Three

Three. That’s the number of people in my room. I don’t recognize them. Their faces and voices are scary. Loud and speaking words I don’t understand. I look down to the blanket over my lap. It’s my favorite color. Blue. Like the sky. I look back up and see that now there’s only two people in my room.

“She doesn’t know any better. You can’t blame her.” It’s something I think I’ve heard before. People pretending I’m not in the room when they talk about me. It makes me sad.

“Just because she doesn’t know any better doesn’t excuse the behavior!” the man is speaking now. He’s yelling at the woman.

Someone comes in with a lunch tray, but it’s just a cup of Jello and some medicine in a cup. I push it away. The tray almost falls to the floor, but the nurse catches it.

“Oh now, don’t be cranky, I got your favorite flavor! See?” I look at the tray and see the red Jello cup.

“That’s not my favorite flavor.” I say. My favorite is blue. Like my blanket. Like the sky.

“Can I tell you a secret?” The nurse says quietly to me. The other people in the room leave. Good.

I nod my head and the nurse smiles.

“I told them to make the red Jello taste like the blue Jello.” She whispers. My eyes look to the cup again. I don’t know if I trust it, but I agree to try.

“Here, let me help you.” She holds the spoon out for me. Feeding me small bites.

“It does taste like the blue!” I say, smiling back up at her.

I finish the whole cup. But now I have the medicine.

“No!” I shout. My arms fly through the air and spill the pills out of the cup. They drop to the floor and slide away in different directions.

I can hear the nurse’s sigh. She bends over to look for the pills. I can hear three little thunk noises as each one is put back in the paper cup.

“I’ll be back; I have to get you some replacements.” Her long hair is braided, a whole bunch of times. Some of them have jewelry in them. One has a seashell in it. That one is my favorite.

The door opens and the strange people come back in.

“Mom, you have to take your medicine…” The woman says.

The nurse comes back too. This time with another nurse.

“Now, Mrs. Smith, I just need you to take one of these ok? Pick out your favorite, please.” She keeps better hold of the cup this time.

I look into it and see a yellow pill, a blue pill, and a white pill.

“I want the blue one. It’s my favorite color.” I say.

“Blue it is!” The nurse takes the blue pill out of the cup and hands it to me with another cup of water. I take the pill, rocking my head backwards to get the pill to the very back of my throat.

“Great job Mrs. Smith!” the nurse says as I wash it down with the water. She takes the empty cup and throws it away.

Three. That’s the number of people in my room. I recognize the nurse. But I don’t know who the other two people are.

“Are you my new doctors?” I ask. Something flashes across their faces.

“No mom, I’m your son. Robert. Robbie.” The man says.

“Ok Mrs. Smith, time for your medicine!” The nurse says. She hands me a cup with two pills in it. A white one and a yellow one.

“No. I don’t want to.” I say, Fluffing my blanket and running my hands over it.

“How about we make a deal?” the nurse says. Bringing the cup with the pills in it and some water over to me.

“You just have to take one, whichever one is your favorite?” The nurse hands me a cup of pills.

“Yellow, like the lantana from my garden.” I say. She fishes the white pill out and hands me the cup back. I toss it back and follow it with the water.

“Great job Mrs. Smith!” She says, she leaves the room to throw the cup away.

“My son Robbie is supposed to call me today. His wife is expecting.” I say to the strangers. I don’t like the quiet.

“That’s great! You must be so proud of him!” The woman says with tears in her eyes.

“Oh, I am! He’s a good boy. Like his daddy.” I smile and think of my sweet George.

The nurse comes into my room. A blood pressure cuff in her hands along with two cups.

“Ok Mrs. Smith, I just need to get your blood pressure really quick.” She says wrapping the band around my arm. She sat the cups down on the table next to me.

“I don’t want to take any pills.” I say as the cuff tightens.

“You’re in luck, it’s just one today!” She says writing on a wrist pad she’s wearing.

“Just one?” I ask, as she takes off the cuff. I can hear the hiss of the air being released.

“Yep! Just one!” She says as she hands me the cup with one white pill and one with water.

I toss the pill into my mouth and drink it down with the water.

“Great job Mrs. Smith! You are such a trooper!” She says. The strangers are still in my room when she leaves again.

“Mom, we have to go, Robbie and me have to pick up the kids.” The woman says. I still don’t know who she is. I feel like I should, but I don’t.

“Oh, that must be so nice, I have a son named Robbie, his wife is expecting!” The man she’s with sniffles and then holds my hand.

“I love you mom.” He kisses the top of my head. And I can see a tear in his eye.

“I love you mom.” The woman says as she squeezes my hand, bringing it to her lips and kissing the back of it.

I don’t say anything though. I don’t want to be rude. These poor kids must have the wrong room. I don’t want to embarrass them, so I say, “I love you too.” I smile as they leave my room. Closing the door behind me.

There’s no one in my room. The clock reads three in the afternoon. I wonder when they’ll bring my pills for me to take.