Page 50 of Love on the Brain
Jane laughed. Molly always thought of everything. “That’s amazing.”
“Yep. You’ve got one important job,the biggest job,and that’s to show up with your son. This whole thing isn’t going to happen if you both aren’t there, just saying.”
Jane pondered for a moment. “Okay. Thanks, Shel.”
“Anytime.” She pointed to Jane’s phone, leaning against Casey’s headstone. “Gimme your phone. I’ll put the grief group in your calendar.”
* * *
Ryan hitsendand prayed for a return message. It was Monday morning, the start of a fresh new week, and he was excited.
As he stared at the screen, it lit up with an incoming call.Not Jane.The hospital’s number flashed, so he swiped to answer it. It was scheduling, calling to confirm the final details for Noah’s surgery.
Ryan immediately dialed Jane’s number and clicked on the video feature. Jane appeared on-screen before a backdrop of blue sky and leafless deciduous trees. The steeple of the church was just visible over her right shoulder.
“It’s all set up,” he reported. “The team, the OR, the support staff, pre-op. Everything.”
Jane nodded, pulling on her ponytail. “Thank you.”
“Hey, Ryan.” Shelby poked her head into view. “That’s amazing! I know you said every case’s recovery timeline is different, but if all goes well, would Noah be able to travel, say, the week of April fifteenth?”
Ryan knitted his brow. “I can’t say for sure, but we can be hopeful. Is that your wedding week?”
“It is if he can come. Save the date for April twenty-first, preceded by a week of fun. I’m officially inviting you to my wedding.”
Ryan grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
She sighed heavily.“Pleasedon’t call me ma’am. It makes me feel old. Save all your ma’ams for Meemaw. Damon’s grandmother can have all of them. Seriously, what is it with Southerners and their overpoliteness?”
Ryan hooted. “Ah reckon we just want to be respectful to the ladies,” he drawled.
“A friendly PSA for you: ‘Ma’am’ makes us New Englanders feel old. Our mothers and grandmother are ma’ams.”
“Got it.”
Shelby moved off-screen, and Jane reappeared. Was it a trick of the light, or did her eyes look swollen, like she’d been crying? “Thank you. I’ll um, call you tonight, okay?”
“Sure thing. Are you okay?”
Jane nodded. “Allergies. You know how the pollen gets me. I’ll be up all night, transferring drainage from one nostril to the other.” She chuckled, but it looked half-hearted, and Ryan wasn’t buying it. She’d used the allergy line year-round after her mom died.
They said goodbye and ended the call. It’d been barely twenty-four hours and yet the pain of her being so far away stung. It was true what they said about absence, at least in his case. It did make the heart grow fonder. His was about to burst. He’d never missed Sunny like this. Not in college, not in med school, not when she traveled for work. It had to mean Jane was his person … right?
Later that night, after a long shift, Ryan headed to the hospital’s employee fitness center to work off his stress and frustration. Several years ago, a grant had paid for the facility and staffed trainers around the clock. Even the most hardened healthcare workers had seen and experienced things they couldn’t shake, and the equipment was always a better choice than a bottle or pills.
Ryan waved to Tage, the trainer on duty, and headed for the weights. He wanted to push his limits tonight, and it was ideal to have an equally big guy like Tage to spot him. He was glad to see the room was empty.
“Set you up for two-fifty?” Tage reached the weights before he did.
“Let’s go for three hundred tonight.” Ryan went through his routine of stretches while the athletic twentysomething set up the weights. Just as he finished, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
“Just a sec,” he said to Tage as he pulled the device from his pocket.
“That your girl?”
Ryan smiled as he opened the message from Jane. “I think so.”
Tage raised a brow. “She is or she isn’t.”
