relaxed. “She’s having a CT scan done. My name’s Derek.” He set her firmly on her feet. “I’d offer my hand but you have them both right now.” He grinned.
“Katrina. Mama sent me to check on her, she doesn’t handle hospitals well.” Deja’s sister smoothed her clothing down. “Can you tell me what happened? The hospital called, saying she was in a car accident. Black ice is freaky. I kept imaging the worst all the way here.”
Derek motioned to the only comfortable chair in the tiny room. “She smacked into a wall of packed snow and bumped her head. They’re just checking her out.” He attempted to smile hoping it shone through.
“Oh thank heavens, that means she hasn’t broken anything.”
Derek took in Katrina, weighing her looks to his Deja’s and found slight similarities. Katrina had a more open welcoming air about her. Perhaps waiting for news with someone wouldn’t be as bad as waiting alone. “No need to worry, trust me, your sister was her good ole self cursing up a streak as they took her.” A soft chuckle left his lips. Pain radiated in the back of his neck, reminding him he was overdue for a massage. Instead of finding someone to work the kink out, he ignored the twinge.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how do you know my sister?”
“We share similar interests.” He avoided directly linking him personally to Deja, wanting to protect her wishes at the expense of his own.
“Look, I know Deja’s a private woman, she’s my sister and I know her well. If she was hiding something, one of us girls would’ve picked up on it.”
Derek clicked the nurse button on the remote attached to the bed, avoiding the question. “How many of you girls are there?”
“Six girls, Deja’s the oldest, then there’s me, Katonah, the twins Sarah and Toni, lastly Mercedes, followed by Jackson and David our brothers.”
Perfect, this one seemed to like to talk a lot. “Sounds like you have a huge family.” He watched her watching him not falling for the looming unsaid grilling. If this were a humorous situation he’d have his ear bent to a litany of rapid fire questions. No doubt both sides would be evenly matched.
“Mr. Tresvant.” Deja’s nurse popped her head in the room.
“Any news Jenny?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry. I meant to come in earlier.” She stepped in to acknowledge the additional family member. “The neuro surgeon has conferred with the emergency room doctor, they’ve decided Ms. Crane should remain overnight for observation.”
“Why? Did you find something bad about my sister?”
“Her injury isn’t severe or unnatural for a head bump she’s sustained from the car accident. Even slight frontal bleeds can swell up undetected. They just want to make sure hers doesn’t swell too much.”
Derek sighed in relief. “It’ll be okay Katrina.” He turned to address the nurse. “Do you know how she is doing?”
“Your sister is in great hands Katrina, this is merely a precaution, a prevention of sorts to reassure her and the docs that nothing else will pop up overnight. They fully expect to discharge her following first rounds tomorrow morning. You can go up to the second floor in about ten minutes. She’ll be in room 210a.The bed closest to the door.”
Derek gathered the bag of Deja’s clothing, purse, coat and his own. “Why don’t we go on up, she should be in the room by the time we make our way there.”
As Katrina grabbed her belongings, he held the door open for her and followed her out. At the nurse station he caught the unit clerk. “How do I get to the second floor?”
“Follow the exit sign to the lobby. Then take the purple stripes on the tile floor to the purple elevator, dark purple not the light blue stripes that look lavender, unless you want to end up in the maternity ward. Once you reach the purple elevator hit floor two and exit, follow the green tiles to the northwest wing and look on the wall to see which direction the numbers are
“Katrina. Mama sent me to check on her, she doesn’t handle hospitals well.” Deja’s sister smoothed her clothing down. “Can you tell me what happened? The hospital called, saying she was in a car accident. Black ice is freaky. I kept imaging the worst all the way here.”
Derek motioned to the only comfortable chair in the tiny room. “She smacked into a wall of packed snow and bumped her head. They’re just checking her out.” He attempted to smile hoping it shone through.
“Oh thank heavens, that means she hasn’t broken anything.”
Derek took in Katrina, weighing her looks to his Deja’s and found slight similarities. Katrina had a more open welcoming air about her. Perhaps waiting for news with someone wouldn’t be as bad as waiting alone. “No need to worry, trust me, your sister was her good ole self cursing up a streak as they took her.” A soft chuckle left his lips. Pain radiated in the back of his neck, reminding him he was overdue for a massage. Instead of finding someone to work the kink out, he ignored the twinge.
“If you don’t mind my asking, how do you know my sister?”
“We share similar interests.” He avoided directly linking him personally to Deja, wanting to protect her wishes at the expense of his own.
“Look, I know Deja’s a private woman, she’s my sister and I know her well. If she was hiding something, one of us girls would’ve picked up on it.”
Derek clicked the nurse button on the remote attached to the bed, avoiding the question. “How many of you girls are there?”
“Six girls, Deja’s the oldest, then there’s me, Katonah, the twins Sarah and Toni, lastly Mercedes, followed by Jackson and David our brothers.”
Perfect, this one seemed to like to talk a lot. “Sounds like you have a huge family.” He watched her watching him not falling for the looming unsaid grilling. If this were a humorous situation he’d have his ear bent to a litany of rapid fire questions. No doubt both sides would be evenly matched.
“Mr. Tresvant.” Deja’s nurse popped her head in the room.
“Any news Jenny?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry. I meant to come in earlier.” She stepped in to acknowledge the additional family member. “The neuro surgeon has conferred with the emergency room doctor, they’ve decided Ms. Crane should remain overnight for observation.”
“Why? Did you find something bad about my sister?”
“Her injury isn’t severe or unnatural for a head bump she’s sustained from the car accident. Even slight frontal bleeds can swell up undetected. They just want to make sure hers doesn’t swell too much.”
Derek sighed in relief. “It’ll be okay Katrina.” He turned to address the nurse. “Do you know how she is doing?”
“Your sister is in great hands Katrina, this is merely a precaution, a prevention of sorts to reassure her and the docs that nothing else will pop up overnight. They fully expect to discharge her following first rounds tomorrow morning. You can go up to the second floor in about ten minutes. She’ll be in room 210a.The bed closest to the door.”
Derek gathered the bag of Deja’s clothing, purse, coat and his own. “Why don’t we go on up, she should be in the room by the time we make our way there.”
As Katrina grabbed her belongings, he held the door open for her and followed her out. At the nurse station he caught the unit clerk. “How do I get to the second floor?”
“Follow the exit sign to the lobby. Then take the purple stripes on the tile floor to the purple elevator, dark purple not the light blue stripes that look lavender, unless you want to end up in the maternity ward. Once you reach the purple elevator hit floor two and exit, follow the green tiles to the northwest wing and look on the wall to see which direction the numbers are
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