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13
PAIGE
I’m numb as I sit in the backseat of my town car and Jeremy weaves in and out of rush-hour traffic.
“Get to the hospital right now. Your mother just collapsed.”
The thing that worries me the most is not what Dad said but how he said it. He sounded frantic, more frantic that I’ve ever heard him.
It’s been a week since Travis and I got back from Paris. I actually felt guilty about not spending my 30th with my family. Especially considering the very real possibility that this could be the last birthday I have with my mother, but I chose to go anyway. Now the mountain of guilt bearing down on me is excruciating.
I told my family I was going to Paris with my boyfriend. Despite their inquiries into who I was dating, I didn’t tell them. That is the other thing I feel guilty about. Mom really wanted to know but I didn’t tell her. Now she may never know.
I don’t know what happened or how serious it is, but my mind has gone to all the worst places.
It takes a while but Jeremy gets me to Mount Sinai. Oncehe’s parked I throw my door open and run for the emergency entrance.
“Hello,” I say to the nurse at the reception desk as I catch my breath. “I’m looking for Janice DeLisle. She was brought in about an hour and a half to two hours ago.”
“Hi,” she replies. “Just give me a moment while I check…” She taps away at her computer for a few seconds, then says, “It says here that Mrs. DeLisle was stabilized and then moved to the cancer ward.”
“Thank you,” I toss my bag over my shoulder as I start running for the cancer ward. I’ve spent so much time there that I don’t need any help locating it.
Once I turn the corner into the waiting room, I see my whole family sitting there all sallow-faced.
When they see me they all climb to their feet and rush over. We grab each other in a hug.
We break apart, and I turn to my Dad. “What happened?”
“We were just finishing up lunch when she passed out. I tried to wake her, I tried everything I could think of but nothing worked. So I called an ambulance. She has been weaker than usual, didn’t have much of an appetite and was a little feverish, but she said she felt fine and looked all right. I swear, we didn’t think anything was wrong.”
It’s clear from the way he’s talking he anticipates that I’ll blame him for this. My heart breaks for the second time today. I hate myself for making him feel this way. I probably owe him an apology, but now is not the time.
I walk up to him and into his arms. “Dad, this was not your fault. No one thinks it is.”
A sob escapes him, but that’s the extent of it.
“What are they saying?” I ask as I pull away.
“They haven’t told us anything,” Lily says. “After theystabilized her in the ER they brought her up here for some tests. They say it’s going to take a while, but at least she is resting now.”
I nod then sit down, and everyone else retakes their seats.
This is how we remain for the next few hours.
On the inside, I am spiraling. All I can think about is every possible way things can go wrong for Mom.
It’s just after nine at night when I hear measured footsteps approaching. I look up, and see Travis holding a giant bouquet of flowers.
I get up and run to him and he grabs me in an embrace. The second his arms go around my back I lose it and start weeping into his chest.
He rubs my back. “There there… Everything will be fine.”
I can feel my family’s eyes burning into the back of my head, but I don’t care right now. I’m just so happy that Travis is here. This is exactly what I need.
I stand in his arms until my tears run dry. I take a step back and start to wipe at my face with my sleeve, but he stops me and hands me his pocket square.
I accept it and begin to dab at my eyes. “How did you know I was here?”
