Page 59 of From Rivals to I Do

“Of course,” I say, as I shove my emotions down and help him drink, placing the straw in the cup and holding it for him while he gently sucks through the straw. For a man who had just come out of a coma, especially at his age, he seems to be doing well. But his head is still wrapped up like a mummy.

“Thank you so much,” he says as he finishes, and I set the cup back on his side tray.

“It’s no problem,” I reply with a sigh. “If you need anything else, just press your bell.”

The rest of my shift was fairly quiet, which wouldn’t be such a problem if my brain wasn’t on fire after hearing that voice.

I’m riddled with guilt. The boys are the real victims here, having lost their father. I’d only known him a short time, and I’m devastated. But Eli had raised them, and I can only imagine how they feel. I mean, I haven’t even given them my condolences. . . It just wasn’t right.

Finally, 7 a.m. rolls around, and once I pass the shift to the morning crew, I dart for my car. Those boys are without a mom or a dad now, and if it were my kids, I’d want somebody to check in on them and make sure they’re okay.

I drive out to the grocery store and grab a pie, some flowers, and a condolence card, and head up to the house. It was the least I felt I could do, given the circumstances. As I go, my fingers are white-knuckled on the steering wheel the whole way. I wonder what I’m even going to say. What can I say? Nothing is going to make this any better. But maybe I can ease their pain just a little somehow.

I get to the house and I knock on the door, standing there nervously with pie and flowers in hand. I see a head pop through the curtain and look at me, but then it promptly disappears. For a moment, I fear that they don’t want to talk to me. That maybe I should just walk away. But then, slowly, the door creaks open, and there stands Noah, rubbing one of his eyes sleepily.

“Oh, hello there, Ms. Darla,” Noah says, seeming surprised to see me.

“Hey there,” I reply, holding out the pie. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I’m so sorry for your loss. Your father was a good man.”

“Wait. . . what are you talking about?” Noah asks.

“Eli,” I reply, feeling a bit flustered by his lack of emotion. “I heard of his passing through the other nurses,” I fib, not wanting to admit that I used my credentials and the computer at work to search for answers.

“Well, they told you wrong,” Noah says. “He isn’t dead. He’s actually been awake and alert, he’s just having some memory issues.”

“What?” I gasp, nearly dropping the pie as I sit down on the little bench by the door.

“Zack! Get me some water.” I hear him say as a wave of dizziness washes over me. The two boys hand me a cool glass of water, and I shakingly bring it to my lips to sip.

“But the computer at work said that he died,” I reply, feeling very confused. “It said that he had a seizure and didn’t make it.”

“Well, that’s not what happened at all,” Zack insists. “He’s been awake for a day or so.”

“On the ICU ward?” I ask, still feeling fifty shades of stupefied.

“Yep,” Noah replies.

“But I just worked last night and he’s not in any of the charts,” I say, and Noah’s eyebrows furrow.

“Something’s fishy here,” Noah says, his brow furrowed. “Why don’t we go over to that hospital with you and try to figure it out.”

“I agree,” Zack says with a nod. “Let’s get you sorted and then roll out. You can ride with me, Ms. Darla.”

Chapter fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

“See, there he is,” Noah says, stopping in front of Elijah Garcia’s room.

“That’s Elijah’s room,” I say as I walk over to the nurse’s station, still in disbelief as I pull Elijah’s chart and cover everything up but the name and age, not wanting to get fired for a HIPAA violation. “See?”

“Woah,” Zack replies. “Well, I’ll be dipped, she’s right.”

“Obviously I can’t show you the computer records, but I saw them,” I say with tears in my eyes. “They said he was dead and I just. . .”

“Sheesh, this is a nightmare,” Zack says as he hugs me from the side. “I’m sorry, I should have texted you. Things just got so crazy!”

“It’s okay, I just figured you guys were going through enough,” I reply. “I didn’t want to be a bother.”

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