Cultivating Love

by Addison Albright

  “’Course you are, hon. We wouldn’t leave you behind.”

  “I still don’t think I need to go to the friggin’ hospital.”

  There was no point in answering. Joe’d given in. Ed and Bill helped him to his feet. He wobbled, and Ed slipped an arm around his waist to steady him.

  Joe winced. “Okay. Fine, you can help me walk.”

  Bill placed a hand on Ed’s shoulder. “Give me a call and let me know how he’s doing.”

  Ed nodded. “If it gets late, do you want me to wait ’til morning?”

  “Call any time after he’s out, or you know what’s up.”

  “’Kay.”

  Joe grumbled, “It won’t take long for them to tell us to quit wasting their time.”

  Ed rolled his eyes. No sense giving Joe fuel for more cracks. Jenny apparently knew better, too.

  As they made their way off the field, a number of folks they’d previously met—as well as some they’d never seen before—approached them. They asked if Joe was okay, commented that it had looked like a hard hit, and wished him well. One lady handed him a bag of ice she’d put together out of her cooler. Ed thanked her profusely and had Joe hold it on the spot where he’d been hit.

  They’d made it to the edge of the field that had been turned into a makeshift parking lot when Joe veered toward a nearby trash can. “Gonna throw up again. Shit.”

  Ed helped him to the can, then fished money out of his pocket and handed it to Jenny. “Run and fetch some water or Sprite. Something he can rinse out with, okay?”

  She darted off as Joe heaved into the can. Ed rubbed Joe’s back as his own stomach churned. Between the worry and the helplessness, he’d be lucky if he didn’t lose his own lunch. Maybe this was serious enough he really should call an ambulance. Fat chance of getting Joe to go along with that, though. He closed his eyes. Please, just let him be okay.

  Joe spit, and Ed pulled out a napkin he’d stuffed in his pocket earlier and handed it to him. Joe wiped his face and muttered, “Thanks.”

  “You gonna make it? For the drive, I mean? Should take less than a half hour.”

  “Don’t have a choice.”

  “An ambulance is a choice. Don’t know how long it’d take one to get here, though.”

  “You’re not calling a fucking ambulance.”

  Jenny ran up with a cup of Sprite, which she handed to Joe.

  “Thanks.” He rinsed out and spit, then sipped a little of the cool drink.

  “Let’s go,” Ed said. “I’d feel better if we were on our way.” Much better. Bill was right. Joe looked pale, and throwing up a second time had nothing to do with simply being a reaction to the initial wave of pain.

  Perhaps Joe could see the fear in his eyes, since he sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  * * * *

  Joe hated to admit it, but as he lay on the bed in the ER examination room, he felt relief being there. He still experienced a little nausea, and the hit site fucking hurt like hell. The nurses had seemed rather concerned during the question-and-answer session and preliminary exam before they brought him to this room.

  God, he sure hoped the scan that the doctor had ordered didn’t reveal anything too bad. He wouldn’t want the expense of surgery and knew damned well that the thousands of out-of-pocket dollars would be coming from Ed’s inheritance. Much as he understood Ed’s stance on that subject, the idea still bothered him. This ER visit would be costly enough by itself, especially if they kept piling on expensive sounding tests. Ed was right, though. He’d have carried Ed forcefully to the car if the situation had been reversed, and wouldn’t give a damn about the expense.

  He didn’t want to even think about the recovery time involved if he required surgery. At least there was a lull in the more physically demanding chores at the moment, and Ed should be able to handle it. Friggin’ doctors would probably tell him to take it easy for a bit anyway even if his kidney only ended up being bruised, and Ed would be here to hear it and would enforce it.

  He looked around the room and wished they’d hurry up and bring Ed and Jenny to see him. He felt like a fucking baby wanting them so much. Christ, he needed to just suck it up and act like an adult. He closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

  * * * *

  Ed kept his voice low. “Shh, don’t wake him.”

  But apparently Joe wasn’t asleep, because his eyelids popped open. He even smiled. “Hey.”

  Ed blew out his breath in relief. Joe had a little color back in his cheeks. “Hey, yourself. What are they doing to you back here?”

  “A little pokin’, a little proddin’. Took some blood. Made me pee in a cup and drink some chalky shit. Gonna send me down for some kind of scan in a bit. That’s what the nasty drink was for.”

  “Everything normal so far? Or do you know yet?”

  “If they have any test results back, I haven’t heard about it. I don’t think pink pee is normal, though.”

  Jenny gasped. “It’s pink?”

  Ed stilled. He didn’t like the sound of that, but tried to keep his face neutral. His calm tone belied his whirling thoughts. “What did they say about it?”

  “I guess it wasn’t entirely unexpected. They actually seemed kinda happy it was a fairly light pink.”

  Bullshit. Joe was being typical Joe, downplaying his injuries. “Still doesn’t sound too good.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna die here.” Joe’s smile seemed genuine. “And on the plus side, we’ve got a good excuse not to go to that hoedown tonight.” He tossed in a quick, “Sorry Jen,” at her indignant look.

  Ed rolled his eyes. At least Joe still had a sense of humor. “You act like you’re feeling a little better. Are you?”

  “Still hurts. Still a little nauseous, but I haven’t thrown up again.”

  “’Kay. So, what’s causing the pink?”

  “Blood. But it’s not a whole lot. I guess it’s probably a bruised kidney, but the scan will confirm there’s nothing worse going on.”

  “Worse like what?”

  “Worse like a fracture, which means a tear in the kidney, or a torn ureter. They said those would have to be surgically repaired.” Jenny gasped again, but Joe was quick to reassure her. “I’m pretty sure I’d be in worse shape right now if it was that. They’re just covering all their bases with the scan. I don’t think they expect to find anything worse than just a bruised kidney.”

  She still looked worried. Ed pressed his hands against his thighs to keep them from shaking. A bruised kidney sounded bad enough, and he doubted the word “just” applied to it. There was probably a wide range on the degree-of-seriousness scale associated with it, too, just like with muscle tissue bruises. He’d feel a whole lot better when the doctors were done eliminating anything worse than a bruised kidney and knew precisely how serious it either was or wasn’t. He wasn’t nearly as ready as Joe to flippantly discount the frightening possibilities.

  Jenny replied, “I hope you’re right, Joe.” She paused, as if trying to bite her tongue, then lost the battle. “I couldn’t be more pissed off about this. You probably didn’t see anything, but it looked to me like that guy threw the ball at you on purpose.”

  Ed had no doubt Stan had indeed landed the ball precisely where he’d intended. “I think we should speak to the sheriff’s office and at least find out what our options are. I don’t know if anything can be done, but there should be an official record in any case.”

  Joe grimaced. “I guess so. I was thinking it wouldn’t be worth the trouble ’cause we’d never be able to prove it was deliberate, but you’re right. There should be a record, so if he does something else, it’ll show a pattern.”

  “But I saw it. That’s proof!” Jenny said.

  Joe sighed, and his whole body sagged. “Nobody will deny that Stan threw the ball. The thing is, all he has to say is he slipped up somehow and it was just an unfortunate accident.”

  “But Ed told me that guy said mean things to you both. That he kinda threatened E
d.”

  “That’s our word against his, Jen. Again, all we can probably do is file an official complaint of some sort. Get a record in case something else happens.”

  Ed chimed in before Jenny could run with the “something else” comment. “Most likely an official inquiry will scare him enough that there won’t be a next time. We’d have more to worry about if nothing happened at all, and he just flat-out got away with it without any repercussions.”

  “We’re big boys, Jen,” Joe said. “We can take care of ourselves.”

  “Then what are you doing in the ER peeing blood?”

  Good point, but they didn’t need Jenny worrying. Thankfully, Joe was ready with one of his patented no-worries replies. “That was a golden opportunity for him to set up a phony accident. Those opportunities are few and far between. We’ll be watching out for him now, and I think he’s too cowardly to actually do anything that couldn’t be attributed to an accident.”

  She didn’t say anything, but didn’t appear to be completely satisfied, either.

  Ed peered at the pole holding bags that dripped fluid into a line to Joe’s left arm. “What’s in the IV?”

  “I dunno. Figure they do, so that’s all that matters.”

  Ed sighed, but didn’t bother investigating since the drug names probably wouldn’t mean anything to him.

  A tech bustled in and smiled. “Hey, Joe.” He double-checked Joe’s wristband and put a clipboard of papers on the side of Joe’s bed. “You’re going for a ride to Radiology,” he informed them.

  Good. The sooner they got this test over with, the sooner they’d know something.

  The man moved quickly, transferring IV bags, tubes, and wires to an attachment pole on the bed. He let Ed and Jenny know they could wait there and Joe would be back “in a jiffy.”

  In no time at all, it was just Ed and Jenny, waiting and worrying, going over what-ifs.

  Jenny seemed to have something else weighing on her. “Uh, Ed? I should probably tell you something.”

  He sighed, but kept his features neutral. “What is it, hon?”

  “When you and Joe were talking with the admissions people out there…” She bit her lip. “Well, I called Dad to let him and Mom know that Joe was here.”

  “I guess that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to worry them needlessly, though. As soon as we know something, you can give them an update.”

  “They’re on their way. Or at least, they’ll show up here unless I call them—if he gets released, they’ll go straight to the farm. You guys were going to take me home tomorrow anyway. We figured since Joe probably shouldn’t spend three hours in the car each way, they’d come to see him and pick me up at the same time.”

  Ed bit his lip and mentally went over the condition of the house, knew it was clean because Jenny rocked, and he knocked that off his list of concerns.

  She looked sheepish. “So that’s okay, then?”

  “They’re his parents. No reason they shouldn’t know he’s been injured. I don’t want Joe taken by surprise, though. We need to let him know.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And you’re right. He shouldn’t spend much time in the car tomorrow—assuming he’s released by then. I probably would have made him stay home and taken you myself.”

  “I wonder how long all these tests are going to take?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She sighed and looked around the room. Ed looked around, too. Wasn’t much to see. He settled into a chair and prepared for a long afternoon of sitting around, worrying.

  * * * *

  Joe lay as still as possible while the machine hummed around him. He had a damned itch on his nose, but tried not to even twitch it. The last thing he wanted to do was screw up an expensive test. Would he be charged double if they had to run it twice because he’d moved? He didn’t want to chance it and tried to think calming thoughts.

  It didn’t take as long as he’d thought it might. Before he knew it, he was out of the machine and being helped back onto the bed. He felt sore. Hopefully they’d give him some pain meds when they sent him home. Or sooner. Sooner would be better. Maybe that was what one of the IVs was doing, but if so, it wasn’t working too well.

  He closed his eyes again as a tech wheeled him through the halls back to his space in the ER. He was exhausted, too. What was it, midafternoon?

  Jenny said something about him being back. He opened his eyes and gave them the best reassuring smile he could manage, admittedly a little weak. Damn, he was tired.

  “How did it go?” Ed asked.

  “Fine, I guess. I don’t know anything yet, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Didn’t figure. Just wondering how you’re holding up.”

  “Okay. Tired as hell.”

  “Why don’t you close your eyes again? Get some rest.”

  “You wouldn’t mind? Man, you guys have got to be bored out of your skulls.”

  Jenny snorted, but Ed gave him a smile. “We’re fine. Don’t worry about us.”

  Hell, there wasn’t anything he could do to help them out anyway, so he went ahead and closed his eyes. Through the grogginess clouding his thoughts, he became vaguely aware of time passing and muted conversations around him. Was that the doctor’s voice? Maybe he was dreaming because he thought he’d heard his mother’s voice at one point, too.

  Joe wasn’t sure how much time had passed when someone gently shook his shoulder.

  He blinked a few times. “Hmm?”

  “You’re going to be spending the night here,” Ed said. “They want to keep you for observation.”

  Joe didn’t even care. He just wanted to sleep. Maybe there was something in that IV sedating him.

  “Joe, you alert? You understanding?”

  He blinked a few times, attempting to shake off some of the fog and focus on Ed’s words. “Okay. Yeah, I’m listening.”

  “Good. Everything’s looking good so far. They’re just holding you to make sure you’re getting better and don’t get worse.”

  That sounded okay, and it was a relief to see some of the worry gone from Ed’s eyes. Except, shit, what would a night in the hospital cost? Hell, he didn’t even care at this point. He’d just work his ass off to make it up to Ed.

  “Ah, Joe, you have some visitors. Jenny called your folks. They’re here. I’m going to step out and they’re gonna come in and talk with you.”

  “What? Wait, don’t go!”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Just stepping out ’cause the room’s kinda small, and so you guys can have some privacy. After that, I’ll come back and Jenny’ll take them to the farm and get them set up in one of the spare rooms. Your dad offered to take care of the animals. They’ll take Jenny home with them tomorrow after you’re released.”

  “You’re staying here with me tonight?” Why was that such a relief?

  “Is that okay?”

  “Sure. If you want to.”

  Ed smiled. “I want to.”

  “So, you’ve met my mom?”

  “She’s pretty nice. Seems worried about you.”

  Well, Joe’s beef hadn’t been with her. It had been with his dad, and he’d taken steps to mend the bridges. He wasn’t sure what his mother had thought about the whole thing, other than what Jenny had said about her being upset with their father after Joe had taken off. It sure would be weird seeing her again.

  “You ready now?”

  No sense putting it off. “Okay.” He glanced at the table next to the bed and saw a cup and pitcher. “Hey, wait. Is that water for me? Can I drink some?” He was so thirsty all of a sudden.

  Ed took his scattered thoughts in stride. “I’ll get you some.” He poured a cup and put in a straw before handing it to Joe.

  He emptied the cup quickly and handed it back with a sigh. “Man, that was good.”

  “Want more?”

  “I’m okay now. Thanks.”

  “I’ll be back in a few.” Then Ed left.

  Where was Jenny? Probably in t
he waiting room with the folks. He hoped she wasn’t worrying them with exaggerated tales of what had happened. Their mother didn’t need to worry about stuff needlessly. He closed his eyes again. No reason not to rest his eyes while waiting, right?

  He wasn’t sure if it was thirty seconds or five minutes before a hand on his shoulder brought him back to reasonable alertness. Stupid drugs. Guess it was better than hurting, though.

  He opened his eyes. “Mom?” Somehow he hadn’t expected her to have aged so much in eight years. Guess it was mostly all the new gray in her hair. That, and a few more lines on her face.

  She smiled. “I hardly recognize you either. You’re so grown up now.”

  He hadn’t changed, had he? Grown up? He’d been grown up when he left. He’d felt like it at the time, anyway. He looked at eighteen-year-olds now and thought of them as kids, so she might have a point.

  “I recognized you, Mom.” He didn’t want her to feel old. “I’m just drugged.”

  “Ed warned us you were pretty tired. Said you slept through it when the doctor came in to talk to you.”

  “I’ve been pretty out of it. Guess I’m getting moved to a room to spend the night, though. Ed said Dad would take care of the animals so he could stay, too.”

  His father’s voice came from behind, startling him. “Yeah, no problem. He explained where everything is stored.”

  He caught Dad’s eye. “Thanks.”

  “No big deal.”

  “Jenny’ll get you guys set up. She knows where stuff is. She’s awesome, Mom. We had to tell her to take it easy. I think she actually got a kick out of running the house for us.”

  “We’re pretty proud of her.”

  “She’s a good kid. You don’t need to worry about her.”

  “It’s what moms do, Joe. They worry about their kids.”

  “Well, don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

  “Maybe a little less now, but I’ll always be concerned about you.”

  “Don’t fret about this. Nothing’s seriously wrong. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

  “Ed told us what the doctor said.”

  “Okay.” He sighed and his mind wandered. “It’d be great if Jenny could visit again sometime. We liked having her around.”