Page 91 of Only This Once
“And Phoebe’s with you?” Charles asked, his voice too fast.
She glanced at her friend. “Yeah. Is everything all right? Is it Jinx?” The nickname made her heart race even faster. Even if he did have a lot of accidents, none of them were ever serious. He couldn’t be—
“Yeah. He’s going to be okay, but they’re admitting him.”
“What? What happened?”
“I promise you, he’s going to be fine. It’s good it happened here at the hospital. I’m already here. Come over and I’ll tell you the details in person. Bring Phoebe, too.”
“We’ll be right there.” Julia wished Charles would say more, but his name was being called and he hung up.
Phoebe’s face had paled. “Did something happen?”
“Yeah.” Julia scrambled up from the couch. “Let’s go. They’re admitting Jinx to the hospital. Charles said he’s okay. It’s probably observation stuff.” Julia was telling herself that, too. Charles wouldn’t have lied.
Phoebe took her hand. “Let’s go together.”
Julia nodded. They left their cups on the table instead of taking them to the designated area, but Julia didn’t care. She needed to see for herself as soon as possible that Jinx was fine.
Chapter 27
Jinx had almost drowned. Or he had drowned? Did drowning mean it ended in death? Can you drown and survive, or was it called something else then?
Julia wanted to research the terminology, but Mrs. Holden was squeezing her hand in comfort, and she didn’t want to pull away. It was just the two of them there now that night had fallen.
It was easier to look at Jinx now that the oxygen mask had been removed, though his breathing still sounded too loud to Julia’s ears.
He had a white bandage wrapped around his head, covering a nasty gash. She’d seen it when they changed the soaked through bandage. Head wounds bled a lot. Trust Jinx to somehow have something fall directly on his head while he worked with his client in the pool. No one had ever seen anything like it.
He’d been knocked out underwater, and he’d drawn water into his lungs. More than the doctors had liked. That’s why they were keeping him. To give him oxygen to help things get back to normal quicker, and hopefully to prevent any chance ofpneumonia. It was a minor risk, more common when the body was weak. Jinx was fit in a skinny, toned way. He would be fine. Everyone had agreed.
Sleep was the best thing for him, but she wished she’d seen him awake for more than a few minutes. Part of that was the head injury, which they continued to monitor, but it hadn’t even needed stitches. Unless they had used glue and she hadn’t noticed. She hated that she knew very little outside of the surgeries she helped with. She should know more.
“All these years, and this hadn’t happened.” Mrs. Holden rubbed Julia’s fingers. “I always worried about him being around water. Remember how you fished him out of the lake that one time?”
More than once since he’d fallen in as an adult, too. Julia didn’t say that. The lake had only been a few feet deep, and he hadn’t been knocked out. The situation wasn’t the same at all.
“You were there for him back then. Remember that near miss at the bus stop? I think I was most afraid then, even though I tried not to be.” Mrs. Holden sighed, a sad smile lifting her lips. “God sent me my baby boy as a constant reminder that I wasn’t the one in control. Can’t say the lesson ever stuck, though. I still fret.” She patted Julia’s hand. “A little less, now that you’re back in his life.”
Julia’s throat tightened. “I missed him,” she admitted. It was only in quiet moments like these that she could acknowledge the hurt she’d felt over the past few years. Jinx hadn’t been in town very often, but whenever she learned that he had been and that she hadn’t seen him, there had been a part of her that had squirmed. She’d blamed that last encounter after the party, thinking she’d gotten things wrong. She hadn’t, though. That night had caused it, but not because of her.
“I’m glad you’re together again,” Mrs. Holden said. “You’ve always been good for him, Julia. Good for my whole family, evenme. I’m glad you’re here.” She tilted her head toward Julia’s, and they rested against each other. “I hope he’s there for you as much as you’re here for him.”
She remembered how careful he’d been when he was there for her during the two off nights he’d been around for. “Jinx is special,” she said.
His mom lifted her head. “He said you’re dating now. Really dating.”
Julia wanted to look away from her searching eyes, feeling way too transparent when her smile softened.
“It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes. We’re together.” Her heart squeezed at saying that out loud. ‘Together’ made them sound like an established couple. Was that what they were? “We’re still feeling things out.”
“I’d hoped his feelings wouldn’t remain one-sided.” Mrs. Holden took Julia’s other hand, clutching them both in hers. “Oh, you two will have the cutest babies.”
Julia wanted to bury herself in a hole.
“Stop, Mom,” Jinx wheezed out, coughing after. “No babies.”
