Page 66 of Love on the Brain
It occurred to Jane that Ryan’s explanation could also apply to emotional pain.
“Unka Ry?”
“Yeah?”
“You … fix me?”
“My team did, buddy. You need time to heal though.”
“I … not … g’na … go ta … Heaven wif Da-dee?”
Jane sucked in a breath as Ryan grappled with how to respond.
“Nah, buddy. You’ve got a lot to do on this earth first.”
“Oh.”
Jane stroked his cheek, afraid to voice the question in her mind. “Noah, were you expecting to go to Heaven?”
He blinked, his eyes staring straight ahead. Jane shifted to be in his view since his head was stabilized, rendering him unable to turn it.
“I want … a daddy.”
Jane’s tears spilled over, and she felt Ryan’s gaze on her. She hesitated to meet it, afraid of what she might see in the depths of his blue eyes.
But she couldn’t keep her eyes from straying up to his, and she saw everything she’d expected she’d see—love, compassion, care—and felt the power of all of it.
When she replied to Noah, she spoke directly to Ryan. “God hears our prayers, Noah. He always provides what we need, and he wants to fill the holes in our lives. Be patient, okay?”
“Oh-kay.”
Ryan walked around to stand behind Jane. She straightened, leaning into him, and he wrapped his big arms around her. She felt like she was in God’s arms. The arms—those steady hands—had saved her boy’s life. And perhaps hers, too. While she hadn’t been in danger of physically dying, she’d believed for a long time that her heart was irreparable.
She’d been so wrong. Ryan had not just found a way to mend Noah’s brain—he’d mended her heart, too.
* * *
After four daysof observation and minimal therapies, Noah was well enough to leave the hospital. To Ryan’s delight, Jane insisted on them spending the rest of the week at Ryan’s house, “just in case.”
Ryan explained that if he didn’t think Noah would be fine at Connie and Dale’s, he wouldn’t have released him, but he understood Jane’s concern. Noah’s recovery had been quick and surprisingly complete. Except for persisting vision issues and pain that would be alleviated when the swelling was all gone, he hadn’t displayed any other signs of lasting side effects.
A true miracle.
In Ryan’s line of work, he saw many miracles, so he wasn’t as surprised as Jane or her family was. He’d seen God’s hand at work over and over again and had given up trying to explain what doctors and science couldn’t. That was where faith came in; where faith was tested. When you could attribute the unexpected and unexplainable to God, you were filled with a deep peace and could rest in the knowledge that a higher power was taking care of things. That somehow, somewhere, it would all make sense. Maybe not to you or in this lifetime, but inHistiming.
And that was good enough.
In the wee hours of Friday morning, Ryan awoke on his couch with a feeling to check on Noah. As he leaned on the doorframe studying Noah in the dim glow of the nightlight, Noah sat up.
“I’m awake.”
Ryan entered the room and sat on the bed. “You feeling okay? Sleeping all right?”
Noah nodded. “It’s a nice bed.”
“That’s what I hear.”
“You don’t sleep in it?”
