Chapter 29
29
Everything at the hospital was chaos by the time Tracey arrived. Peachtree Cove’s hospital was more a glorified emergency room than a full hospital. Because her dad had been in so much pain they’d taken him to the hospital in Augusta instead of the Peachtree Cove ER. When she got there her mom was berating a poor nurse about the ice machine not working. Her boyfriend, Raymond, stood to the side looking annoyed that he had to deal with this. Tracey was surprised to find him there.
Tracey hurried over to calm her mom and pull her away from the nurse, and got her settled in the waiting room with a cold soda. “Mom, what’s going on? Start from the beginning and tell me what’s happening with Dad.”
Her mom took a deep breath before taking a sip of her soda. “Your dad called me today. He was on his usual nonsense. Begging me to come back and asking if we could talk. I went over there to tell him once and for all he needed to stop calling me. But when I got there he was laid out on the floor, yelling and saying he was in pain. At first I thought he was fooling me, but he didn’t look good.”
“Had he been drinking?”
“It wasn’t drinking this time. He seemed…different. So I called an ambulance. I thought he was…” She ran a hand over her face. “I thought he was dying, Tracey.”
“How long before the ambulance came?” She could tell her mom was about to spiral again so she asked a question to keep her focused on telling the story instead.
“It felt like forever. The nice girl from 9-1-1 told me what to do until the ambulance came. They transferred him here and ran a bunch of tests. That’s when they said that your dad hasn’t been taking his medicine.”
Tracey frowned. “What medicine?”
“He was on blood thinners.”
Tracey gasped. “For what? And since when?”
Her mom shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s a blood clot or something in his legs or lungs or somewhere. So they’re checking to make sure that isn’t it. I thought he was about to die, Tracey.”
Tracey wrapped her arm around her mom’s shoulder. “He’s not gone, Mom. He’s going to be okay.”
“But what if he’s not?”
“He will be,” she said firmly. “We can’t think any other way.”
Her brother arrived then. Her mom gave him the same update. She became calmer with him around. Not surprising. Devante was always the calming presence in the family. The one person who didn’t let the drama and the hyper personalities in the household get to him. He wasn’t alone. Joanne was also with him, and she helped Tracey keep their mom calm.
Not long after Devante got there, a doctor came out and asked for her mom. The three of them followed her over to get the update.
“He’s going to be okay. It looks like he’s trying to pass a kidney stone.”
Her mom scowled. “A kidney stone?”
The doctor nodded. “Yes, and looking at the ultrasound, it’s a big one. I wouldn’t recommend he pass this at home. I’m going to suggest we remove it surgically.”
“Surgery?” Loretta placed a hand to her throat. “When can he come home?”
“If he does well, then he’ll be able to come home within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. He’s being prepped for surgery now. I know it sounds like a lot, but there’s no need to worry. It’s a routine surgery that won’t have him down for long.”
Devante held out a hand. “Thank you, Doctor.”
The doctor shook his hand. “You’re welcome. We’ll keep you informed as things proceed.”
The doctor left, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll stay with him tonight,” Loretta said.
Tracey shook her head. “Mom, you don’t have to stay the night.”
“I need to. There’s no one else who can be here with him.”
Raymond stepped forward. “You’ve done what you needed to do. You don’t have to stay here with him.”
Loretta placed her hands on her hips. “He doesn’t have anyone to be with him.”
Raymond scowled. “He’s got two kids here. All this over a damn kidney stone. He’ll be okay. You need to come home with me.”
“You don’t tell me what I need to do.”
“I brought you here because you said he was dying. Now you know he’s not and he’s going to be okay. Your job is done.”
Devante held up a hand. “I can stay with him.”
Joanne placed a hand on his arm. “You have that meeting tomorrow with the mayor.”
“See?” Loretta said. “I need to stay with him.”
Tracey noticed the fight on Raymond’s face. She was not about to let her family embarrass her up in that hospital. “I’ll stay. Debra can handle the inn for me in the morning. Mom, you go and deal with…your stuff. Devante, you get to your meeting, and I’ll deal with Dad.”
“See? A plan has worked out,” Raymond said before anyone else could chip in. He put his hand on her mom’s elbow. “We need to go.”
Loretta jerked her arm out of his grasp. “I’ll at least wait until he’s out of surgery.”
Devante nodded. “We’ll all stay.”
Raymond didn’t argue. They all sat and waited. Eventually their dad came out of surgery, and the doctor returned to tell them he was doing well, but they were going to watch him since he wasn’t taking his other medicines. Once that was settled, Raymond hurried to take his wife home. Devante and Joanne left shortly after that. Tracey was alone while she waited for her dad to be put in his own room.
By the time he was finally settled and she was allowed to see him, she was exhausted. He looked tired and frail lying in the bed. She thought about their last conversation. The argument about her need to go back to Bernard. She still couldn’t forgive him for wanting her to stay in a bad relationship. She’d always wanted her dad to want better for her. But now that he was sick, she couldn’t muster up the same anger she’d felt before. He infuriated her, but despite everything she still loved him.
***
Tracey’s dad slept through the night even with the nurses coming in and out to check his vitals; she barely got any sleep. She had a hard enough time getting comfortable in strange places. Being in a hospital room in a chair that folded out into a small bed didn’t make that problem go away. When she finally dozed off after the nurse came in around six in the morning, the sound of her dad’s voice woke her.
She sat up and glanced at him in the bed. His eyes were open, and he looked at her with both surprise and, she’d swear, disappointment.
“Dad, you’re awake. Let me call the nurse.” Tracey stood and crossed to his bed.
“I don’t need the nurse. She was just in here.”
Tracey frowned. “Did I miss her coming through?” She hadn’t thought she’d slept for that long.
“You did. That’s why I was calling your name. It took three times to wake you up.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You been here all night?”
She nodded. “I have. What did the nurse say? How are you feeling?”
“Your mom didn’t stay here with me?”
Tracey frowned. That explained the disappointment. “No. She brought you to the hospital, but she didn’t stay.”
“Why not?”
Tracey didn’t want to get into all of that, but there was no need to drag out the truth. She decided to give part of the story.
“She left with Raymond and asked me to stay here with you.”
“He didn’t let her stay, did he?”
“Does it matter? You and Mom aren’t important right now. You getting better and going home is what’s important.”
He slapped his hand on his thigh. “I knew he wouldn’t let her stay. He’s just jealous, and your mom is playing games again.”
“Mom isn’t playing games. She’s moved on, and you need to do the same. Focus on your health. That’s what you need to do. Why didn’t you come to the hospital if you were having pains and feeling bad?”
“What do you mean she’s moved on? You’re making excuses, but that figures. You’re busy acting like her instead of going back to Bernard like you should.”
“I’m not doing this with you, Dad. Not when you’re healthy, and for sure not when you’re sick.”
“You always were hardheaded. You know that man loves you. Why are you leaving him with that girl? And you know Brian’s ex-wife is back in town. He got her pregnant when she was married to someone else, and now she’s with him where she belongs.”
Tracey’s head started to hurt. She had no idea how a conversation about his health and her mom swiveled back to her, but she wasn’t in the mood for this. “I’m going to get some coffee.” She turned toward the door.
“Don’t run away from me.”
“When I get back maybe you’ll be ready to move to a better topic.” She went to the door.
“Call Bernard and tell him to come check on me.”
Tracey didn’t turn around. She pulled her cell phone from her back pocket and went down the hall. She was going to call her brother and find out when he could take over. She wasn’t going to stay there all day and listen to her dad talk nonsense.
She pulled out her phone and pulled up her brother’s number when she heard someone call her name. She looked up, startled at the sound of Brian’s voice. He stood at the end of the hall holding a bag in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I heard about your dad, so I came to check on you.” Brian stepped forward and held out the bag. “I know staying in the hospital can be draining so I brought you some things to help the time go by.”
Tracey took the bag and opened it. Inside were crackers, a coloring book, colored pencils, a crossword puzzle, chocolates and candy, along with a few toiletries like tissues. Her eyes burned as a swell of emotion filled her chest, and she looked back up at Brian. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know I didn’t have to do this,” he said. “But I couldn’t help thinking and worrying about you being here by yourself.”
Tracey couldn’t stop herself. Before she could even think she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. His strong arms wrapped around her waist, and he pulled her tight against his body. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in the soothing scent of him. All the emotions from the day before hitting her like a Mack truck. The anxiety from finding out her father was in the hospital, the frustration of all the chaos when she’d arrived, the anger at her dad for comparing her to her mom and asking her to, once again, go back to Bernard… The tears in her eyes spilled over, and she silently cried.
Brian leaned back and placed a hand on her chin. “Why are you crying?”
“I have absolutely no idea why I’m crying,” she said. “Everything is just so much, and you’re still being nice to me after everything that happened.”
“Tracey, we agreed to stop with the benefits part of the friends with benefits, but that won’t stop me from being your friend. I care about you. You may not want me to be your man while I have all this stuff going on in my life, but it’s not gonna stop the way I feel about you.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Just let me be your friend. Let me take care of you. Let me still be a part of your life, Tracey.”
He released her and held up the cup of coffee. “I got your favorite, hazelnut. Drink this and take a break. I’ll go sit with your dad.”
Tracey shook her head. “No, my dad is being ridiculous this morning. He’s still saying the same things he said when he was at my house the other day. There’s no telling what he’ll say to you.”
“I don’t care what he’ll say to me. I’m here to support you , and if that means I have to put up with your dad while I do that, so be it.”
Tracey’s heart squeezed. How had she walked away from him before? How would she be able to walk away from him again? He still had to figure out his situation with Renee. But for now she wanted to lean into the support he was offering her today. No one had offered to take care of her in such a long time. She took the coffee and nodded. For now, she was going to go ahead and let Brian be the person that she leaned on.