Chapter 26. The Best Superpower Is the Ability to Sleep Anywhere
The Best Superpower Is the Ability to Sleep Anywhere
The next few hours were the worst, the slowest, and the most excruciating time of my entire life.
Everything that happened after Opa collapsed was a blur, and I only vaguely remembered the paramedics bundling my grandfather into the ambulance, followed by Rob and Alec ushering me into my car as Rob took the keys from my shaking hand.
He drove to the emergency department in record time, probably breaking every speed limit to get there as quickly as possible.
The ER doctors immediately wheeled my grandfather away for assessment, while I rattled off his details and medical history to the nurse. That was over two hours ago, but every time I went up to the nurses’ station to check, the answer was always the same: They had nothing to tell me yet.
“Latte, one sugar.” Rob handed me a paper cup, then sat next to me. “Got that off the vending machine, so I can’t vouch for its quality.” He sipped his own coffee and grimaced. “Oof. Drink at your own risk.”
“Thanks.” I blew on the liquid, but my attention was fixed on the nurses’ station.
“You look exhausted. I can wait here if you want to go home and get some sleep. I’ll call you if I hear anything.”
“No.” My eyes widened. “You should go home. You should have left with Ellie and Alec an hour ago. Take my car. I can call an—”
“Kim.” He cut me off. “I’m staying. Are you hungry? Do you want me to find you something to eat?”
“I don’t think my stomach can handle anything right now.”
“You didn’t have much to eat earlier, did you? Every time I saw you, you were either talking to someone, or getting something for your grandfather, or replenishing the drinks, or doing some other stuff.”
“I was?” Was he watching me the entire night?
“You were. I think there’s a twenty-four-hour McDonald’s nearby, or”—his eyes narrowed at the snacks vending machine at the opposite end of the waiting room—“maybe we can find things in there that tickle your fancy?”
“I’m fine.” I glanced at the nurses’ station again, as if doing that every two minutes would make them tell me about Opa’s condition quicker. “You really should go home. I’ll be okay by myself.”
“No way. You think I’m going to miss out on horrible hospital coffee and stale vending machine chocolates? We’re going to have another party, right here, right now.”
“I think I’m all partied out.” I squinted at the clock on the wall. It was almost one in the morning. What was taking the doctors so long?
“Fine, party pooper.” He shrugged. “I’ll still stay and keep you company. I’ve got nothing else better to do anyway.”
“Uh, you do. Ever heard of this thing called sleep?”
“I can sleep anywhere, in any position. It’s my superpower.
” He slouched in his seat and folded his hand across his chest. “I can sleep like this.” Then he propped his chin on his hand.
“Or like this.” Then he lay down on the empty seats next to him.
“And like this.” He made a move to get up and down to the ground.
“I can even sleep on the cold, hard floor.”
“Seriously?” My hand shot out to stop him. “With all the germs down there?”
He grinned. “I’ll just douse myself with disinfectant when I get home.”
I smiled, knowing that he was trying to cheer me up. “Thanks for being here. I really appreciate it.”
“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
My heart stuttered. He shouldn’t be saying things like that, and I shouldn’t be liking it. I was perfectly fine to stay here on my own, but knowing he was around for support was somehow reassuring.
“How did it go with Lucy? Was it good to see her again?”
“A bit awkward, but better than I thought. Who would have guessed she’s your grandfather’s doctor?”
“It’s wild,” I agreed. “Maybe seeing her again is a sign.” I should keep my mouth shut, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “For you two to give it another try.”
“That’s not really important right now, is it?” He gave me a look. “We’ve got more urgent things to think about.”
But somehow, it was important. Because if he was going to work things out with her, maybe it was exactly what I needed to hear. Because that would get me off the illusion that something could happen between us.
“You wanted me to come along to the weddings because you didn’t want to show up alone in front of her,” I insisted. “That means she’s still important to you.”
“No.” He shook his head, very slowly. “I mean, she used to be, but she isn’t anymore.
And seeing her tonight confirmed that.” He blew out a long breath.
“I think … she used to tick all my boxes, and I was probably more in love with the idea of settling down with someone like her, instead of actually being in love with her. But she’s the past, and it’s time to move on.
” His gaze lingered on me before he shifted his attention to the coffee in his hand.
My heart thundered a little harder, because did he mean what I thought he meant?
Was he implying that he’d moved on from Lucy … with me?
Or was I being delusional?
Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and it was a message from my dad. I’d texted him on the way to the ER, thinking that he would want to know that his father wasn’t well.
OK. Keep me posted on his condition.
That’s it? His father was fighting for his life in the hospital, and that was his reply? A blunt, emotionless text message? “Keep me posted on his condition”—what, would it have killed him to show a bit more sympathy, maybe even the tiniest ounce of concern? Pick up his damn phone and call, maybe?
I almost threw my phone across the waiting room in disgust.
What did I expect, though? My dad, Aiden, they were all the same. None of them cared enough to be there for the people in their lives. Fine, I could let Aiden off the hook, since we were barely seeing each other anyway, but my dad? What could be more important than being there for his own family?
“Are you sure you’re not hungry? I think there’s a packet of Doritos and some Snickers calling our names in that vending machine. It would be rude to ignore them.”
Except this man.
He was different, because he cared enough to constantly show up and be there for me.
Because I was important to him.
Rob must have mistaken the bewildered look on my face, because he patted my hand, as if trying to reassure me. “Thomas will be fine. He’s told me so many stories about the challenges he’d had to go through when he first came to this country. He’s a fighter. He’ll get through this.”
I slowly nodded. “He has to.”
“Family of Thomas Halim?”
I looked up to see a doctor who had admitted Opa standing by the nurses’ station.
Finally. “Yes.” I jumped up. “I’m his granddaughter.”
She shook my hand. “He’s awake. He’s fine, but we’ll need to keep him overnight for observation. If all goes well, we should be able to discharge him tomorrow.”
“So he’s okay?” I let out a long breath of relief. “What happened?”
“We did a complete blood count, and his hemoglobin level is extremely low. We’ve given him an iron infusion and he’ll need a stronger dose of iron tablets, but otherwise, he’s okay.
He should be back to his normal self in a few days.
” She nodded at the corridor behind her.
“You can go and see him now, if you like.”
My grandfather had his eyes closed when we walked into his room.
His arm was hooked up to an IV line, and a patient monitor was steadily and quietly beeping next to his bed.
Fear flooded me at the sight, because he never looked this frail before, and it shattered my heart to see the man I’d looked up to my entire life struggling with his health.
Not wanting to wake him, I turned around to tiptoe out, when Opa called my name.
“Have you two been here all night?”
“Hey, Opa.” I walked over and gave him a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Capek.”* He opened his eyes, exhaustion lining his face. “You both should go home. Get some rest. There’s nothing you can do here anyway.”
“I’m staying,” I said. “Just in case you need anything.”
“I’m in a hospital.” He gestured at the nurses bustling around outside. “There are people here who could help me if I needed anything. Come back when you’ve had some sleep.” He turned his attention to Rob. “Thanks for keeping her company.”
“More than happy to.”
“I still think I should stay,” I insisted. “Rob doesn’t have his car, so I’m going to drop him home and then come back, okay?”
“No. You both should go. I’m fine,” Opa said. “I just want to get some sleep. I’m sure the nurses will call you if anything happens.” He closed his eyes again. “Go home, Kim. I’ll see you tomorrow.”