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“It’s simply procedure, O’Malley,” the IM explained as he packed up to leave. “In a few days you’ll be contacted to do a series of interviews and will be put in contact with a counselor. I cannot give you a definitive answer of when you’ll be able to return to duty, but your supervisor will keep you abreast of what’s happening.”
“Yes, sir,” I answered.
“I’m going to the hospital,” I told Smitty before leaving the scene.
“I’ll meet you there,” my old FTO replied. “Hey, Brady, don’t get too down on yourself, got it? It happens to all of us eventually.”
When I got to my car, I emptied my pockets and threw everything on the passenger seat, irritated and saddened by everything that had occurred. Then, with the weight of it all, I turned the car toward the hospital.
Chapter Twenty-Two ~ Ming
I’m such an idiot.
Why did I think things would be different, that he would be different?
Am I really that naïve?
How long can I sit and wait before the staff starts to think I’m a pathetic loser?
These were the thoughts that had been plaguing me for the last half hour. I didn’t start freaking out right away. When I’d arrived at the restaurant and after ten minutes decided to be seated rather than wait for Brady by the hostess stand, I just assumed he was running late. It wasn’t until forty-five minutes and two glasses of wine and an appetizer later, that I realized he probably wasn’t coming.
That’s when the negativity started to play out in my brain.
I tried calling him, then texting, and when both went unanswered, I realized what had happened.
He changed his mind…
Of course he did. Brady was the kind of guy who got spooked at the mere idea of commitment.
It was ridiculous of me to believe that being away from me for a few days had given him an epiphany and changed his personality.
Like I am so great?
Like the loss of my magical vagina had suddenly turned him into boyfriend material?
I was delusional. Near tears and unwilling to suffer any further humiliation, I paid my bill and left the restaurant an hour and twenty-five minutes after I’d arrived.
Chapter Twenty-Three ~ Brady
By the time I got to the hospital, I was dazed and exhausted.
I felt the familiar dread and panic hit me as those double doors slid open, beckoning me to come inside. I paused and looked down. That’s when I noticed Doobie’s blood on my hand.
Doobie’s in there, and I promised I’d be by to see him.
“Mr. Dubois is in surgery now, but you can go to the waiting room in ICU and someone will notify you once he’s out.”
I followed the admissions woman’s directions down the hall and to the elevators. Once I found the waiting room, I passed the rows of chairs and settled on the floor in the corner.
Every time I’d been in a hospital, I’d done this. I don’t know what it was … My parents didn’t die in a hospital, yet I still associated hospitals with pain, hopelessness, and death. I’d waited during the births of my niece and nephew, and would be there when Bronagh went into labor, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a struggle for me every time.
When Brock had been admitted after his motorcycle accident, and I didn’t know how serious his injuries were or whether he’d live or die, I’d nearly had a panic attack.
But, I was a man of my word, and I always wanted to be someone that my family and friends could count on, so I’d sit here for as long as it took for me to get a chance to see for myself that Doobie was okay.
“Have you heard anything?”
I looked up from staring unseeing at the television in the corner, to see Smitty and Marsha walking my way, and shook my head.
