Chapter Four
Afew hours later, Marie appeared and let them know that Steven was being prepped for surgery. As much as Rose wished she could assist, she had a new appreciation for the hospital’s policy on treating family. If something went wrong, she wasn’t sure she could handle being in the room and feeling completely helpless.
Still, sitting on the sidelines wasn’t any easier. She was used to being part of the action. But at least she wasn’t alone. Lanie sat beside her on the uncomfortable chairs while Max paced a trench in the carpet. Mercifully, they were the only ones in the small ICU waiting room. Despite working at the hospital for over a year, Rose had never spent time in that room. It seemed like it had been added as an afterthought. The pale-yellow walls were likely meant to be cheerful, though Rose couldn’t imagine they brought much joy to anyone who had to sit there.
“Dad, you might want to take a seat,” Lanie drawled. “It’s going to be a while.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.” He checked his watch. “I’m going to check on what the cafeteria is serving for lunch. Do either of you want anything?”
“No, thank you,” Lanie said.
Rose just shook her head. She couldn’t imagine she would be able to keep food down at that point. Her stomach was a bundle of knots that she could only hope would untangle once Steven was safely out of surgery.
After Max left, Lanie turned to her. “What do you think the plan will be for his recovery? I mean, the doctors both said the surgery would speed it up, but they were rather vague on the details.”
“Unfortunately, spinal injuries aren’t like a broken leg. They’re much more complicated and are harder to predict.” Rose sighed. “It’s more neurological, like a stroke.”
“So it could still take six months to a year for him to be fully recovered?”
“It’s possible.” At Lanie’s worried expression, Rose hurried on. “It might help to look at recovery as a progressive timeline rather than a deadline.”
“What do you mean?”
Rose debated how to explain it. “Think of it like a baby’s development. In their first few years of life, babies learn a lot of new skills. But we don’t measure their development by the end goal of them turning eighteen and moving out, right? We measure it by milestones.”
“Okay,” Lanie said. “I understand what you’re saying, but what will that look like?”
“Hmm… I would say Steven’s first milestone is this surgery, which will hopefully prevent further complications and allow the healing process to begin. They’ll probably put him in a back brace to keep his spine immobile until it heals.” Tapping her chin, Rose channeled her training to predict what milestone he might meet next. “In a few weeks, maybe his back will have healed enough for them to remove the brace. Then he’ll have some light physical therapy to maintain muscle density. Once the cast is off, he may start working toward walking again, first with crutches then maybe a cane.”
“Do you think he’ll be walking by the wedding?”
Rose swallowed. She’d pushed aside her concerns about the wedding to allow herself to focus on the details of Steven’s diagnosis and recovery. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Lanie nodded and grabbed a magazine, but Rose wasn’t easily distracted. Part of her wished Lanie had never mentioned the wedding, as she didn’t need to add one more worry to her already filled plate. At the same time, if Steven’s recovery was expected to take longer than three months, decisions would need to be made, and the sooner the better.
“I’m going to run to the restroom,” Rose said. “I’ll be right back.”
Once she was clear of the room, Rose bypassed the bathrooms and headed to the nurses’ station on her regular floor. She was in luck. Nobody was around. Slipping into the chair, she toggled the computer on with the mouse. She’d saved their wedding contracts in the cloud so she could access them from anywhere. As she clicked through them, a growing sense of dread came over her. Each one included a deadline for canceling for a full or partial refund. Her heart sank as she realized those deadlines had long since passed.
After exiting out of the browser, she sat for a moment with her head in her hands. Perhaps she shouldn’t worry yet. Dr. Bhati had said the surgery would speed up Steven’s recovery, and it was early June. Maybe Steven would be much improved by the end of August.
With a heavy heart, she headed to the waiting room. Max had returned with an armful of snacks. She chose a bag of rainbow candy and tore open the corner. Maybe a little sugar would take the edge off of her anxiety.
About an hour later, Dr. Bhati finally appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. Rose rushed over to him with Lanie and Max on her heels.
“The surgery was a success,” Dr. Bhati said with a weary smile. “We were able to drain the fluid, which should lower the possibility of further complications from the injury. Steven is resting comfortably now. You can see him, but I would prefer you to visit him one by one to avoid overwhelming him.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Rose said, relief flooding through her.
“What happens now?” Lanie asked. “Will he be able to come home soon?”
Dr. Bhati pursed his lips. “That will depend a lot on his home environment. There are other options that we can discuss later with Steven when the anesthesia has completely worn off.”
The doctor left them, and Rose resisted the urge to run to Steven’s room. Although it pained her to do so, she deferred to Lanie and Max to go first. After all, she wasn’t quite family.
“Why don’t you go in first?” Lanie asked Rose, surprising her.
“But I thought—”
Max waved his hand. “You’ve been here the longest. Go see him and then go home and get some rest.”
The idea of leaving the hospital while Steven was still in it didn’t feel right, but Max had a point. She’d been there for well over twenty-four hours, and she was in desperate need of a shower and sleep.
With a grateful smile, she left them and headed to Steven’s room. His eyes were closed when she entered, but he must have sensed her presence because he opened them a moment later.
“Rose,” he croaked. “I’m still alive.”
She glared at him. “Not funny.” Her hands shook as she took his. “Are you feeling any better?”
“I honestly don’t feel anything from my waist down.”
“That’ll improve over time.”
Steven nodded, his eyes closing again. His breathing deepened as he fell asleep. Her need to stay with him warred with her growing exhaustion, and she squeezed his hand. When he didn’t respond to her efforts to rouse him, she leaned forward and kissed his forehead. What he needed most at that moment was rest. The hospital would call her if there was any change.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. I love you,” she whispered.
When Rose arrived at her condo, she sat in her car and stared at the steering wheel. Though exhausted, she was also numb, like the last twenty-four hours had been a dream. The idea of going inside and having nothing but her own thoughts to comfort her was unappealing. Instead, she decided to take a walk around the grounds to enjoy the warm late-spring afternoon. As she headed to the pond near the other end of the property, a pair of swans glided gracefully into view. Their long white necks bent toward each other as if they were sharing some intimate secret.
Rose moved closer, leaning against the fence at the water’s edge. The swans paid her no mind, as they were too wrapped up in each other. Their obvious love brought a pang to Rose’s heart, and she wished Steven was with her to share in the moment.
“Quite the pair, aren’t they?” a deep voice asked beside her.
Startled, she turned to find an older man standing knee-deep in the water. He held a fishing pole.
“They’re beautiful,” she said.
“At a distance, but don’t get too close, or they can turn into some nasty little buggers.” He smiled. “But they sure are a sight to behold when they dance.”
“Dance?” Rose leaned forward, intrigued by the idea of birds dancing.
“It’s a mating ritual.” He cocked his head thoughtfully. “Sort of hard to explain. You’ll just have to see it.”
Rose nodded before returning her attention to the swans. They occasionally dipped their heads below the water before spraying it along their feathers.
A tear slipped down her cheek. When will Steven and I be together again like the swans? They had a long path ahead of them, and she had no idea how to traverse that road or where they would be when they reached the end. With worry weighing heavy on her mind, she headed to her condo.
The moment she entered, she sank into her favorite chair in her living room and put her head in her hands. Even with so much up in the air, Rose was clear on one thing. When Steven returned to work, he would have two new clients, including himself. The first thing they would do was draft their wills, especially a power of attorney, so the next time a situation like that occurred, they would be ready.
The next time.She shook her head. After Steven’s mother passed, Rose had hoped for a reprieve for him and his family, but now he was in the hospital. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that Steven had had a heart attack. He was so young. It just didn’t feel real.
Her stomach grumbled, and she reluctantly left the plush green cushions and headed to her small kitchen. It was more closet than kitchen, with just enough room for a fridge and oven on one side and a sink and dishwasher on the other. Her limited counter space was cluttered with a spice rack, a toaster, and yesterday’s mail.
In no mood to cook, she removed some cheese, crackers, and a bottle of wine. Balancing them in her arms, she returned to her chair. Tears pricked behind her eyes, and she didn’t even bother to fight them.
There was so much she didn’t know. How long recovery would take. Where Steven would live in the meantime. Dr. Bhati had mentioned other options for when Steven was discharged, but he hadn’t specified what they were. Steven’s house wasn’t exactly equipped for a wheelchair, and all of the beds were on the second floor.
Will he even consent to go somewhere else?While Steven was currently listening to his doctors, she knew her fiancé well enough to know he would be unhappy if anything kept him from the office for very long. In fact, she suspected that he had chosen the risky surgery because a speedy recovery would mean he could get back to work that much sooner.
After she finished her food, she settled back against the chair and sipped her wine. It had been a few days since she’d last FaceTimed with her parents. Part of her wanted to continue to put it off. They would pepper her with questions, first about the wedding, then she would have to inform them of the accident, which would bring a whole host of other concerns. She was in no mood to discuss either. Frankly, she was rather peopled out. But if she didn’t call soon, then the worried texts would start.
With a sigh, she picked up her iPad and tapped the app. Plastering a smile on her face, she pressed Call.
A moment later, her mother’s face filled the screen. “Rosie. It’s been so long. How are you?”
“I’m good, Mom. How are things across the world?”
Her mother’s eyes crinkled with her smile. “Oh, there’s a lot going on here. And we’re missing you, but we can get into that later. How is the wedding planning going? Are you excited for your big day?”
“Mm-hmm,” Rose murmured, her lips pressed tight together. She swallowed her pain, not wanting to add to her mother’s worry. Her parents had enough stress in their lives caring for her aging grandparents.
She racked her brain to recall the last wedding-related thing she and Steven had done. “We chose the menu for the reception and cake flavors. I’m meeting with the wedding coordinator in a few days to go over the details for the invitations, which should be sent soon.”
“Ah, I wish we could be there,” her mother said, a wistful note in her voice. “How’s Steven? Is he helping with the preparations?”
Rose’s thin hold on her emotions broke, and she burst into tears. Her hands flew to her face, but it was too late.
“What’s wrong?” her mother asked. “Did something happen?”
“Steven is—” Her voice caught, and she cleared her throat. “He was in a car accident and is in the hospital.” Saying the words out loud gave them power.
“Oh my goodness. Is he all right? Why aren’t you with him?”
Rose shook her head. “He’s… stable.” She proceeded to explain what she knew of his condition. Focusing on the familiar medical terminology helped her regain control of her emotions. “I was with him earlier, but I had to come home. When I return tomorrow, they should know more about the next steps.”
“When did this happen?”
“Late last night. I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to call you sooner. I’ve been at the hospital and—”
Her mother waved her hand. “It’s fine. You were where you needed to be.” She took a deep breath and frowned. “How will this impact the wedding?”
With a sigh, Rose shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. Things have been too crazy here. I haven’t had time to consider it.”
“Is there anything we can do?”
“I doubt it.” Rose rested her chin on her hand and studied her mother’s face. Moments like that reminded her how much she missed her mother. “You’re on the other side of the world.”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “We have friends in the States. They could bring you food, keep you company.”
Spending time with virtual strangers wasn’t much of a substitute for her parents, but she appreciated the sentiment.
“Lanie and Max were with me. And several of my coworkers brought me food.”
“I’m glad you weren’t alone.” Her mother rubbed her chin. “And Steven is young. He’ll heal quickly and be walking again before you know it. Everything is already arranged, right?”
“Yes. With the wedding only three months away, we’re only paying the balances due at this point, but between Steven’s hospital bills and the fact that he won’t be bringing in any money while he’s not working, I’m not sure how we’ll afford it.”
Mom’s brow furrowed. “I wish we could send you money—”
“Nonsense. You’ve got enough on your plate with Grandma and Grandpa. How are they doing?”
“Not well.” Her mother sighed. “Your father and I have been discussing finding a placement for them.”
“Can you afford that?” From Rose’s understanding, the long-term care insurance in South Korea covered more of the cost of a nursing home than insurance did in the US, but it was still expensive.
“I believe so, though it’ll be tight.” Mom bit her lip. “Actually, that was something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you.”
Something about her mother’s demeanor filled Rose with dread. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid we won’t be able to come to your wedding. Between the nursing home costs and the rising prices for flights, I just don’t see how we can swing it.”
Could this day get any worse?Fresh tears welled in Rose’s eyes, and she struggled to blink them back. Though she’d wondered how her parents would manage her grandparents’ care if they were gone for the wedding, it never occurred to her they wouldn’t be able to afford to come.
“I understand,” Rose whispered.
“But maybe once things are settled, you and Steven can visit us.”
“Yeah, maybe.” The words sounded hollow. “I should go. I have an early shift tomorrow.”
“Should you be working with everything going on?”
The idea of not working hadn’t even crossed Rose’s mind. With Lisa’s daughter still sick, they were short-staffed. And she was going to the hospital anyway to check on Steven.
“I need to maintain some sense of normalcy,” Rose said, hoping that sounded convincing enough.
“All right, then. Give our best to Steven and take care of yourself.”
“I will. Love you, Mom.”
She ended the call and leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. In the span of thirty-six hours, her dream wedding had crumbled before her eyes. First Steven’s accident then her mother’s bombshell news that her parents weren’t coming.
Maybe we should just postpone. She dismissed the thought as soon as it occurred. It was too late to cancel without risking losing all of their deposits and then some. Besides, it seemed selfish to postpone the wedding just because her parents couldn’t make it when Steven had lost his mother only a year ago.
The financial aspect was a separate issue but one she and Steven could figure out. At least, that was what she kept telling herself.