Read Online If I Should Die Before I Wake by Lurlene McDaniel - Free Book Online

I’m glad to finally meet you. Deanne has been such a good influence on Matt. She’s been a real friend to him and so helpful. With the kids and all, I can’t get to the hospital as much as I want. But Deanne’s been here every day. I just want you to know what a fine girl my husband and I think you’ve raise.
    “Why, thank you,” Mrs. Vandervoort said. She sounded impressed. Deanne had only blushed, waved at Matt, and gone back to her seat. Now, sitting and waiting for the production to start was making her nervous.
    Suddenly the lights dimmed and the bigscreen TV lit up. The show was on.
    Deanne watched the show. She thought it was funny. But the reaction of the audience surprised her most of all. They loved it! They laughed and clapped and stomped during the different scenes. Everybody seemed to recognize themselves and think it was funny. Deanne was thrilled.
    When it was over and the lights came back up, the audience actually cheered. Clare Coffman walked to the front of the auditorium. “Let’s give a big hand to the real stars of this production!” she cried. “All you kids, my actors and actresses, my assistants, my camera people, all of you, please stand up and be recognized!”
    Deanne got to her feet. Pam stood up. So did Matt, Susan, Carl, Todd, Mary, and all the other helpers on the project. The audience clapped and clapped. They shouted, “Bravo!” They made all the participants feel wonderful!
    Afterward, during refreshments, many came over to Deanne and told her, “Great job.” “Nice work.” “Watch out, Hollywood.” Deanne beamed. She felt so proud and so happy. She did a good job and had a lot of fun doing it.
    Mrs. Sanders came over and told both Dr. Vandervoort and Mrs. Vandervoort. “Your daughter is a fine nurse. She really cares about the patients. It showed tonight in that play.”
    Dr. Vandervoort smiled warmly at Deanne and told her, “I’m proud of you, honey. You helped them do a fine job.”
    Only her mother seemed a little withdrawn. Mrs. Vandervoort congratulated Deanne, but she also seemed preoccupied.
    “Did you like the play?” Deanne asked when they were riding home.
    “Oh, yes,” her mother said. “Very much.” They rode a while in silence. Then her mother said, “I had no idea how involved you were with the hospital. I mean, I know you spend a lot of time there, but I didn’t realize how much everyone thinks of you.” Then she added softly, “You’re not a little girl anymore.”
    They drove on into the night.

Ten
    “A re you looking forward to going back
to school?” Matt asked Deanne one
afternoon.
    “Not particularly,” Deanne replied. She shifted in her chair and smiled at him.
    Matt was sitting in a semi-reclining position in a special chair in the Chemotherapy Department. A long plastic tube reached from his arm to a bag of fluids hung on a rack next to his chair.
    “It’s not much longer now before school starts,” he said.
    “Right after Labor Day,” she agreed. “But I’d rather stay here at the hospital than go back to a boring old classroom.”
    “What!” Matt asked in mock horror. “And become the
only
Vandervoort not to get a diploma?”
    Deanne chuckled. “You’re silly,” she said. Then she asked, “What will you do?”
    “Get tutoring. I wish I could go back to school.”
    Deanne understood what he meant. “You’ve been here a long time,” she said.
    “Too long,” he told her. “The worst part is I don’t think I’m getting any better.”
    “Of course you are,” Deanne protested.
    A half-smile crossed his thin, handsome face. “I sure don’t feel like I’m getting any better.” They both were silent. Finally, Matt spoke. “You know,” he said, “what I’d really like to do before this summer’s over is go up to Loch de Nor.”
    “Your parents’ place at the lake?” Deanne asked. She remembered hearing his whole family talk about their lake home.
    “Deanne,” Matt began, his blue eyes shining,