by Jeff Adams
In bed, covered by a blanket, Greta looked small and fragile—far from the vibrant woman I’d met. Her face showed signs of the airbag impact with some bruises.
“I can let you have five minutes.” She left me before I could even say thank you.
I stood at the foot of the bed, deciding if I should move closer.
Finally, I moved next to her. I debated touching her, maybe on her shoulder since I couldn’t see her hands.
That seemed too familiar.
Instead, I just spoke quietly. “Hi, Greta. It’s Austin. Kyle introduced us.” That sounded ridiculous. “He’ll be here soon.”
She didn’t react, but hopefully she heard.
My phone vibrated. Did Kyle somehow know I was back here?
I glanced at the message on the lock screen. I just got in the car so I’ll be there soon.
“Very soon,” I said and smiled to myself.
I left her side to talk with Nurse Montgomery. “I just heard from Kyle. He’s in a car on the way, should be about thirty minutes.”
“Perfect. I’ll let the doctor know so that he can stop by close to that time and give him the complete update.”
“I know he’ll appreciate that. Thank you.”
She went back to her computer screen, and I went back to the waiting room.
I texted Kyle to let him know that his Mom was back from recovery and that they’d be ready to give him a full update.
Great. Thanks.
I studied the reply for longer than I should’ve. I’d hoped for a “see you soon” or something to that effect.
Thirty-One
Kyle
As soon as the elevator door opened, I saw Austin. He sat hunched over his laptop and looked as rumpled as I felt—his hair was askew, and he wore jeans and a sweatshirt.
The ding of the elevator got his attention. Our eyes locked and he stood.
Wheeling my bag behind me, I went to him, and as soon as we were close enough, he pulled me into an embrace. I needed the hug, but I’d expected to have to initiate it. But he grabbed me, stepped in, and gave me the tight, comforting touch I needed.
The small bit of resolve I’d held on to crumbed, and I cried. He held tight, a rock keeping me upright and stable as I unleashed all the pent-up emotions I’d carried since I’d seen him last.
I missed this—feeling him, being near him. All of it.
And I’d walked away from it.
“Kyle, the nurse is here,” Austin said as he patted me on the back.
I worked to quickly compose myself before I let him go. He gave me an extra squeeze across my lower back before he let me step back and turn.
“Nurse Montgomery, this is Kyle,”
The kindness in her eyes reminded me of Mom, and it almost triggered another emotional outburst. I took a couple of deep breaths to hold that back.
“I’m sorry to be meeting you under these circumstances. The good news is your mom is resting comfortably, and the surgery was successful. The doctor will be here in a few minutes to tell you more. I can take you back to see her if you’d like.”
“Yes, please. Thank you.” I turned back to Austin. “Thank you for being here. Helping me to get here.”
He nodded, but I couldn’t fully read his expression. Was he as confused as I was by all this?
“I should…” So many responses collided in my head, I couldn’t pick one fast enough.
“You need get back there.” Austin’s tone was solemn, and he looked down at the floor for a brief moment. “I’ve got an early meeting with Tamara, so I’m going to head home and get showered.”
I nodded, appreciating he laid out a plan. It’d be great if he’d stay here, but I couldn’t ask that after all he’d already done.
“If you need anything, call. Okay?”
All I managed was a nod before I gave him another quick hug. “Thank you so much.”
I almost told him I loved him, but he probably didn’t want to hear that, and more importantly this wasn’t the time.
“Anytime,” he said.
We released each other, and I went to the nurse with my luggage in tow. Before I went through the doors, I stole one look back to find Austin’s gaze still on me. Thankfully, the door closed automatically so I couldn’t just run back to the safety of his embrace.
I didn’t have much experience with hospitals. I’d been to the emergency room three times as a kid because of a broken arm and two sprained ankles. For those, I was in and out in a few hours. I’d been next to Mom’s bed for what felt like an entirety.
Nothing changed. She laid there looking peaceful. Machines around her beeped. The bruises on her face made it look like she’d been in a fight. I’d never seen her looking this broken.
Sitting next to her—my hand on top of hers so she could know I’m here—I was a mess, replaying the moments with Austin I’d had. That last look… did he want to say something? Should I have spilled out an apology? I’m sure I handled the whole thing wrong as I had the other night. Other than G, I hadn’t told anyone what had happened. I couldn’t face telling either Bobby or Mom. Besides, I already knew what they’d tell me.
Mom’s hand flexed under mine—at least I think it did.
“Mom? I’m here. Bobby’s on the way too.”
Another flex. No mistake this time.
“Shouldn’t you…” Her eyes fluttered open, and it looked like she was trying to focus on the room. Her hand tightened into a vice.
“Mom?” She turned to my voice. Her eyes still didn’t seem to fully focus, but her mouth curved into a very slight smile. “Hey, Mom. It’s so good to see you awake.”
“Kyle?” Her voice sounded rough, dry, and raspy. “I’m so sorry.”
“You got nothing to be sorry about. Everything is gonna be okay.”
“I have not…” She tried to clear her throat. “Water? Can I? Is there some?”
I didn’t see any, and I was sure I couldn’t give her the coffee I had with me. I probably needed permission to give her anything and let them know she was awake.
I clicked the call button that lay on the bed next to her hand.
“Yes? May I help you?” Nurse Montgomery’s voice came back.
“Hi. Yes. My mom is waking up. She’s asking for water.”
“That’s great.” She sounded very pleased. I’d liked the nurse from the moment I’d met her. She had a cool, calm demeanor even with all the critical patients around her. “I’ll be right there after I call the doctor.”
“I hope she brings water,” Mom sputtered out. “Is it still Wednesday?”
“No. It’s Thursday morning.”
“How are you here? You had a game. What about practice today?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as she tried to admonish me, which came out weird with her dry voice. “I’m here because somebody decided to ram into your car last night.”
Nurse Montgomery and Doctor Snow came in. The nurse had water and went to the opposite side of the bed, and mom turned to her to get to the straw.
“Mrs. Pressgrove, it’s good to see you awake. Kyle, can you please step out for a moment while we do some examinations? You can wait by the nurse’s station because this won’t take long. Then we can talk about the test results I got a few minutes ago.”
“Of course.”
I leaned against the nurse’s station, letting it hold me up. Relief rushed through me. Mixed with the extreme tired, it verged on more than I could deal with.
“Are you okay?”
I turned and found another of the nurses looking at me. “Yes. Sorry. Just wiped out by it all, you know.”
“I understand.” He had a kind smile—I imagined all nurses had that—as he got up from his chair and took a tablet into one of the other patient areas.
I pulled out my phone and texted Bobby to give me something to do. I couldn’t fall apart when Mom needed me, so it all needed to stay bottled up.
She’s awake! And already giving me grief because I’m missin
g practice. The doc is with her now. I’ll let you know when I know more.
He’d be in flight or near it, so I didn’t expect an immediate reply for him.
My finger hovered over Austin’s name as I debated whether to call or text.
I clicked call.
It went directly to voicemail. “You’ve reached Austin Murray. I can’t take your call right now. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
“Hi. Wanted to let you know Mom’s awake, and the doctor is with her. I thought you’d like to know.” What should I say? Too much silence here would be weird. “Thank you for your help last night. I hope your meetings are going okay.”
I disconnected so I wouldn’t leave more awkward dead air.
Before I pocketed my phone, it lit up with texts. My Arsenal teammates had just heard the news and all kinds of well wishes and offers of help rolled in. As I read, a call from Kennedy came in.
“Hey, KP.” Kennedy’s concerned voice sounded loud and clear. “We got the news this morning about Greta. Is she okay? Are you on the way? How can we help?”
Wow. These guys. Right there to help. I blinked back tears.
“I got here a few hours ago, and she’s just woken up. She’s banged up, but the prognosis is good.”
“That’s good, man. We’re all thinking about her. If you need anything, let us know. I’ll call Adriana in a second and let her know. I’m sure she’d be okay if you called her too.”
“I appreciate that.” My voice wavered but didn’t crack.
This team always rallied. Anytime a player or a player’s family went through something, they didn’t do it alone.
Nurse Montgomery appeared at my side, and I took the phone from my ear. “Doctor Snow is ready to give an update as soon as you’re done.”
“Sorry, Kennedy. The doc’s ready. I need to go.”
“Got it. We’re getting on a plane in a few minutes, but you can text me.”
“Thanks again. And thank the guys for me too. You all almost blew up my phone with all the messages, and I appreciate that. Talk to you later.”
I entered Mom’s space, braced—or trying to be—for whatever the doctor had to say. Mom looked tired but more alert now. I went to the bedside and kissed her forehead before I turned my attention to the doctor.
“Things are looking quite good. The fact that she’s awake and becoming more alert is very encouraging. We’re going to send her for a new MRI, and I expect to see improvements. We’ll continue to monitor for any concussion symptoms. We had to repair some internal bleeding in the abdomen. That will keep her in the hospital for two or three days more. As she heals, she’ll probably need help for a time even once she’s back home. Of course, things can change. I want to caution about that. But right now, everything is looking good for a fairly rapid recovery.”
“Thank God.” I looked down to her. “I had no idea when I moved you’d go to such elaborate measures to get me to come home.”
“Just one of the tricks in the Mom Handbook.” She rolled her eyes at me. Her humor returning in full force told me even more than what the doctor said.
“I’ll check back when I’ve got the new test results. The team here can reach me anytime if needed. If the next twenty-four hours go well, we’ll move to a private room on a general floor. For now, just rest.”
“Thank you, doctor,” she said as she and the nurse left.
I sat in the chair, relieved but not fully relaxed.
“I hate that you came all the way up here, but thank you.”
“Like I would do anything else. You’re important. Besides, you were always with me when I broke something.”
“You never did it in such a spectacular fashion as I just did.”
We shared a smile, and I shook my head. “Well, I don’t know that any of us needed this drama, so maybe don’t do it again.”
This crisis seemed mostly passed. Once Bobby got here, we’d figure out the plan for making sure she had help until the doc said she was fully recovered.
Meanwhile, her busy life kicked in as she gave me a list of things to do and people to call to let them know what had happened. I was glad she felt good enough to ask for such things, and I’d happily do everything she listed.
Thirty-Two
Austin
Barely controlled chaos.
That summed up the day.
Helping Kyle and Greta turned into the only good thing that occurred.
Atlas had made their demands this morning—the only way for AMDD to not be sued was to fire Tamara, Max, and me. Knowing this before the board meeting allowed us to make a plan. I had no problem sacrificing myself and we couldn’t make a case strong enough to save Max. We did plead that Tamara should stay because to terminate the leads of both the technical and business sides would doom the company.
I convinced Tamara that I was the better one to go. We had enough to talent to carry on the design and tech. Atlas agreed so the board and Tamara voted yes to the changes.
My tenure was done—effective immediately.
For better or worse on my way home, I decided to return to the hospital. When I tried to return Kyle’s call, it went to voicemail. I couldn’t be sure if he ignored me, couldn’t get a signal where he was, if something else had happened, or maybe he was getting needed sleep.
At the ICU desk, I asked if I could see Greta, and the guy there got up to see if she’d see me. After a moment, Bobby came out of Greta’s space. He exited through the security doors and offered a handshake as he reached me.
“Hi, Austin. Thanks for getting Kyle here so quickly.” He looked and sounded exhausted.
“I’m glad I could help. How’s Greta? I’d heard that she woke up.”
He nodded and directed us away from the doors but not fully into the waiting room. “Things look pretty good. She’s mostly sleeping. When she’s awake, she’s frustrated that she’s stuck in bed and brought us all here.” He chuckled and I smiled. I liked that he could laugh a little. “I managed to send Kyle home. I got here about an hour ago, and he was dead on his feet. Looks like you could use some rest too? I heard you were here for a while.”
“It’s been…” I sighed. “A day.”
“You want to grab a cup of coffee? I could use some, and Mom’s dozed off again.”
I wasn’t sure how this would go, but my curiosity was piqued. Bobby asked me to stay put while he went back to the desk to tell them how to reach him if needed.
“Luckily, the gift shop has a Starbucks in it.”
“Sadly, that was closed last night. You’d think they’d be able to make better coffee from a vending machine, but that wasn’t the case in the E.R. or up here.”
Maybe that could be my new career—good vending coffee.
“Well, we owe you at least one coffee, so I can start to make good on that.” He smiled. He didn’t seem anything other than tired.
We walked in silence, and the guy seemed pretty chill. Bobby was a therapist, so he probably didn’t come out yelling at people even if he was pissed off.
After we got the coffee, we found an open table.
“Kyle hasn’t mentioned you two since he moved. I know the relocation hasn’t been easy on him, but are you two okay?”
My mouth dropped open before I could catch it. Kyle hadn’t told Bobby what happened? I’d thought he was an open book with his family.
I couldn’t school my body language fast enough as I slumped back in the chair and let out a sigh.
He wasted no time diving in. I guessed the small talk happened back in the waiting room. “I’ve never seen him happier than when things were going right between you two. He holds very tight to the words that got dropped into his head—for better or worse—by some of our extended family. Mom and I have tried for years, but can’t quite get him to let go. You can imagine that what happened last night hits a lot of his worst fears.”
I nodded and repositioned myself to sit forward at the table. To give my hands so
mething to do, I wrapped them around the coffee cup. “Yeah, he told me about that. It’s one of the reasons I jumped to help.” I tried to meet Bobby’s gaze and not drift somewhere that would be easier. “I know how hard it was for him when he couldn’t get here for the presentation he was supposed to do too. I shouldn’t have let him withdraw after that, but… I’m way out of my comfort zone with relationship stuff.”
“Can I offer some unsolicited advice?”
“Please.” If anyone knew how to possibly fix what I’d done to Kyle, Bobby would. The business was fucked but maybe I could find a way to keep Kyle in my life. “Make him hear you. He can be very stubborn when it comes to beating himself up, so you’ll have to be forceful to make him understand that he’s being, frankly, a dumbass.”
He chuckled at the word, and that brought a slight smile to my lips. It was the funniest thing I’d heard all day, and I imagined this was a long-running term between brothers.
I looked into my coffee and took a sip as I considered.
Maybe this could be saved.
I ran my hand through my hair. Stress, anger, and sadness combined in the center of my chest. I thought I might simply fly apart.
“I think we could really make something amazing between us. The love and calm I get from him is incredible. I think I give some of that back to him. I need to figure out my next move with him and, well, everything.”
“Should I ask? You said it’d been a day.”
“I’m not sure you should be burdened…” I paused a minute and then blurted everything out. “I lost my company today. Some things happened. Now that I don’t have a job, I can re-evaluate a lot of stuff.”