Page 79 of Keeping You

I hold back a sob. I barely know Melanie and Randy, but in the week we spent with them, they completely embraced me and pulled me into the family. Him being in the hospital is terrifying.

“Yeah, of course. There’s nowhere else I’d be.” I tip my head back and think. “Is the hospital in Willow Creek?”

“No, it’s about twenty minutes west in West Bridgejaw.”

“Okay, we’re about an hour and a half away. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Thanks, Honey. We’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon.”

I hang up and give myself thirty seconds to gather myself. I make a beeline to Caleb. I watch Grayson as his phone rings, and I know I don’t have much time. I crouch beside Caleb.

“Can you guys take our stuff home with you? We’ll grab our bags and as much as we can quickly, but we’ve got to go right away.”

Caleb is immediately on alert but nods. “Yeah, of course. What’s wrong?”

It takes everything in me to hold back my sob. “It’s Grayson’s dad.”

That’s all Caleb needs before he’s up and out of his chair. He makes his way to our tent and is helping pack what he can get his hands on and throwing stuff in the car.

I make my way over to Grayson and see the pain written all over his face as he talks to his mom. I stop in front of him and watch as tears gather in his eyes.

“Yeah, we’re on our way,” he says and hangs up.

“Han.” He doesn’t even get my full name out before he’s wrapping his arms around me, and I’m holding him back just as tight. We hold each other for a minute before I pull back and grab his face.

“He’s going to be okay. We’re gonna get in the car, and we’re gonna drive to the hospital, and we’re gonna see him, and it’s all going to be okay.”

We both turn towards the tent and everyone is up and helping grab everything that we have laid around the campsite. They’ve taken our bags out of the tent and loaded them in the car, and Bailey is packing snacks in the front seat for us. We make our way to the car and hug our friends, thanking them for the help. Caleb confirms he’ll take the tent with him, and we load up. I offer to drive, but Grayson shakes his head, saying it will help keep him calm. He holds my hand tight the entire drive. Neither of us are able to eat the food they left us, our stomachs both in knots as we worry about Randy.

A highway sign comes into view.

West Bridgejaw 5 km

Grayson’s grip on my hand tightens as he takes the exit and navigates the streets towards the hospital. He parks, and we quickly make our way inside, following the directions Melanie gave Grayson over the phone. When we exit the elevator on thethird floor, we hang a right and see Chloe and Melanie sitting side-by-side in the waiting room. Chloe is the first to spot us, and she rushes out of her chair towards Grayson. He catches her, and she cries into his shoulder.

Melanie hugs me and thanks me for coming. When Grayson lets go of Chloe, he hugs his mom and Chloe comes to me, wrapping her arms around me.

“Thank you for coming. I don’t know how Grayson is going to do with being a visitor in a hospital again. Having you here is what he needs.” Her words have me confused, but I know now is not the time to be asking questions.

“I wouldn’t let him make the drive alone,” I say.

“The doctors were in with him and said they’d come get us soon,” Melanie says as we settle in chairs in the waiting room. Being in a hospital for anything other than work is weird. I’m not running around and checking on patients or worried about pages.

“Do you guys need anything? Coffee? Tea? A snack?” I ask.

They shake their heads, and I make my way to the nurses’ desk. There’s someone sitting at a computer inputting information, and when she’s done, she looks up and smiles at me.

“Hi, I’m here to see my father-in-law, Randall Maxwell. I understand the doctors are in with him now, but I’m a nurse out in Vancouver and I was wondering if you could give me any information regarding his status to be prepared.”

She looks back at the computer and types something in before smiling back at me.

“He’s currently in stable condition. We’ve administered morphine for his pain. His EKG and ECG were good, and his cardiac panel is clear. His BNP and D-dimer were fine, so we don’t suspect a new heart condition, likely some lifestylechanges should be the only thing that needs to change. We’re going to continue monitoring him for twenty-four hours.”

I nod. “His blood pressure is good? Was he conscious?”

“One fifteen over seventy-nine, and he was awake when the doctor went in.”

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