Page 7 of Still The One

Miss Receptionist scans the screen, clicking in and out of the system. ‘Eve?’ she asks.

I nod.

Her pursed-lip smile says anything but ‘it’ll all be OK’. ‘It looks like he’s just arrived in the recovery room so it’s going to be another hour or so.’

‘But he made it through the surgery?’

She glances at the screen again then nods.

Oh, sweet relief, he’s alive. Thank God. My heart stabilizes from its erratic run since seeing his face and for the first time in hours, I feel like I’m back on planet Earth and not just hovering above it watching chaos unfold.

‘Can you make a note to have someone come get me when he’s brought to a room? I’m in the family waiting area.’

‘Will do,’ she says, right as my phone vibrates in my pocket.

I pull it out as I walk back to the waiting room and see Kait’s name flashing across the screen.

‘Hey,’ she says when I answer. ‘What’s going on?’

Really, I’d rather not give anyone a play-by-play of my day right now, but I know she’s not hanging up the phone until I do.Prying is what best friends do best. Plus, I’ve known her too long to lie.

‘Foster is in ICU – here.’

The other end of the line is momentarily silent.

‘Here?’ she asks. ‘As in atourhospital?’

I like how she calls it ours as if we own it, not simply work for it. Kait is technically my sister’s best friend – originally. But the three of us are only a couple of years apart so we’ve become a BFF trio. Jess is home and has no idea what’s going on right now – thank God – because if she did, she’d be blowing up my phone with opinions I’d rather not hear. But Kait is here and works on floor six of the OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in labor and delivery, and I’m sure she was filled in on what’s happening by Genevieve, who has befriended us both.

‘As in, I had to leave my shift early because I was in the trauma room when he got here.’

‘Holy be-Jesus, Evie. Are you alright?’

I sit back on the couch in the family waiting area and rub a hand over my face. Emotions surface just from considering if I’m alright. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Is he…?’ she asks very hesitantly.

‘He lived through surgery, but I have no idea what his injuries are and I haven’t seen him since they took him to the OR.’

‘Did you really get the call?’

I wipe my eyes, hoping to stop the tears before they flow far too easily. ‘I did and I don’t know why, considering we’ve been apart for five years. He should have changed it a long time ago. How am I supposed to help with this? I don’t even know how to contact his family.’

‘What about Matty?’

‘Don’t know how to get ahold of him either.’

‘Shouldn’t he be here if he was hurt during a ride?’

‘He could be, for all I know, I just haven’t seen him.’

Her silence says so much. She’s choosing her words wisely here as after I left Florida (and Foster), I was a total mess. I thought three months after marriage I’d be floating on cloud nine still, but instead I found myself alone, far away from home, and wishing I’d made other choices while he toured without me. I didn’t get married and change my entire life only to be alone 92 per cent of the time.

‘Are you sure you don’t want to be happy with how much you’ve already helped, and let someone else figure this next part out?’ Kait asks.

‘You think I should leave him when he’s in this condition? Alone? We both know patients who are on their own heal slower than those with support. I once loved this man. No way can I just leave.’

‘I know, but this is a slippery slope, Eve – you have no idea who’s in his life now and things may get super awkward for you before they get better if you stay.’

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