A Very Rough Draft of Chapter Three of Wildcat Fall; suggestions are appreciated

Chapter Three
 
When Teri awoke, the first thing she saw was Jenn staring at her. “Hey!” Her voice sounded hoarse. She remembered Robyn telling her that she’d had a tube in her throat during her surgery. Surgery. She still couldn’t feel below her waist, but assumed that was all related to yesterday’s operation. She was still pretty out of it. She had slept last night, but every two hours, somebody turned all the lights on and checked her vitals. So when Jenn appeared, it was great.
 
Jenn moved over to her side and kissed her. “Hey, baby. God, I missed you.”
 
Jenn was kissing her as Teri turned to Robyn. “Hey, could I have dreamed during my operation?”
 
Robyn shrugged. “It’s possible. Some anesthetics can give you vivid dreams. Ask your doctor when you see her.”
 
Teri was wide-eyed. “Well, I just had the coolest dream. I was on a hilltop, and then swimming in the ocean. Everything was in color, and amazing.”
 
Robyn shook her head and smiled. “Well, I’m happy they were good dreams.”

A few minutes later, Robyn held two large Styrofoam cups. “Here you go. Jenn’s going to feed you ice very slowly. Now take your time because choking is a real no-no.”

As she felt the bed lifting slowly, she heard a motor vibrating under her. When her head and trunk were raised, Teri saw she had a picture window, and the walls were painted a faded green. Her nurse, Robyn, was wearing dark blue scrubs.

Jenn grinned as she dipped a long-handled plastic spoon into the cup and brought out ice shards. She waited until Teri opened her mouth and fed them to her.

‘I’m a baby bird,’ she thought as the first shards melted on her tongue and trickled down her throat. Teri savored the ice and used her tongue to run it around her mouth before letting it slide down her bruised throat. Jenn filled the cup one spoonful at a time until it was empty.

Robyn checked her legs. “You’re wearing elastic support stockings to prevent blood clots from forming. Now, are you ready to try a soda?”

Teri croaked out, “Please.”

Robyn placed a Coke and another cup of ice in front of her. A bendable straw was attached to the cup.

Robyn opened the can and poured it over the ice. “You’re only going to get a little bit at a time. I’m going to let you hold the cup.”

When the soda was gone, Robyn whispered, “Remember that a catheter is in your urethra. You can’t feel it, but relax and let it go. Don’t try to squeeze your muscles and hold back. We want you to make sure everything works.”

She started opening the closet and turned to Jenn, “Would you like to help Teri wash her face and brush her teeth?”
 
Teri moaned. “Oh, please. I feel like such a grub. And the taste in my mouth is awful.”
 
After Robyn got her a warm washcloth and a towel, she brought out a disposable cup, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. Teri enjoyed cleaning her mouth.
 
She shook her head as she spat out the last of the paste back into a cup. “Do I get mouthwash, too?”
 
“Of course, Teri. This is a five-star hotel. Just ask and you shall receive.” Robyn reached into the bathroom cabinet and got out a sample-sized bottle.

Teri was finally able to take a deep breath, sitting in bed, and feeling the ice machine between her legs. As she looked across at Jenn, there was a knock on the door. Another smiling nurse was standing there, washing his hands with an antibacterial scrub before he entered. “Hi, Teri Nelson. I’m Hank. I’m a pulmonologist here to check your lungs and breathing.”
 
Jenn looked at him. “Do I need to leave?”
 
“Nope.” He beamed a big smile. “I’ll only be a few minutes.” Hank admired the two women, smiling at them both.
 
Jenn was fascinated to watch as Teri blew into a tube and recorded the information. He used a stethoscope to listen to her lungs and nodded in response. “You’re in great shape. You’ll be going home in no time at all! My assistant will return this evening and demonstrate the exercises I want you to do to build up your lung capacity. Knowing that you sing and play for a living, I want to make sure we send you home in perfect shape.”
 
As he was working, no one noticed Tiffany walk through the door. She immediately came over and gave Teri a warm kiss. “Surprise, Little. This is wonderful. Seeing you stuck in bed, I can keep on kissing and you can’t run away!”
 
She laughed and turned to Robyn and the doctor. “Can I climb up into bed with my girlfriend? I want to get under the covers with her. Is it too soon to have hot monkey sex?”
 
Robyn looked frantic, not realizing Tiffany was putting on an act. “Oh, please don’t. She’s still hooked up to too many tubes, and we don’t want anything to go wrong.”
 
Jenn covered her mouth and laughed. She knew Tiff so well and was enjoying her outlandish, impulsive behavior. The woman could make anyone laugh.  
 
The man’s jaw dropped. The beautiful, tall, leggy blonde carrying on with the exotic-looking brunette was an eyeful. He slowly exited the room, realizing that Jenn and Tiffany were laughing while everyone was talking. He made a mental note to return to this room soon and check on the patient.
 
As everything was settling down, Jenn’s phone buzzed. She glanced at it and asked Robyn if Teri’s mom could come in too.
 
“No problem. I’ll get them. The whole floor is quiet; we can even steal chairs from the other room.
 
Before too long, Teri and Amy hugged it while Tiffany talked to Conor. A professional surgical nurse, Amy was interested in what the doctor said.
 
Robyn was giving everyone the lowdown. “Well, she came in last night at around eleven. Teri was still pretty out of it. She said that she was very pleased with the whole operation and felt that, because Teri was so young and intersex, it made it much easier to complete the transformation. She also said they had to do less cutting and suturing so healing would go faster. She promised to come back again today and help pull out the catheter and check on the dressings.”
 
Amy was smiling at Conor. “I’m happy to hear that. Complications are a bitch.” She paused and shook her head. “Excuse my language. I’ve been agitated with worry through this whole business, and knowing all that could happen in this surgery has had me on edge. I’m relieved.”
 
An hour later, Robyn was getting everyone’s attention. “I need to kick all of you out. The doctor is on her way, and we’ll need to disconnect all of Teri’s tubes and her catheter. After the doctor finishes checking her dressings, I’ll bring you back so you can talk to her, and we can get her up and walking today. It should take me about thirty minutes, and when I’m done, I’ll come get you.”
 
Conor smiled. “That’s fine. We can all take a lunch break. We packed food and left it in coolers in the Recovery Lounge. C’mon, gang, let’s go eat.”
 
Teri sat up and waved her hands. “Hey! What about me? Who’s going to feed me?”
 
Robyn laughed. “Your cafeteria tray is on its way. It’s not catered, just hospital food. Get used to it. You’re on a pretty strict diet for the next three days.”
 
Teri could be heard moaning and feigning complaints as everyone filed out.
 
Amy and Conor pulled out sandwiches, sodas, and pretzels a few minutes later.
 
Jenn and Tiffany got out the napkins and paper plates as Tiffany spoke. “This looks good, Mrs. Nelson. Thank you for feeding us. You, too, Conor.”
 
Jenn always smiled that Tiffany was on a first-name basis with Conor. She remembered hearing about how, in the old days, when Conor was smuggling arms worldwide, he was very selective about who Zoe could bring home to his very secure home. Teri had told her that the mansion had walls and lights everywhere. She’d visited there once when she first joined the Wildcats.
 
Since then, Conor had fallen in love with Teri and Lisa’s mom. The Wildcats knew they’d played Cupid and were all pleased with themselves that the two parents had found each other. Zoe’s mom had died of cancer when she was nineteen, and both Conor and she had been heartbroken. When her mom had been diagnosed, Conor Finely had given up being an outlaw and dedicated himself to his family’s well-being.
 
Now, he was content to dabble in importing Japanese Saki and fine French wines. He was still sore that the government wouldn’t give him an export license to sell Kentucky Bourbon to the world. He said, “They’re still mad. They’d never made a case against me. And now it’s too late.”
 
A new voice could be heard as everyone munched down on Italian hoagies and Herr’s potato chips. “Hey, gang! Did you leave anything for me?” 
 
Everyone stood up and exchanged hugs and kisses with Gina. As they found her a soda and a sub, she told them her conversation with her dad: “We’re each twenty thousand dollars richer. I never knew it, but online services pay us royalties every time a song is played. Our checks are deposited. Mine is already earmarked for a Grace present.”
 
Tiffany turned. “Twenty grand is sweet. I also want to see the statistics from William Wiggins on which songs were requested the most, as well as the breakdown from the streaming services. I’m curious to see what songs were requested.”
 
Gina looked at her. “What’s that going to tell you?”
 
Tiff nodded. “It’ll give us insight into which songs were the favorites. That will help us to plan for the next record.”
 
Gina laughed and held up a wrapped package. “Yeah, speaking of records. Richard and Phil gave me a present to give to Teri. They discovered five mint-condition vinyl recordings of Jimi Hendrix's live performances. Cool, huh?”
 
Jenn was smiling. “Oh, my gosh. She’s going to be climbing out of bed to hear them. All she’s been doing since she was on the Tonight Show and met Questlove is going crazy buying vinyl. I don’t even ask her how much she spends.”
 
Gina smiled. “I thought she was getting all of her stuff through Questlove.”
 
“Right. The pair of them are music nerds. But even DJ Blank has been helping her track down vinyl.”
 
Tiffany smiled. “Blank! How’s he doing? Is he still at the Rendezvous?”
 
Jenn was nodding. “Yep. However, he’s branching out since helping remix "Show Me Some Love." He’s become pretty popular in the recording studio, too. He told Teri he’s doing shows all along the East Coast.”
 
Tiffany gave a thumbs-up. “It’s so good to hear that he’s become successful. It’s hard to believe that Teri conceived the song and sent it to him the second night we played together at the Rendezvous.”
 
Gina laughed. “Remember how she just taught it to us on the fly. And you made a big deal and didn’t want to do dance music.”
 
“Yeah, when I heard what he was doing, I worried about our cred as a punk band. And, hey. We might have been second-rate, but we had a reputation to keep.”
 
“Yeah, the bad girls of punk. So original.”
 
“Back then, Teri was our Little Shit. And to think, I was worried. Little did I know that that club song would make us famous.”
 
Gina laughed. “Yeah, I so remember you questioned Teri’s value. You want to kick that girl to the curb, saying that we didn’t need a fifth member and an eighteen-year-old would only slow us down.”
 
Tiffany was rolling with laughter. “And I was so right! I’m truly gifted when it comes to reading our future. Yeah, that Teri kid sure has been nothing but trouble.”
 
Amy cleaned up the lunch and packed everything in the cooler they brought. “Speaking of trouble, I’m going to buzz Robyn and see if we can get in and see my daughter.”
 
At that moment, Robyn pushed the door open, and Teri stood beside her. Her voice was hoarse and soft. “Hey, gang! What’s up?”
 
Of course, everyone took their turn hugging and kissing her. It was a real celebration.
 
Teri felt the tears through her hospital gown and realized that her mom was coming undone. “Mom, mom. I’m here and everything is fine.”
 
“Oh, I know,” she whispered. “It’s just how much I love you. My baby is the most amazing woman I know.”
 
Robyn cleared her voice to get everyone’s attention. “We need to go back inside recovery. Teri and I need to walk a few more steps. When we return, I'll get you from the lounge. We won’t be long.”
 
Gina’s phone buzzed in her back pocket. She looked at the phone. “Hey, Jenn.”
 
Jenn looked up from putting the waters back in the cooler. “Uh-huh?”
 
“How many people did you text about Teri’s surgery?”
 
Jenn nodded. “Teri and I made a list. You know Teri. Not a lot of subtleties.”
 
 
Robyn looked at Teri as she slowly walked forward. She knew how uncomfortable she was, but was impressed at how hard she was trying. “Hey. You’re doing great, and I know you’re all about recovery, but we’re not here to overstrain.”
 
Teri shook her head. “How many painkillers do they have me on?”
 
Robyn still held her arm. “Tylenol and something to help you sleep. Not as much as you’d think. You’re still pretty numb down there. By the time you head home, you’ll be better.”
 
 
Smith closed his laptop. About two hours had passed. He looked over and saw that Lisa had her eyes closed. He was very content to stare at her while she slept. Then he heard a voice.
 
“Why are you staring at me, cowboy?”
 
“‘Cause I like to.”
 
Lisa popped a mint. Then she leaned over and kissed him softly. “Thank you, even if it’s a little creepy to wake up to feeling all that electricity coming from you.” She snaked her arm out and around his neck, pulled him towards her, and gave him another kiss. “Mmm. How horny are you?”
 
Smith perked up and grinned. “You know that First class has its bathroom. You coming?”
 
 
Fifteen minutes later, a flight attendant came their way after they had settled back in their seats. She was grinning and holding out two flutes of champagne on a tray.
 
After they had taken the glasses and thanked her, Lisa leaned over. “She knows, doesn’t she?”
 
Smith turned bright red. “I’m guessing that she’s seen it all. Now, don’t tease, but you’re my first mile-high club partner.”
 
Lisa shook her head. “I can’t believe Eaten by Raptors never had a private plane and groupies begging the lead singer to show them fireworks.”
 
Smith shook his head. “You’ve watched too many rock and roll movies. In the three years we toured, there were no private jets or crazy buses full of groupies. Sure, I partied like crazy, but we were country boys still full of those Texas manners. You know, like in yes ma’am.”
 
Lisa nipped his neck. “I don’t buy it, but if that’s what you’re selling.”
 
Smith tried to look hurt. “C’mon. Seriously. The guys will back me up. No mile highs.”
 
Lisa leaned in and hugged him around the neck. “Oh, baby. I love you. I do. But you’re an old guy who probably has a ton of scalps on his belt.”
 
Smith sighed. “Okay, so you’ve got me. When we were on the road, I kept three families going: one in New York, one in Florida, and one on the West Coast. I’ve got eight beautiful children, and I love them all.”
 
When Lisa smacked him, she remembered to tuck her thumb so the impact left a large impression on his arm.
 
Smith rubbed his arm and made a face. “Ouch. Lisa. That hurt. Ya gotta stop picking on an old man!”