Page 55 of Lost Room Lawyer
“Answer it,” Hector urged.
I picked up and held the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hello, Nico. This is Maya.”
“Oh, hi.” I snuck a puzzled glance at Hector.
“I … um … It’s about your mother. She’s in the hospital.”
“What?”
This must be a joke, I thought. But I knew Maya, and she wouldn’t joke about something like this.
“We’re at the University Hospital. You should come as soon as possible.”
“Yes … um … okay.” I felt numb, already putting the phone down even though Maya was still saying something.
“What’s wrong?” Hector asked, concerned.
Somehow, I snapped back to reality and gripped the phone in my hand. “My mother is in the hospital.”
“What? Rina’s in the hospital?” Leo set his glass down in surprise. “What happened to her?”
“I have no idea.” My body felt heavy as stone, but then, in a sudden moment of clarity, I knew what I had to do and rose from my chair. “I have to go to the University Hospital. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Go!” Viktoria encouraged me. “Or do you want someone to come with you? I work there and know the people.”
“No, it’s okay. Thanks. Maya is there.”
“Let us know as soon as you find out more,” Leo said.
Waving my hand in farewell, I snatched my jacket from the coat check and hurried out.
16
–––––
Nico
Fortunately, Maya caught me just as I arrived at the hospital entrance.
“Where is she? What happened?”
“Come with me,” Maya said, leading me down the hallway to the elevator.
I was so focused on her words that I barely paid attention to where we were going, though I wasn’t processing what she was saying. She had spoken to my mother on the phone earlier. After Rina mentioned feeling dizzy, started speaking unclearly, and it sounded like she might have fainted, Maya had rushed over to check on her. When she found my mother unconscious in the kitchen, Maya called an ambulance. We were still waiting on an exact diagnosis.
So it’s nothing serious, I tried to reassure myself.All this commotion was probably a bit over the top.Maya had a tendency to make a drama out of everything. Besides, it had been less than four days since I’d been at the bookstore with my mother.
Maybe this incident is a good thing. Knowing my mother, she probably wouldn’t have gone to the doctor to check out these dizzy spells otherwise.
“It’s right up ahead,” Maya said, pointing down the hallway.
As we approached the room, a doctor came out.
“Oh! Are we too late?” Maya asked. “This is Rina’s son.”
The doctor appeared serious and tired. I’d have guessed he was about the same age as Hector, but this dark-haired man had already started to gray at the temples. He pushed up his glasses and turned to me with a scrutinizing gaze.
