Ailana’s Journal: Part 2—2026-06-26 (and Island Kids) (Patreon)

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THANK HER ALREADY by Jenna Mercer

Plot twist. I had surgery yesterday and they took out my appendix.

I woke up rough, in pain. Dad was at sea, four hours away, so I went to the clinic in Port Isabel. A woman named Olivia saw me and low-key went into main-character mode.

She got me through everything and sat with me in the ER for hours until Dad made it to the hospital. She left right away, and Dad—and I—didn’t really thank her.

He took today off, let my friends come over, and then said, like, three times, that he wished he’d thanked Olivia.

I finally gave up. “Just go thank her!”

“I’m not leaving you alone the day after surgery.”

I pointed around the den. “I’m not alone. Gabe, Brooks, and Mateo are here.”

Brooks smiled. “We’ve got her.”

“Mr. Mercer,” Mateo said, “We’ll stay with her, if you want to go.”

Dad looked at his watch. “I’d only be gone for a little while.”

I face-palmed. “Then go. You’ve asked me four times. I’m fine!”

“Maybe only three,” Brooks said.

Dad nodded. “They sent you home because you were stable. That doesn’t mean I should leave you.”

“Dad, I’ll be fine. I really liked Olivia. She was so sweet to me. She stayed all day like she had nothing else to do. She was way nice.”

Gabe tried to help. “We’ll all stay right here with her. If anything changes, I’ll call you immediately.”

Dad looked at Gabe. “Immediately.”

Gabe nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Dad channeled discharge orders. “If she has trouble breathing, passes out, or starts bleeding heavily, call 911 first, then me. If she gets dizzy, starts vomiting, or the pain suddenly gets worse, call me and her surgeon.”

“Dad, just go thank her, but make it count.”

“Make what count? What does that mean?”

“Buy her coffee. Saying thank you is just words. Coffee shows effort.”

Dad shook his head. “Coffee?”

I nodded. “For real. She gave up almost her whole day for somebody she didn’t even know.”

“I know what she did.”

I pointed at the door. “Then show her you know. Don’t just say it.”

Dad nodded. “Okay…I’m only going ten minutes down the road. I’ll be back within an hour.”

“Okay,” I replied, “but not without buying her coffee.”

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THANKING HER by Dan Mercer

Extended Patreon-Exclusive version.

I grew up believing that when someone does something kind for you, you say thank you. Yesterday, Olivia helped Jenna through the crisis that ended with her appendix being removed.

I was at sea when it started, and Olivia—a total stranger—stepped up and stayed with my frightened sixteen-year-old daughter until I arrived.

I had to come back to the clinic and tell her how much I appreciated what she did.

She was standing near the front desk looking at a clipboard when I arrived, so I walked over to her. “Hi…Dan Mercer. I wanted to thank you for staying with Jenna.”

“Well, I didn’t mind,” she replied, “but I feel like I owe you an apology. I left without properly introducing myself. You’d just gotten there, and I didn’t want to interrupt your first few minutes with her.”

I shrugged. “I appreciate that, but I regretted not having a chance to thank you, either.”

She smiled. “It really wasn’t a problem. I wasn’t working.”

“You’re working now?” I could see that she was wearing scrubs and a white lab coat.

“I am. The clinic finally got word from the insurance companies. Everything is set, so I can see patients.

“So Jenna wasn’t your patient?”

“Not mine,” she replied. “Dr. Kumar treated her. Anika… Her husband, Amir, is another doctor here. They started the clinic.”

“Jenna and I just moved here in the middle of May. I don’t know how she knew to come here. I guess I forgot to ask.”

“She seems really smart. She rode in on the free Island Metro shuttle.” Olivia smiled. “Honestly, I thought Jenna was wonderful. I’m glad I could stay with her. You really didn’t need to make a special visit just to thank me.”

“I wanted to. I also wanted to understand why someone who didn’t know either of us would give up most of her day to sit in an ER with my daughter.”

Olivia’s expression turned distant and serious. “I’ve seen a lot of bad situations get worse in my work before I came back to the States. I suppose I wanted to stay for one where everything went right. And Jenna was scared. There really isn’t much more to it.”

“You were overseas?” I asked.

She told me that after medical school and surgical residency, she took a job with an international medical relief organization called Health for Humanity. She described working in remote parts of the world where access to health care was limited.

“Health for Humanity was absorbed by a larger organization. After that, Amir and Anika started the clinic. A few weeks ago, I decided I missed my friends and was ready to come home.”

“That sounds reasonable. You must be proud of what you accomplished.”

She smiled. “I am. But it’s nice to get back to where things have a better chance of working out. If Jenna had come to me like that when I was in remote Tibet, I probably would have had to operate without the ultrasound to confirm what was happening. We had decent lab equipment. X-rays almost always… And it wouldn’t have been laparoscopic, that’s for sure.”

“So you’re a surgeon?” I asked.

“Texas would agree with that. Board-certified and all that. But for now, I’m going to do clinic work here as needed, take some shifts on the Outreach RV, and eventually pick up PRN shifts in the ER where Jenna was treated.

“She said some doctor came in and mentioned that.”

Olivia nodded. “How is Jenna feeling today?”

I smiled. “Sore, tired, and apparently very bossy when she’s taking pain medication.”

Olivia laughed a bit. “Interesting…”

I sort of lost where I was going, so I just said, “Jenna liked you. She really appreciated you being with her and listening to her ramble.”

Olivia smiled. “I liked her, too. Her stories about the island kids and Gabe were so refreshing. So full of hope.”

I smiled. “Gabe’s a good kid, but… it's hard for Dad to see his little girl… dating!”

“I suppose you’re seeing her change fast these last few years.”

I nodded again. ““The last few years… She’s basically a young adult now. My baby grew up. And…well, she also gave me strict instructions.”

“Should I be worried?”

“According to Jenna and the pain meds, thank you is just words. Coffee shows effort. She told me I’m not allowed to go home unless I buy you coffee.”

“And you always follow orders from medicated sixteen-year-olds?”

“Not usually, but she made a compelling argument. And it’s just thank-you coffee. You can tell your husband all about it. Introduce us by phone if that helps.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Too many years in med school, followed by more years doing medical relief work. It’s just me.”

That surprised me, and I sort of stammered out a reply. “Oh… sorry about that…”

She looked at the time on her phone. “All right. Coffee. There’s a nice café right across the street.”

I stepped back from the counter, still a bit embarrassed about assuming she had a husband. “Yeah… That sounds good… And thanks… for this too. Now I’m allowed to go home.”

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