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After exiting out of the browser, she sat for a moment with her head in her hands. Perhaps she shouldn’t worry yet. Dr. Bhati had said the surgery would speed up Steven’s recovery, and it was early June. Maybe Steven would be much improved by the end of August.
With a heavy heart, she headed to the waiting room. Max had returned with an armful of snacks. She chose a bag of rainbow candy and tore open the corner. Maybe a little sugar would take the edge off of her anxiety.
About an hour later, Dr. Bhati finally appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. Rose rushed over to him with Lanie and Max on her heels.
“The surgery was a success,” Dr. Bhati said with a weary smile. “We were able to drain the fluid, which should lower the possibility of further complications from the injury. Steven is resting comfortably now. You can see him, but I would prefer you to visit him one by one to avoid overwhelming him.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Rose said, relief flooding through her.
“What happens now?” Lanie asked. “Will he be able to come home soon?”
Dr. Bhati pursed his lips. “That will depend a lot on his home environment. There are other options that we can discuss later with Steven when the anesthesia has completely worn off.”
The doctor left them, and Rose resisted the urge to run to Steven’s room. Although it pained her to do so, she deferred to Lanie and Max to go first. After all, she wasn’t quite family.
“Why don’t you go in first?” Lanie asked Rose, surprising her.
“But I thought—”
Max waved his hand. “You’ve been here the longest. Go see him and then go home and get some rest.”
The idea of leaving the hospital while Steven was still in it didn’t feel right, but Max had a point. She’d been there for well over twenty-four hours, and she was in desperate need of a shower and sleep.
With a grateful smile, she left them and headed to Steven’s room. His eyes were closed when she entered, but he must have sensed her presence because he opened them a moment later.
“Rose,” he croaked. “I’m still alive.”
She glared at him. “Not funny.” Her hands shook as she took his. “Are you feeling any better?”
“I honestly don’t feel anything from my waist down.”
“That’ll improve over time.”
Steven nodded, his eyes closing again. His breathing deepened as he fell asleep. Her need to stay with him warred with her growing exhaustion, and she squeezed his hand. When he didn’t respond to her efforts to rouse him, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. What he needed most at that moment was rest. The hospital would call her if there was any change.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. I love you,” she whispered.
When Rose arrived at her condo, she sat in her car and stared at the steering wheel. Though exhausted, she was also numb, like the last twenty-four hours had been a dream. The idea of going inside and having nothing but her own thoughts to comfort her was unappealing. Instead, she decided to take a walk around the grounds to enjoy the warm late-spring afternoon. As she headed to the pond near the other end of the property, a pair of swans glided gracefully into view. Their long white necks bent toward each other as if they were sharing some intimate secret.
Rose moved closer, leaning against the fence at the water’s edge. The swans paid her no mind, as they were too wrapped up in each other. Their obvious love brought a pang to Rose’s heart, and she wished Steven was with her to share in the moment.
“Quite the pair, aren’t they?” a deep voice asked beside her.
Startled, she turned to find an older man standing knee-deep in the water. He held a fishing pole.
“They’re beautiful,” she said.
“At a distance, but don’t get too close, or they can turn into some nasty little buggers.” He smiled. “But they sure are a sight to behold when they dance.”
“Dance?” Rose leaned forward, intrigued by the idea of birds dancing.
“It’s a mating ritual.” He cocked his head thoughtfully. “Sort of hard to explain. You’ll just have to see it.”
Rose nodded before returning her attention to the swans. They occasionally dipped their heads below the water before spraying it along their feathers.
A tear slipped down her cheek. When will Steven and I be together again like the swans? They had a long path ahead of them, and she had no idea how to traverse that road or where they would be when they reached the end. With worry weighing heavy on her mind, she headed to her condo.
The moment she entered, she sank into her favorite chair in her living room and put her head in her hands. Even with so much up in the air, Rose was clear on one thing. When Steven returned to work, he would have two new clients, including himself. The first thing they would do was draft their wills, especially a power of attorney, so the next time a situation like that occurred, they would be ready.
