Ayala wavered for a moment as her brain vacillated between two a.m.! and Just do it and make her happy

Ayala sat up in bed with a start, squinting in the dark. Had Ma just called her name?

She yawned, listening. Yes, Ma was calling from her bedroom. Ayala quickly stood up; it was for good reason that she’d been sleeping in her robe ever since her mother had come home from the hospital.

“Ma, what happened?” she whispered, glancing at her sleeping father. How was it that Ta slept through her mother’s calls, while she heard it from the next room? “Is everything okay?”

Ma blinked as the light from the hallway beamed into the room. Wide-eyed, she clutched Ayala’s arm. “My medications. I didn’t take them tonight.”

Ayala gritted her teeth. “You did. Remember? You took both the Lopressor and the Lipitor after dinner.”

Ma squinted. “I did? Are you sure?” She didn’t wait for an answer, just shook her head insistently. “No, I didn’t. I know I didn’t.”

Ayala sighed. “Would you like me to show you?” She went down to the kitchen, grabbed her mother’s pill organizer from the counter, and brought it back up.

“See?” she said, opening the Tuesday compartment. “The box is empty. You took everything.”

Ma looked confused for a moment, then her face cleared. “Oh. I suppose I did. Thanks, Ayala. I was so sure I’d forgotten….”

“You must have dreamed it,” Ayala said. She yawned. “No problem. Let’s go back to sleep, okay?”

“Okay. But while you’re up, can you bring me some hot cocoa?”

Ayala raised her eyebrows. “It’s two in the morning, Ma.”

“I know, but I have such a craving.” The way she smiled reminded Ayala of her four-year-old, Rafi. “Besides, I couldn’t possibly fall back asleep right now, with my heart still in a flutter. The cocoa will calm me down.”

Ayala wavered for a moment as her brain vacillated between two a.m.! and Just do it and make her happy.

She sighed. Hot cocoa was supposed to be good for the heart, right? “Coming right up,” she said, trying to inject cheer into her middle-of-the-night voice.