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An older man is gesturing at the desk nurse, holding up a hand in the air like he?
??s describing someone of a certain height.
A memory stabs me at the sight of this man. Fire erupts in my throat.
It’s a fight-or-flight moment. I stand up and get ready to flee.
Shep still has a hold on my hand and he’s not letting go.
“Jane, what is it?” he’s asking, but his voice sounds like my ears are underwater.
Just as a look of recollection crosses the face of the desk nurse, another person steps into view.
A tall, rangy, handsome older black man is blocking my view of the desk. He’s holding his hand out to shake mine, saying, “Well, hello there! You must be my son’s new lady friend. I’m Levi, nice to meet you.”
My mouth falls open and the only noise that can come out is “Huh?”
Shep is on his feet. “Pops! What are you doing here?”
The older gentleman doesn’t answer but casually instructs us to follow him through a set of double doors.
Shep whispers in my ear as we obey Levi’s marching orders. “What happened to you back there? What did you see?”
I shush him and tell him to keep walking. We walk for a while, through a maze of hallways, up two separate elevators and past about a hundred doctors, nurses and techs who greet our leader with surprise and respect. This must be what it’s like to stroll through the West Wing with a former president.
It feels like magic, like anything is bound to happen if the man simply wills it.
Once Levi has me safely tucked away inside a very high-tech-looking exam room, I look up at Shep, who’s still looking at me, concern creasing his beautiful face.
“That man, at the desk in the lobby? That was my uncle, and he was looking for me.”
Chapter Eight
Shep
Pops is a whirlwind of activity while he’s handing my ass to me. Nobody ever accused the old man of not being able to multi-task.
“Boy, why didn’t you call me right away? You know damn well if she’s had a head injury that minutes could be critical. I didn’t go to medical school and fight my way to the top to have my own son not pull strings.”
“I see what you’re saying, Pops, but I didn’t want to bother you.”
Pops is turning on EEG machines and rushing around the room, and I can’t tell if he’s talking to me or to some imaginary person who will listen to his venting.
“Bother me. What the hell is wrong with this boy? Even the charge nurse knew to call me right away when he saw the young lady’s peculiar paperwork.”
I let him mutter as he putters around the room, hooking electrodes up to Jane’s head and firing up monitors and machines.
“I fast-tracked the MRI, but it’ll be a minute. In the meantime let me ask you some questions.”
I hold up my hand. “Just hold on a second, Pops. Jane was about to tell me something. Jane, did you say you saw your uncle in the lobby?”
Her eyes are wide and something on the monitor that’s reading her brain scan is making lots of blips.
She nods. “Yeah, that was him.”
“What do you remember?” I say tenderly, running the tips of my fingers over the back of her hand. She is shaking like a leaf. Her eyes are wide.
“What is it, what did you remember, Jane?”
