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Sitting on the ground, hands trembling, I dialed Clark’s number.
He answered in a very chipper tone, as though he’d been waiting to hear my voice. “Hello, gorgeous.”
“Clark…I…. Crystal…she’s…been in an…accident. I haven’t seen her, but Joey said it’s really bad.” My eyes burned as fear started to consume me.
“PJ, I’m coming. Hold on. I’ll be there in a few hours.”
There was no asking, no begging, he just knew I needed him and he was coming. “Thank you, Clark. I…”
“Shh… It’s okay. I’ll be there. I promise. What hospital?” he asked softly. I gave him the information and he asked, “Do you want me to send someone to drive you?”
Right now, I wasn’t in any shape to get behind the wheel. “You don’t have to do all that for me,” I said, not used to someone taking such care of me.
“Yes, I do. That’s what you do for someone you care about. Send me your location on your phone, and I’ll have a car pick you up shortly.”
“Okay. Thanks,” I said.
“PJ, I know you’re scared for your friend. She’s at a good hospital with some top-notch surgeons. Just believe that you will be reunited soon and bickering over something silly.”
He was using the same tactic I’d tried on Joey. Believing isn’t easy when you’re afraid of losing someone you love. “I’ll try.”
“See you soon, PJ.” He ended the call.
The car arrived as Clark had promised and dropped me off at the hospital. They wouldn’t tell me anything at the nurse’s station. Rules about HIPAA regulations. I didn’t care about privacy laws. At a time like this, I just wanted to know she would be okay.
Joey arrived first. I rushed up and wrapped my arms around him. “They won’t tell me anything.”
“I already spoke to the doctor. She’s still in surgery, but in stable condition. It will be another hour before they know for sure,” he said.
“Know what?” I asked.
“If the baby survived,” he said, his voice barely a whisper.
Baby. “She’s…pregnant?”
He nodded. “We were going to tell you the other night when we got together for dinner, but you and Clark seemed preoccupied.”
“I’m sorry. I should’ve realized it.”
“How? I live with her and didn’t know until a few days earlier,” he said. With a sigh, he said, “And now we might not have a child after all.”
I squeezed him so tight I thought I might crack his ribs. “Yes, you will. I’m going to be the best auntie that little one could ever want.”
He held me tight and said, “And Crystal will be the best mother, too.”
Yes, she will.
We went back to the waiting room and eventually the doctor came out. “She’s in stable condition. As I mentioned, she lost a lot of blood with her compound fracture of femur. Thankfully the EMT’s were there to prevent her losing too much. Also, as we suspected, she has also broken hip. Both have been fixed, but she will need to stay at the hospital for a while until she is strong enough for physical therapy.”
“And the…baby?” Joey asked.
“The heartbeat is strong. We will continue to monitor them both.”
I knew Joey wanted to hear that everything was okay. But doctors could never promise that. They could only give their best guess.
“When can we see her?” Joey asked.
“She’s only allowed one visitor. We will see how tomorrow is and then maybe she can have more,” he said.
