Page 97 of Must Love Bees
What was happening right now? Was she awake? Scared or hurting?
When the doctor emerged, they all jumped up.
“I’m Dr. Edwards. You’re Camellia Hill’s family?”
“I’m her sister. Her nieces and their significant others. And Van...her partner.” Magnolia crossed her arms over her chest, blinking rapidly. “How is she?”
“She’s stable,” he assured them, holding his hands up.
There was a collective sigh in the small space.
“From the electrocardiogram, we can determine she suffered a mild heart attack. We’ve given her a thrombolytic—which will help dissolve the clot and get the blood flowing.” He checked his watch. “I’m scheduling a coronary angiogram now. It will identify any narrowing or blockages in the arteries and give us a better idea of what’s going on. Depending on what the tests show, there is a chance we might need to fly her to Austin.”
Astrid reached up to cover Charlie’s hand on her shoulder.
“She’ll have to be sedated for the angiogram so I thought a few of you might like to see her first? She’s awake, but groggy. We need to limit it to five minutes.” He paused. “Any questions?”
“She’s safe?” Van asked. “She’s going to be okay?”
“She is out of danger. The tests will help us determine what we need to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Van nodded. “Why Austin?”
“They have more specialized equipment. But I will let you know if that’s what needs to happen. Anything else?”
“Yes.” It was hard to see their indomitable Aunt Mags so rattled. But she was. They all were. “If she doesn’t go to Austin, what then?”
“She’ll get a room. Whether she stays here or goes to Austin, she won’t be leaving for several days.” He waited.
Astrid was still processing what he’d said. A heart attack. Tests. It would be exhausting for her aunt—and scary if she had to face it all alone. “If she gets a room, can she have visitors?”
“Two at a time.” He glanced at his watch again. “I’ll show whoever is going back.”
“Go.” Charlie squeezed her shoulders. “Give her my best. I’ll be here when you get back.”
She and Tansy, Van and Magnolia followed Dr. Edwards through the emergency room doors and past several curtained-off stations.
“Remember, she’s tired. Keep it short.” Dr. Edwards pulled the curtain back.
“There you are.” Camellia’s smile was small and her voice was thick, but she was alive and breathing.
Van reached her first. “Camellia Ann, you’ve given my heart a fright.” He bent low, pressing a kiss against her forehead. “Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me?”
“I hear you.” She smiled up at him. “You sweet man.”
He caught her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
Mags took her place on the other side of Camellia. She pressed her hand to Camellia’s cheek but couldn’t speak. Instead, her lips trembled and she blinked rapidly, taking the handkerchief Van offered her.
Astrid and Tansy stood at the foot of the bed. Since Aunt Camellia didn’t have a free hand, they each held on to one of her feet.
“Sweet girls.” Camellia smiled. “I’m sorry to have caused such a fuss this evening.”
“No, ma’am.” Tansy shook her head. “You are not going to apologize for having a health crisis. It’s not like you planned it, Aunt Camellia.” She paused. “Did you?”
That earned a chuckle from Van and a smile from Camellia.
“It’s so good to see your smile.” Astrid gave Camellia’s toes a squeeze. “Your smile makes everything better, don’t you know?”
