Plain Jayne (19 page)

I needed to call Levi. He deserved to know his father was in the hospital.

I passed the coffee station, not pulling out my phone until I'd walked down the hallway and found a second seating area.

“Levi?” I said when he picked up.

Oh, this was awkward…

“Jayne? Are you all right? I'm sorry things got…out of hand—”

“Your dad's in the hospital,” I interrupted. “He had a heart attack.”

“Is…is he okay?”

“They're running tests. We don't know anything.”

“Where are you?”

“Past the coffee machines.”

“At the hospital?”

“Yes. Your mom and Amos are here.”

“I'll be over in ten minutes.”

My eyes slid shut. I knew he would, but it didn't make my life any easier.

Just as he'd said, Levi rushed in like a windstorm ten minutes later. “Have they told you anything?” he asked, giving his mom a hug.

She melted into him. “Tests. We know nothing but tests.”

He gave her a squeeze and strode to the front desk. “I need to know how my father is doing.”

“Name of patient?” The receptionist looked peeved. But then, maybe her face was just stuck that way.

“Gideon Burkholder.”

“He's having tests.”

“I know he's having tests. I want to know if he's stable or if he isn't.”

“I'll need you to wait, sir.” She stood and disappeared behind a door.

Levi sighed. “I should call Rebecca.”

I frowned. “Who's Rebecca?”

“My sister. She and her husband live in Washington.” He reached for his cell phone. “She may not even answer. The phone is twenty feet from the house.”

“Older? Younger?”

“Younger. She's between me and Amos.” He winced. “Come on, Bex, pick up. You could hear when any of us were in trouble. I don't think your hearing's changed.” He stood, leaning against the desk, head bent, clearly focused on the steady ring of the other line.

After several moments he straightened so fast you'd think the receptionist had returned and zapped him. “Karl? It's Levi—please don't hang up. My father's in the hospital, and I thought Rebecca would want to know. Thank you. I—” Levi sighed and closed the phone. “I should have had Amos call.”

“Karl won't talk to you?”

“No. Rebecca will, but Karl…he's just trying to protect his family.”

“You did the right thing, letting her know.”

“She has my number if she wants to call.” He shook his head as if trying to clear it.

The receptionist chose that moment to return. “Your father is in stable but critical condition.”

I tilted my head closer. “What does that mean?”

The receptionist's voice softened. “It means he's not out of the woods just yet.”

I finally went to get Amos his coffee. Retreated to the coffee is more like it. Now that I had—I shuddered to admit it—
kissed
Levi, a part of me worried that if I were in too close of a proximity to him, I might do it again.

And that would be bad.

First, because I was still in a relationship with Shane.

Second, because we were in the hospital waiting to see if his father would live through the night. Not wildly appropriate timing.

Around eleven, a person clad in hospital scrubs came and found us. I managed to tag along, pretending to be family. No one asked. I didn't tell.

A doctor met us in the hallway. “You're Gideon's family?”

Again, I said nothing as Martha, Levi, and Amos nodded.

“He's currently stable,” the doctor said, “but he'll need surgery. I put a call into the cardio unit in Corvallis, but they're full. I recommend transport to OHSU. He needs a good cardiothoracic surgeon.”

“Wait. What is this ‘OHSU'?” Martha's face tightened in confusion.

The doctor took a breath. “It's the Oregon Health and Science University, ma'am.”

“It's a school?”

“It's a teaching hospital.”

“What kind of surgery?” Levi interrupted.

“Your father has severe coronary artery disease. That means there has been a significant buildup of plaque inside three of his arteries, blocking blood to his heart. I recommend a procedure called a coronary artery bypass graft, in which veins from his leg would be grafted to repair the damaged ones. It's a kind of bypass procedure.”

Levi shoved his hands in his pockets. “His chances without it?”

“Difficult to speculate, but likely very poor. Medications can buy him time, but his chances of a second heart attack are greatly increased.”

Martha's face showed her anguish. “Is he comfortable?”

The doctor nodded. “He is.”

“Can we see him?”

“Yes. He's resting now, but it's fine if he wakes up.”

We all filed into the room.

Gideon looked so small in the hospital bed. I'd heard people say that of their loved ones when they were unwell, but I had never witnessed it to be so true.

Levi patted his mother on the back. “I'll be outside,” he said.

I followed a moment later.

“Why did you leave?”

Levi snorted. “Did you hear the doctor? He's still at risk for a second attack. Heaven knows that if he woke up and saw me in the room, it could happen right here.”

“He might want to see you. Near-death experiences change people. Things could be different.”

He gave a rueful smile. “They might. But I want him to be healthy before I find out.”

“Does your mom have the money for the surgery? It can't be cheap.”

“The Amish take care of their own. My parents have savings, and if that's not enough, the community chips in. They'll be fine.”

“That's nice.”

“It is.”

Martha stepped out a few minutes later. “He'll be taken in an ambulance to the hospital in Portland. Tonight.” She wrung her hands. “I want to go with him, but…”

“You can stay with me,” I said, a little surprised even as I offered. “My apartment isn't that far from the OHSU campus.”

“Amos needs to help maintain the farm,” she said, clearly thinking out loud. “My mother can come and stay with the younger ones for a few days.”

“Did the doctor say how long his recovery time would be?” Levi asked.

Martha shrugged. “Three days? Five? They don't know exactly.”

“Amos needs to get back, and you need to pack some clothes. We'll drive to the house and go from there.” Levi pulled his keys from his pocket. “Would Sara want to go with you to Portland?”

Martha considered it. “Yes, I'm sure she would.”

I frowned. “Won't Ida need Sara's help with the children?”

“My mother can handle the younger ones just fine. Naomi is nearby if she needs anything.”

I wondered at Levi's suggestion of taking Sara to Portland. Was he trying to encourage Sara to leave by giving her a taste of outside life?

Martha took a deep breath. “I will say goodbye to Gideon and then we'll go back to the house.”

Her eyes looked watery, but her face was stoic. She knew as well as we did that if Gideon didn't pull through the surgery, this could be the last time she saw him. I felt myself tear up too. I couldn't comprehend what that must have been like for her. To be married to someone for as long as she'd been married to Gideon, and then to have everything change so quickly.

A light squeeze on my arm redirected my thoughts. “How many people can your apartment hold?”

I looked up at Levi, trying to figure out where his question led. “It's only two bedrooms, but it's fairly spacious. I was planning on giving Martha and Sara my room and taking the couch.”

“I was just wondering,” he said. “I'd like to be there too, but I can always find a room somewhere.”

An argument raged inside my head. Being with Levi could be…dangerous. Having him stay in my apartment could be…more dangerous. A part of me enjoyed having him near, hearing his opinion on things, having someone else around to be strong and practical. I worried I'd enjoy it
too
much.

On the other hand, I did have room, and Martha and Sara would be there as well.

His father was in the hospital. And it would only be a few days, max. Surely he couldn't stay away from the shop for very long.

“No, it's fine,” I heard myself say even before I had made up my mind. “I can bring a sleeping bag and an air mattress.”

I nodded. “You can sleep in the study.”

Levi nodded back. “We'd best be going then.”

I drove Martha and Amos back to the farm that night. I packed up what I would need while Martha packed for herself.

Sara had greeted us at the door, desperate for word. Martha explained the trip to Portland, and Sara began to pack.

I think that if her father weren't going in for triple bypass surgery, she would have been completely delighted.

An hour later we left for Portland. Sara sat in the front seat next to me, her nose pressed to the glass as the farmhouses disappeared. I began to relax when the streets became truly familiar and my apartment complex came into view.

We woke up Martha, who had fallen asleep in the backseat during the drive. Sara and I carried the bags up the stairs, I unlocked the door, and everyone walked in.

My apartment seemed colder than I remembered. Granted, I hadn't had the heat on for more than a week, but it was colder in a different way. It didn't feel like home.

Levi called a few moments later, telling us he'd be there shortly.

I had Martha and Sara sit on the couch while I tried to get my room ready for their use. Not that it was
bad
, per se, but certainly not the standard of cleanliness I'd experienced at the Burkholder farm.

You wouldn't want to eat off my floor. And maybe not the table, either.

I remade my bed with fresh sheets and checked the floor for stray underwear. I especially looked through the study before turning it over to a certain carpenter.

A knock sounded at the door, and I knew Levi had arrived.

He had a backpack over his shoulder, a sleeping bag under one arm, and a pillow under the other. “I really appreciate this, Jayne.”

I gave a crooked smile. “You're welcome.”

“Sorry I was running late. I didn't want to keep you up—you'll get little enough sleep as it is—but I figured you didn't have a whole lot in the way of groceries.”

Hadn't gotten that far. “No…not really.”

“I stopped by the grocery store to pick up some staples.”

“You didn't have to do that.”

“You didn't have to take care of my family.”

“So where are they? Did you fit them in that backpack?”

“In the truck. I'll get them in a moment.”

“I can do that—”

He tossed me the keys. “Thanks. I'll be out in a minute.”

Didn't know quite why he said that. How much food did he buy?

I understood once I saw the bags piled atop each other in the cab. I unlocked the door to find milk, eggs, flour, sugar, shortening, butter, sausage, ground beef, baking soda, baking powder, deli meat, sandwich rolls, an assortment of condiments, and a lot of other things I'd have to dig through the bags to discover.