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“He’s just a creep, right? Like there is no grand scheme or anything behind his actions, right?”
“I will need to get his cell phone to answer that question accurately,” Countee surmised.
“Do you think all of this crap connects to El getting shot?”
“If you are asking me if it’s your fault El got shot, then no. You didn’t have anything to with that. I can’t rule out any connections right now, though.”
Great.
“Averie I see you thinking, don’t. Let us handle this, all of it. It’s what we do,” Laila said.
“I know that, and you all are doing a great job but the attack on me, now the shooting. How could it not be connected? It’s happened all at the same time.”
“Yes, they did happen at the same time. Yes, they could be connected. But that still doesn’t mean it was your fault that El was shot so you shouldn’t be trying to shoulder any blame. You already have a lot to handle. Don’t add guilt to that list,” Countee said.
Averie
Two weeks after the shooting…
“Victoria,I have some food coming up in about an hour. I ordered it from that salad place you all said you liked so much,” I said after stopping at the nurse’s station.
Victoria was one of the nurses that cared for Samuel in the evenings. She was compassionate, thorough in her duties and a great teacher. She’d taught me all about the things they did daily for Samuel.
I learned how to clean him and exercise his legs and arms. We moved him around to avoid bed sores, and I learned how to read the machines that monitored him. I learned most of that from Victoria.
Since Samuel had been in the hospital, I made it a habit of ordering dinner a couple nights a week for the evening shift and lunch for the morning crew. I wanted to continually show my appreciation for the fantastic job they did with Samuel. They all made us feel comfortable.
“You got them to deliver it? We’ve begged them to add a delivery option, but they haven’t. One of us usually has to sacrifice our lunch hour to pick it up for everyone else,” Victoria explained.
“No, my sister is picking it up for me since it’s close to one of her daycare centers.”
“We all gone gain weight foolin’ with you, Averie,” she smiled.
“Aye, more cushion for the pushin’. That’s what my grandma always said.”
“I know that’s right!”
We high-fived.
“Hey Ray,” I said as I approached his makeshift station. He’d set up a small desk to accommodate his laptop and phone right outside of El’s room and across from the security that stayed at the door.
Ray was still performing his daily duties and working his regular hours. He was fielding calls and answering emails while checking on El at the same time. He said his paychecks didn’t stop, so he wasn’t going to stop working. He was loyal. I loved him for that.
Gretchen, El’s secretary, was the same way. She’d started working with Xavier since he was in charge of the firm but she called Ray every day and came to the hospital often to check on Samuel and eat lunch with Ray.
“Hey, Vee,” Ray said.
“Any changes?”
“No, none to speak of. He’s fighting, though.”
“Yeah, I know he is.”
“Pastor JD and Lady Elisa are visiting with El now. They just got here.”
“Oh, well I will wait until they leave.”
“No, go ahead in. I’m sure they want to see you too,” Raymond encouraged.
