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34
SAVANNAH
The afternoon slides into evening. I hate leaving Falcon alone, but I have to go get some dinner in the cafeteria before it closes. I grab a pre-made chef’s salad and bottle of water and hurry back up to Falcon’s room, where I eat it robotically, alone with my thoughts—thoughts focusing mostly on Falcon but sliding every once in a while to my father’s arrest and a side of my mother that’s new to me and almost frightening.
A doctor in a white coat is there, but it’s not Dr. Logan. She turns to me when I walk in.
“Hi, are you Ms. Gallo?”
“Yes. I’m Savannah Gallo.”
“I’m Dr. Pinkman. I have Mr. Bellamy’s imaging results.”
My heart skips a beat. “And…?”
Dr. Pinkman smiles at me. “They look good. His punctured lung isn’t serious and it should heal on its own. We’ll keep him on oxygen through the night, but his vitals are good so he can probably go off it tomorrow.”
“That’s good.” I look over at him in his hospital bed. “Why hasn’t he woken up?”
“We’re giving him Demerol for the pain. He’s probably having a nice nap. It’s good for him. But my guess is he’ll wake up in the morning.”
“Good.”
“Will you be staying with him?”
I pat the arm of the recliner. “Yeah. I’m spending the night.”
“That’s fine. But you should know that the nurse will come in every hour to check his vitals. You may not get much sleep.”
“Believe me. I’ll get more than I would if I weren’t here. I’d be a ball of worry.”
She smiles. “I understand. He’s doing just fine. I’m glad you’re here for him.”
Dr. Pinkman steps over to the computer monitor, makes some notes, and then leaves. A moment later a nurse steps in.
“I’m Nora. I’ll be Falcon’s nurse tonight.” She lays a hand on my upper arm. “Do you need anything? A toothbrush?”
“That would be great if you have one.”
“We do. We keep toiletries on hand for overnight visitors. I’ll bring you a packet as soon as I make a note of his vitals.”
She checks Falcon’s oxygen and his IV, makes some notes on the computer, and leaves. Ten minutes later she returns and hands me a small paper bag. Inside is a toothbrush, toothpaste, some makeup remover wipes, and cotton swabs.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. If you need anything else, let us know. We’ll help if we can.”
“Just take care of Falcon. That’s all I need.”
“I will.”
“Thank you, Nora.”
She smiles and leaves, closing the door behind her.
I take the toiletries to the bathroom in Falcon’s room and get ready for bed. I opt to sleep in the recliner so I can be next to him rather than pulling out the bed from the loveseat in the room. I fall asleep to his breaths through the oxygen mask.
“Sav.” Someone nudges my shoulder. “Sav, wake up.”
