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“Really. I thought she was left by Gypsies, not McIntyres,” Edie added, and they all laughed.
Vidalia sighed, and a good deal of the tension that had been pulling at her back and shoulders melted away. She looked toward the ER doors and waited, and prayed.
Then, remembering, she dipped her hand into her pocket, where she’d dropped the small black velvet box Bobby Joe had worked so hard to fish out as he lay there on her living room floor. She had a pretty good notion what was inside, and it made her throat tighten till it was hard to breathe past her tears.
She wasn’t going to open it and look inside. She was going to wait for Bobby to show it to her himself. Until then, she needed a little one-on-one time with the Lord.
“I need to find out if this place has a chapel,” she whispered.
“I’ll find out, Vi,” Cory said softly, and he went to the nurse’s desk to ask.
* * *
Vidalia knelt in the hospital chapel in front of a stand with a statue of Jesus, who looked down at her with his serene, wise eyes. There were other statues, symbols of other faiths all around this room. But Jesus was her guy. Always had been.
She knelt in front of Him, bowed her head, folded her hands, and let her tears flow. She couldn’t talk. Not for a long, long time. But her sobs seemed to dissipate when she heard, off in the distance, a clock striking the hour. On and on it struck. Midnight.
She blinked her eyes dry. “It’s Christmas. It’s the perfect time for a miracle. Oh, I know, Lord, I know—I was wrong to keep this secret. And now to find out that telling it was the only way to save him. Could’ve saved him long before now, too. Oh, please don’t let it be too late. Please let it be in time. I am a good woman, Lord. I am not a perfect woman, but I am a good woman. I’ve never asked you for much. For anything really, at least not for myself. I deserve this. You make sure my Selene is okay through this, Lord. And if you can find it in your heart, let Bobby and me have our time together. And when you have to call us home, call us home together, too. We’ve spent way too much time apart. You made us for each other, after all. I’m just sorry it took us so long to realize it.”
A car passed by outside, and the headlights blinded her. But as they faded, their light passed slowly over the face of the statue. And for the barest moment, she could’ve sworn He’d smiled at her as, from the distance, church bells rang in Christmas.
* * *
“Mama!”
Vidalia didn’t turn at the sound of Kara’s voice in the chapel doorway. She stayed perfectly still, and maybe braced herself a little for what was to come next.
“Mama, you have to come.”
Blinking away her tears, she took a deep breath. “Thy will be done,” she whispered. “Amen.” Then she got to her feet and was surprised how hard it was to straighten her legs. She’d been kneeling there far longer than she had known.
Kara put an arm around her shoulders, holding her close and walking her out of the chapel and through the hospital corridors. When they reached the waiting room, Edie came to her other side, also holding her, and Mel and Maya crowded close too. “A nurse said to gather everyone. Said the doctor would be out to talk to us momentarily,” Maya whispered.
“She didn’t say anything else?” Vidalia searched the eyes of each of her daughters, but they all just shook their heads.
A small group of people passed by, carolers, all dressed in Victorian garb and carrying songbooks and looking a bit lost. Vidalia barely noticed them because the doctor came out through those double doors then and met her eyes.
“They both came through the surgery just fine,” he said, smiling a little. “Your daughter is a strong woman, Mrs. Brand. She’s already in recovery and arguing with the nurses.”
“I’ll go calm her down,” she said, softly.
“You’re not allowed–”
“In the recovery room. I know. I’ve broken that rule anytime one of my brood has been in there, and you’d better believe I’ll be breaking it again momentarily. Now tell me, doctor, Selene is fine, thank you Lord. How is Bobby?”
The surgeon’s exasperated smile turned more serious. “Bobby’s condition was pretty serious going in. He was weak. But the transplant should stop his disease from progressing any further. And in a few days, when Selene’s marrow starts producing healthy new cells in him, we’re gonna see rapid improvement. Right now, he’s still critical. Keeping him alive long enough for those cells to do their work is our mission now.”
She sniffled a little, nodded hard. “I’ll go into that recovery room now.”
“You’re really not supposed to–”
“There’s no point, Doc. She’s going,” Maya said.
“Might as well lead me to a sterile gown, one of those hideous hats, a mask, some gloves. And don’t forget those bootie things to go over my shoes.” The doc blinked at her, but she reached out a hand and clutched his arm. “And Doctor, thank you. Thank you more than I can ever say.”
“Merry Christmas, Miz Brand.”
“So far, it’s just that. Let’s hope it continues to be.”
