Page 78 of Stolen Kisses

Sarah’s shoulders drop as she huffs out a heavy sigh. For long moments, she looks out across Emma’s front yard. Folding her arms again, she looks at me. “I’m not sure Emma would want you to know, Theo. I’m sorry.”

“Can you at least tell me which hospital? I’ll sit and wait there for as long as it takes,” I implore. “Please, Sarah. Let me make things right.”

She takes long moments. “Mom and Dad are atMercy Vale Hospital, third floor.” I move forward, wrapping my arms around her in gratitude. “Don’t make me regret this, Theo. Or I’ll cut your balls off.”

My balls retract into my body at her threat. “Thank you.” I kiss her cheek.“My balls will be safe and I promise you won’t be sorry. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to her. You’ll see.”

“You’d better not disappoint me.” She looks at her watch. “She’ll be out of surgery ina couple of hours.”

I give her my thanks and go home to collect my phone, wallet, and keys. While I’m driving toward the hospital, I run through all of the possible scenarios. Why in the hell is my girl in the hospital? What happened? Has she been sick? How long? Why didn’t she ever ask me for help? She’s still been doing everything for herself, so it can’t be anything too serious—right?

I barge into the waiting room on the third floor like the hounds of hell are on my tail. The chemical smell of the hospital assaults my nose, bringing back unwelcome memories from my childhood. I push them away as my eyes land on Emma’s parents, my feet automatically moving in their direction. “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Stanfield. Is there any news on Emma?” It seems to take them forever to respond to me and I realize I really have no right to ask anything about Emma. “I’m sorry. I have no right to ask. I’ll just sit over there and wait.” Ipointover my shoulder at the chairs on the opposite side of the room.

“No, no, please sit with us, Theo,” Emma’s mom responds, standing from her chair to engulf me in a warm embrace. “We were surprised to see you here. That’s all.” She looks at her husband. “We didn’t realize you and Emma were together again.”

Well, this is awkward. “Uh, well …” I scrub my short beard. “We’re notactuallytogether.” I go on to explain how I came to be here and what my intentions are, hoping and praying they allow me to stay.

“Ah, I see,” Mr. Stanfield responds, nodding thoughtfully. “You hurt our daughter. I hope you’ve learned from your mistake.” I nod emphatically. “Of course, it’s entirely up to Emma whether or not she forgives you.”

“I know. I’m prepared to put in the work to win her back though.”

Emma’s mom smiles wide and her dad gives me a nod. We sit together,in silence, for long moments. Pulling out my phone I check my emails for something to do. I’m tempted to ask whyEm’shaving surgery, but I’m holding back so I can have the discussion with Emma. I figure I owe her that much. Time seems to drag and I’m finding it difficult to sit still. Getting up, I pace around the room, stopping at the windows to watch people down on the street. The sun has dropped lower in the overcast sky, coating the buildings in a gray hue.The quiet is interrupted when a doctor steps through the double doors. Myheart picks up speed and I wipe my palms on my jeans.

“Mr. and Mrs. Stanfield?”

They step forward as a solid unit. “That’s us. How is she, Dr. Barnes?”

“She’s out of surgery. Everything went smoothly and as we expected. Emma’scurrentlybeing moved into a room, where she’ll spend her time here recovering. A nurse will be down shortly to take you to see your daughter.”

John wraps an arm around Sally’s shoulder, the relief on both of their faces plainly evident. “Oh, thank you so much, Doctor.” Sally smiles at the man.

“No problem. She’ll be sore for a while, but we’ll be able to manage that with pain relief while she’s here. She needs to take it easy to allow her body to recover.” He’s all business.

“Thank you. We’ll wait here until the nurse comes down.”

“Sure. Bye for now.” He smiles and with a tilt of his head, he’s gone.

I look across to Sally and John. I still have no clue what surgery Emma had, but at least I know whatever it was went well. It sounds like there’ll be a recovery period. I mentally run through my projects over the next several weeks. Work is always quieter during winter. People aren’t thinking about entertaining outdoors so much, so they’re not thinking about outdoor furniture or decks. I should be able to spend a fairamountof time looking after her as she recovers.

We all sit together in silence until a nurse comes through the same doors the doctor did. “Mr. and Mrs. Stanfield?” She looks up from her clipboard expectantly. There are only the three of us here. They rise and I remain seated. After rushing here this afternoon, I’ve realized I don’t have a place. Theymake ithalfway to the nurse, who’s still standing in the doorway when Mrs. Stanfield turns back toward me.

“Well, are you coming?” I stand up likelightning, appreciating her gesture to include me.

“I’m sorry, only family members are allowed past this point.” The nurse directs my way.

Mr. Stanfield speaks on my behalf, “He’s our daughter’s boyfriend. I’m sure you can make an exception for him.” His gesture goes well above anything I was expecting from Emma’s family, but it gives me a sense of hope that if Emma accepts my apology, things will be okay between me and her parents. I know how much they mean to Emma, which means I need them to accept me back in her and the boys’lives.

She looks me up and down as if making sure that I am, in fact, Emma’s boyfriend. “Sure. Follow me, please.”

When we enter Emma’s stark room, the beeping of the machines fills my ears. Stopping just inside the doorway, I allow her parents to go in first and have some time with their daughter. Emma’s coming around but she’s still mostly out of it by the looks of it. They each take turns to bend down, planting kisses on her forehead. She’s got tubes sticking out of her and wires attached to machines that are monitoring her heart and breathing.

Sally and John take a seat in the chairs on either side of the bed. Emma’s mombrushesher daughter’s bangs in a motherly fashion. Her dad says something quietly to her, making her smile slightly. Her eyes open for a short while before fluttering closed again. I feel like a creeper watching them like this but theydidsay I could join them.

I wonder if I should wait for Emma to get home from the hospital before approaching her, this seems like a douche move to talk to her about my behavior when she’s just come out of surgery. But then again, Iama douche. A douche of the highest level. I shrug internally. Leaning against the doorframe, I make myself as comfortable as I can while I wait for my turn to visit.

After what seems like an eternity, Emma opens her eyes properly indicating that she’s thirsty.

“Here, Honey. Have a sip.” Her mom holds a glass with a straw close to her lips for Emma to have a drink. They chat quietly for a little while and I’m doing my best to be patient. As though Mrs. Stanfield suddenly remembers I’m here, she turns suddenly in her seat, waving me forward. I move in, stopping right beside Emma’s bed. Her eyes widen as her mouth opens; probably to protest my presence.

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