Ava Comes Home by Lesley Crewe Page B

calling.”
    â€œIt’s a tough situation. I’m sorry.”
    â€œYes. Goodbye.”
    Ava hung up and grabbed Lola. “Oh my god, Aunt Vi and Uncle Angus are in the hospital. There’s been a car accident!”
    Lola hugged her tight to keep her from shaking. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
    â€œI have to tell Ma.”
    â€œNo, don’t do that yet. Let’s find out their condition first. There’s no sense in upsetting her until we know all the facts.”
    Ava put her hand to her forehead, trying to think clearly. “Yes, yes, you’re right. What do I do?”
    Lola picked up the address book that was by the phone. “Call your sister Rose and get her to take you to the hospital. I’ll stay here with your mother. The nurse is upstairs now. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her.”
    Ava hugged Lola again. “What on earth would I do without you?”
    â€œHey, that’s what friends are for.”
    Ava called her sister at work and Rose came as fast as she could to pick her up. Lola waved them goodbye. “Let me know as soon as you can.”
    Ava called back, “We will.”
    Rose zoomed out of the driveway. “What happened?”
    â€œI don’t know. The police said a kid ran a red light and crashed into them.”
    â€œOh my god, this is horrible. I can’t believe it. It’s not fair. They’re the sweetest people alive. Why did this have to happen?”
    Ava buried her head in her hands. “I told her to go. If only I hadn’t done that.”
    â€œIt’s not your fault, Libby. Don’t think that.” Rose reached into her purse. “Here’s my cell phone. Everyone’s number is in there. Call as many as you can while I drive.”
    By the time they reached the hospital, almost all the relatives had been called. Rose parked the car in a no-parking zone and the two of them flew into the lobby and raced to the front desk.
    â€œMy aunt and uncle were involved in a car accident. The police said they were sent here, Angus and Viola MacIntosh.”
    â€œJust a moment, please.” The woman left her desk and went to talk to someone. A few minutes later she came back. “They’re still in the emergency department. I’ll take you there.”
    â€œThank you.”
    Rose took Ava by the hand and the two of them walked through several doors, oblivious of the people they passed. There was a bit of a buzz when they went by and someone called out Ava’s name, but they kept going. Soon they were in a crowded annex, with the nurses’ station in the middle and curtained cubicles surrounding it. There were several rooms off it as well.
    The woman who escorted them left them then, saying, “Someone will be with you in a moment.”
    They nodded and stood there, scared to death and set adrift. They didn’t know where to look for help. They watched nurses and doctors go about their business. If one approached them, they went rigid, afraid of what might be said, but they inevitably walked on by. Finally a young doctor with horn-rimmed glasses and a stethoscope around his neck approached them. “I’m Dr. Richardson. Are you the MacIntoshes’ relatives?”
    â€œYes,” Rose said. “Please tell me they’re all right.”
    He looked at his chart. “According to the police, they’re very lucky it wasn’t worse, but it’s still considerable trauma for people of their age. Mrs. MacIntosh has a broken ankle and wrist…”
    â€œOh no.”
    He continued. “Mr. MacIntosh has a badly broken arm. He’ll have to be operated on, as he needs pins to fix it. They both have considerable bruising and Mr. MacIntosh needed several stitches to sew up a nasty gash over his eye. He also has a dislocated knee. All that said, I’m sure they can make a reasonable recovery, as long as they have plenty of help for the