Chapter 16
16
L ucas found his breath again when Maria, who worked the night shift in the ER, greeted them in the emergency room lobby. Maria pulled Joan in for a hug, and Joan sagged against her.
Joan’s mother, Beverly, rushed into the lobby, her entire frame trembling with adrenaline.
“They’re going to be okay,” Beverly said. “Your father’s in surgery, and Ben’s admitted upstairs. They’ve got his leg immobilized now, but they won’t have to operate.”
Joan loosed a shaky exhale, and Lucas put his arm around her.
“Can I see Ben?”
“Christine and Wyatt are already up there.” Beverly pointed at the ceiling. "I’m sure he’d love to see you, too.”
Maria still stood at the perimeter of their group. She stepped forward to lay a hand on Joan’s arm. “You want me to walk with you?”
Joan nodded. “I’ve always been terrible at wayfinding in this place.”
They took the elevators to the unit where Ben was admitted. Maria helped them find Ben’s room. Lucas stood off to the side while Maria and Joan murmured to each other, then nodded to Maria when she squeezed his forearm as she walked by. She tended toward a more quiet nature, but her level headedness made her a steady rock when the situation warranted it.
Ben looked a little drowsy when they strolled into his room. Stubble lined his pale face and his long eyelashes drooped. When he spotted Joan, his lips tilted up in what might not be a smile on other people, but definitely qualified for him. Joan crouched beside him to give him a careful embrace. As far as Lucas knew, he only ever uttered a few words here and there, but he whispered a few sounds in Joan’s direction and twitched a hand in front of his face, bending each finger one by one. His movements read as excitement at seeing his sister, though Lucas wasn’t sure he interpreted him correctly.
Christine and Wyatt sat in chairs along the wall in the cramped hospital room. Christine’s hair, a darker shade than Joan’s, hung in limp waves around her face. Wyatt’s brown curls also looked like they’d seen fresher days, and his long leg bounced up and down in front of him. The pair rose to greet Lucas, who offered a brief nod.
“How’s it going?” Lucas asked. “And how are y’all?”
“The phone call from mom scared the shit out of me.” Wyatt rocked back on his heels. “It seems like they’re going to be alright, though.” He smiled, as though allowing himself a slight moment of happiness amidst the stress. “But I’m actually good, present circumstances notwithstanding. Jenny and I are back together.”
“Hey, man. That’s great.” Lucas clapped him on the shoulder. “And you, Christine?”
“Exhausted, but Ben seems to be doing okay, so we’re all happy about that.” Christine aimed a weary smile at Lucas. It struck him how much her smile looked like Joan’s, though they didn’t otherwise favor each other.
Joan joined their huddle. “Does he seem like he’s been hurting?” She peeked at Ben, who thumbed through his favorite paperback, a worn copy of a baby name book, of all things.
Wyatt shook his head and motioned them further away from Ben’s hearing, so they all moved next to the doorway. “He hasn’t been up moving around, of course, but I don’t see him flinching or making more noise than usual. He’s probably going to be non weight bearing, if we can get him to comply with that.” He grimaced. “That’s going to be tough, I think. Speaking of which,” he said, “Mom and Dad are going to need a little help. I’m sure they can both get some sick leave or short-term disability, but Mom’s going to have to wait on both of them, which will be difficult for her.”
Lucas tensed. He knew how this would go.
“I can do as much as I can, but I’ve got the twins, and Jenny and I just reconciled. I might be limited more to weekends.”
Christine studied her nail beds. “I can definitely take them some meals and stuff. I can also help with follow-up appointments.” She tipped her head up. “It might be more labor hours than that, though. I’ve got this new job, and I’ve been working long hours.”
Wyatt faced Joan with an imploring look. “Joan–”
“Wait just a minute,” Lucas said. They all stared at him in surprise. People saw him as affable and easy-going, but the pressure inside him intensified as he listened to Joan’s siblings. “I know what’s going to happen here. Joan is going to bear the brunt of this for the next couple of months, and no one is going to thank her for it.”
Christine’s face crumpled. She’d probably never seen him angry.
“Now hold up, man,” Wyatt said. He raised a placating hand. “Of course we appreciate Joan. She’s amazing. I would never take advantage of her.”
Lucas crossed his arms over his thick chest. Joan stared at him in wonder.
“I thought she liked that sort of thing,” Christine said quietly. Her voice cracked on the last word. “Honest. She’s always spoken her mind with us. I figured she would tell us if she was stretched too thin.”
“I mean, I am a nurse,” Joan said, her voice small and pained. “I don’t mind caregiving. But I think everyone expects more from me.” Her mouth snapped shut, like she couldn’t believe she dared to say even that much.
Wyatt’s jaw dropped open. “I swear we didn’t mean to do that to you.” He blew out a slow, exhausted breath. “I’ll come up with a schedule,” he said. “We can all look at it to make sure it’s fair. Or better yet, maybe Mom and Dad can hire someone. It’s possible Mom’s already planning to do that anyway.”
“I don’t even need it to be tit for tat.” Joan glanced at Ben again. “I like spending time with Ben and Dad. Like Lucas said, a thank you is perfect.”
“Jesus, Joan,” Wyatt said, laying a hand over his heart. “We are extremely grateful for you. I can’t believe we’ve given you the impression that we aren’t.” His face lit. “Jenny said she talked to you again, and somehow something you said convinced her to move back in. You’re the family glue, you know?”
Christine nodded as she wrapped an arm around Joan. “Yes,” she said. “We love you, Jo. Even though you talk too much.”
“You all talk too much,” Lucas said. Joan reached over to squeeze his hand and offered him a tentative smile.
“Thanks,” she whispered. She tugged him aside. “Now do nurse Celeste.”
She pulled a chair up by Ben, who touched Joan’s hand when she rested it next to him. They dedicated extra time to him before heading to the surgery waiting room for updates on her father, eventually drifting off to sleep while sitting in stiff hospital chairs. Lucas woke up with a sharp, shooting pain in his neck. She didn’t send him away, though, and he would have spent his whole week there if she asked him.
Their friendship often felt like a dam holding back all the painful things that could otherwise sink them. They found safety together, tethering themselves to one another. He needed her like he needed the roof on his house. Sometimes you found another human like that, someone who made every hard thing easier.
He thought of his job opportunity again. If he decided to go, he couldn’t dash over to the hospital if Joan called for him, or hang out with her family on random Sunday nights. For that matter, his own family obligations might pull on him, and he enjoyed being close to his pack. Despite the problems arising from his usual tendency to put off troublesome choices, he thought it right to wait a little longer before he committed one way or the other. He would be there for Joan.