with his family. He knew the poor boy was having a tough time dealing with Paige’s accident and the loss of the baby. His mother and teenage son would do a lot to help with that grief.
His own sons had left, saying that they would set up a rotation schedule to be here when Jonas and he could not. Neither of them wanted Paige to be alone.
Stepping into the elevator, William pressed the button for the fourth floor, and ICU. God, he hated hospitals. Almost as much as Paige did. Losing Elizabeth as they did, so many years ago, had taken a toll on everyone. Especially Paige.
He hadn’t really seen it before. His grief had been too deep to realize that his daughter had been distraught. Now, when she was to become a mother herself, he saw just how much she missed her Mom. Only now, she had lost that child and didn’t know yet.
Sighing, William stepped out of the elevator. It wasn’t easy being a father some days. It wasn’t easy at all.
~*~
Between Jonas and Ian, they carried the bags into the hotel suite Evelyn and Ian would be sharing while staying in Chicago. Evelyn had been adamant. She was staying. Nothing Jonas said could budge her.
“Are you sure you won’t stay with us?” she asked Jonas for the second time.
“I’m sure, Mom. I have to go back to the cabin for most of my things, and then I will be staying with Darcy. We’ve already made the arrangements and it’s closer to the hospital.”
“I’m glad you have friends in town. And Paige’s family? How are they holding up?”
“William is taking this rather hard. I haven’t seen much of Marc or Ryan since the accident. We are all taking turns keeping vigil. None of us want her to wake up alone.”
“Well, just let us know when we can visit,” she said, taking her suit from the bag and hanging it in the closet.
“Anytime you want, Mom.”
“Dad? We know how Paige is . You never really said how you are. Are you still leaving at the end of the month?”
Jonas sighed, raking a hand through his hair. He hadn’t thought that far ahead yet, but Ian had a point. He was supposed to leave for Spain the end of January. Filming for El Dorado started soon after that. He would be gone for a long time. Could he leave if Paige wasn’t out of her coma?
“Dad?” Ian questioned.
“Sorry. I was thinking. Actually, I hadn’t really thought about what happens at the end of the month. I was too stunned by the accident to actually think that far ahead.”
“Well, you had to have had some kind of plan in place,” Evelyn said, unpacking more of her things.
“We did. But now, I just don’t know….”
“We will take care of things as the time comes closer. We will just have to pray that Paige comes out of her coma by then. I am sure a change of scenery will do her good. She could travel to Spain with you.”
Jonas stared at his Mother. From her lips to God’s ears.
~*~
William headed down the hallway toward the nurse’s station. Looking up, he found a new nurse on duty.
“Afternoon. I’m here to see my daughter.”
“She’s been resting comfortably,” she replied.
William nodded. He had hoped there would be some kind of change and yet, he knew it was too early. The doctor’s had warned them that it would be at least a week or more.
Slipping in to her room, he pulled a chair over to her bedside. “Hey, sweetheart. You had a visitor earlier. Jonas’s son was here. Broke my heart to see the pain in that young man’s face. He must love you an awful lot. And Jonas’s mother was here as well. It’s good that they came. Jonas needs them.”
He sat there for a moment, wondering if she could actually hear him or not. The doctor had said that there was evidence that coma patients could hear things around them, voices and conversations, and hear
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
John O'Riley
Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
Stephen Lloyd Jones
Karl Iagnemma
Celya Bowers
Jill Gregory
Aria Cunningham