Chapter 18
Melinda held back her emotions as she sat in the exam room with Adam. He was waiting patiently to be seen by the emergency room doctor. She had always hated hospitals. Inwardly she groaned. Well, that was a lie, it was only in recent years that she’d begun to hate them. The building, the antiseptic smells and the sounds. The page system was enough to drive anyone crazy.
Adam was perched on the edge of the exam table and Mel was in the chair next to him. He bent toward her. “How are you doing?”
Her hands were clammy. She prayed her face wasn’t completely devoid of color. “Oh, fine,” she said with false bravado.
If only she could halt the flood of memories. That would help. Instead she said, “How is your pain?” Carefully enunciating each word to give her something to focus on.
“I’m not going to kid you, it hurts like a son of a…”
She raised an eyebrow.
He flashed a small, apologetic smile at her. “Sorry. It isn’t the worse pain I’ve had, but still…”
She cut him off to get his mind off the injury and joked, “It’s not like you’re giving birth or dealing with a kidney stone.”
“One I’ll never experience and the other I hope never to.”
The curtain was drawn back and a tall, older man entered the cubicle holding a chart in his hand. “Mr. Bell? I’m the on-call doctor.” He was all business as he reviewed the details in Adam’s chart.
“Yes. Excuse me for not shaking your hand.” Adam’s attempt at a joke fell on deaf ears.
The doctor glanced at Melinda. “Are you Mrs. Bell?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Melinda saw Adam’s eyes open wide in surprise. “No, I’m his friend.” Seeing the doctor holding the chart made her flash back to the last time she was in an ER.
The doctor began to unwrap the towel. Melinda felt as if a band was tightening around her chest and her head began to spin. She stood up from the stool and glanced at Adam. “I’m going to wait outside.” She thought she heard Adam call her name before the darkness claimed her.
The irritating smell of ammonia wafted into her senses and someone was helping her sit up.
“Ms. Phillips, can you hear me? I’m Wayne, a nurse. Let me help you up.”
She coughed and pushed herself to a full sitting position. “What happened?”
Adam chuckled. “You took one look at my hand and it was good night Irene for you.”
She struggled to stand, embarrassed she had caused such a fuss. Wayne held her arm. “Go slowly. If you start to feel faint again, let me know.”
She felt shaky and lightheaded. “All right.”
The nurse helped her to a chair next to the exam table and Melinda looked at Adam. “I’m sorry.” She grimaced.
“Don’t we make a great pair?” He winced as the doctor turned his hand over and examined it.
“How long was I out?” she asked.
“For only a few seconds. Around here they seem to take exception to people passing out.” Adam gave her a cock-eyed grin. She knew he was trying to make her feel better.
“Here, have a sip, slowly.” Wayne handed Melinda a small plastic cup filled to the rim with what she hoped was cool water.
She took a tentative drink and looked into the kindly face of a very young-looking nurse. “Thank you.” She took another sip and was beginning to feel a bit better. “I’m sure you don’t often need to scoop women up from the floor.”
He gave her a friendly smile. “It’s more common than you think.” She finished the water and handed him the cup. “Would you like to stay here? Or I can escort you to the waiting room if you’re feeling better.”
“Adam?”
“I’m good if you want to wait outside.” He kept his eyes locked on hers.
Melinda had to wonder, did he need her, or did she need him? She pulled up a chair next to the gurney. Letting him believe it was the blood that caused her to faint, she said, “As long as I don’t have to watch, I’ll stay.” She wrinkled her nose. “Your hand looks nasty.”
“Hey,” Adam joked, “that’s my hand you’re talking about.”
The doctor held a syringe poised over his hand and said, “This might sting a bit, but then it’ll feel better.”
Adam’s face turned to stone. Melinda situated herself so she could see him but not have the injured limb in her direct line of sight. It wasn’t easy. Her eyes were drawn to his hand, but she forced herself to keep her eyes locked on Adam.
“Mr. Bell, you’re pretty lucky. The finger seems to be intact. We’ll be able to stitch it up and it should be good as new once it heals. But I’d like for you to have an X-ray first just to make sure the bone isn’t broken. After that you’ll be released.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
The doctor hurried away with another nurse keeping pace with him. Wayne, who had helped Melinda, brought a wheelchair for Adam. “I’m going to take you down for some films and Ms. Phillips can wait for you here.” He glanced at Melinda. “We won’t be long.”
She felt her stomach flip. She couldn’t stay in this room alone.
Adam said, “Mel, why don’t you hang out in the waiting room while I’m gone?”
She stood up, grateful he seemed to just know what she was feeling. “I hadn’t thought of that.” She touched his arm. “When you’re back, maybe one of the nurses can find me.”
Wayne stood behind the wheelchair and said, “I’ll be happy to.”
Should she volunteer to keep him company on the way to X-ray? He would be fine. She swallowed the lump in her throat and gave Adam a thumbs-up. “Be nice to the technician.”
“Will do.” Adam gave her a half-hearted smile.
He slid off the gurney and stood next to the wheelchair. “She can come with you,” Wayne said.
“Thanks, but I’ll be in the waiting room.” She hurriedly escaped the brightly lit exam room and leaned against the cool cement wall. She waited as the nurse pushed Adam past her. His hand had been wrapped and he was holding it in the air as he disappeared down the endless corridor.
Melinda had found an empty chair away from the main entrance. She glanced at the door again. How long before she could leave the hospital and the antiseptic smell behind? She gave an involuntary shudder. The last time she had been in an emergency room was with John.
She twirled the slim gold ring on her finger. She had held his hand as he hovered at death’s door, and then in an instant he was gone. She never had the chance to say goodbye before he succumbed to his injuries.
Wayne came through the door. She saw he scanned the waiting room and then headed her way. “Ms. Phillips?”
Melinda jumped up. She struggled to keep the panic from her voice. “Is something wrong with Adam?” She felt a band tighten like a vise around her chest.
“He’s fine. He asked me to let you know he is out of X-ray.”
“Did he send you out here to check on me?” She gave him a tentative smile. “You can be honest.”
“How about I say both statements are true?” He gestured for her to sit down and he laid his fingertips across the underside of her wrist. He checked his watch. “Any more wooziness?”
With a slow shake of her head, Melinda said, “No, I’m fine. I’ve never been a fan of hospitals, but I never dreamt I would faint.” She felt the white lie was best rather than confess what her real issue was.
He cocked his head and looked at her. “Happens to the best of us. My mom still can’t believe I chose the medical profession. At the mere thought of someone bleeding, her head is between her knees.”
Melinda said, “You’re very kind.”
The nurse slowly stood up. “I’m going to check on Adam. He’ll get cleaned up and then he’ll be ready to go.”
“Thank you.” She gave him a weak smile.
“You bet.” He sauntered down a different hallway. Melinda watched him disappear and thought how sweet Adam was to be concerned about her when he was the one injured.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the concrete wall behind her. Her thoughts drifted back to the knock on her door that changed everything.
John’s partner, Rob, was standing on the bottom step. His face was ashen. “Mel, there’s been an accident. John’s being rushed to the hospital. He’s been hit by a drunk driver.”
Her feet felt like lead as she rushed into the bustling emergency room. She wasn’t aware of anything or anyone around her except that Rob was by her side. She stepped around the corner and saw John lying motionless on the gurney. His face was the color of the stark white sheets.
She picked up his cold, limp hand and rubbed it. She asked for more blankets. The doctor was trying to tell her something, but her focus was on John. Rob took her arm and led her out of the room. She leaned down and whispered in his ear, “I’ll be right back.”
It never crossed her mind these might be the last moments she’d spend with him. Rob reassured her they’d come back. As she sat down in the waiting room, she heard the speaker blare CODE BLUE.
She shuddered. Tears coursed down her cheeks.
“Melinda.” A deep voice penetrated the pain that constricted her heart, threatening to cut off her very breath.
Her eyes fluttered open. “Adam,” she breathed.
With his good hand, he wiped the tears from her face and rubbed her hands until she could feel them getting warmer. “Mel, what’s going on? Are you sick?”
She tried to stand up and felt her head swim. He said, “Whoa. You’re as white as a ghost.”
“I’m okay, really.” She could hear her voice crack.
Gently, he said, “Talk to me.”
She looked around, hoping she hadn’t made a spectacle of herself. “Not here,” she begged. “Later.”
Gently he said, “I’m going to hold you to that.”
She noticed he had some papers in his lap. “Can you leave now?”
He held them up. “I’ve been given my walking papers.” She could see the concern in his face. He took her hand and said, “Are you okay to drive?”
Melinda took a deep calming breath and slowly exhaled. She gave him a tiny smile. “Let’s go home.”