Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
REID
Unless it’s bad news.
Unless something terrible has happened at the hospital.
Unless Sadie has passed away and I’m going to have to tell Arthur and Ruby that their mother has gone.
I wish I could ignore the call, but I know that’s not responsible or wise, so I force myself to pick up the device on my bedside table and put it to my ear.
Before I speak, I glance at the sleeping boy in the crib next to where I was resting, but Jude is still breathing softly and snoozing, so I don’t have to worry about him being woken up yet.
‘Hello?’ I say, my voice croaky and hoarse from snoring only a second ago.
‘Reid. I have some good news for you and the children. Sadie has come out of her coma!’
‘What?’ I say, sitting upright in bed, instantly wide awake.
‘She’s awake. She opened her eyes a couple of hours ago and the hospital phoned us to let us know.
We are here now, but we haven’t seen her yet because they’re still checking her and they don’t want her to be overwhelmed.
They have told us that we should be able to see her soon, so I thought you could tell the children and bring them down here.
They are going to be so happy when they hear the news. ’
I have no doubt about that and I’m already peeling the duvet off my body so I can get out of bed and leave this room to go to Arthur and Ruby in theirs. Before I reach the door, I pause, wondering if there is a way this might not end up being the good news it seems to be.
‘Have the doctors said anything about potential memory loss?’ I ask nervously, and there is a pause at the other end of the line.
‘They haven’t told us much yet,’ comes the eventual reply. ‘Only that she is awake.’
I guess there’s not much more point in discussing or worrying about that particular subject until we get more information later then, so I carry on my way to my children’s bedrooms, telling Sadie’s mum that we will be there as soon as we can be.
Although as I end the call, it’s difficult to not worry that Sadie’s memory might have been affected by what has happened to her.
She suffered a brain injury and has spent the best part of a year in a coma.
Therefore, there has to be a high chance that her memory may have been affected.
If it is, to what extent? Can she remember her name?
Can she recognise faces? Will she know her children when they walk in and call her mummy?
I’d rather know the answer to that question before Arthur and Ruby go rushing into her room at the hospital, because to go in there blindly risks there being a lot of confusion and upset if the worst-case scenario is true.
How will our children react if they realise their mother doesn’t remember them?
Such an outcome could prove to be even more traumatic than their mother not waking up at all.
At least if I could warn them about any memory loss then they would be prepared and might have a chance at understanding the vacant stare on Sadie’s face when she sees them.
But without any information, there is little I can do to shield them from whatever might be coming, and I’d rather give them something positive to cling onto rather than any more negativity to deal with when they’ve already battled through so much.
First things first, let’s focus on the good news.
I can deal with any bad later.
I decide to stir Ruby first and shake her shoulder gently until she stirs beneath her pink unicorn duvet. When she opens her eyes, I smile down at her and deliver the news that is sure to see her spring out of this bed as if she had slept for half a day.
‘Darling, I have some good news. Mummy has woken up. Would you like to go and see her?’
Ruby’s eyes go wide with shock then excitement before she gives me a big hug.
‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ she cries loudly, and I wonder if she might have woken her brother up.
I get my answer when I enter his bedroom and find him still fast asleep.
Typical. Not much wakes this boy when he’s out.
Some mornings before school, he is almost as difficult to stir as his mother has been lately, although that is a slightly dark bit of humour that I have refrained from sharing with anybody else in case they fail to find it funny.
‘Arthur,’ I say, shaking his shoulder slightly while I can hear his sister singing in her bedroom as she gets herself dressed. ‘Wake up, buddy. I have something to tell you.’
My son eventually opens his eyes and, when he does, I tell him what I just told Ruby.
‘Really?’ he asks me, seemingly stunned.
‘Yes, really,’ I say, and then he breaks into a big smile before giving me a hug, and I am sure I notice a few tears in his eyes as we part. I tell him to get dressed and meet us downstairs by the front door in ten minutes, and he agrees.
I wipe my own eyes as I return to my bedroom to dress because that was an emotional few minutes with my children.
I also realise then that whatever state Sadie may be in, whether she remembers everything or nothing, our children are brave enough and smart enough to get through it.
They’ve already been through so much and it hasn’t broken them yet, so they are far stronger than I give them credit for.
I have no doubt that most of that is their mother’s influence, Sadie having instilled in each of them a fierceness and determination that they have demonstrated in various ways, from their schoolwork to their sports teams to the more serious stuff of homelife and family drama.
They deserve this optimism and excitement now, and whatever happens when we get to the hospital, we’ll deal with it all as a family.
But as I quickly pull on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, I think of the part of my family that is missing from this house.
In a moment, I will wake Jude and carry him to the car, where he will join Arthur and Ruby as we make our way to the hospital.
But Luna will not be with us and that means she still doesn’t know that Sadie has woken up.
Should I try and see her first? Tell her what has happened before I go and see my ex?
If I don’t, would Luna get mad about that? Or would she understand?
It’s a tricky situation to have to navigate until I realise how early it is in the morning and figure Luna will be fast asleep.
That should give me enough of a reason to hold off on telling her for a couple of hours at least. For now, I’ll focus on the kids and then Luna and I can deal with the situation that Sadie’s sudden waking up presents for us.
I’ll let Luna rest for now.
At least I presume that’s what she’s doing.
But maybe I am wrong about that…