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She hesitated but nodded. “I’ll wait here for you.”
I don’t remember getting in the elevator or making my way through the halls, but suddenly I found myself outside. Bent over with my hands on my knees, I gulped air in big mouthfuls, like I’d been deprived of it for hours.
My head spun to the point that I thought the yogurt I’d eaten on the plane might come up. I must’ve looked as bad as I felt, because a woman in scrubs walked over.
“Sir, are you okay? Do you need medical attention?”
I managed to shake my head. “I’m fine. Just needed some air.”
“Are you sure?”
I wasn’t, and it didn’t seem like she was going to walk away easily, so I forced myself to stand. I nodded again. “I’m okay. Just got some bad news.”
“I’m sorry. There’s a chapel at the end of the hall on the first floor, if that might help.”
“Thank you.”
After she went back inside, I decided to take a walk. I didn’t want anyone else stopping to ask if I was okay. Luckily, there was a path that led around the building, because I wasn’t in the right state of mind to figure out where I was going on my own.
As I walked, so many things clicked into place.
Nora would never let me come to her apartment. It made sense now, since she hadn’t really met my grandmother because they lived in the same building.
Nora didn’t want a relationship. She was a giver, not a taker. She’d never get involved with anyone new because she didn’t want to hurt them when…
I swallowed.
The scar on her chest.
Her wanting to meet her biological father for the first time in her life.
Her friendship with my grandmother never did add up. Nora had said some of the things they were doing were her ideas, too. It wasn’t just my grandmother’s bucket list. It was Nora’s also.
There were so many signs that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t put two and two together. How the hell did I not see that there was more to their bond than just friendship?
Once all the answers fell into place, an entirely new crop of questions began to fill my head.
How long does she have?
Is there no treatment available?
Has she seen every expert possible?
Has she been to Mass General? What about London and Berlin?I’d recently read an article that said their cardiac care was leading the future.
Can I get a medicopter to take us all the way back to New York? Or do I need a plane?
The pace of my walk around the hospital picked up as I got my second wind. Not knowing details, I realized the time I was taking right now could be time Nora needed. So I jogged back toward the entrance. After a few seconds, the jog turned into a full sprint. I ran through the front door, ignoring the security guard telling me to slow down, and down the hall to the elevator bank. Pushing the button three times didn’t help, so I found the nearest stairs and took them two at a time, rushing up.
My grandmother was waiting outside the little room we’d talked in. I stopped and pointed to the ICU doors.
“How many experts has she seen? Who’s her primary doctor at home? We need to get her transferred back to New York ASAP. This little rinky-dink hospital can’t give her what she needs and—”
My grandmother pushed her finger to my lips, quieting me.
“What sheneedsis peace. It doesn’t matter where she is. The doctors here have been very accommodating and are making her comfortable.”
“Comfortable? No. She needs experts.”
