Chances Are

by Abramson, Traci Hunter

  “I can take her. You hate hospitals.”

  “I’ve got this. Besides, someone needs to tell Mom and Dad what’s going on.”

  Kari looked at Maya helplessly and then back at Ben. “Okay, but promise you’ll call me.”

  “I promise.” Ben got in and pulled out of the driveway. He glanced over at Maya, and again, a sense of panic crept through him. Her eyes were closed, and her color was too pale. Fighting against feelings of helplessness, he sped out of his neighborhood. When he reached the hospital, he pulled alongside the curb in front of the ER instead of parking. Then he hurried around to lift her out of the car, his concern heightening when she fell limply against him.

  He kicked the car door closed and rushed through the sliding glass doors, making a beeline for the check-in counter. Urgency and panic filled his voice. “I need a doctor.”

  The nurse took one look at Maya and immediately picked up the phone, asking Ben questions as she did so. When the nurse asked Ben if Maya had taken any drugs, he nodded. “She’s a cancer patient. She takes a lot of pills.”

  “I’ll need a list of what she’s on. And I’ll need her insurance information.”

  “I think the problem is that she forgot to take her meds. I have most of her pills with me, but as soon as you get her into a room, I can call my sister and have her read me the prescription bottles.”

  The automatic door beside the reception desk opened, and another nurse appeared and motioned to Ben. “Bring her back here.”

  Ben followed and laid Maya on the bed in a curtained examination room. She moaned as though in pain, and her eyes fluttered open for a brief moment. The nurse nudged Ben aside and started taking Maya’s vital signs. The woman from the reception desk entered and handed him a clipboard and pen.

  “The doctor is going to be right here, but please make sure you list the medications she’s on. He’ll need that.”

  “Okay.” Ben called Kari and had her read the names and doses of all of Maya’s prescriptions to him. Once he was off the phone, he started filling out the other required forms, reminding himself to write Maya’s last name as Evans since that’s how it was listed on the insurance.

  As he continued to write, the nurse started firing off more questions. “How long has she been like this? When did she last eat? Does she have any preexisting medical conditions?”

  Ben handed her the paperwork with as much medical history as he knew about. He was explaining Maya’s cancer treatments to the nurse when the doctor walked in.

  “What have we got?” the doctor asked the nurse, immediately moving to Maya’s side.

  The nurse rattled off vital signs and other medical jargon Ben barely understood. He kept his eyes on Maya, feeling hollow and useless. The doctor gave the nurse some instructions and turned to Ben for the first time. “I’m Dr. Wilson.”

  “Ben Evans.”

  “You’re her husband?”

  “That’s right,” Ben answered, struck by his automatic admission as much as he was by the thought that his wife was the most important thing in his world right now. “Is she going to be okay?”

  The doctor answered Ben’s question with a question of his own. “You said she’s undergoing cancer treatments. What is her prognosis?”

  “She’s in a clinical trial at George Washington University Hospital.”

  “Is there any chance she might have deliberately overdosed?”

  The question and the straightforward manner in which it was asked stunned Ben. “You mean, try to commit suicide? No way. Maya’s determined to fight this cancer, and her doctor thinks the treatments are working.” Ben pulled her pill dispenser out of his pocket and handed it to the doctor. “She uses this to keep track of her pills. It looks like she hasn’t taken the last few doses.”

  “Do you know when she last took any medications?”

  “My sister said she remembered her taking her pain meds yesterday at dinner, but as for the others, the last time I’m sure she took them was Christmas Eve.”

  “That could definitely cause a problem.” The doctor turned back to the nurse and ordered a rush on Maya’s blood work.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Ben asked again, silently praying for the answer he wanted to hear.

  “Her vital signs are pretty good. We’ll get an IV in her and see what we can do about getting her back on track,” the doctor told him. “I’d like to talk to her oncologist, but at this hour, it may take a little while to get ahold of him. I’d like to admit her so we can keep her under observation for the next day or so.”

  Despite the doctor’s straightforward answer, worry pulsed through Ben. He stepped aside when the nurse arrived to draw blood and set up an IV, and he wished there was something he could do besides watch helplessly. As soon as the nurse finished, she said, “I’ll be back in to check on you in a little while. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thanks.” Ben watched her go. Then he shifted closer, took Maya’s hand in his, and decided it couldn’t hurt to pray.

  Chapter 33

  Maya cracked her eyes and saw the room spinning for several seconds before it finally settled and the image of her hospital room sharpened.

  “Maya?” Ben’s voice sounded through the cotton in her brain, and she felt him take her hand. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

  “What happened?”

  “You gave us quite a scare.” When she did nothing more than stare at him, he added, “I guess your body doesn’t like it when you forget to take your medicine.”

  She noticed the IV line running into her arm and asked, “How long have I been here?”

  “Since early this morning. The doctor said he’s waiting on one more test result, but so far, everything is looking good. He wants to admit you overnight, but he thinks you’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”

  Maya let her eyes droop back closed for a moment, her hand still in Ben’s. When she heard someone enter the room, she forced her eyes open again to see a nurse in green scrubs approaching her bedside.

  “Oh, good. You’re awake,” she said before addressing Ben. “An orderly should be here any minute to transfer her to her room.”

  “Did the doctor get the last test results?”

  “Yes. It confirmed what we suspected, that the combination of stopping her regular treatments and forgetting to take her medication caused the problem. He spoke with Dr. Schuster in Washington, and they agreed that we should keep her overnight to make sure she’s stabilized before we send her home.”

  Maya wasn’t sure she heard Ben right when he asked, “Can I stay here with her?”

  “That depends. What’s your relationship to her?”

  A man who looked to be in his early twenties pulled back the curtain, revealing several people standing close by. Ben kept his focus on the nurse and answered, “I’m her husband.”

  The orderly, who had just come in, pushed a gurney toward Maya. Then he looked over at Ben, and his eyes lit up. “Ben Evans? Oh my gosh! It is you!”

  Maya watched as recognition dawned and Ben’s face lit up too. “Russell! How are you?”

  “I’m doing good.” Russell shifted his attention to Maya. “Did I just hear you say you’re married?”

  Maya expected to see some kind of negative reaction to the question, but Ben took it in stride, lowering his voice when he said, “We’ve been keeping it pretty quiet.”

  “Well, congratulations.” Russell stepped farther into the room and let the curtain close behind him. “Let’s get your wife moved to her room.”

  Maya tried to help shift her weight onto the gurney, and then she listened to the conversation between Ben and Russell as they discussed the changes in their lives since high school.

  While the nurses helped Maya settle into her room, Ben called Kari to give her the latest update. Then he took the seat beside Maya, and she found comfort in knowing he was going to stay.

  * * *

  Kari opened the front door, her eyes narrowing in confusion when she saw t
he man standing on the doorstep, a long black overcoat buttoned over his business suit, a briefcase in his hand.

  The man in front of her pushed his round glasses farther back up on his nose. Kari guessed him to be in his midthirties, and she was quite certain she had never seen him before.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I’m looking for Maya Evans.”

  Kari stiffened. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

  “Colin Magnor.” He reached under the bulk of his coat and dug a business card out of his suit jacket pocket. “Immigration and Naturalization Service.”

  Dozens of thoughts raced through her mind, none of them good. “What do you want with Maya?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not at liberty to discuss that. May I speak with Mrs. Evans, please?”

  “I’m afraid she isn’t here right now.”

  “Do you know when you expect her back?”

  “Actually, I don’t.”

  Irritation crossed Colin’s brow. “Keeping me from seeing her is not going to help her case.”

  “I’m not lying to you.” Kari struggled for a moment, debating whether she should give this man any information about her friend. “But unless you want to tell me about this case of yours, I can’t say that I’m inclined to help you either.”

  Before the man could respond, Kari’s father stepped up behind her. “Kari, is everything okay?”

  “This is Colin Magnor from immigration. He wants to talk to Maya Evans,” Kari said, repeating the last name the man had used to make sure her father comprehended the possible implications of his presence.

  Kari saw the understanding in her father’s expression, but she was surprised when he pulled the door open wider and motioned the man inside. “Please come in. I’m sure it will be more comfortable to talk when we’re out of the cold.”

  Colin hesitated briefly before giving an assenting nod and stepping over the threshold. Steve introduced himself and led the way into the living room, motioning for everyone to sit down. “Can you tell us what this is all about? We’ve never known Maya to have any issues with immigration.”

  “Mr. Evans, as her father-in-law, surely you understand that she should have informed us of her change in marital status.”

  “That status changed only a few weeks ago, and from what I understand, it didn’t impact her residential status. She’s already a permanent resident.”

  “Yes, but she could use her new status as the spouse of a US citizen to apply for citizenship earlier than she would have otherwise been eligible.”

  “Has she applied for citizenship?”

  “Not yet.”

  “And have you received any indication that she is going to?”

  “We received a call that a citizenship application could be pending shortly.”

  “Forgive me, but I don’t understand why immigration would bother themselves with a foreign national who is living here legally and has not broken any laws.”

  “Yet.”

  “Just because I own a car, it doesn’t mean I should get a ticket because I might speed. Why don’t you tell us what’s really going on here,” Steve suggested. “Maya’s health is not good, and I am not going to sit by and have her stressed over a bunch of innuendos.”

  Colin tensed and seemed to contemplate for a moment. “The state department received a request from the Indian ambassador that we investigate a possibly fraudulent marriage for one Maya Gupta, aka Maya Evans.”

  “As we just discussed, Maya was already a permanent resident. How could her marriage be fraudulent?”

  “Because the Indian embassy processed the request to revoke her visa three days before her marriage.”

  “On what grounds?”

  Colin shifted uneasily. “The ambassador wasn’t willing to share that information with us.”

  “Then let me enlighten you,” Steve said calmly. “According to my son, this whole situation stems from a jealous Indian man who is having a temper tantrum because the woman he planned to marry refused to marry him, a man, I might add, who tried to marry Maya when she was only thirteen, well under the legal age, even in India.”

  The formality that Colin had been wearing like a shield softened. “I thought it might be something like that. The accusation still remains valid, however, that your son could have married Maya to keep her from being deported.”

  “As I mentioned before, they were married several weeks ago. Why is this coming up now?”

  “Our original investigation indicated that Maya had a prior connection to Ben Evans through his sister here. Our report seemed to satisfy the state department.” He hesitated. “Then the complaint was reinstated when some photographs of Ben Evans and a woman named Cassie Birchfield circulated on several social media sites. We were able to confirm that the photos were taken three days ago.”

  “That can’t be right,” Steve insisted. “Ben has hardly left the house since he’s been home.”

  “His credit card activity verifies he was at the mall when the photograph with Miss Birchfield was taken. I’m sorry, but I don’t have a choice but to proceed with this investigation.”

  * * *

  Ben dozed in the chair beside Maya’s bed, no longer sure how many hours he had been in that same position. The hands on the wall clock hadn’t moved since they’d arrived, and it was in obvious need of repair. His cell phone had died sometime during the night, so he had also lost his normal way of keeping time.

  Earlier in the morning, the doctor had stopped by and determined that Maya’s medication levels were back to normal. Even though she was well enough to go home, he had insisted on monitoring her for several more hours just to be safe. Ben hadn’t argued.

  Maya’s hand fisted beneath his, and he recognized the gesture, knowing she must be in pain. He opened his eyes and shifted to find Maya watching him. “I’ll call the nurse. She said to let her know if you needed something for pain.”

  Ben reached over the edge of the bed and pressed the call button. He watched Maya close her eyes again, and Ben guessed by the little wrinkle in the center of her forehead that she was trying to block out the pain.

  He waited impatiently for the nurse to arrive and then for the medicine to take effect. When Maya finally appeared to be comfortable again, Ben leaned back in his chair.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Maya said, her voice raspy.

  Ben sat up again to see her staring at him. “Where else would I be? Like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”

  Her lips curved slightly.

  “I had Kari take the car when she and Mom came to visit yesterday, but she’ll pick us up when you get released this afternoon.”

  “I’m so sorry about all of this.”

  “What happened?” Ben asked, his voice holding concern rather than accusation. “It’s not like you to forget your medicine.”

  “I don’t know. I think it must have been a combination of not being in my normal routine and letting myself get wrapped up in getting ready for Christmas.”

  Realizing that most of her Christmas preparations were likely spent making his present, he kept his voice light. “At least the doctors said everything will be okay. In fact, if all goes well, we’ll be home in time for dinner.”

  “I hope so. I’m tired of hospitals.”

  Ben looked around the room with distaste. He put his hand over hers and squeezed. “I don’t blame you.”

  * * *

  “Were you able to get ahold of Ben?” Kari asked her dad.

  “No. His cell phone is going straight to voice mail, and when I tried calling Maya’s room, there wasn’t an answer.”

  “What are we going to do? You don’t really think Maya will get deported, do you?”

  “I don’t think she’ll get deported, but I am worried about what this investigation might do to both her and your brother.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Maya’s health is fragile enough as it is. Like I told Mr. Magnor, I’m worried about what the stress of an in
vestigation might do to her. As for Ben, this isn’t the kind of publicity he’s looking for.”

  “This is all my fault,” Kari said, her voice guilt-ridden. “If I hadn’t tricked Ben into letting Maya stay in his apartment, none of this ever would have happened.”

  “Ben didn’t have to marry her. That was his choice,” Steve reminded her. “For now, all we can do is pray that Cassie will tell the truth when Mr. Magnor interviews her. If she admits that she and Ben broke up months ago, this investigation should go away before it can do any real damage.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Regardless, I suggest we don’t bring this up until after Ben and Maya are home from the hospital.”

  “Agreed.”

  Chapter 34

  Ben followed the orderly as the man pushed Maya in the wheelchair toward the hospital exit. He looked down at Maya now, amazed that she could transform so quickly. Yesterday morning she had been lethargic and unresponsive, and today she looked completely normal again. Even though she seemed perfectly fine, Ben couldn’t quite chase away the image of her in Kari’s room when he couldn’t fully wake her.

  The orderly continued down a long hall, and Ben asked, “Is it strange being pushed in a wheelchair when it isn’t Henry standing behind you?”

  “Actually, it is,” Maya admitted.

  They turned the corner toward the main entrance to find a crowd of what appeared to be reporters clustered in the main lobby. Ben started to ask what was going on, but before he could voice the words, a tall man on the edge of the crowd noticed them and pointed. “There he is!”

  Cameras immediately flashed, and the crowd moved toward them.

  Stunned that he would garner such attention during the off-season, Ben continued forward, thinking that maybe if he walked away from Maya, the reporters would leave her alone.

  Then the questions started. “How long have you been married? Where did you meet? Why the secrecy? What’s going on with Cassie Birchfield?”

  Ben froze, disgusted that the press was trying to get a rise out of him by bringing up an old girlfriend. Resentment bubbled when he looked back at Maya and the dazed look on her face.