One Last Call Before Goodbye Chapter 18
The three days before the surgery were calmer than Darlene had imagined.
Tabitha did not come again.
There were no phone calls, no messages, nothing at all.
At first, Darlene remained on guard, always feeling that it was especially quiet before a storm, but one day passed, then two, and then the third, and still nothing happened.
She quietly called Louise to ask if work had been affected.
Louise laughed on the other end of the line: “I told you it’s fine. Who do you think I am? I’m not that easily affected.”
Darlene felt a little relieved, but the tension in her heart remained.
On the third night, a nurse came to make the final preparations before the surgery.
Darlene changed into her surgical gown and lay on the hospital bed. Marshall sat beside her, holding her hand.
She suddenly spoke: “Mardy, about your mother… what did you say to her?”
Marshall’s fingers paused for a moment.
“I made a deal with her. She promised not to interfere with us anymore. You don’t have to worry.”
Darlene frowned: “What kind of deal?”
He smiled: “I’ll tell you when you come out. What you need to do now is rest well, so you’ll have energy for the surgery tomorrow.”
Darlene wanted to ask more, but the door to the ward was knocked. A nurse poked her head in: “Darlene, the pre-op preparations are done. Rest well tonight. We’ll come get you for surgery at seven thirty tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, thank you,” Darlene replied.
After the nurse left, Darlene looked at Marshall. He still wore that calm expression, but she noticed his hand holding hers was trembling slightly.
“Mardy.”
“Hm?”
She squeezed his hand in return: “Are you scared?”
Marshall was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Yes.”
Darlene was taken aback.
His voice was a little hoarse: “I’m afraid you’ll be in pain, afraid something will go wrong with the surgery, afraid…”
He didn’t finish. He pressed her hand to his face and closed his eyes.
She reached out with her other hand, cupped his face, and her thumb brushed over his cheekbone.
“I’ll be fine. You haven’t told me what the deal was yet. How could anything happen to me?”
Marshall opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Alright, when you come out, I’ll tell you everything.”
That night, Marshall did not sleep.
He sat by the bed, holding Darlene’s hand, watching her sleeping face the whole night.
When the morning sunlight shone into the ward, Darlene woke up.
She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Marshall.
He was sitting there, in almost the exact same position as when she fell asleep, with deep dark circles under his eyes, but he still seemed alert.
“You didn’t sleep?” Darlene frowned.
Marshall lied with a straight face: “I slept. Slept very well.”
Darlene didn’t believe him, but she didn’t expose his lie.
At seven thirty, the nurse arrived on time.
Darlene was transferred onto the gurney. Marshall walked beside her, holding her hand the entire time.
The corridor was long, and the lights on the ceiling moved past one by one.
As they turned the corner, Darlene saw Louise—she didn’t know when she had arrived. Louise was wearing a wrinkled coat, her eyes red, clearly having not slept all night either.
“Louie,” Darlene called out.
Louise walked over and took her other hand. Her lips moved, but in the end she only said, “Lena, I’ll be waiting for you outside.”
The door to the operating room was near.
The nurse signaled for Marshall and Louise to stop.
Marshall bent down and placed a very gentle kiss on Darlene’s forehead.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
Darlene looked at him and smiled.
“Alright.”
The door to the operating room closed, and the red light came on.
The door to the operating room closed, and the red light came on.
Darlene lay on the operating table, the surgical light above her glaringly bright.
The anesthesiologist came over and inserted a needle into the back of her hand. Cold liquid flowed into her veins.
Her consciousness began to blur.
The lights before her eyes doubled. She seemed to see Louise crying, and Marshall smiling.
They were both telling her, “You can do it,” their voices distant and close at the same time.
She would do her best.
She closed her eyes.