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The line is silent. “Mom?” I ask, my own voice shaking. There’s a lump in my throat the size of an apple, and my gut churns as we wait on bated breath for her to say something.
“I need you boys to get to the hospital.” Her voice cracks on the last word. “Something happened to Gramps. We don’t know what yet, but he passed out, and was unresponsive.”
She’s not even finished talking when Jason’s pulling out of the driveway, skidding onto the street. “Which hospital?” he asks.
“They’re transporting him to Twin Lakes General Hospital in St. Paul.” I can hear the sound of the sirens through the phone.
“Where’s Lennie?” Jason asks.
“Jane is watching her,” Mom replies. Thank god for Jane.
“Okay.”
“Your father is with me. We will meet you there. I’ll let them know you’re coming, and go from there.” Mom’s voice breaks, and that’s my final straw. A tear slides down my cheek, the pain of the unknown wracking through my body. I lean forward in my seat, dropping my head into my hands. I do my best to take slow, deep breaths, but it’s no use. The panic is too great, too strong.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” Jason says. He’s speeding through town as fast as possible.
I stop paying attention to the conversation until Jason ends the call. I sit up, trying to breathe, noticing that Jason is immediately dialing Jane’s number.
She doesn’t even greet him as she answers the phone. “Lennie is just fine, Jason. Don’t worry. I’ve got her. She can spend the night, and we will work things out tomorrow.”
A small amount of tension leaves Jason’s body. “Thank you, Jane. I know she’s not at an easy age, but I appreciate this more than you know.”
“You know this girl is like a granddaughter to me. I don’t mind one bit. That’s what family is for. We help each other. We went back to your parents house, and got all the things we need for a slumber party.”
Jane’s voice is soft and soothing, and it brings me back to the time I fell off my bike in front of their house when I was nine. I tried to shake it off, because if my brothers saw me crying over my scraped knee, they would’ve made fun of me the rest of the day. Jane saw me fall, and came out to help. She soothed me, let me know it was okay to cry, okay to feel the pain.
“Do you know what happened, Jane?” Jason asks.
“I know as much as you do,” she replies. “I saw the ambulance pull up, and ran over to see what was happening. Your mother asked me to take Lennie so she wouldn’t see anymore of what was happening, and I did.”
“Is Lennie okay? What did she see?”
“I think she saw them trying to wake him. She’s okay now, but I think she’s pretty confused, and a little shook up. We’ve been snuggling. Do you want to talk to her?” Jane asks.
“Yes,” Jason answers immediately. “Put her on, please.”
We hear the phone switch to speakerphone, and Lennie’s scared little voice. “Daddy?”
“Hi, sweetpea,” he responds. “Are you okay with spending the night at Grandma Jane’s?”
“Yeah,” she murmurs. “I was weally scawed. Is Gwamps okay?”
“I’m going to the hospital with Grammy and Grandpa, and your uncles to check on him, baby. The doctors are taking really good care of him though. I’ll come get you in the morning, okay?”
“Otay. Can Mawey come over?” she asks.
Jane is the one to respond. “How about we call her when we are done talking to your Daddy?”
“Otay,” Lennie says.
“Lennie, I’ll call you in a little bit, okay? But I love you, and I want you to have a fun night with Grandma Jane and Auntie Marley.”
“Otay. I wuv you, Daddy.”
“Love you too, Lennie-Lou.”
Jason says goodbye to Jane, and the phone disconnects. None of us say a word for a long moment, my only thought being, “get to the hospital, get to the hospital.”
