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“That’s me. I’m Catherine. What’s going on?” I was already putting on shoes. If she thought I was his wife and she was calling, it meant he couldn’t. I saved my name in his phone as ‘wifey’ months ago as a joke. We weren’t married, but it seemed somewhat inevitable that, should we ever decide it was important to us, we’d get married.
“Mr. Jenkins was involved in an accident.”
My heart dropped.
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
I fumbled with my phone, trying to call my mother. Wyatt, now almost four, was asleep already, and I didn’t want to wake him and drag him to the hospital, but I also needed to get there now.
Luckily, my mom lived close. I called and asked her to come watch Wyatt without giving her any details. Not able to think clearly, I just knew that I needed to get to the hospital. While I waited for her to arrive, I tried calling my sister, needing her steady presence to help me navigate whatever was happening.
She didn’t answer. I sent texts that also went unanswered. My mother arrived, and I was having a meltdown. “I can’t get Elle on the phone,” I cried.
“Is something wrong with Elle? Isn’t she in Florida?”
Shit. That’s right. She fled Massachusetts hoping to ignore the media circus surrounding her divorce. “No. I don’t think so. She’s probably just busy.”
“Cee, tell me what’s going on.”
“I have to go. It’s Eli. He was in an accident. I don’t know anything else right now. Can you just stay with Wyatt, please?” I frantically grabbed my purse and keys and headed straight for the door.
“Are you sure you should drive?”
“I need to. I have to get there.”
She asked me to be careful and to let her know when I arrived there safely. I hopped into my car and asked Siri to call Mish, since I knew Elle was staying with her in Florida.
“Cee? What’s up?”
“Where is Elle? I tried calling her.”
“Oh, ho ho,” she laughed mischievously. “She is with Silas.”
“What? Isn’t she in Florida with you?”
Her voice grew concerned. “What’s wrong, Cee? You’re crying.”
“Eli was in an accident. I’m on my way to the hospital. I need to talk to Elle.”
“I’ll go get her. They are downstairs. She’ll call you in a few, I promise.” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me and continued to drive to the hospital. Upon arrival, I ran into the Emergency Room and breathlessly asked the nurse in registration about Eli.
She told me someone would come talk to me in a minute. The nurse who called me stepped out just a minute later and took me to a seat. “You’re Catherine?”
“Yes,” I whimpered. “What is happening?”
“Mr. Jenkins was brought in via ambulance a short time ago. There was a multi-car accident. He’s in surgery. I’m sorry, but that’s all I know right now. I’m going to go find the doctor who triaged him to get more details. Just sit tight, okay?”
I nodded, and she left. My whole body twitched with the need to tear the hospital apart to look for Eli. I tried to take some deep breaths to slow my heart rate, but it wasn’t working. Moments later, my phone rang. “Elle. Elle, it’s bad,” I answered.
“It’s okay, Cee. I’m on my way. While I get to an airport, tell me what happened.”
Tears streamed down my face as I tried to remember what the nurse said. “I… I’m not sure exactly. All I know is that I got a call saying he’d been in a car accident. I’m in the waiting room at UMass. No one has told me anything.”
“Is anyone with you?”
“No. Mom has Wyatt, but I just rushed here as soon as I could. You were the only one I could think to call.”
“I’ll be there as soon as possible. Text me if you hear anything. I’ll have Mason come sit with you until I get there, but I have to call him and get to the airport. Just hold tight.” Her voice was calm and in control. Most people would’ve found it grounding or comforting, I found it annoying.
