CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Jordan
Jordan’s stomach flopped as the taxi pulled up to the hospital. Jared relayed all the info to her about which hospital Noah’s dad was in. She grabbed her carry-on bag that contained only enough items to get her through the night and hurried into the building. Searching for the wing Noah’s dad was in, she turned a corner to see Noah sitting there alone.
He was leaning forward, his elbows rested on his thighs, and his head hung down as he stared at his hands. He never even acknowledged her until she was standing over him.
Noah’s head snapped up; surprise filled his face. “Jordan?” His eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey. Mind if I sit?” she asked softly, ignoring his question, and motioned to the empty seat next to him.
“How did you…?”
Jordan clutched her overnight bag nervously. Every cell in her body told her she needed to be here for Noah. But now the slightest bit of doubt filled her chest. She had hopped on a plane and flown here, not knowing for sure if he would want to see her or not. But there hadn’t been a lot of time for debate.
“You know how I knew: Talia and Harrison.” She swallowed hard while she waited for his reaction.
Noah stared at her for a moment. She thought about something else to say to express her concern, hoping to fill the silence, when suddenly Noah stood up, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a bear hug.
He held her tight for what seemed like forever, his face buried in her shoulder. When he finally pulled away, their eyes met. “Thank you.”
His eyes were red and full of worry.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” She took his hand and led him back to their seats. “So, how is he?”
“He had a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding that needed immediate attention.”
“Oh.” Looking around the waiting room she found it odd that his mom wasn’t here. “Are you all by yourself?”
“No, my mom and sisters went to go find a nurse; they had some questions.”
She rubbed his arm, satisfied that now he didn’t have to wait alone.
“I got here while they were finishing up that surgery and prepping him for the next. Once they had the internal bleeding under control, they diagnosed him with a broken femur and a fractured pelvis. The doctor seemed to have some concern about complications and blood clots. Maybe it’s his age. I don’t know.” He shrugged.
“Complications with the broken femur or the pelvis?”
“Um, the pelvic fracture. They started that procedure almost as soon as the first one finished. That was,” he looked at his watch, “About two hours ago.”
Her heart ached for Noah. He looked so lost.
“My mom said he was awake when they took him into surgery.”
Watching him rationalize and ramble, she realized she had never asked him if he was okay. “How are you doing with all this?”
“I don’t know.” He shook his head; his face scrunched up in confusion. “I mean, he’s my dad. This isn’t supposed to be happening. I shouldn’t be sitting in a hospital waiting to see if my dad is going to be okay. None of this is how it’s supposed to be.”
An older woman approached them. “Noah.” She wore the same worried expression that Noah did.
“Mom.” Noah quickly stood and grabbed her shaking hands.
“Honey, you should come wait with us. The nurse said we can wait in the surgical waiting area.” His mom looked at her, a slight smile slid across her lips. “Hello.” Turning to Noah, she asked, “Who’s your friend?”
Jordan couldn’t read the tone of his mom’s voice. Was she unhappy that a stranger had appeared? This was not the way she had wanted to meet his mother.
“Sorry.” Noah shook his head as if he were clearing out the cobwebs. “Mom, this is my friend, Jordan.”
Jordan stood and moved to shake his mom’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Rodgers. I’m just sorry it’s under these circumstances.”
Noah’s mom disregarded Jordan’s hand, and instead pulled her into a hug. “Thank you for being here for my son. Apparently, you are a very good friend.”
The young woman leaned forward. “Hi, I’m Noah’s sister.”
“Jordan, this is Tracey, my older sister.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jordan smiled at the young woman who reminded her of his mother.
Tracey looked at Noah. “Mom is right. Come wait with us, please?”
“Noah,” Jordan nudged. “You’ll be able to hear what the doctor has to say as soon as your dad comes out of surgery. That would be the place to wait.”
Noah nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Jordan hesitated, not wanting to intrude on the family. If they wanted privacy, she could always book a hotel room and come back later. She looked toward the exit. “Should I…?”
Without a word, Noah took Jordan’s hand, and they followed his mom and sister to the smaller waiting room.
There in the corner sat a younger version of Tracey. The girl appeared to be about eighteen. Her knees were pulled up and tucked to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around her ankles, as if she were protecting herself by keeping the world out of her little bubble.
Not only did she have dirty blonde hair like Noah, but she also had the same serious scowl he got when he was thinking, and the young woman looked as though she pushed people away just like her older brother as well.
She was a beautiful young woman. Her flannel, torn black jeans, high top sneakers, and slouch knit beanie were reminiscent of emo fashion.
Noah tipped his head in the girl’s direction. “That’s my little sister, Lexi.”
They followed his mom over to where his other sister was sitting. His mom and Tracey sat on either side of Lexi. Jordan followed Noah and sat down across from them in a chair made to seat two.
“Lex, this is my friend Jordan.”
Jordan waved. “Hello.”
The young girl looked over her knees at Jordan. She smiled and mumbled a hello.
Noah’s mom wrapped her arms around Lexi and sat holding her.
Grabbing Noah’s hand, Jordan sweetly smiled up at him.
Noah attempted a half smile, then sat back in his seat with a heavy sigh.
A yawn crept up on her. It had been a long day. She’d had her hands full changing gears from opening the bar, breaking up with Noah, then racing to catch a last-minute flight to Canada, and now at almost eleven o’clock at night, sitting in hospital waiting room. The long day had caught up with her.
Wishing she had something more motivational to say, all that came out was, “Do you want to tell me about your dad?” It seemed like a good way to keep him in the moment.
Noah nodded. “My dad is a big hockey fan. He played in high school and college. He got me interested in the sport. It wasn’t as though I had a choice.” He chuckled. “My dad put a stick in my hand as soon as I could walk, and I’ve been playing ever since. When I was young, he was at every game. Once I came to the States, I flew them in to see games. But at home they have a sports room with my memorabilia on the walls. My dad collects my sticks, gloves, jerseys, pucks, and they’re all in there.”
She smiled at his warm memories.
He paused for a minute. “He also loves to barbecue. He’s always trying new recipes, and when I was young, he was always trying to teach me. But I preferred to be playing hockey or watching it. I had no interest in standing over the grill. Maybe I should’ve let him teach me, but I was a dumb kid.”
Noah was lost in his stream of thought, and Jordan was content to listen.
“And the holidays—oh you should’ve seen it! He would put so many Christmas lights on our roof and in our yard that we’d tease him that a plane was going to mistake it for a runway. My mom says he still does it. Well, maybe he won’t now. He won’t be climbing ladders to do all that.”
“What I’m hearing is that he’s a great dad. And he’s really proud of you.”
Noah nodded. “He’s my biggest fan.”
“Well, he raised an amazing and caring man. Sounds like you’re a lot like him.”
Noah shrugged and stared at the ground. “He is a genuinely good guy. You can ask anyone. He’s always quick with a joke or a helping hand.”
That’s when she saw a tear slide down his cheek, then another.
“He has to be okay,” Noah said, his voice catching. “If he isn’t, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
She wanted to tell him that everything would be okay, that his dad would be fine and back behind the grill in no time. But she couldn’t promise that, at least not before they knew what the outcome of the surgery was. But seeing Noah so worried made her heart ache.
Noah reached over and grabbed her hand. They sat this way in silence for what felt like hours before a doctor walked into the waiting area, pulling off his scrub cap. Jordan assumed he was the doctor that had operated on his dad, when Noah, his mom, and his sisters all jumped up.
Being here as only a friend, not with Noah as a couple, she stayed in her seat, not sure if she belonged in this family moment. That was until Noah turned to her and motioned for her to join them. Once she was at his side, he laced his fingers with hers, almost as if it was the most natural thing.
“The surgery went well. As you know, we were able to stop the bleeding and remove his spleen. The pelvic surgery took a little longer than expected, but I was concerned about blood clots. We were able to repair the fracture with some hardware.”
“And the femur?”
“His body has been through a lot over the last twelve hours. We want to give him a little time to rest before we repair his femur. The femur surgery is scheduled for first thing in the morning.”
“How is he?”
The doctor nodded. “He’ll be in some pain due to some broken ribs, and of course the incisions. But he was very lucky and should make a full recovery. It will just take some time and rehabilitation. He will need physical therapy. And as with any pelvic fracture, he may have some arthritis and maybe a bit of a limp. But he’s out of the woods. I am very happy with the direction he’s headed.”
Jordan rubbed Noah’s shoulder and could feel the deep breath he let out, as if he had been holding his breath the whole time the doctor was speaking. His mom and older sister followed the doctor as he left the waiting room, asking him questions. Noah’s younger sister fell into the closest chair and broke down, quietly sobbing.
Jordan was going to comfort the young girl until Noah pulled her into a hug. She felt his body relax in her arms. Soothing him she stroked his hair, and whispered, “Your dad is going to be fine.”
“Yep.” He nodded and pulled back to look at her. “Thank you for being here with me.”
Jordan looked over at Lexi, where she sat hiding her face and still crying. “Looks like your sister could use a hug.”
Noah agreed. He sat down beside Lexi and Jordan followed.
“C’mere, Lex.” Noah wrapped his arm around his little sister’s shoulders, pulling her into the best hug he could while sitting in the waiting room chairs. “Dad is going to be fine.”
“I… know.” She sobbed as Noah pulled her closer.
“Lexi, can I get you anything?” Jordan asked. She didn’t know what else to say in this situation.
“No,” Lexi shook her head. “I don’t need anything. I’m just glad you are here for my brother.”
“Lexi, Noah,” Tracey called softly. “They just brought Dad back to his room, and they said we can see him now.”
Lexi jumped up from her seat and joined their sister. Noah rose slowly and looked back at her. “Are you coming?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It should just be you and your family. I can wait here, it’s fine.”
“Don’t be silly. I want you in there with me—I need you in there with me.” Noah looked at her with imploring eyes.
Nodding, she joined him at his side.
“Daddy!” Lexi cried and ran to her dad’s bedside. And there on his father was that Rodgers beaming smile that she saw every day on Noah.
Tracey and his mom fawned over Mr. Rodgers, holding his hand and gently hugging him. The older man looked pale and weary, and Jordan thought, a little green around the gills, but he was doing his best not to show it.
“Noah.” His dad smiled and shook his head. “Weren’t you supposed to be playing hockey tonight?”
Noah let out a small laugh. “Yes, Dad.”
“You didn’t have to come all the way up here, son.”
Noah moved closer to the bed and took his dad’s hand. He grinned and said, “I can miss one game, Dad. It just means I’ll have to score twice as many goals the next game to make up for it.”
“That’s my boy!”
Jordan’s heart warmed at the proud smile that filled Noah’s dad’s face.
“But seriously, tonight my only focus was on you, Dad. I’m grateful you’re okay. And I’d miss twenty games if you needed me by your side.”
“I know you would.” His dad pointed behind Noah to Jordan. “Who is this pretty young lady you brought with you?”
Noah pulled Jordan to his side. “Dad, this is my friend Jordan.”
“Nice to meet you, Sir.”
“I can’t believe you kids flew here just because of me.”
Jordan watched Lexi still clinging to their dad. Noah’s mom was watching the man closely and cringing at the cuts and bruises on his face. Tracey hung back, while Noah never left his father’s side.
“I think I’m going to step out and grab a coffee. You all deserve a little family time,” Jordan stated. On her way out of the room, she closely brushed by Noah and whispered, “I’m so glad your dad is okay.”