CHAPTER FIVE
Kahli
That night, I frowned when Lissa pulled into the garage under my apartment building. Jaden’s car wasn’t in our assigned slot.
She turned and must’ve seen the look on my face. “What now?”
I pointed over my shoulder to our empty parking slot. “Jaden’s car isn’t here.”
“He’s probably still at the hospital. Something must’ve happened when you guys were sexting. He’d said the kid needed him.”
“Yeah. I guess. I wish he would’ve texted me to let me know what was going on.”
“And break your no contact when at school rule?”
I huffed out a “humpf.”
“Call him.” I shook my head then nodded, then shook my head again. “Go on,” she urged. “I don’t mind waiting.” She flicked her fingers over one shoulder then the other in a I’ve got this gesture. “I’ll be your silent support partner.”
I took out my phone, saw I hadn’t missed any calls or texts, rang Jaden, the call went straight to voice mail, so I disconnected immediately. “He’s turned off his phone.”
“Does he take it into surgery with him?”
I shrugged. “I’m guessing no.”
“What did he tell you to do if you had to reach him?”
“Um.”
Her eyes went wide. “You don’t have an emergency protocol?”
“Um.”
“Shit, Kal. Even marginally friendly roomies have backup numbers for the just in case stuff.”
“Okay. Okay. I’m a terrible wife and a horrible person.”
“No, you’re stupid in love with a guy who’s stupid in love with you, and you’ve both being totally STUPID.”
“What happened to silent support partner?”
“That shit went out the window when ninety seconds ago I learned how completely lame two highly educated, intelligent people can be when they love each other but are waiting for the other one to give over.” She ran her fingers through her thick sandy blonde hair. “Geesh. Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving. Are you going to sit like strangers at his parents’ house giving each other the cold shoulder?”
“Of course not,” I sort of shouted. “I’ve known his folks from before I can remember. They were family before they became family. And Jaden and I are…friendly.”
Lissa started laughing so hard she laid her head on the steering wheel and held her stomach. “You two…” she drew in a deep breath, “suck at romance.”
“Well,” I deflated, “I can’t argue that.”
“Okay,” she wiped under eyes, “okay. We’re going to the hospital to find your husband, and we’ll take it from there.”
“At last,” I muttered to myself, “a plan.”
“Yeah,” Liss grunted as she started up the car.
***
The security guard at reception was skeptical to the point of requesting two forms of ID before she called ICU to find out if Jaden was there. On the one hand, I appreciated the scrutiny, on the other, I gave her Jaden’s name, my name, Harley’s full name, and Axel’s full name. I’m not saying some cyber stalker couldn’t find that info somewhere, but what were the odds?
“Dr. Weaver will meet you in the waiting room outside ICU.” She handed us visitor badges and a map of the hospital, then pointed us to the bank of elevators.
Sure enough, we’d barely exited the elevator and Harley grabbed my elbow and walked us to the waiting room. Before I could say a word, he put his hands on my shoulders and said, “He’s been in surgery since twelve-thirty this afternoon. The four of us have been tag-teaming all day and into the night. Around eight-thirty, he crashed in the residents’ bunks for about two hours, took a shower and came right back in. I was just heading out to get some rack time myself.”
“Oh, no.” I reached up to squeeze his hand. “Axel?”
“Is trying harder to live than anybody I’ve ever worked on. The kid’s a fuckin’ mess.” He looked over to Lissa, then said, “Pardon my French.”
Liss rattled off a couple of sentences in actual French, then concluded with, “and nowhere in there was the French you spoke."
Harley grinned and held out his hand. “Harley Weaver.”
“Mélisse Babineaux, but everyone calls me Lissa.”
Harley motioned between me and Liss. “Another rocket scientist?”
“In a manner of speaking. Kal leans more esoteric while I’m more mechanically inclined.”
“Brainiacs,” Harley said through a stifled yawn.
“Well, yeah.” Lissa smiled. “You need sleep, brother.”
“Yep, I do.” Harley took my hand. “Don’t be angry with him if he can’t make Thanksgiving. Even if we repaired and re-repaired everything that needed fixing, we all have to be on stand-by.”
“Of course.” I nodded. “Tell him I came by, and to make sure he eats. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Will do,” he said, gave my shoulder a squeeze, then walked us to the elevators.
As soon as the elevator car door closed, Lissa asked, “Is he married?”
I shook my head.
“With someone?”
“Nope.”
“He’s yummy.”
“Yup. And a really good guy.”
“I got that right away.”
“You want me to give him your number?”
She bumped me with her hip. “Nope. I like to devise and execute my own strategy, thank you very much.”
“A game plan?”
“My darling, Kahli. It’s all about the game.”
***
Skye and Hudson Schuyler had been together for twenty years when she “discovered” she was pregnant. She was thirty-seven and he was fifty. Until her pregnancy, they’d be inveterate wanderers. They’d converted a school bus into their traveling home long before it became fashionable, and saw no reason to get married since they’d pledged their love when she was seventeen and he was thirty.
Yeah, I’d had more than a few ick moments thinking about that, but by the time I knew them, they were married, lived in a nice house, and had stable jobs, as opposed to the vagabond, catch-as-catch-can life they’d lived before Jaden came along. No judgment, but I’ve seen the photos, and those two were only a couple of weeks away from joining Grizzly Adams.
Skye was a secretary at Rice Elementary School in Chula Vista, the town where Jaden and I grew up. Hudson worked at the best garden center/nursery in the world: Walter Anderson Nursery in San Diego.
Hud and Skye retired eight years ago, but they’re busier than almost anyone I knew. Between all the causes they supported—they leaned waaay left, and had enormous hearts and souls—and all the artsy things they did, I’d get exhausted listening to their schedules. At sixty-eight and eighty-one, neither showed any signs of slowing down.
Skye was still a terrible cook, and Hud grilled, but most of the time everything was charred. To make sure our meal was palatable, I prepared Thanksgiving dinner in their much larger than Jaden and my apartment’s kitchen, and after everything was ready, they insisted on coming with me to the hospital to bring Jaden Thanksgiving and some family time.
At eight that morning, he’d finally called me, and from the scratch in his voice, I could tell he was wrecked. After hours and hours of trying, they weren’t able to save one of Axel’s legs, and had to amputate above the knee. My heart broke for Axel, his family, and all the people who worked so hard to put him back together. Especially, Jaden, who would take this as a personal failure.
“I’m coming over with breakfast,” I’d told him, but he said he wouldn’t have time to see me until the late afternoon.
Given that directive, at three o’clock, I loaded up the car with enough food for the Pacific Fleet, and Skye, who drove like a Formula One race car driver, got us to the hospital in record time. When we arrived, Harley told us Jaden was talking to Axel’s parents as Harley came downstairs to help carry up the food to the staff breakroom on the ICU floor. We laid out so many large foil trays filled with everything Thanksgiving, there wasn’t an inch of surface space left in the room.
While I was setting up the food, Skye walked out to the nurses’ station to tell them to come get a plate and have some Thanksgiving.
When Jaden, who looked as wrecked as he’d sounded on the phone, finally walked into the breakroom, I didn’t think, I jumped up and ran to him, wrapping my arms around his solid body, holding on tight.
His arms circled my shoulders and he pressed me so close, I had to turn my head against his chest so I could breathe.
I tilted my chin up and said, “Tell me.”
He shook his head and whispered, “Later, when we’re home.”
Harley joined us for a while, and we ate and talked about anything that had nothing to do with Axel. After about an hour, Jaden went back to work, and we cleaned up, leaving the meager amount of remaining food for the staff.
On the drive to the apartment, no one talked until Skye pulled up in front of the building. Then Hud turned toward me, and talked through the space between the bucket seats. “You know Skye and I have led a life filled with love and gratitude. What you probably don’t know is one of the things we’re most grateful for is you being our daughter.”
I felt the first teardrop trail down my cheek before I drew in a breath deep enough to keep from sobbing.
“Go upstairs, honey,” Skye said. “We’ll talk some more tomorrow.”
I nodded, leaned forward and kissed each of their cheeks. Then I went upstairs to my empty apartment wishing with all my heart that Jaden would come home soon.