*****
In the fifth floor waiting room the Travis and Rivers family waited in tearful silence. Misty and Judy comforted each other and Billy. Jake, Dempsey and Adam sat along one wall and worried their faces tired and haggard. They had been up for nearly twenty-four hours and were exhausted.
“Is he dead yet?” Billy asked, his face tear streaked and drawn with worried exhaustion.
“We haven’t heard,” Jake replied, thinking Billy must have dozed off for a while. “He’s still in surgery’s all we know. They said they’d let us know soon as they could; fer us to just be patient.”
“It’s been hours since you called, Jake! They should know something by now!” Judy said miserably, rocking the baby with nervous energy. The baby was sound asleep from what Jake could tell.
“We can guess that he’s still alive,” Adam said honestly, placing a huge hand on Billy’s head and neck comfortingly. “Since they ain’t said nothing to us at all.”
“I’m gonna kill Danny Floyd!” Billy declared seriously.
“He’ll never get out of jail again!” Jake stated matter of factly.
“Did he say why he did it?” Judy asked sadly.
“No,” Jake replied with a slow shake of his head. “Just laughed and claimed John had got his comeuppance!”
“He was jealous!” Billy declared angrily. “That’s why he did it! I’m not very smart, but I know that!”
Misty hugged Billy to her protectively when he began crying again. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him so upset.
“I don’t want him to die, Momma!” he declared miserably. “I love John!” he added, burying his face in her lap.
“We all do, Baby,” Misty said soothingly, brushing his head with a nervous hand, then kissed the top of his tangled head. “We just have to pray. God will do what He wants with John. We’ll just have to accept it, Honey,” she continued comfortingly, feeling her baby’s pain. She knew it was equal to her own, therefore heart and soul wrenching.
Misty looked around at the sad faces of the people she loved and knew her’s looked just as haggard. She loved them all the more because they were here with her and her daughter and son lending their support. She saw Adam’s huge hand on Billy’s head and placed her own on top of it. She smiled pitifully, thinking what a big, handsome man he was. She figured he may be a year or so older than her, making him near forty.
Judy hugged her baby to her breast, leaned over against Misty and was soon asleep. Adam saw she was about to let the baby slip from her hands so reached over and lifted lil Billy from her arms. He cradled the infant to his massive chest and began to hum a country ballad. He had a surprisingly nice voice for such a big man.
Misty saw the gentleness in the big hands and knew she could easily love him if given the chance. She closed her eyes and prayed for that to happen, along with the survival of her son-in-law. She realized how much she loved his honest simplicity and absolute purity from guile or deceit. God, she prayed, please let my boy live! He deserves it she added, then began to cry. The last thing she felt was a large, heavy hand come to rest gently on her shoulder, then she was asleep.
Just Beyond the Curve Page 26