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“Is it a nurse from here or from there?” I asked.
“Neither, but she will be your father’s private nurse throughout the process. I believe she was hired just for him.”
“I have my own private nurse? What about Moose? I’m not sure he likes flying.” Dad pointed to an upside-down dog in bed next to him. “He may not look it now, but he’s nervous about this trip.”
“Yeah, Dad, he looks terribly distraught.” We all laughed. “I just realized, we need to get his bed and favorite toys to bring with you.”
“A man named Charlie dropped them off at the nurse’s station this morning.” Tommy put his hand out to shake Dad’s. “Admiral, I’m real happy you’ve agreed to get some help, and I wish you luck.”
“Thanks for everything, Tommy. You watch over my girl while I’m gone,” Dad nodded.
There was a lot of activity with the nurses preparing Dad for transport. I could feel tears welling up but fought them off. I kept telling myself he needed to go do this so I could have him back.
“Hi, I’m Alison, your nurse for the next few months.” A middle-aged woman came in the room. “Mr. Campbell, are you ready to go?”
“Hi, I’m Jade Campbell. Sit and tell us a little about yourself.” I pointed to the chair by the window.
“Well, I’m forty-six years old. I’ve been helping people like your dad, here, for twenty years. It’s kind of my specialty. I’m a widow with three adult kids and I love my job.”
“That’s a pretty good description of yourself,” I smiled. “Do you know how long these kinds of things take?”
“Well, there really is no set time. It’s up to the patient and how much they’re willing to do the tough work. Addiction is not easy.” Alison smiled warmly. “I’m not a pushover and, no matter how mad you get at me, I’m still gonna see you all the way to the end.”
“I like her already,” Dad said. “I’m not Mr. Campbell. Let’s get that straight right now. And I’m not Abbott, either. Most people call me Admiral.”
“Got it, and I was already informed of that, but I thought I’d let you decide.” Alison walked over to Moose. “I heard we had a furry friend joining us, too.”
“I can’t believe my buddy can go with me.” Dad rubbed Moose’s head. “He likes to swim every day. How we gonna do that?”
“There are a few lakes at the facility, and a duck pond. I’m sure he’ll like one of them for his daily dip.” Alison rubbed Moose under the chin. “We’re gonna be good friends, aren’t we?”
The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and my nerves were on edge. I stood back, watching them connect his IV and everything attached to it to the bed for the ambulance and, before I could say anything, they were taking him out the door.
“Moose is very attached to your dad, and vice-versa. That’s going to help a lot with recovery,” Alison said from the open door. “Come on, there’s room in the ambulance for you, too.”
The ride to the airstrip was faster than I’d wanted it to be, knowing I would be saying goodbye.
“I’m confused. I thought there’d be some kind of hospital transport. This is a private plane,” I said to Alison. “Whose plane is this?”
“It belongs to Mrs. Hawthorne. She sent it so he’d be more comfortable.” Alison motioned for me to follow her to the plane. “Are you ready to go?”
“Me?” I took a step back. “What do you mean?”
“Mrs. Hawthorne gave me instructions for you to travel with us and get him situated.” Alison walked up the short steps to the plane. “She said to tell you that Gunner and the boys will run the marina for the day, and that you would be back by lunch tomorrow.”
I looked around, my mind scrambling for something to argue against going. “I don’t have a change of clothes or anything,” I finally blurted out.
“She said you’d say that, too.” Alison waved me up the steps. “She left you a few choices of outfits and sleepwear in the bedroom. Come on, we can get to know each other on the flight and you’ll feel better, seeing where he’s going to be.”
“How can I argue with that?”
Chapter 70
Sawyer
Johnny finally emerged from my office with all his drawings and calculations completed. I looked to my watch to see it was nearing five o’clock.
“If you’re ready, I’ll fly you over to the marina. One of the boys will give you a ride to the airstrip,” I said. “Asher, you wanna come?”
