Page 18 of Wesley

Chapter Seven

Charlotte

The minutes ticked by like hours as I sat watching over my daughter. From time to time, a nurse would come in, take her pulse, listen to her heart, check her eyes, type a few things on her chart, and then leave. Sometimes they’d give her medicine through her IV, or change the bag, but very little was spoken or varied from that routine for the last few hours.

I sat in the chair beside her bed and glanced at the clock. She’d been in her room for over three hours, and still no movement. Doctor Young had said that she might not wake until tomorrow. How was I going to make it through the night?

I had dwelled over her fall a hundred times since I’d gotten to the hospital. Had I brought her to the doctor right away, would I have saved her from harm? If I had let Doctor Young look at her in the park, could we have avoided all of this?

My thoughts shifted from Marisol to Doctor Young. He had been kind to let me cry on his shoulder, even kinder to hold me while I did it. His arms around me had made me feel safer than I had felt since I was a seven, and when I had looked into his face, I thought I saw more than compassion. It had to be the fragile emotions that I felt that made me see something that didn’t exist.

What would it be like to have a man like Doctor Young in my life? A strong man who cared about others, who cared about me—who could care about my daughter, too? Someone who would wrap his strong arms around us and give us what we needed.

I had my eyes closed when I heard footsteps into the room, and I shoved the silly fantasy from my mind. The steps were different than the last several hours, and I opened my eyes to find Jersey rushing toward me. “Oh, Charlotte.”

I burst to my feet and fell into her arms. Yes, I had been angry with her earlier, but she wasn’t to blame. Marisol had climbed over something and fallen on her own. Had I been there watching; I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop her either. Doctor Young was right, it only took a second for kids to do something dangerous.

“How is she? How are you?” Jersey asked as she pulled away and searched my face.

“How did you even know I was here?”

“Wes called me.”

“Wes?”

“Wes Young, the doctor from the park.”

“You know Doctor Young?”

She smiled softly and nodded before she glanced at Marisol, “How is she doing? I heard she had surgery.”

“I just thought she had hit her head and would have a headache for a while. I never thought that she was really injured, Jersey. I feel like such a horrible mom for not getting her medical attention right away.”

She hugged me again, “Don’t think like that, Charlotte. Kids hit their heads all the time, and the lumps get really big, really fast. Adam has hit his head so many times, and I freaked out the first couple of times, and then I’d just watch him. I guess being married to a doctor has its advantages, and now I let Bruce worry about it.”

“Must be nice.” I smiled at her as an image of Doctor Young returned to my mind. When this had all started, he’d been squat in front of Marisol. His touch was gentle as he’d been moving her hair back to check her brow. If I had just stopped and thought for a moment, I would have seen the difference between a predator and someone who was trying to help my daughter. I pictured Marisol smiling down at him, and him returning it.

“You didn’t answer my question about Doctor Young. Do you know him?”

“Yes, Wes works in the emergency department. He’s friends with Bruce. Bruce was the one to tell him about the job here when he was looking. I think Bruce went to school with one of his siblings, he has a ton of them.” She laughed, “He’s been over to our house a time or two for dinner. Wait, he was at our Christmas party—”

“That I couldn’t attend because Marisol was sick, remember?”

“Oh yeah, I do.” She let her gaze slip over Marisol. “What are they saying about her?”

“Doctor Young told me that we have to wait for her to wake up, and that could be tomorrow. They don’t know. No one is saying much of anything, other than she might have problems when she wakes up.”

Jersey came to stand in front of me again, “And we will do everything we can to help you with whatever she needs, Charlotte. I will not take no for an answer. I absolutely won’t. If you need to miss work for three months so you can take care of her, I’ll make sure you have enough money to do that.” I opened my mouth to tell her no, but she nailed me with a look that shut me up. “Char, I know that you will do anything for your daughter, and this might be one of those times that you are going to have to take me up on that offer. I love you, and I love her, and you can bet that Bruce will be one hundred percent behind me on this, too.”

I didn’t know what to say, but I knew that Jersey was right. I would do anything for my daughter, and if that meant borrowing money from my friend so that I could be there to help Marisol, then I would do it. I hugged her, “You’re a good friend, and thank you. I might have to take you up on that offer.”

“Good. I’m glad you aren’t going to fight me on this.” She glanced at her watch, “When was the last time you ate?”

I tried to remember, and she laughed, “That long, huh? Okay, I’m going to run out and get you food, and get us coffee so we can make it through tonight.”

“Jersey, you don’t have to stay all night. You have a family.”

She put her hand up, “Yes, I have a family, and I have a husband who is home now, and a housekeeping nanny who can watch over Adam. I’m not leaving until Marisol wakes up and we find out what is going on. You are not going to be alone on this, Char. I’m right here.” She gave me another hug and then left to get food and coffee.

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