Chapter Nineteen #2
“I am,” he agreed. “Audrey asked me to explain the situation to you before I head into surgery. Alan has what we call an intertrochanteric fracture. That’s where the bone is fractured, not up by the ball of the femur, but further down.
He’s fortunate because those are easier to fix and heal, and they don’t affect the blood supply to the bone.
That means I can repair it rather than undergo a full hip replacement.
However, I’m uncomfortable doing the surgery with general anesthesia because of his lung condition, and his pulmonary physicians agree.
He’ll be comfortable and awake during the procedure, which should take no more than a few hours.
Once he’s done, he’ll be here in the hospital for a few days on the surgical floor and then transferred to the rehab floor for up to a month, depending on how he does.
With his lung condition, he will need close observation during physical therapy until we’re confident he can be at home safely. ”
“That makes sense,” Honor said with a nod. “I was extremely worried about the surgery. Not in your skills, but with his lungs.”
“Understandably,” Major said.
It was fascinating to watch him work. He was the kindest, most down-to-earth surgeon I’d ever come across in my life, and I’d known many due to my yaya’s health.
“We’ve called in our anesthesiologist who works with our maternal patients to ensure Alan’s spinal block is adequate for the surgery.
Once he’s done that, our high-risk anesthesiologist will take over his care for the procedure.
We did offer to transfer him to Saginaw, but Alan and Audrey were both comfortable with the plan and want to proceed. ”
“Alan doesn’t want to recover in Saginaw,” Audrey said firmly. “He knows no one here would agree to do the procedure if they couldn’t do it safely, and I concur.”
Honor rubbed her aunt’s back with a nod. “Thanks for coming in, Dr. Warren. Our family appreciates it.”
“No thanks needed,” Major said with a smile. “I’m more than happy to help as needed when things get busy. As a former army doc, there isn’t much I haven’t seen or done, so I assure you, this is one I can do with my eyes closed. I won’t, but I could,” he said with a lip tilt.
We all chuckled, and he pointed at me. “Could I talk to you for a second?”
He led me to a spot by the counter and leaned against it. “What’s up? I told Honor that Ivy was the one who told me, not you.”
“I’m not worried about that,” he assured me. “Your splint, on the other hand, I am worried about. It needs to be fixed. I called up to the rehab floor, and they’re waiting for you there. They’ll make you a new splint.”
“It’s ten o’clock at night,” I said with a shake of my head. “You worry too much.”
“It can’t wait, and they’re here whether someone needs them or not, so you may as well take advantage of being here. Besides, that frees us up for tomorrow, and you’ll be ready to start your new job this week without needing time off to get it fixed.”
“Fair point,” I admitted. “I’ll head up there in a few minutes. Wait, why do we need to be free for tomorrow?”
“You mentioned going to see Dawson. We could maybe do lunch before or after?”
“I’d love that. Considering this situation, I’m sure he will have the kids.”
“Probably, but that’s fine, we don’t have to stay long. Would you ask Honor if it would be all right if we drop by tomorrow morning?”
“Not a problem, but I’d need to tell her why. Are you okay with that? Does everyone here know?”
“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Only the administration knows. I’ve kept it under my pants, so to speak, because I find once it gets out, people tend to be three hundred times more helpful than they were the minute before they heard.
That frustrates me, but I can’t keep it a secret forever. ”
With a smile, I reached up and patted his face. “I’m proud of you. You can trust the people in Bells Pass to have your back.”
“And you were the one who taught me that,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead in full view of the room.
I should have grimaced, but the gesture left my heart too happy to do anything but smile.
“Get your arm done, and then maybe someone can give you a ride home?” He checked his watch.
“It will be one a.m. or after before I’m done.
I don’t want you to stay here that entire time. ”
“I’ll see how it goes,” I answered without committing. “Since Ivy and Honor have kids and need to sleep, I’d rather send them home while I stay with Audrey.”
“That’s fair, just take care of your arm before you send them off. Deal?”
With a nod, he ran a finger down my cheek and then headed to the back of the emergency room to prep for surgery. When I turned, three sets of eyes were focused directly on me, so I plastered on a smile and walked back to them.
“So glad he’s confident that Alan will be just fine,” I said, sitting next to Honor.
“What was that?” Audrey asked, waving her hand in a circle in the direction of the desk.
“Uh, nothing?” I asked, and all three of them snorted.
“Geez, fine, he called up to rehab and asked them to fix my splint. He’s uncomfortable with how loose it is, and since I’m going back to work this week, he wants a new one made before I do that.
” After showing them how the splint slipped around on my arm, they frowned.
“Okay, that’s loose, but he must have some serious pull to get you in this late to have it done,” Honor said.
With a shrug, I decided to be honest. “Major said they’d be here whether I went up there and gave them something to do or not, so I may as well get it done.
Would you both stay with Audrey while I do this?
It will only take a few minutes. Then I’ll come back down and stay with her so you two can go home. ”
“I’m fine here alone,” Audrey said, patting everyone’s hands. “You should all go home and get some sleep. I’ll update you via text once he’s out of surgery.”
“We’re not leaving you here alone, Aunt Audrey,” Honor said, probably biting back an eye roll as she did bite back a yawn.
“I can’t go anywhere until Major is done, since I rode with him, so seriously, let me stay with her. Ivy, I know you have a shift in the morning, and Honor, I’m sure Valor will be up early. You have school this week, so you need your rest.”
“She’s right, dear,” Audrey said with a nod.
“But I drove Aunt Audrey here,” Honor said. “She doesn’t have a car.”
“And I don’t need one. I’m not going anywhere. The nurses will give me a chair to sleep in once Alan is in his room.”
“I’ll have Dawson bring the car over in the morning then,” Honor said, knowing her aunt well enough not to argue.
“Maybe he and Major can do that while we visit and play with Valor?” I asked Honor, who glanced at me as though I had two heads.
“Um, why?” she asked with confusion. “If Major wants to check on Alan, he can do it without bringing her car over here.”
“He kind of wants to talk to Dawson.” Although he told me I could share the information, it felt strange to reveal his private details to others.
“Since he’s new to town, he doesn’t have a prosthetist, and he was hoping that Dawson could hook him up with the clinic that he works with.
Major’s microprocessor knee is having issues holding a charge, so he needs someone to look at it. ”
Even in the hospital, you could hear a pin drop around me.
“Major is an amputee?” Honor asked in surprise, and I nodded. “The war?” I nodded again.
“Plot twist,” Audrey said, making all four of us laugh.
“We can arrange that,” Honor said with a smile. “Dawson would bend over backward to help another vet, not to mention how Major helped AJ.”
“How do you feel about him being an amputee?” Ivy asked.
“It matters not at all to me in the respect of who he is as a person. I’d venture to say he would be someone else entirely if he hadn’t suffered that loss. I do feel terrible that he felt like he couldn’t tell anyone, me included. He’ll be relieved it’s out in the open now.”
“It’s probably hard in his position to lead with it,” Audrey said. “He doesn’t want patients or colleagues to think he’s incapable, and while we know that’s hogwash, there are a lot of people with some rather unkind and preconceived notions about people with disabilities.”
“Amen to that,” Honor muttered.
If anyone understood those preconceived notions, it was Honor since she was married to a disabled veteran.
I promised to be back in a few minutes and headed for the elevator.
Once I stepped on, I leaned my head against the wall to close my eyes.
If I wasn’t careful, I was going to catch feelings for Major in more than a major kind of way.
As hot as his kisses are and as easy as he is to be with, we still live in different worlds.
Infatuation can convince you of many things until reality sets in and you find yourself unhappy with the state of your life.
Not that I would be unhappy being with him, but I couldn’t say the same for him being with me.
He was new to Bells Pass, and while he fit in, there was no guarantee he’d stay once the newness wore off.
As for me, this small town had some big opportunities.
Risking that kind of stability on an untested relationship wouldn’t be the smartest thing I’d ever done.
Then again, if he did stay, ours could be another great love story for Bells Pass.
To stop the swirling thoughts in my brain, I decided to leave the decision up to the Legend of the Gazebo.
When the doors opened, I stepped out and approached the front desk, sure of one thing: this was a real life choose your own adventure book. I just had to pray that the path I took was the right one for everyone involved.