AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Great. Now. Tell me what happened. And how did I miss it? All I know is that security contacted me to say that an employee in the building had been involved in an incident and you had come to his rescue. Then, instead of letting them call an ambulance, you and Hudson took off with him. It’s apparently causing them some issues with their paperwork.”
That hadn’t occurred to Simon. His need to help the young man had been too overwhelming at the time to consider any consequences. He took a deep breath. “Just after you entered the building an employee sweeping away snow from the front pavement fell. He says he slipped but to me at the time, it looked more like…”
Jeff’s voice was full of concern. “Oh. Did you think he’d had a heart attack?”
“I had no idea what had happened, but I couldn’t leave him lying in the snow. When it was obvious that the boy was sick and not having a stroke or seizure or whatever, it seemed best if I took him to get treatment. Ambulances can take a long time to arrive for a non-emergency and the weather was terrible. He seemed far too sick to be at work, let alone working outside in those weather conditions, and especially not with the flimsy coat he was wearing.”
“Hmm,” Jeff said. “Interesting.”
“What’s interesting?” Simon asked, feeling a little defensive.
“Okay, let me pick that all apart.”
“Do we have to?” Simon asked with a groan. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Simon could almost hear Jeff’s teasing grin over the phone. “Of course you don’t, but it’s time to take your own medicine. Just like you taught me, listen to what people say and analyze it for deeper meaning so you can discover what theydidn’ttell you.”
“Oh god, I’ve created a monster.”
That made Jeff laugh. “It’s like that old commercial you made me watch on YouTube. ‘I learned it from watching you!’ So suck it up, buttercup.”
“Don’t use my words against me. That’s unfair.”
“Since when is life fair, Uncle Simon?”
“Ouch. I taught you that one, too. Okay, kid. Do your worst. Tell me what you think I was really saying.”
“Heh. Okay, you called the employee a boy. According to security, he’s twenty-eight. That’s hardly a boy.”
That sounded correct to Simon, based on the date of birth in Ben’s ID, but something about him had shouted boy at Simon. Perhaps it was the aura of fragility and vulnerability that he’d projected. Or Simon had projected onto him. Not wanting to vocalize any of that, he merely said, “I call you kid all the time and you’re almost thirty.”
“Hm. Fair point, I suppose.” Jeff didn’t sound convinced. “I understand completely why you went to him when he collapsed, but I still don’t get why you took him yourself to the hospital. All that stuff about the ambulance is totally right, but it sounds like a justification to me.”
Was it? At the time, Simon couldn’t think of anything more important than getting the boy—theman—help. It had overridden both logic and common sense. “I don’t know,” he said in the end. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“Hmm.”
“Stop humming me,” Simon snapped.
“Touchy. Interesting.”
“No, it’s not.”
Jeff laughed. “Believe me, it is. Deeply. So you’ve done your good deed. Why did you wait so long to call me back? It’s not like you. And even if you didn’t contact me, I can’t imagine why you were out of touch with Celia. You two are practically joined at the hip.”
He was right. Simon was diligent about staying in touch with his PA and returning phone calls. Unless they were from his mother. Simon had to be in the right frame of mind to speak with his mother. The truth, though, was telling. Simon waffled on whether or not to tell Jeff he’d sent Hudson home after getting Ben checked in at the hospital while he’d stayed, wanting to see the boy—man—once more before leaving. To his surprise, the staff hadn’t questioned his presence at all, perhaps because he’d stated on the paperwork—that he’d filled out with the help of Ben’s ID—that Simon would be the one responsible for the payment. They’d shown him into Ben’s room and said that the ICU was open twenty-four hours to visitors and that he could stay if he wished. So he’d stayed. There had been no thought of all of going home.
With all that in mind, Simon decided to tell Jeff the truth, even if it did make his uncle sound like he’d lost his mind. “I just now saw my messages. I’ve been at the hospital this whole time and we’re in an area they don’t allow cellphone use.”
“Wait,” Jeff said. “Just wait a damn second.” He paused for a moment then went on. “So you’re telling me you took a man you’d never previously met to the hospital yourself and then stayed with him the whole night? Are you insane?”
He’d predicted Jeff’s response perfectly. Good to know he hadn’t completely lost his touch. Simon was glad he hadn’t added on the part of him promising to pay for Ben’s hospital bill. Not that the money meant much to him. Even if he worked diligently at it, Simon would be hard-pressed to spend all of his money before he died.
“I don’t think he has anyone,” Simon said instead. “He had his wallet on him. With just a debit card and his ID.” The only money in there had been a faded five-dollar bill. “No credit cards, no pictures, no emergency contact.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Jeff scoffed. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to carry a heavy wallet with him at work.”
“Maybe,” Simon agreed, not convinced.
