dad had seen everyone at the same time. She prayed it would go well and not overwhelm him.
Would they even all fit in his tiny room? Turns out, she didn’t need to worry about it, because her mom greeted them at the door and walked the group to a community room. They passed a frail woman in a wheelchair, sitting slumped to one side. There was a younger man, with two broken legs, who looked angry with the world.
Overall, it was a pretty depressing place. There were so many people in pain and unable to care for themselves. Nurses moved quietly, their white sneakers padding on carpet and tile alike, their brightly colored scrubs adding small splashes of color to the dull interior design. Her father didn’t belong in a place like this. It wasn’t a nursing home, but it was hard to equate it to anything else.
Her father wasn’t that old, was he?
Daisy’s mom and dad walked slowly through the doors, her father using his walker with each step and Laura staying inches from his side, encouraging quietly.
Daisy and her siblings were quiet, watching their father struggle. Only a month ago, he’d been baling hay and riding horses. When Dad finally reached the armchair they’d left open for him in the small seating arrangement, he sat down with a loud sigh. He grinned, looking around the room at all of them together.
First, he looked at Hawthorne, and lifted a finger, “Haa-Haath,” he stuttered, looking to his wife for confirmation.
“Yes, that’s Hawthorne.”
Her dad’s eyes moved to meet Daisy’s own and he said “Da-Day” and she grinned in response. This was amazing progress!
When he reached Andi in the circle of his children, Keith’s eyes began to water and he opened his arms wide. “Da-dan?” Frustrated, he tried again. “Dan-dee. Lahh?”
Andi stepped forward and kneeled in front of him, “Hi Dad. You’re right, it’s me, Dandelion.” He sighed in relief that he had conveyed her name and she reached in to hug him.
Daisy felt the tears on her cheeks and laughed, wiping them away. Her twin pulled back from the hug and said, “Andi will be fine.” Her parents had always insisted on using Andi’s full name, much to her chagrin.
The entire group erupted with laughter when their father shook his head. “Dah. Dee-lah.”
Andi relented and laid her head in her dad’s lap. “Okay, Dad. You can call me Dandelion.”