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“That bad?” I whisper, no longer able to think.
“Just get there, Jett. We’re on our way as well. You won’t face this by yourself.”
* * *
I’min the hallway headed to curtain three where I was told they had Dusty when I see the hospital bed come flying out from behind the curtain, my woman straddling my son while doing CPR as another nurse holds something over his mouth, rhythmically squeezing it as Sunday continues her compressions.
When I hear her say, “Don’t you stop fighting, little man. Keep fighting like I’m fighting for you right now,” I hit my knees, especially when I catch a glimpse of the tears steadily flowing down her face.
“Dusty!” I bellow, tears now falling freely.
* * *
I’m ledto a waiting room while he’s in surgery. At least, that’s what the nurse who helped me up said. Other than that, I don’t know anything and right now, I’m still all alone.
Memories flood my mind as I allow the fear to course through me.
The ultrasound picture of a tiny little blob.
Holding him right after he was born.
Learning to care for an infant when Stacey decided to leave.
His first step, wobbling over to where I was sitting in my recliner, a wide toothless smile covering his little face.
The first time he lost a tooth, and then didn’t want to put it under his pillow for the Tooth Fairy.
Walking him to his class on the first day of school.
Finding out he had ADHD, then learning everything I could so we could successfully manage it together.
Teaching him how to swim, fish, and play football.
Videoing him with my parents as often as possible.
Watching him grow into a responsible young man.
“I wish you guys were here right now,” I whisper, looking up. “I sure could use you both.” I miss my folks all the time, but right now, in this moment, it’s so real and all I want is to have my parents’ arms wrapped around me. Instead I say, “Since you’ve got a line to Him, put in a few good words for my boy.”
The door opens and I glance up to see Sunday coming toward me. She’s a mess, her eyes are swollen nearly shut even as she continues to cry, and I can see dried blood covering her scrubs. As she falls into my waiting arms, I’m not sure which of us is comforting the other as our tears mingle.
Finally, she pulls back, swiping at her face. “We got him back, Jett. I heard you yell his name when we were heading to the operating room. But he’s hurt, honey, so we may be waiting for a while to hear any news.”
“I love you,” I tell her. “Some may think it’s way too soon, but I was already falling, and seeing you doing everything you knew to do to help my son, solidified it.”
She cups my face in her hands, her smile radiant through her tears as she replies, “I love you too, Jett.Bothof you. When I realized who we were working on, I started praying for the medical team, you, him, even me. Because I wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could to help him.”
“From what I saw, you did,” I murmur, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. “Now, we wait.”
ChapterFifteen
Sunday
“Thanks, Moira,”I mumble through exhaustion, taking a pair of clean scrubs from her so I can change. “I’ll get them washed and back to you on my next shift.”
“Girl don’t even worry about it, they don’t fit me anymore thanks to my addiction to Ben & Jerry’s,” she teases.
Despite the solemnity of the situation, I can’t hold back the giggle that slips through. She hugs me tight and whispers, “You guys need anything, let me know. I know waiting sucks.”
