Certainly Sensible (21 page)

“I think I’ll go on home and check back tomorrow,” he said, yawning. “Caroline? What about you?”

“I’m taking Megan home, like Mom said. By the way, have you seen her?” Caroline looked around the waiting room when she realized she hadn’t seen Megan in quite some time.

Daniel stretched his shoulders. “No, not for a couple of hours.”

Caroline was concerned. “Where would she go?” she muttered under her breath.
Her mom had enough to worry about, so she didn’t mention to her that Megan was missing. Instead, she went down the hall and checked the women’s restroom, but there was no sign of Megan. Next she walked down to the far end of the hall and searched the other waiting area. It was completely empty, and the TV wasn’t even on, so no one had been in there for a while. She went over to the gift shop in case Megan was window-shopping, but she wasn’t there either.

Caroline checked the wall clock and realized how late it was.
Where’s Megan?
She sent her a text but got no reply. Caroline thought about all the chaos during the evening surrounding Allie’s surgery, and realized she didn’t know how or when her fifteen-year-old sister had gone missing. Just as she was about to call security, it hit her.
Patrick was there for Mom, I was consoling Brandon while he was pacing the floor, and Dad spent his time reading The Wall Street Journal. Megan must have felt scared and ignored
. Megan had a habit of hiding when she was upset and an idea occurred to Caroline.

“Dad!” Caroline caught up to Daniel as he was heading out the main entrance. “I still can’t find Megan. I thought maybe…” Caroline’s eyes darted around, scouting out her youngest sister. “Oh, thank goodness, there she is!” She pointed to Megan, leaning against the passenger door of Daniel’s car.

“Hey, Megan, what are you doing out here?” Daniel walked casually over to his car and beeped open the doors like nothing was amiss.

Caroline wasn’t surprised, but she turned her attention to Megan. “It’s not safe to be out in a parking lot alone this time of night. You had me worried, Megs.”

Megan turned to her father, her eyes pleading. “I wanted to know if I could go home with you. I’ve been waiting out here for eons.”

Daniel shook his head. “Not tonight, Megan, Sharlene wouldn’t be expecting you. Caroline said she’d take you home, didn’t you, Car?”

Megan looked miserable, so Caroline tried to make light of Daniel’s rejection. “Of course,” she said, pulling Megan back as Daniel got into his car. He waved to them and drove off, leaving Caroline to walk a downcast Megan back into the hospital waiting area. “Dad shouldn’t…” She sighed. “I’m sorry about Dad.”

Megan shrugged.

“Are you ready to go home? Honey misses you, and she probably needs to go outside.”

Megan brightened up a little at the mention of her dog.

****

After everyone had gone, Susan collapsed back into the waiting-room chair.

“Can I get you anything?” Brandon asked.

Susan shook her head and rested it on her arm.

Brandon looked tired but determined. “No, really, Susan, tell me something I can do to help, because if I just sit here I’ll go crazy.”

Susan looked closely at Brandon and realized he was truly frightened. It was touching how much he cared about Allie. “Well, yes, I really could use some herbal tea,” she said, hoping to make him feel useful. “And Brandon, thank you for being here and for being such a good friend, to all of us.”

Brandon smiled stiffly and headed off to the cafeteria.

Chapter Eighteen

Susan had dozed off in the waiting room chair but awoke with a start when the attendant turned on the TV to the local early morning newscast. She looked around, disoriented, her brain in a fog. Then it all came rushing back to her in a matter of seconds. Allie’s surgery!

Brandon had stayed until just before dawn when Susan finally convinced him to go home. Despite being bone-weary, she was too keyed up from the events of the previous twenty-four hours and couldn’t relax. She’d tried reading a newspaper, then a magazine, but couldn’t concentrate on the words. Then she’d tried various chairs and sitting positions, but nothing felt right. Finally she’d gotten comfortable in a chair leaning against the wall, propped her feet on a coffee table, and fell asleep for a few minutes. Now she was wide awake again.

A nurse came through the double doors and spoke quietly. “Ms. Benedict? Allison’s awake. Would you like to come back?”

“Yes, thank you,” Susan said. She stood and tried to stretch the kinks out of her back and neck. “How’s she doing?”

“She awoke a few times in the night and experienced some pain, but Dr. Li ordered meds to be administered as needed. Allison should be comfortable enough to talk now.”

“How soon can I take her home?”

“Probably in a day or two.” The nurse led Susan through the double doors and down the hall to her daughter’s private room. She had Daniel to thank for that.

Susan’s knees felt weak when she saw her daughter lying in the hospital bed. Allie’s face was ghost-white, and there were IVs, tubes, and bleeping machines everywhere. The TV was on, set to the same station as in the waiting area, the weather girl pointing to a map of hot daytime temperatures. Susan sat down on a chair next to Allie’s bed and gently took her hand.

“Allie? It’s Mom.”

“Hi,” Allie mumbled without opening her eyes.

“How do you feel?”

“Ready for a marathon.”

Susan smiled. “Well, at least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”

Allie drifted back to sleep. Susan watched TV on mute, read the medical literature lying around the room, strolled to the cafeteria for coffee and a newspaper, and chatted with nurses as they came and went from her daughter’s room. Finally by noon, Allie woke up and asked for food.

“I haven’t had anything to eat except soup for about three days,” she told Susan.

A nurse stopped in to check Allie’s pulse and blood pressure.

“It’s a good sign that she’s hungry, right?” Susan asked her.

“Just a liquid diet for today,” the nurse replied. The food cart ambled down the corridor, the midday meal smelling divine even for institution food, but all they brought Allie was Jell-O and apple juice.

“Yum,” Allie said, making a face.

The room phone rang. Allie painstakingly reached over to the nightstand next to the bed and picked it up with a facetious, “Post-surgical starvation room.” She pointed to the phone and mouthed, “Caroline.”

“It’s okay, Car, Mom’s here. Do whatever you need to do at work.”

Allie had no more hung up the phone, groaning as she did so, than it rang again. “Hi Brittany.” She chatted briefly with her, and this time Susan took the receiver and hung it up so Allie wouldn’t have to stretch so far.

“No more phone calls,” Allie said. “It hurts too much to reach over there.” She slowly shifted her weight to face Susan. “Mom, you look almost as bad as I do. Why don’t you go home and rest?”

Susan hesitated. “I hate to leave you.”

“I’m fine. I’ve got all these nurses at my beck and call, and if you don’t mind, I’d really like to nap for a while.”

Susan nodded and picked up her purse from the table near the window. “This may surprise you, but Brandon was here most of the night.” Susan watched for her daughter’s reaction.

Allie lifted an eyebrow. “He was? Why?”

“Because he cares about you. He’d probably still be here if I hadn’t insisted he go home. I’m sure he’ll be back once you’re up to having visitors.”

Allie didn’t respond but instead stared at the TV, still on mute. “Maybe I haven’t given him enough credit,” she finally said.

Susan fluffed the pillow behind Allie’s neck. “Well, I don’t see Mark around here anywhere.”

Allie nodded, and then closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep. Susan crept quietly out of the room. She told herself she was only going home for a quick shower and change of clothes, but once she got there, she lay down for a few minutes to “rest her eyes.” She awoke hours later, found herself still in the same clothes from yesterday, now wrinkled, and her hair a tangled mess.

It was almost supper time when Susan got back to the hospital. She pushed the elevator button for the third floor, waited impatiently while it stopped on every floor, then hurried out as soon as the doors opened. “Allie!” she exclaimed.

Allie was walking up and down the corridor, escorted by a nurse and still attached to her IV. “I’m so sorry,” Susan said, joining them. “I didn’t mean to be gone this long. How are you doing?”

“Okay, I guess. But my stomach hurts where the incision is, and then she…” Allie tilted her head in the nurse’s direction, “made me get out of bed and walk.”

The nurse helped Allie back into her room and back into bed. “Ring if you need me.”

Susan smiled at the nurse as she left the room and kissed Allie’s forehead, relieved to see some color back in her cheeks. “Megan wanted to come, but I told her to wait till tomorrow. Caroline said something about Daniel owing Megan, so she’s taking her to the mall this evening to buy school clothes. With his credit card.”

Allie smiled. “That’ll keep them both busy.”

“Hello?” said a familiar voice.

Brandon was standing in the doorway, a beautiful flower arrangement in his hands and a grin on his face. Allie motioned him in.

Brandon took a few hesitant steps into the room. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. Are those for me?”

Brandon nodded and came the rest of the way into the room. He set the flowers on the table near the window and adjusted them just so. “Can you see these over here?”

“They’re beautiful. That was so sweet of you,” Allie said with a smile.

Brandon blushed. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” He turned around from the window, and joked, “You have to get well because you’re missing too much practice time!”

Allie started to laugh but grabbed her side in pain. “Ouch! Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”

Brandon was all worried concern again. “I’ll be serious then. Really, I just wanted to say a quick hello, so I’ll leave you in your mom’s capable hands.”

“Thanks for coming,” Allie said. “And thanks again for the flowers.”

Susan took in the whole, brief interaction between Allie and Brandon and hoped she was seeing a shift in Allie’s feelings toward him.

Allie watched as Brandon left the room. “It’s like I’ve never really seen what a great guy he is,” she told her mom.

****

Caroline logged off her company-issued laptop, straightened the desktop in her new office, and pulled her handbag out of the bottom desk drawer. It was mid-afternoon, but she was leaving early to get home and spend some time with Megan. Lucy had agreed to field Richard’s business calls for the rest of the day. As she was about to turn off the lights, she heard Lucy’s giggle in the hall.

“Delivery for Miss Caroline Benedict,” Lucy announced loudly, walking into Caroline’s office with a lovely bouquet of yellow roses.

“What in the world?”

Lucy was practically dancing with excitement. “These were just delivered! Hurry up and read the card.”

Caroline couldn’t imagine who would send her flowers.
Richard?
Don’t be silly
.
Dad?
Unlikely.
Her curiosity piqued, she gingerly disentangled the card from where it lay nestled among the roses, and slowly opened it.

“What does it say?”

Caroline read and reread the card. “It says, ‘From your secret admirer.’
Huh?”

Lucy tossed her hands in the air. “That’s it? No name?” She grabbed the card out of Caroline’s hand. “What secret admirer?”

Caroline retrieved the card and carefully replaced it in the flower arrangement and shrugged. “Well, if I knew that, it wouldn’t be a secret.”

“Oh, I know!” Lucy said. “It’s got to be that guy at the realty company that’s always staring at you. What’s his name, Jared?”

“Well if he wants to be more than a secret admirer, he’ll just have to tell me so himself.” Baffled, Caroline left the beautiful roses prominently displayed in their vase on her desk, turned off her lights, and closed the door.

****

Susan collapsed onto her bed in exhaustion after another long day at the hospital with Allie. It was too early to go to sleep, yet she couldn’t keep her eyes open. And she needed to go back to the hospital early in the morning, so she reached over to set the alarm…

She didn’t even realize she’d fallen asleep until she heard her phone ringing. In her dazed state, she had no idea where she’d left it, so she stumbled to her feet and began searching. Not in her handbag, not on the nightstand, not in the bed covers.

“Where’s the phone?” she asked aloud in frustration. It quit ringing just as she realized it was on the floor next to her bed, where she must have dropped it. She checked the voice mail and smiled. Patrick.

“Hi Susan, I hope you’re getting some rest. I just wanted to tell you I have a date tomorrow with not one but two very beautiful young ladies with blonde hair.” Susan’s eyebrow went up. “Well, of course one of them has four legs and a bushy tail, but hey… we’ll all have a fine time at the Rosslyn Village Bark Park. You spend all the time you need with Allie and don’t worry about Megan.”

Susan laughed and disconnected the phone.
Patrick’s taking Megan and Honey to the park tomorrow?
How did that happen?

She curled up on her bed and fell into a deep sleep, comforted by the knowledge that Patrick would take care of Megan.

****

Allie was sitting up in the hospital bed the next day, watching
All My Tomorrows
, when Susan poked her head in the door. She was relieved to see that Allie looked more like her old self. She was showered, had on a little bit of makeup, and had pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “How’s the patient?”

Allie opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, Dr. Li came into the room. Allie hurriedly muted the TV.

Dr. Li perused Allie’s medical chart at the foot of her bed, making notations and nodding to herself as she checked off items. She replaced the chart and said, “Well, Allison, how are you feeling today?”