Free Waking Charley Vaughan by Elle Botz

as I pulled my wet hair back into a bun. She’d come in to give Charley some more medicine. I just smiled. “Had an accident in the sink,” I said, making a fake ‘oops’ face at her. She just walked out. I was pretty sure that was the end of that.
    My mom fussed over Charley relentlessly. Even when Charley was sleeping, which was most of the time, my mother just sat next to her, watching everything. My mom loved Charley so much. From the first time they’d met, my mom had been fascinated by her. I had brought her home for Thanksgiving about a month after colliding with her on campus. When Charley excused herself to go to the bathroom, my mom had leaned over and excitedly whispered, “She’s so adorable! I just love her already! Can you hear that little accent she has? Where is that from?”
    “Mississippi,” I had whispered, but don’t say anything. I don’t think she knows she has an accent.” My mom had given me this conspiratorial look, and the rest of the dinner, she’d just grinned to herself every time Charley’s accent had come through in something she’d said—which hadn’t been much. She was pretty quiet at first. Eventually, Charley warmed up to all of us—especially my mom. My mom was one of those women just bursting with love. All she wanted in the world was to shower, and sometimes, lovingly smother, her children with it. Matt and I, of course, took that for granted at times. Charley loved every minute of it. She always said it was such a far cry from how her own mother had been, that it was refreshing to see a mom who, “did it right,” in Charley’s words.
    She hadn’t needed to say much for Matt to be fascinated with her, either. He was a different guy back then. He’d been more genuine, more kind, still selfish, but with more moments of clarity. He had the potential to deserve her then. He’d quickly thrown that potential away with his behavior, though.
    “I just wanted her to be your sister,” my mom said sadly, brushing one of Charley’s curls out her face while she slept.
    “I know, mom,” I said, kneeling down next to her. She put her other hand on top of my head. I was ready for some motherly affection after the scare Charley had given me.
    “Is she going to be OK?” My mom asked for the fifth time since walking in the door.
    “I think so, mom. She’s tougher than she looks,” I said. With that, she kissed my head. She was crying.
    “I love you, sweetie,” she said sadly. “You’re such a good girl for being here with her. Do we need to call her family?”
    “I don’t think Charley would want that,” I said quickly. My mother was sweet, but not dumb.
    “You already called?”
    “Yes,” I said, dropping my head. Charley was going to kill me.
    “Don’t worry, honey,” my mom said as she stood from the most uncomfortable chair in the world. “You did the right thing.”  She kissed my cheek, and gave me a long hug before  heading toward the door.
    “Tell her I came by?” she asked when she reached the door. “And that I love her,” she added.
    “Of course, mom. Both of your girls love you, too.” She smiled sadly at that, and then she was out of my line of vision.
    Shortly after my mom left, I decided to take some time to catch up on work. I was a designer for an advertising agency out of Denver. Luckily, most of my work was done from home, so keeping up with work flow from the hospital wouldn’t be impossible. This close to Christmas, I was expecting things to be pretty slow.
    I was sitting in the tiny chair, typing an email on my laptop while talking on the phone, when there was a small knock at the door.
    “Pete, I’ve gotta go,” I told my boss. I’d been filling him in on what was going on. He’d met Charley a few times, and like most other people, instantly liked her. I promised him I’d fill him as soon as I knew more, and he told me to take all the time I needed.
    “The firm will still be here when you get back. Some things are more