She tried again. “Does he need surgery?”
He shook his head. “They’re keeping him overnight. They’re going to take a look again in the morning once the swelling has gone down a bit. The scans weren’t really conclusive one way or the other.”
She nodded, ignoring his loud intake of air like he was gearing up to berate her all over again, and strode into Mason’s room.
Her vibrant and outgoing kid looked so small and pale in the middle of the big hospital bed and Catriona napped on the couch facing the bed.
“Hey kiddo.”
“Hey, Mom. Did you learn how to make that chocolate thing?”
She smiled. “I did. I’ll make it for you next time you visit, just like I promised. I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner. I had no cell service.”
“I knew you’d come as soon as you could. You always do.”
His words did little to ease the heavy weight sitting on her chest. She sat on the edge of his bed and picked up his good hand as tears coursed down her face. “I’m so sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have gone somewhere that I didn’t have service.”
A frown pinched his tiny features. “Did you know you couldn’t get calls when you went there?”
She shook her head and sniffed.
“Then why are you upset at yourself?”
Things were so simple for kids, so straightforward—gray areas just didn’t exist. To Mason it was as simple as she didn’t know. To her, guilt consumed her every cell making it hard to breathe or think clearly.
He yawned. “They gave me something that made me sleepy. Will you stay?”
“Try to stop me.”
A nurse came in to check his blood pressure, pulse, and make sure he was comfortable. “You must be Mason’s mom. I’m Betty, I’m going to be his nurse overnight.”
She nodded, unable to stop her tears and sniffling.
Betty patted her shoulder. “He’s just fine, Mama. Just fine. He’s in the best place he could be. We’re taking very good care of him. That couch pulls out into a bed—can’t say it’s overly comfy, but it means you’ll at least be close by if you want to be.”
“I’m the one that’ll be staying.” The Sperm Donor’s hard voice filled the room, and Cat started awake.
“I want Mom to stay, Dad. You can go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Mason spoke without even opening his eyes and gripped her hand tighter.
Cat sat up and stretched. “I’ll get an Uber home and come back tomorrow after school if you’re still here, okay, squirt?” She ruffled his hair before leaning over to drop a kiss on his head. Rare moments when they weren’t sniping at each other or arguing were Clare’s favorite and her heart warmed at the affection between them.
“I’d rather you didn’t Uber at this time of night by yourself, Cat.” Clare gave her The Mom Look.
“It’s not that late, and I’ll be Ubering by myself at college in a few months. Relax, it’s not my first Uber. And you have that friend finder thing on your phone. We both know I’m too chatty to be kidnapped. They’d want to return me in a matter of minutes.”
Clare couldn’t even find the energy to laugh.
“I’m done here. I’ll bring you some bedding and a cup of tea if you’d like?” Betty’s warm smile made her feel better.
“Thank you, Betty. I appreciate it.”
The Sperm Donor kissed Mason goodbye, threw a glare in Clare’s direction, and skulked out of the room.
“My Uber is around the corner, I’m going to head out, too.” Cat gave Mason another kiss and squeezed Clare so hard she thought her eyes might pop out of her skull. “Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, KitKat.” She pinched her daughter’s cheek like she wasn’t a nineteen year old woman ready to step out into the world and make her mark.
Clare tossed and turned all night long on the lumpy pull-out bed. If she needed to stay another night at the hospital, she was going to go home and pick up her own damn pillow.
