Chapter 2
2
P ari got off at the Franklin Street Station and trudged home, pondering her session with Dr. Merrill. It left her unsettled. She didn’t want to think about what happened a couple of weeks ago. She wanted to go home, have dinner with Raina and Halden and kick back and watch TV.
When she arrived, it was to lopsided smiles and a few guilty giggles from the beautiful blond-haired Raina. She reminded Pari of a princess. “We cheated and bought dinner from the grocery store deli.”
Pari smiled. “I knew you would!” They laughed and sat down to eat. The meal was good, and the three chatted the entire time. This is what Pari wanted. Friends, family. Not that Uncle Al and Uncle Leo weren’t great, they were. But they weren’t… well, Raina and Halden.
But as fun as the meal was, something was off. Raina didn’t seem herself, and when Pari asked her if something was wrong, Raina excused herself from the table and left. When Pari followed to see if she needed anything, she got the first inkling that something dreadful was going to happen. And did. In fact, it was beyond dreadful. Raina, and then Halden, both suffered some sort of seizure and then became paralyzed!
Now here she was, sitting in a hospital emergency room’s waiting area, with no idea what to do with herself. Uncle Leo was there and had gone to get some coffee. All Pari could do was sit and try to keep her legs from bouncing up and down.
She squinted with terror at the doors that led into the patient area. Raina and Halden were back there, both undergoing tests. She’d managed to see them once but got kicked out as she wasn’t a relative. Pari had no idea what was wrong with them and hoped the doctors found something out soon.
“Miss?”
Pari glanced up and saw the nurse that escorted her out of the emergency room and into the waiting area earlier. “Yes?” She got to her feet. “Did the doctors find something?”
“It’s too early for that. I came to tell you to go home. It makes no sense for you to sit here for hours. You can call us later to check on your roommates’ status.”
A remorseful lump formed in her throat as she took in the crowded waiting room. All the seats were taken and there were people having to stand. “Oh, yeah. That does make sense.”
Uncle Leo entered from outside, two cups of coffee in his hands. She waved at him.
“Is that a relative of either patient?” the nurse asked.
“No, he’s my uncle.”
“Ah, okay. Well, the two of you can’t do much good here.” She turned, went back through the emergency room doors and disappeared.
“What’s the news, Pariwink?” Uncle Leo asked.
She swallowed hard before turning to him. “The nurse told me there’s no use sitting here all night.”
“Smart nurse! Here.” He handed her a cup of coffee. “Not sure you’ll want to drink that if you’re going home anyway.”
“I’ll drink it. Are we taking the subway?”
“Yeah, I’m not walking all the way.”
Pari took one last look at the wide door leading to the emergency room. “Do you think Raina and Halden will be all right, Uncle Leo?”
“I don’t know. All I do know is they’ve been more trouble than they’re worth for you.” He turned toward the exit. “Come on, let’s go home.”
Tears stung the backs of her eyes as she mashed her lips together. She didn’t want to leave; it didn’t feel right. But there was nothing she could do here, so she followed Uncle Leo and left the hospital.
Later, at home, she lay awake in bed, half expecting the phone to ring. Halden and Raina would need her to come get them. They wouldn’t know how to get home from the hospital.
But her phone never rang, and Pari fell into a fitful sleep.
In the morning, she called the hospital and learned that both Raina and Halden had been admitted, and that both were undergoing more tests. They also told her what room Raina was in, but not Halden. At least she’d get to see one of them before she had to take over for Uncle Al at the shop.
When she arrived at the hospital, Pari entered Raina’s room slowly. She was asleep, and Pari wasn’t sure if she should wake her or not. Had Raina come out of whatever it was that kept her from moving or talking? Was she still paralyzed?
A male nurse came in and checked a few things on one of the machines, then Raina’s IV.
“Excuse me,” Pari said. “But what’s Raina’s status? Is she better?”
He smiled at her and nodded. “Yes. She ate her breakfast earlier and has been resting ever since.” He picked up a clipboard and wrote a few things down.
Pari noticed Raina didn’t stir at the sound of their voices. She must really be tired, poor thing. “What did the doctor’s find out?”
“Are you a relative?”
She shook her head before catching herself. “Roommate.”
“Ah, she’ll be sorry she missed you.”
Pari looked at him. “What?”
He smiled again. “We gave her something to help her sleep.”
She looked at Raina again. “Oh. Well, when she wakes up, tell her I’ll be back later this evening after I get off work.” She left the chair by the bed. “And Halden Kolbeck? They were brought to the hospital together last night.”
“I couldn’t tell you.” He smiled one last time and left the room.
Pari sighed in frustration. “Fine.” She stared at Raina then the medical equipment nearby. She wasn’t sure what any of it was, but it made her think something serious was going on. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about any of this except support her friends as best she could.
She left the hospital, went to the shop, and buried herself in work by doing inventory. There were a lot of smaller items Uncle Al had in his shop, and he’d been meaning to tackle the inventory the last few weeks but hadn’t got around to it.
“You sure you want to do this?” he asked when she started. “It’s going to take all afternoon.”
“I know. But since I’m closing, I’ll have time.”
“Okay, go for it.”
And so, she did. It allowed her to think about her time spent with Raina and Halden and how much she liked having them around. Maybe after they went back to Germany, she’d advertise for a roommate and see what happened.
After work, she went to the hospital as planned and was happy to find Raina awake. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as awake as Pari thought. She was groggy, and then the nurse waltzed in and told Pari she couldn’t stay long; that they were taking Raina for more tests.
Pari had a brief conversation with Raina, wrote her phone number down on a piece of paper, and gave it to her. Pari told her to call if the doctors told her anything. In the meantime, she’d have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see Raina again. It was her turn to open the shop. Maybe by then the doctors would know more. So far it sounded like Raina didn’t have a clue what was wrong with her. Poor thing was almost too tired to talk; that or too doped up. Pari wasn’t sure which. She was also seriously worried about where Halden was. But like yesterday, no one seemed to know.
The next day she didn’t hear from Raina so called the hospital to see if they’d give her an update. All they would share was that she was stable. Pari supposed it was better than hearing she was in emergency surgery or something.
When Pari got off work, she went straight to the hospital and noted where some eating places were. Raina might want something besides hospital food by now, and it would be easy enough to run and get her some decent food.
She checked in at the front counter on the main floor and handed the security guard her driver’s license. He was middle-aged and looked kind. “Who are you here to see?” he asked.
“Raina Berg. She’s in room 525.”
The security guard punched a few things into the computer. “Um, it looks like Raina Berg was discharged this morning.”
Pari’s eyes widened. “What?!”
He looked at her and nodded. “Yep. You’ll have to visit her at home. A good thing, right?”
Pari stared at him with wide eyes. Why didn’t Raina call? Did she even have the spare key to the apartment? “Can you check what room Halden Kolbeck is in?”
“Are you a relative?”
“Sister,” she said without hesitation.
His fingers flew over the keys before he shook his head. “There’s no Halden Kolbeck.”
Her jaw dropped. “Wa-was he discharged too?”
He gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t know.” He punched a few more things into the computer. “I can’t find him.”
Pari went cold. “No where at all?”
He shook his head. “Sorry.”
“But Raina was definitely discharged,” she clarified.
“Looks that way.” He smiled at her then looked at the next person in line.
Pari moved out of the way and glanced at the exit. There was nothing to do now but go home and see what Raina found out. Maybe she lost the paper Pari wrote her number on. She hoped Raina made it to the apartment all right.
Pari hurried home, she didn’t want Raina to have to be by herself long.
“Raina?” she called as soon as she let herself in. Pari checked Raina’s bedroom. She wasn’t there. “Raina?” She went into her own bedroom, then backtracked and checked the living room and kitchen. “She’s not here.” Pari pulled her phone out of her back pocket. “No texts or calls.” Her head snapped to the front door. “Maybe she’s downstairs.” She dashed out of the apartment and hurried to the first floor. If Raina didn’t have a key, maybe Uncle Al let her in.
She knocked on his door. As soon as he opened it, she went inside. “Where’s Raina, is she here?”
His thick eyebrows shot up. He removed his cigar from his mouth and gave her a blank look. “No, why would she be?”
“The hospital discharged her this morning.”
“What?”
Pari paced. “Yes, but she’s not home. I thought she’d buzz you to let her in.”
“No, and I’ve been here all afternoon.”
Pari pulled her phone out of her back pocket and checked it again. “Where can she be? What if she’s lost?”
Uncle Al rolled his eyes and stuck his cigar back in his mouth. “You worry too much. She probably went to see Halden.”
Pari spun to him. “That’s just it. The security guard at the main desk said he’s not there.”
“He got discharged too?”
“No,” she said, voice cracking. “He’s not even in the system!”
He took her by the hand and gave it a pat. “Now, now, Pariwink, calm down. I’m sure it’s a glitch. Happens all the time. Happened to your Uncle Leo once, remember?”
Pari hugged herself. “Yeah, I remember. It took almost fifteen minutes for the staff to find what floor he was on. They mixed him up with another patient.”
“There, you see? You should have made them look harder.” He went to his dining room table and sat. “Raina’s probably with him right now. They seem pretty thick; you know what I mean?” He winked.
“Yeah, I know.” She sat at the table with him. “You’re right, I should call the hospital and have them track Halden down. They must be together.”
He eyed her. “Tell me you won’t be disappointed if them twos don’t come back here.”
She stopped breathing. “What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “Only that after this, they’re gonna wanna head home. See their own doctors.”
“Oh,” she said wide-eyed. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I just don’t want you to be too disappointed if they leave right away.”
Pari’s heart sank. “They wouldn’t do that. Not without saying goodbye.”
“You sure?”
“They’d call or something.”
He nodded and gave her a smile. “That’s good. Now go ahead, call the hospital, and see what you can find out. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation.”
She nodded back. “Okay. I’ll do that.” Pari pulled her phone out again and made the call.