Chapter 30
30
T he drive to the hospital made Sean a nervous wreck. It was the first time he'd been behind the wheel since their accident. Every time a car came close, he stiffened up and immediately regretted it as his sore muscles screamed. And it wasn't his vehicle. Plus, he still felt responsible for the accident, and he knew Gloria was nervous, too.
"On the way home, I'll take a different route, maybe one less busy. We'll figure out a way to get around where we need to go without having to take this narrow road."
She turned to him, a small smile on her face. "We have to get used to living life again, Sean. It's sweet that you're concerned about me, but please don't be. And I understand that you probably have some aftereffects, PTSD, or whatever. But let's do our best to just go back to being normal."
He lightly shrugged. "Alright, well, whatever normal is, I guess we can try that. It does make me nervous though, being on this road."
She nodded. "It makes me nervous, too. But I want to see Mina, and I'm hoping she's better having had the rest this afternoon."
They arrived at the hospital, went up in the bank of elevators. They quietly entered Mina's room and his heart felt like it grew. Mina had her eyes open. She was reclining slightly in bed. And when she saw them walk in, her smile was unforgettable.
Gloria rushed, as much as she could, to Mina's bedside, and took her hand. "Oh, honey, I'm so happy to see you up. Your eyes are open."
She hugged Mina, and Mina wrapped her arms slowly around her mom. Sean swallowed as he approached the bed. He leaned down and hugged Mina. "I'm so glad you're good, baby girl. I'm so glad to see you awake. You had us worried."
He stepped back and looked over at Gloria, who beamed at their daughter. Mina's color was coming back, and she was looking healthier.
She said, "They're going to take the IV out in a few minutes and then I have to go through a neurological exam to make sure everything is as it should be in this head of mine."
He grinned. "Well, do what they say, and what they need you to do, so you can get out sooner rather than later."
"I will, Dad." His grin turned into a smile when she called him dad again.
She turned to her mom. "What's the fallout?"
Gloria closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. She glanced quickly at him and he shrugged. Gloria sighed. "To be honest with you, we haven't really been paying attention. I'm trying not to overthink it. We went to Sean's house and had lunch, and then we took a nap and came back here. So I haven't spent any time looking at the Internet. The last time I looked, it wasn't flattering."
Mina frowned and slowly nodded her head. "Okay, well, we'll need to speak with our attorneys as soon as I can get out of here."
Gloria nodded. "We're already on it. Brody was here. Do you remember seeing him?"
Mina slowly moved her head back and forth. "No."
Gloria nodded. "Well, Brody was here. He said to tell you he loves you and he's taking care of a few things. He called the network executive. Talked things through. He thinks that everything is going to be fine unless the board at the network is insistent on removing me. We'll cross that bridge when we have to. Sean's got his people working on some damage control and Brody had the video statement of the three of us edited, and I sent it over to our attorneys. As soon as I hear back from them, we're going to release it. Are you up to watching it? I can show you on my phone."
Mina swallowed. "I'd like to... I'd like to watch it, but I'm just going to admit right now that having to stare at a screen....I don't think it's good right now."
Gloria nodded. "I understand. It's one of the reasons I've stayed off social media. I mean, besides the obvious. I was going to give my eyes a couple days to settle in before I start looking at a computer screen or a phone screen."
Mina took a deep breath and let it out. She turned her eyes to him. "How about you? How are you?"
"I'm all right. I think I came out the best of the three of us, and for that I'm sorry. I think hanging onto the steering wheel like I did made a difference. I'm a little sore, just a little bruised where the seat belt was and muscle aches and pains, but I'm fine. You and your mom took the brunt of it. You more than her."
Mina turned and looked at her mom. "I'm sorry. I didn't even ask you how you are. How are you?" Gloria smiled. "I'm fine. I'm sore. I'm bruised. I spent the night here last night, mostly for observation. They gave me a sedative so that I could get some rest, and then they discharged me this morning."
"Oh, Mom, I had no idea you had to spend the night here. Are you all right now?"
"Yeah, other than being a little sore, I'll tell you, taking a shower sure made a difference this afternoon. Other than that, I'm just giving my eyes a rest and I'm trying not to focus on the Internet too much, so I don't freak myself out."
Mina grabbed Gloria's hand and squeezed. She stared into her mom's eyes, and said, "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
She looked at him then. "How are you feeling about all of this, Dad? We haven't had that conversation. We didn't get to have our chat."
He nodded and looked into her eyes. He said, "Mina, we will have that conversation when you are up to it. Right now, I'm fine. Just fine. I just want you both healthy. I'm not going to lie. I'm so happy to see your mom again, and I'm mad at the same time. And every time I touch her hand or put my arm around her, both of those feelings war inside of me. So my immediate thought was to get us a family psychologist to discuss all of this and to work through it. I think we're all going to need a little assistance. But mostly what I know is we are a family. And whether your mom and I can make things work for ourselves in the future or not, we still share you. And I will always be in your life from this point forward. Always."
He watched as Mina's eyes watered and a tear slipped down her cheek. He reached forward and brushed it away with his thumb. "We're going to be okay. We'll figure it out."
Mina smiled. "I think I heard you tell me you're going to take me to Harry Potter World."