Big Tex

by Alexis Lauren

  Willow looked over at her mother laying in the bed. She had an IV in her arm, with wires connected to her chest to measure her heart rhythms. Lauren looked over at her as Willow stood by the door. "Come here and sit near me honey." Lauren said to Willow. Willow walked over and sat in the chair next to her mother's bed and reached over to hold her hand.

  "Willow, honey, please don't worry about me. I am so sorry for ruining your night, this is supposed to be a happy time for you." Lauren said.

  "Mom, don't even worry about it. You are so much more important than a birthday party. I hope you know that." Willow said. "I am so glad Brody realized that you needed to go to the hospital. I'm such an idiot, I was ready to just take you home and put you to bed." Willow started crying. "Nice, if it was left to me, I'd have taken you home and you'd have died. Great daughter, huh?" Willow said sarcastically, through tears.

  "Honey, don't think like that. I have no one to blame but myself. I should have been checked out when I first started feeling sick." Lauren said. She squeezed Willow's hand. "You know how lucky you are to have that young man out there? He is going to make a wonderful husband and father, I can just tell. It's so comforting to know that I'll be leaving you in his hands."

  "Mom, you're not leaving us, don't even think like that. You're not allowed to die until after I do. That's a rule!" Willow tried to joke, but it made her feel worse.

  "Willow, I need you to do a few things for me." Willow nodded her head at her mother's request. "I need you to take over the firm while I'm sick. I know that it's going to put you in a pinch with your job, but maybe they can give you a leave of absence, or take some FMLA time (FMLA is Family Medical Leave Act, where you get time off work to take care of sick family without losing your job, among other things). I need someone I can trust to run the company, and I trust you above all else. Also, I need you to contact my lawyer to have him meet with me before my surgery. His business card is in my desk at home. For the last request, I need Brody and Sierra in here." Willow got up and went to the door where Brody was waiting. She told him to go get Sierra and have them both sneak into the room. They both came in two minutes later and gathered around Lauren's bed. "I need you all here as witnesses to tell you that it is my wish, that if something should go wrong in the surgery, I do not want to be put on life support. I have my reasons behind it, and whether you agree with me or not, please accept my decision. I will tell my lawyer the same thing, but I just wanted it to be clear to all of you what my stance is on the matter." Lauren had not shed a single tear, but Sierra and Willow were crying freely. Brody was trying to stay strong for Willow, but he had grown so fond of Lauren over the past few months, that it was tearing him up to see her laying in that bed looking so fragile.

  "Now, I also want to tell you what I will be telling my lawyer. I am leaving the firm to you three, with a clause that if Sierra marries Micah, then he will also become an owner. He is not to know about that clause, because if he chooses to marry Sierra, then I want him to do it on his own free will, not because of what he could gain by marrying her. I know that he wouldn't be that shallow, but I still feel a need to protect Sierra. Also, I want my house to be sold, with the assets split evenly between Sierra and Willow. All of the contents of the house can be split between the two of you as you see fit. All of the investments that I have, along with the proceeds of my life insurance, minus the cost of my funeral and medical expenses, will go into a trust for my grandchildren. Sierra, your children are included in this because I have always seen you as a daughter. Now, any questions?" Lauren asked. No one said anything.

  "Willow and Sierra, you two do understand that if you take over the business, you will need to move to Texas and give up your jobs in New York?" Lauren clarified.

  "Yes Mom, I think we do. But I don't know why we're talking about all of this anyways. The doctors say you're going to be just fine." Willow said.

  "Well, it can't hurt to be prepared. Now, I want you all to leave the hospital. Go home and get a good night's sleep. Just because I have to be here, doesn't mean the rest of you have to. Besides, Brody and Willow need to celebrate their engagement still." Lauren said with a wink. Sierra kissed Lauren's forehead and told her she loved her before walking out of the room.

  Willow leaned over and kissed her mom's cheek and ran her hand from her mom's forehead to her cheek. "I love you mom, we'll be back tomorrow to see you. Get some rest, ok?"

  "I love you too honey. Will you give me a minute with Brody?" Lauren asked. Willow nodded and kissed her mom's cheek again before leaving the two of them alone.

  Lauren looked to Brody and grabbed his hand. "For some reason, I know that I'm not going to make it through this. I need you to be strong for my daughter, and don't let her push you away. She loves you with all her heart, don't ever forget that. Please take care of her. She is so special to me, and it breaks my heart to have to leave her." Lauren finally let the tears spill out of her eyes. "I know that I won't be here physically for your wedding, but I will be there in spirit. I couldn't have picked a better son-in-law myself. As a boss I am proud of the work that you do. As a mother-in-law, I am proud of the man my daughter has chosen to marry. Thank you for giving her your love."

  Brody didn't know what to say as the tears rolled down his eyes too. "I love your daughter more than anything. I will keep her safe and will never do anything to hurt her. She is everything to me, and I will do all I can to make her life happy and full." Brody choked on a sob. "I want to thank you for everything that you've done for me since I've met you. You have been such an inspiration at work, and I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for you. You have really made an impact in this world, and especially on all of us. If you do go, you better watch over us all and make sure we stay on the right path, ok?"

  Lauren nodded. "You better go. Thank you Brody."

  "Thank you, Mom. Get some rest now." Brody said and kissed Lauren's forehead. He wiped his eyes and walked out of the room.

  Lauren laid in her bed and prayed, for the first time in a long time, then slowly drifted off to sleep.

  Back at Brody's house, Willow and Sierra were trying to relax, with the help of Micah and Brody. They knew that there was nothing they could do but wait this all out over the next few days, so they were trying to take their minds off it. The girls were in the game room watching the movie "Old School", and the guys were in the kitchen getting drinks.

  Brody was explaining to Micah what had happened, how Lauren was telling them that she wanted her will changed and that she didn't want to be kept alive on life support. He told him how brave Lauren was being about everything, even though she had confided in Brody that she knew she wasn't going to make it. Brody knew that he had to tell Micah so that he'd be prepared to help Sierra if Lauren didn't come out of the surgery ok.

  Brody brought the drinks back to the girls, then headed upstairs. He went into his bathroom and drew Willow a bath in his Whirlpool tub. He put plenty of bubbles in there and turned on the jets. Her movie was getting ready to end, so by the time he finished, she would be ready to come upstairs.

  After he turned the water off, Brody went downstairs to get Willow. They had just shut the movie off, so Willow was ready to go upstairs. She said goodnight to Sierra and Micah and followed Brody up the stairs. After they got to the bedroom and Brody had shut the door, Willow sat on the bench at the end of the bed. Brody sat behind her and began massaging her shoulders. Willow let her head drop and moaned at the feel of his hands.

  "I'm going to pamper you tonight darling. I know you're upset about your mom, but she wants us to celebrate our engagement." Brody said softly.

  "I know she does and we will celebrate. I'm going to try not to think about it too much. After all, the doctor did say that the worst case scenario is that she'd need a transplant, and those go fine all the time, right?" She asked Brody.

  "Yeah, they do. Your mom is a strong woman Willow. She's going to fight this, you know." Brody told her.

  "I know. So, what did
you have planned tonight, besides this fabulous massage that I'm getting?"

  Brody stood up and walked her towards the bathroom. He spun her around and lifted her shirt over her head. Willow smiled seductively and rid Brody of his shirt too. They met in a passionate embrace as Brody unzipped Willow's skirt and let it fall to the floor. "Going commando I see!" Brody teased Willow when he saw that she didn't have any panties on.

  "Hmm, let's see, are you?" She asked Brody as she unbutton his pants. When she saw his boxers, she laughed. They were black with a red bow printed on them right at the fly. "Is this the other part of my present?" Willow asked.

  "Yeah, like it?" He whispered.

  "No, I love it." She said and sucked his bottom lip into her mouth. She pushed his boxers to the floor as Brody opened the door to the bathroom. He picked Willow up and carried her to the tub. He set her in gently, then got in himself. He leaned against the back of the tub, then Willow cuddled her back against his chest.

  Brody grabbed one of the strawberries from the plate that he had brought up earlier and dipped it in the whipped cream and fed it to Willow. After she finished her strawberry, she turned around and fed one to Brody. She wrapped her legs around his waist and slipped his hard shaft inside of her. She rocked back and forth on top of him as they fed each other until the strawberries and whipped cream were gone and they were spent. "Happy Birthday darling." Brody whispered.

  "I love you so much, and I can't wait to marry you." Willow told Brody as she cuddled with him in the tub.

  "I love you too, and I'm glad you accepted." He said as he held up her left hand so he could admire the ring. "It looks so perfect on your finger. It didn't look nearly this nice in the store." He intertwined his fingers with hers and said, "Come on, we better get out of this water, it’s getting cold. Besides, you need to get some sleep."

  Willow stood up and got out of the tub. She dried off and went to lay in bed, trying to wait for Brody to get in bed before she fell asleep, but her body shut down and she fell asleep before he even had a chance to get out of the tub. He drained the tub and cleaned it before shutting off the light and heading to bed. 'I need to hire a new maid soon.' Brody thought as he got into bed. 'Only this time, she's going to be an old lady, and Willow will have to approve of her.' He thought as he drifted off to sleep, holding Willow in his arms.

  The next morning, Willow smelled something heavenly cooking as she walked downstairs when she woke up. She walked into the kitchen and found Brody and his mom standing there talking. Maggie had come over to cook and clean so that the kids could go up to the hospital to see Lauren. Brody smiled at her when he saw her walk in, and Maggie went over and gave her a hug. She told Willow to sit down, then put a plate of food in front of her.

  "This looks delicious Maggie, thank you for making breakfast. You didn't need to come all the way over here just to do this." Willow said.

  "Oh, it's no problem. It's nice to feel useful sometimes. Brody's all grown up and I feel like he doesn't need me anymore, so when I get to help, it makes me feel all warm inside." Maggie smiled. "Besides, I thought I'd pitch in and help clean up a little, then I'm going to interview some new maids for you. The agency is sending a bunch over, so I'll narrow it down to just a couple and you guys can have the final say. I know you'll be busy over the next few days, so I'll weed out the bad ones to save time."

  "Thanks mom. Just make sure she's old and realizes that Willow and I are getting married. We don't need any Lisa repeats." Brody said.

  Willow finished her breakfast and washed off her plate before putting it into the dishwasher. "Thank you for your help Maggie. I really appreciate it!" Willow said and gave Maggie another hug, then left to go upstairs to shower and change.

  "Mom, Lauren doesn't think she's going to pull through the surgery, and I don't know what to tell Willow. I can't keep pretending like everything is going to be ok when Lauren keeps telling me she's going to die. I just don't know what to do. I don't want to keep giving Willow false hope, but I don't want to see her hurting either." Brody said to his mom.

  "You just need to be there for her. I'm sure that Willow knows in the back of her mind that this could very well be the end for her mother, and she is dealing in the only way she knows how. Just be her shoulder to cry on, and the hand to hold. Don't lie to her and tell her it's going to be alright, tell her the truth…that you'll get through whatever happens together." Maggie said and kissed her son's cheek as Sierra and Micah made their way down to the kitchen.

  "Good morning, what are you doing here so early Maggie?" Micah asked.

  "I'm just playing maid. What can I get you both for breakfast?" Maggie asked Micah and Sierra.

  "I don't think I can eat, I'm too upset." Sierra said.

  Maggie went over to the toaster and dropped two slices of bread in. "You need to at least eat something. I'll fix you some toast with peanut butter and jelly. That always hits the spot!"

  Sierra smiled sadly and thanked Maggie. Micah went for bacon and eggs. By the time they were done eating, Willow had rejoined them.

  The four of them headed to Lauren's house to get her some books and other things she may need during her hospital stay. Willow also called Lauren's lawyer and scheduled an appointment for him to meet Lauren later that day in the hospital. After they got everything they thought Lauren would need, they headed to the hospital to see how Lauren was doing. Willow just hoped she was strong enough to hold herself together for her mom.

  Chapter 13 A Brave Goodbye

  When the group got to the hospital, they headed straight to the fourth floor. They were told by the nursing staff that Lauren had made some progress over night and that she was out of Intensive Care. Visitation was no longer limited to one person at a time for five minutes. Willow was elated to hear about her progress, and hoped that everything would be okay after all.

  As they all entered the room, they noticed it looked more like a flower shop than a hospital room. Lauren turned her head to look at them and gave them a big smile. "Well, someone finally got you guys out of bed?" She joked.

  Everyone took their turn saying hello to her and kissing her forehead or cheek. "I see you got our flowers, but I know we didn't send all these. You have some admirers?" Micah teased.

  "Yeah, a few. Guys just find it hard to resist me." Lauren joked back. "Thank you all for the flowers though, they're beautiful." The group had decided to send one big bouquet to Lauren, and the florist had delivered them just before they got to the hospital.

  "You're looking a lot better Mom. You've got a lot of color back in your face." Willow said.

  "It’s all the rest. These nurses won't let me up for anything. I'm surprised they let me move my fingers to change the channel with the TV remote!" Lauren laughed. "I'm sure the drugs help a little though."

  "Well, no matter what it is, you look 100 times better than yesterday Lauren." Sierra said. "I'm sure you'll be out of here in no time!"

  "You know Mom, you're looking so much better. Are you sure you still want your lawyer to come? I can call and cancel for you if you want." Willow offered.

  "No honey, I still want him to come. I'll be going in for surgery, and you never know what'll happen. Better to be safe than sorry. Besides, no matter what, my will needs to be updated." Lauren told her.

  The group sat around talking for a while until Lauren's lawyer came in. They all excused themselves and went to the cafeteria to get some lunch. As they walked out of the room, Willow grabbed Brody's hand and pulled him towards her. She planted a big kiss on him and smiled when she released him.

  "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" Brody asked.

  "Can't a girl kiss her fiancé whenever she wants to?" Willow replied. Brody gave her a look to say she was crazy. "Ok, I'm just happy that my mom's looking better. I have a lot more hope now that she'll pull through this."

  Brody smiled at her and said, "Come on, let's grab something to eat and get back up here." They went down to the cafeteria and found Micah and S
ierra already eating. Brody grabbed some food for him and Willow and sat down to eat. Willow and Sierra were in better moods than the day before, both thinking that everything was going to be fine with Lauren. Micah and Brody were still cautious about the situation. Lauren did indeed look better, but there was still an eerie feeling that something was going to happen.

  After they ate, they headed back up to Lauren's room. The lawyer was still there, so they went to sit in the waiting room while they finished their business. Not long after, the lawyer came out and told everyone they could go back inside. He still had some papers laying out and told Willow, Sierra, and Brody that they had to sign in a few places. They did as they were told and he gathered the papers and left, wishing Lauren a speedy recovery.

  Micah and Brody left shortly after to give Willow and Sierra some time alone with Willow. When the guys left, Lauren asked if a date had been set for the wedding.

  "Um, not yet. I think we had some more important issues yesterday than setting the date." Willow said, a little annoyed.

  "Sorry. I was just wondering. Oh, hey! What about a November wedding? You'd still have about 6 months to plan it, and the weather would be just perfect if you got married here." Lauren suggested.

  "Yeah, November's nice. I'll have to talk to Brody about it." Willow said.

  "Oh, reach under that cupboard over there, Sierra, and pull those magazines out." Lauren instructed. Sierra did so and pulled out 5 thick bridal magazines. "I had one of the nurses get those from the gift shop downstairs for me. I thought we could look for dresses and stuff. Besides, what better to keep me occupied while I'm in here than to help plan the wedding?" Lauren said, with so much joy in her voice.

  Willow and Sierra laughed and started going through the magazines. Lauren took out a pad of paper and started making lists of things that they liked. By the end of the day, they had the china and silver picked out, as well as the bridesmaid's gowns. Sierra was asked to be the maid of honor, which she readily accepted. Willow listed three other friends from home to serve as her bridesmaids. A rough guest list was made out for Willow's side, just to get an estimate of how many people would be there. All in all, it was a very productive day, and just what Willow needed to get her even more excited about the upcoming wedding.