Chapter 24
Laine
By four, it’s all over and everyone’s gone. Well, all except for Jack, Trish, and Phillip. But Trish has already told me her plan is to sleep all afternoon. I’m with her.
She and I are just picking up the last of the tissue paper scattered around the media room when Phillip presents us with a gift box. “Paisley helped me out with this,” he says as Jack comes in behind him.
Inside the gift is something like a Mizpah coin, but it’s a silver-dipped rock. I have half, and Trish has the other half. “They fit together,” I marvel.
“We had necklaces like this when we were younger,” Trish says.
“I still have mine!”
“So do I,” she says with a laugh. “This is so thoughtful.” She stands on her tiptoes, and she and Phillip share a very heated kiss. “Thank you.”
The beautiful golden rock dipped in silver is gorgeous and so special. I can’t believe Paisley made it. I’m a little overwhelmed by the very generous gift.
“This makes you quite the art collector,” Jack notes, and all I can do is nod.
Trish and I marvel over it until Phillip announces that he’s going upstairs.
Trish winks at me. “We still have dinner plans tonight, right?”
I nod.
They head upstairs, and I’m ready to follow. There’s nothing left to be done here, and I’m exhausted.
“You didn’t expect that did you?” Jack says.
I shake my head. “I really didn’t. What an amazing gift.”
“You two are just like those rocks,” he says. “Two parts of a whole.”
I nod. “We are truly sisters.”
He puts his arm around me. “I’m glad you always have her.”
I give him a half smile.
“What is it?”
“I really want this to work out for her and Phillip.” I turn my half of the rock over in my hands. “But I know her life is going to change dramatically pretty soon. I hope she still has time for me.”
“She will,” he assures me. “I can understand your fears, given your family, but having a new relationship doesn’t mean you lose the others. She made sure you were here this weekend, didn’t she?”
I guess that’s true. I hate the way my insecurities can flare up. I smile and give him a nod.
Jack leads me back upstairs. “Are you going to rest down here or in my room?”
“I do need to get some sleep.” My eyelids are so heavy.
“I will do my best to keep my hands to myself. I promise.” He grins as I look at him. “I need sleep too, but we have all night tonight after dinner, and we can sleep in tomorrow.”
When I nod again, he pulls me close and we continue upstairs to his bed and the gorgeous view of the lake. When I collapse, he spoons in behind me, and before I can process another thought, I’m asleep.
After a dreamless nap, Jack and I did manage to drag ourselves out to meet Trish and Phillip for dinner on the waterfront, and after, we sat around the outdoor firepit before we turned in for the night. And though he’d promised me a good night’s sleep, Jack seems to want to make up for the time we’ve been apart. He’s nearly insatiable, and we spent much more of last night awake than getting any sort of rest.
Therefore, when our plane lands back in Vancouver just before lunch on Monday, I’m still looking forward to getting more rest. After a round of hugs, Trish and Phillip disappear almost immediately, and Jack loads our luggage into his car.
“I’d like to stop by the hospital and check on Abdo,” he says as he pulls out of the airport parking lot onto Marine Drive. “Cordelia left me a message saying he’s developed a low-grade fever, so I want to check on his bandages. Would you like to come with me, or should I drop you at my place first?”
Only Abdo could keep me from my bed at this point. “I don’t mind stopping to see him, and I can get myself home from there. That way you don’t have to worry about rushing out of the hospital. Is this something that could be serious?”
His brow furrows. “I’m not sure. Hopefully not. Kids get fevers for lots of reasons, and burns like his can be tough to heal, but I need to find out. It shouldn’t take too long, though. You’re not going to stay with me?”
In our previous time together, we’d gotten to the point that we were together most nights. But I’m not ready for that just yet. “I think I’ll stay at my place tonight. We can catch up maybe tomorrow or later this week.”
His face contorts. “You don’t want me to stay with you?”
I look out the window at the car sitting next to us at the stoplight. “I think we should take this slowly,” I tell him. “I want to do it right this time.”
“Will you go to Henry and Allison’s wedding with me?”
“I’d like to if you don’t already have plans.”
“I have not made any plans that don’t include you.” He grips the steering wheel tightly. “I was hoping we could just get back to normal.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but try to remember that what we had before ended really badly for me. So, in many ways, I don’t want to go back to that. That’s what I keep telling you. I know we can be happy, and we’re committed to working on this together, but it’s going to take some time.”
He gives me a curt nod. “Okay. I won’t push. But I would love it if you’d go with me to Henry and Allison’s wedding next weekend.”
I nod. “I would be happy to. Thank you.”
He pulls into his spot at the hospital. “Do you want to put your things in my office?”
“Or I can leave them with Natalia to put in your office,” I offer.
He nods without looking at me. “That works.”
He’s all stiff and upset right now, but what did he think? We can’t just drop back into things without talking them through. And even if we’re getting it sorted out now, there’s still fallout from the way he handled things before. My worry doesn’t just go away.
After dropping off my things and getting a hug from Natalia, we continue down the hall and into the children’s ICU. Abdo beams when he sees us. He should be resting on his stomach, but instead, he’s got the bed up, and he’s watching videos.
I open my arms, and he gives me a tight hug. “I miss you.”
“We missed you too,” I say. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” He nods as Jack inspects all his bandages.
He looks a little gaunt, but maybe I’m imagining it.
“Do you want to play a game?” I ask when Jack moves on to reviewing Abdo’s chart.
He nods. I place the stack of board games on his tray. “Which one?”
“Sorry.” He points to it, and I return the other games while he sets it up. “You be yellow like sunshine.”
“Only if you’ll be blue like the sky.”
He smiles.
Jack excuses himself for a moment, and Abdo and I get started. He kills me in the first game. I’d kind of like to tap out and give Jack a turn, but he hasn’t come back. I’m wondering if that’s cause for concern.
Abdo sets up the board again, and we’ve just begun a second game when Jack comes back in with Cordelia Johns, Abdo’s pediatrician. They look concerned. Behind them, Faheen Bior steps into the room.
Abdo’s face lights up. “All of my favorite people.”
Jack turns to Faheen. “Thank you for coming. We want you to be part of making medical decisions.”
Faheen smiles. “I’m here to help. “
“Abdo,” Cordelia says. “How are you feeling?”
Faheen translates.
“I’m feeling good,” he says proudly in English.
“You’ve had a fever since yesterday,” Cordelia presses. “Do any of your sores hurt?”
My heart flutters. This is not what I heard when Jack said he had a slight fever. This is not good. It sounds like an infection. Now, I see why so many people are here.
Abdo looks at Faheen, his eyes wide. He understood her.
Faheen translates.
Abdo responds in Sudanese Arabic, and they go back and forth a few times.
I watch as tears fill Abdo’s eyes.
“What’s he saying?” I ask.
“He doesn’t want to be in trouble,” Faheen says.
Cordelia reaches for Abdo’s hand. “You won’t be in trouble. But the fever may mean you have an infection, and we need to treat it before it hurts more.”
Abdo wraps his arms around my neck. He’s shaking.
“Don’t be scared,” I assure him. “We’re all here to help you.”
“Abdo,” Jack says. “Can I look at your burns?”
Abdo releases me and rolls over on his stomach. Jack peels back the bandages, and as he carefully probes the grafts, the rotten smell of infection hits me. I want to run right out of here, but instead, I keep my face neutral and continue holding Abdo’s hand.
Jacks turns to Faheen. “Can we talk outside?”
He nods.
As they leave, Cordelia sits down close to Abdo. “Abdo, you did nothing wrong. This happens sometimes. Germs can hide under the new skin we’ve applied. But we’ve caught it nice and early. We’re going to put some medicine in your arm. It’s going to make you sleepy, but that’s okay. We’re going to make you all better.”
Abdo nods as the tears leak down his precious little face. My heart hurts for him. He’s suffered so much. “I’ll be here,” I assure him.
Cordelia rubs his arm and then stands and types into her computer.
Jack and Faheen return, and Jack nods to Cordelia as she steps out.
I try to keep my face neutral, but I feel terrible that we spent the weekend at Henry and Allison’s party. If we’d been here, could we have noticed he wasn’t feeling well?
“Don’t,” Jack warns softly.
I give him a questioning look.
“I know what you’re thinking. But even if we were here, we wouldn’t have known. This develops quickly, and it just happens sometimes.”
One of the nurses comes in and puts two syringes of clear liquid into Abdo’s IV. He looks over at me, and I smile. “I’ll be here.”
He settles back into the pillows behind him, and in minutes, he drifts off to sleep.
“Faheen, Abdo is going to be prepped for surgery. It shouldn’t take too long, and we’re in good shape. I probably won’t bring him out of sedation until morning. I want to be sure we’ve cleaned everything out and his fever is down.”
Faheen nods. “May I stay with him tonight?”
“Of course.” Jack gives him a sympathetic smile. “I think that would mean much to him.”
Faheen reaches for my hand and Jack’s. “Thank you so much for Abdo and for all you’ve done for our family. We’re so lucky to have you.”
I swipe at the tears on my cheeks.
Faheen goes with Abdo, and I stand in his now-empty little room in the ICU. Jack puts his arm around me. “He’s going to be fine. I’m going to clean the wound, but we’ve caught it before it could become an issue.”
I nod. “Okay, good. Thank you. I’m so glad.”
We walk out, and Jack puts his arms around me. “You can stay at my place tonight. I’ll be home in a few hours.”
I shake my head. “I’m wishing you all the best. And I’ll be back in the morning.”
Jack nods. “Okay. Don’t come before ten.”
I nod and give his hands a squeeze. “Take good care of him. It’s my turn to win at Sorry.”