by Heather Gray
Traffic was brutal as he tried to gain entrance to the hospital’s parking garage. He sat through ten minutes of inch-by-inch gridlock between the street and the ticket gate inside the garage’s entrance.
Had to be shift change.
Caleb caught himself craning his neck to search for a silver sedan as he maneuvered through the twisting maze of the multi-tiered garage. When he took a turn too wide and was met by a blaring horn — magnified by the tight confines and the echo created by all the cement — he gave up the search and concentrated on getting to the top.
Forget finding a spot in the dungeon-like garage interior. He was better off with the open sky above him any day.
Caleb strolled at an unhurried pace as he approached ICU. He took a peek into the waiting room. A couple of people dozed while a young boy watched cartoons.
He kept his voice to a whisper. “Are you here with an adult?”
The boy pointed to a woman sleeping on one of the couches, and Caleb offered a reassuring smile to the child.
Next, Caleb came to the ICU entrance. With a tap on the buzzer, he alerted the staff to his presence. He tipped his hat to the camera as the door opened to admit him. Then he advanced down the corridor and tried to convince himself he was there only to check on his mom — which was mostly true. Was it his fault he glanced into each passing room looking for a messy blond pony-tail-bun?
“Scrub!”
Caleb’s head jerked around to look at the imposing nurse waving him down.
“You have to scrub! You can’t come on this unit and not scrub!”
“Sorry. I forgot.”
The nurse hovered as he backtracked to the sink and put in his requisite three minutes with the disposable plastic-bristled brush.
Once he was done, she gave her approval. “Don’t make me chase you down again, you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Caleb refrained from saluting as she glared.
He was still chuckling as he crossed the threshold into his mom’s room. “Hey, Ma, how you doin’ this mornin’?”
“Did you eat breakfast yet? You shouldn’t skip meals.”
Stepping close, he kissed his mom on the forehead. “I can get something here. I wanted to check on you first and make sure you’re doing what they tell you.”
Ma smiled. “I’m fine. My blood sugar’s almost back to normal, and they’re taking good care of me.”
“They gonna spring you from this joint soon?”
“The night nurse thought they’d discuss it at morning rounds.”
Caleb dragged the chair near to the bed and sat down. “Did you realize you didn’t feel good? I mean, did you have any warning you were in trouble?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t need to be worrying about me, son.”
He returned the stare. “Humor me.”
Ma’s shrug was as close to subtle as she ever got. “Things seemed a little off for a couple days before. I wasn’t quite myself, but I couldn’t say what was wrong. If I’d recognized how bad it was, I would have made an appointment with the doctor.”
“Are you checking your blood sugar regular like you’re supposed to?”
His mom averted her eyes, and he had his answer.
“Ma, you gotta look after yourself. You understand how important it is to check your sugars, right?”
The door slid open and Lily entered like a breath of fresh spring air. She was as enchanting in person as she’d been in his dreams the afternoon before.
No one who dealt with life and death every day should be that good looking.
He moved his chair back to the wall and gave her plenty of room to maneuver around the bed.
“It’s not life and death.”
“Huh?” Lily and his mom stared at him, confusion on their faces.
Caleb rotated his shoulders to work out the kinks. “When I pulled you over. You claimed you’d be late to your job, and I told you it wasn’t life or death. Then here you were, responsible for Ma’s life.”
Ma shook her head. “You didn’t.”
Lily shrugged. “I muttered about that the rest of the way to the hospital. Then I arrived, got busy, and forgot all about it. I’m surprised you remember.”
Caleb stretched out his legs and crossed his arms. “I just remembered.”
Ma rolled her eyes, and he couldn’t blame her one bit. He’d earned it this time with his astounding ability to make a first impression.
Lily tried to hide her smile by turning back to the bed. Speaking to his mom, she speculated, “He probably always said, ‘At least it can’t get any worse than this,’ when he was little, didn’t he?”
It was good to hear his mom laugh. He’d attempted to bring some levity into her life since Dad’s death, but Caleb did intensity a whole lot better than he did lighthearted.
Lily focused on the task at hand and did her best to ignore her own pulse.
A man could be too handsome for his own good without being a good man, and she wasn’t sure yet about Mrs. Graham’s state trooper son.
She bit her bottom lip and concentrated on checking her patient’s blood sugar.
“You seem worried, dear. Is something wrong?” A kindly smile softened the older woman’s features.
“Everything’s good. Did you decide what you’d like for breakfast now that we’re going to let you eat?”
“An omelet, please. Cheese is fine.”
“I wondered…” Caleb’s vowels, normally stretched a half-beat longer by his Southern drawl, lasted even longer. Fatigue marked itself in lines around his eyes. “Is it normal to admit someone to ICU for high blood sugar?”
Lily afforded him a quick nod. “The final decision is made by the admitting doctor, but given your mom’s age, the extreme high of her first glucose reading, and the complication of dehydration, it’s pretty standard. And keep in mind, she had a lot more than just high blood sugar. Ketoacidosis should never be taken lightly.”
He nodded his satisfaction with her answer, then rested his head back and closed his eyes.
No less impressed than yesterday, Lily continued to marvel at his stillness. Not many men were so completely content with themselves. It was refreshing and… unsettling. Something about him threw her off-kilter. He wasn’t the first good-looking family member she’d ever dealt with, so why did he mess with her equilibrium?
She pondered the options.
No. It wasn’t his looks. It was that inner quiet of his. Could peace be magnetic?
The charge nurse stopped at the door. “Lily, can I speak to you for a minute?”
She took a quick step across the room and out into the corridor, sliding Mrs. Graham’s door closed behind her. “What’s up?”
“We keep getting calls about your other patient. Media, complete strangers, and more. I thought I should warn you so you don’t get caught unaware.”
She acknowledged the warning. “His wife’s the only one authorized to receive information about him, right?”
A frown tugged down the corners of the charge nurse’s mouth even more than usual. “She’s a flight attendant and was on an overseas assignment. The airline made us wait until the plane landed before allowing us access to her.”
“Okay. Have we had security issues?”
The charge nurse growled before answering. “We’ve chased a couple people away from his room. Reporters staked out the waiting room and propositioned family members of people in ICU, promising money for photos of him. The whole floor’s locked down now. Security tells me no one from the media will be getting up here, but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to be approaching people in the lobby or parking garage. Not even the staff has escaped suspicion. If any photos of that man are leaked, he and his wife will have grounds for a lawsuit against this hospital. A lot of jobs will be at risk if that happens.”
Lily checked on Mr. Miller, who remained sedated and noncombative. Mrs. Miller needed to arrive. She could help keep him calm so he didn’t hurt himself while they brought him full
y out of sedation.
The dining cart met her in the hallway, and she collected Mrs. Graham’s breakfast.
Breezing through the door, Lily delivered the tray. “You have an omelet here, as well as some turkey bacon, oatmeal if you want it, an orange, milk, and coffee. I went ahead and ordered you more than you requested, but don’t feel you have to eat it all. A little variety will do you good, but my feelings won’t be hurt if you leave food on your plate.”
Caleb, who had been standing by the bed chatting with his mom, retreated to his chair against the wall. “Is everything all right out there?”
Lily glanced at him. The intensity in his eyes reached out and stilled her motion. “Of course.”
“That nurse seemed to think something was urgent.”
She gave him a reassuring nod as understanding dawned. “We’re having an issue that’s prompted more security on the floor, but it shouldn’t impact your mom.”
“Oh, dear.” Mrs. Graham’s hands fluttered above her blanket. “I hope everything’s going to be all right.”
Caleb glanced out the glass sliding door to the corridor, then back at Lily. “High-profile patient or high-profile incident?”
“I can’t discuss it.” She frowned at him. “There’s no cause for alarm, though.”
A brisk nod and knowing eyes met Lily’s gaze. “So why didn’t you tell me off yesterday when Ma was admitted?”
The change of subject was welcome, but did he have to pick that one?
She spun away from him and back toward her patient. “Do you need anything else? Would you like some more water?”
“I’m fine. I’ll just eat my breakfast. Thank you, dear.”
Side-stepping the chair, Lily made her way toward the door.
“Not gonna answer me?”
She angled back in time to catch the mirth lighting Caleb’s eyes.
“Your mom is my patient and my priority. I’m fairly certain telling off the patient’s son is in the nurse no-no book.” In any event, everything she’d wanted to say to the officer who’d accused her of drunk driving had disappeared from her head the second she’d gotten her first good look at him.
“You were nicer than I would have been.”
Lily grinned. “You caught me on a good day.”
A summoning wave from the nurse’s station met her as she stepped into the hallway.
“What’s up?”
The charge nurse answered without preamble. “Mrs. Miller’s on her way to the unit. She’s being escorted by security. Dr. Matsui is waiting in the conference room.”
She did another quick check on Mr. Miller, recorded all his vitals, and printed out the most recent chart data to take with her.
“Lily.” Dr. Matsui bowed his head to her when she entered.
She took a seat and made sure her notes were in order in case the doctor called on her for any information during the meeting.
As security showed a harried Mrs. Miller into the conference room, only one thought crossed Lily’s mind. That poor woman.
The patient’s wife looked like sleep hadn’t visited her in days. Dark circles under red eyes, a solid case of the sniffles, and unsteady hands gave testimony to her fatigue.
“Why are we in here? I want to see my husband.” Despite her distraught appearance, Mrs. Miller commanded attention.
“We thought it best to explain your husband’s situation to you first and prepare you for what to expect.” Dr. Matsui was calm, his voice soothing.
“No.” The woman apparently didn’t want to be soothed. “Let me see my husband. Then we can sit down and you can tell me what’s going on.”
“I’m not sure that’s best…”
“He lost his arm. I get it.” Mrs. Miller cut off the doctor. “Let me see with my own two eyes that he’s breathing, that he’s still al…” Her words broke off, and she stretched her hand out toward a nearby box of tissue.
Mr. Miller’s wife fought hysteria. It might not be visible to the untrained eye, but the way she kept repeating the same phrase was a tell. They could either let her have her way or fight her on it and push her over the edge in the process.
Dr. Matsui gave Lily a brief nod. She tucked her charts under her arm as she stood. “Did you scrub in when you arrived on the unit, Mrs. Miller?”
The woman stared blankly at her.
Lily strove for a comforting tone. “I can take you to your husband, but you need to scrub in first. It’s policy to protect our patients — Mr. Miller included — against infection.”
Mrs. Miller nodded and stood stiffly to her feet. “Lead the way.”
They approached Mr. Miller’s door, and his wife pushed past Lily to get into the room. Once there, her momentum faltered. Halting steps brought her to the bed where she stood, hands fisted at her sides, as she stared at her husband. Then, in a flurry of motion, her hands went everywhere at once. One second she gripped his remaining hand. The next, she smoothed the hair from his forehead.
Any comforting words Lily might have offered — Don’t let the medical equipment scare you — died on her lips.
Uncertainty and fear stood no chance against Mrs. Miller’s love for the man in the bed. She ran her hands over every part of him, touching every bit of skin she could find. When she was done, she rested her hand on his chest right over his beating heart while she leaned in and kissed him near the corner of his eye.
“Everything is going to be fine, baby. I’m here now.” Her tone was once again strong and confident. Despite that, tears coursed down her cheeks.
Lily stood by quietly. No words would make the woman’s grief easier to bear, not yet.
Mrs. Miller peered up at her. “Is he going to be okay?”
“Dr. Matsui would prefer to be the one to talk to you about your husband’s condition.”
Most people would have been dissuaded by her words, but not Mrs. Miller. The woman impaled Lily with her eyes. “I’ll listen to the doctor, but tell me what you think first.”
Lily nibbled at her bottom lip. The woman had a right to her questions, but she couldn’t contradict anything Dr. Matsui might say.
“He lost his arm. That’s going to require some major lifestyle adjustments. Technically, I suppose it could be called a disability. It’s not an illness, though. Neither is it a disease.”
“Brain damage?”
Mrs. Miller had likely seen her husband’s place of employment. She understood the sheer brutality of the machine that had taken his arm and realized what a miracle it was that any part of her husband remained intact. If the shredder had been allowed to run even five seconds longer, Mrs. Miller would be a widow.
Those critical seconds that determined the difference between life and death didn’t always occur in ICU or OR. This time they’d occurred at a tire recycling plant.
Lily shook her head. “Not that we’ve been able to ascertain, but the neurologist will need to evaluate him once he’s conscious.”
Mrs. Miller gave him another kiss then backed away from his bed and plucked some tissue from a nearby box. After she blew her nose, new resolve strengthened her spine and put steel in her words. “I was afraid there was something they weren’t telling me. I just needed to… to see him for myself. I’m ready to talk to the doctor now.”
Seeing her husband had revitalized her. Mrs. Miller was calmer than before. Her posture was more relaxed, her voice wasn’t as tight, and the worry lines on her forehead had smoothed out. It was as though she’d undergone a reboot.
Lily ushered her back toward the conference room. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of Caleb watching her from his mom’s room, his expression somber.
Lily led a woman down the hall. The neighboring door slid open and closed again.
Probably the wife. Caleb hoped she was strong enough to stand by him. Her husband needed her now more than ever.
“How’s she look?”
He glanced over at his mom.
“The wife. How’s she look?”
Famili
es often fell apart following a trauma. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a fact of life.
“Worried but resilient.”
Rural Texas didn’t offer a lot in the way of mass murders or horrific accidents, at least not while he’d been with the sheriff’s department. Caleb had seen enough to understand a few things, though. Families needed to decide from the get-go to back each other up no matter what. Otherwise, it wouldn’t take much to pull them apart. And that woman and her husband were family.
Lord, please let this trial they’re facing bring them closer together. Fill them with courage and tenacity.
An hour passed before Lily came back into Ma’s room, peace shining in those stunning blue eyes of hers. He’d bet anything that the woman visiting next door had something to do with that.
“Good news, Mrs. Graham! The doctor said you can go home today.”
Caleb’s mom smiled. “I was hoping, but I didn’t want to jinx it by asking.”
Lily did one last check on her patient’s blood sugar and charted the results. “I’m going to be tied up with another patient for the rest of the afternoon, so one of the other nurses is going to handle your discharge.”
Ma’s smile lost some of its usual luster. “Oh, dear. Will I see you again?”
“I’ll try to pop back over to send you off, but if I can’t, remember what I said. I don’t want you back in here.” Lily patted his mom’s hand. “Check your blood sugar regularly and contact your doctor immediately if anything’s amiss.”
She circled to face Caleb, and his mouth got as dry as a Texas tumbleweed.
“Do you have any questions for me?”
What would she say if he asked her out?
“Um, yeah.” He scrambled for something intelligent to ask. “She’s in ICU. Is it normal for her to go home so soon?”
Lily’s blonde pony-tail-bun bobbed with the affirmative nod of her head. “Our job here is to make people well enough to leave. We would send her out to the floor for another day if she lived alone, but since you’ll be around to keep an eye on her, the doctor believes she’ll be fine. Do you have any concerns? If there’s reason to think she should stay in the hospital, now’s the time to speak up.”