Chapter 24
The nurse came to the waiting room at just after five o’clock. Pastor John and Beth had left an hour ago, and Cassie had gone home to pick her children up from a friend.
Cole was in recovery, awake, and asking to see Julie.
Noah smiled. “It’s nice to know he hasn’t forgotten his priorities.”
“I won’t be long,” she told Noah as she picked up her jacket and followed the nurse out of the waiting area.
As they walked down the corridor, Julie heard the ordinary sounds of the hospital around her. There were shoes on the linoleum, a low exchange of voices, and the beeps of equipment keeping patients alive.
The nurse stopped at a curtain near the end of the row. “He’s tired,” she said. “Don’t let him talk too much.”
Julie nodded and stepped inside.
Cole was propped up at a slight angle. There was a line in his arm and a monitor to his left, its peaks small, even and relentless. He looked more vulnerable than Julie had ever seen him.
His eyes found hers when she came through the curtain. Julie pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down. She didn’t trust herself to stand any longer.
“You stayed,” Cole said. His voice was rough from the sedation.
“I did. Noah’s still in the waiting room, too.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “You told them you were family.”
Julie hadn’t known whether Cole had heard her before they’d whisked him away. She’d said it without thinking, and she hadn’t regretted it once. “I did.”
Cole was quiet. Outside the curtain, someone walked past without pausing. “I was going to reschedule my appointment with my cardiologist.”
“I know.”
He exhaled slowly. “I’ve been doing that for a while.”
“I know that too,” Julie said.
Cole’s hand was resting on the blanket. He turned it palm up and moved it toward Julie. She put her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“You’ve given everyone a fright,” she told him quietly. “Beth has promised to cook you homemade meals until you’re tired of eating them, and Pastor John spent most of the afternoon taking calls from people who knew he was waiting with us. Everyone wants you to get well.”
Something in Cole’s expression changed. It was as if he understood for the first time, just how many people were worried about him.
“A lot of people want to take care of you,” Julie said.
Cole looked at the ceiling and swallowed deeply. When he looked back at Julie, his eyes were bright with tears. “I haven’t let anyone look after me in a long time,” he said.
Julie kissed his cheek. “Pastor John said it isn’t so hard once you get used to it.”
He nodded and held her hand a little more tightly.
And neither of them let go.