When Luci had been told she could choose her cast color, Olivia asked the nurse to recite the color choices like a menu. When they got to pink, Luci put her good thumb up. In the end they did a beautiful job, and Luci was a trouper. But looking at the plaster cast on her five-year-old’s arm, Olivia had never hated anything like she hated the color pink in that moment.
Worn out by the events of the day, Luci drifted off as soon as she was back in her hospital bed. Olivia watched her little girl, imagining all the scary things that must’ve run through her five-year-old head. The boat had collided with a dock hard enough to send Jake out of the watercraft. How long had Luci and Emma waited for help to arrive? Did they ever fear Jake was dead? And what had Luci thought of the rescuers descending on the accident scene?
Her child had ridden in an ambulance all by herself to the hospital, unable to speak or reply to any of the paramedics’ questions. Worst of all, she couldn’t have asked anyone for her mother. When Olivia imagined this, tears streamed down her cheeks.
There was so much Olivia wanted to ask. She wondered if the sirens had been turned on for the ambulance ride to the hospital, something she was certain would have scared her little girl even more. But Olivia could not ask Luci any of these pressing questions. Luci wasn’t speaking. She was silent and fearful, regressing right before Olivia’s eyes. And so Olivia waited until the nurse came back before leaving to check on Jake. “You’ll stay with her the whole time, yes?”
Reluctantly, Olivia left Luci for the first time since arriving at the hospital. The nurse had directed her to an orderly seated at a cubicle. “I’m Jake Goodwin’s fiancée,” she said, breathlessly. “Can you please tell me where he is?”
The orderly looked up at her sympathetically. “He should be coming into recovery shortly,” she assured her. “You’ll be the first to find out.”
It was six hours ahead in Toulouse, and stubborn as he was, Olivia was certain that Pierre was traveling with a cheap cell phone with limited range and even less reliability. She tried her aunt Celeste’s house phone, but it rang and rang until the answering machine finally picked up. Hesitantly, Olivia left a message:Luci had been in a boating accident. She was okay. They hoped to leave the hospital soon, but she didn’t want her father or aunt to worry. They could call her in the morning.
Unsure of what to do next, she dialed Marge. As soon as she heard her warm voice, Olivia broke down.
“Oh, honey,” Marge said, her voice rich with comfort. “I can be there in fifteen minutes. Let me get Ben.”
“No,” Olivia insisted. “Please don’t bother him. He’s got the show deadline. This will upset him.” Ben was crazy about Luci. But there was nothing any of them could do now, and Olivia had no idea when Luci would be discharged. The last thing she wanted was to stir Ben and Marge into action, only to leave them waiting around in the over-air-conditioned waiting room.
“Are you kidding? Ben will have both our heads if he finds out I didn’t tell him!”
“Please,” Olivia pleaded. “I’m here with the Goodwins, and there are plenty of hands to go around. You can tell him, but promise you won’t come. Not yet. I just wanted you to know where we were, so you didn’t worry.”
“Well, now Iamworried,” Marge told her. “Is everyone else okay?”
Olivia had had every intention of telling her about Jake, but as soon as Marge asked, Olivia’s throat constricted. “I’m afraid I have to go, but I’ll call you as soon as I know more.”
She couldn’t fall apart yet. She checked on the nurse sitting with Luci. “Do I have another minute?”
“She’s still sleeping,” she assured Olivia. “Go get yourself some coffee or food—whatever you need.”
What Olivia needed was to see Jane and Edward. Ignoring the god-awful receptionist from before, she headed back into the ER waiting area. The moment they saw her, both hurried over.
“How is Luci?” Edward asked.
“She’s doing okay. Resting now.” Olivia blinked back tears. “Is there any word about Jake?” Out in the bright light of the waiting room it hit her. She could step away from everything happening on the other side of the double doors, but Jake could not. He was alone back there, lying on an operating table. She hadn’t been able to kiss him before he went into surgery. Hadn’t been able to tell him she loved him. “I haven’t even seen Jake yet.”
Edward opened his arms and Olivia stepped into them. “They should be wrapping surgery up soon,” he told her. “We’ll be able to see him in recovery, the nurse promised.”
Olivia nodded gratefully. “It’s a bit chaotic back there. Will you send word, as soon as you hear?”
“Of course, honey.” Jane looked weathered but calm, and Olivia tried to channel the older woman’s energy. “Phoebe ran home to pick up some things for Emma. Can one of us run over to your place and get anything for you or Luci? Does she have a favorite doll or blankie?” Her expression was as reassuring and soft as her voice. This was what it was like to be in a big family.
Olivia wiped her nose. “I have her stuffed elephant in my purse, but thank you.”
“Well, if there’s anything else you need. Food? A drink?” She riffled through her purse and handed Olivia a tissue.
“I’m fine, thanks.”
But Edward was already heading to the coffee station. “Cream or sugar?” he called. And she realized it was exactly what she needed.
“Both, please.”
“Come sit.” Jane guided Olivia over to the chairs. “We can’t stop thinking about Luci. Has she told you anything?”
Olivia shook her head, fresh tears springing to her eyes. “Shecan’t get a word out, even to me. She’s mostly all right on the outside, but on the inside, I can tell she isn’t.”
“Give her time,” Jane said, rubbing Olivia’s back. “It must have been very frightening for her. I just don’t understand what could’ve happened out there.”
