Page 62 of Highway To Destiny

We thanked the doctors again and headed to Mason’s room. The doctor was right that he didn’t look much different than before we were hurried from the room. The crash cart was still there, the monitors had been moved around, and his bed was askew. I went up to him, took hold of his hand, and sat in the chair next to his bed for another thirty minutes. Eli sat on the stool and busied himself with his cell phone, and I kept a one-sided conversation going with Mason.

My stomach rumbled loudly, and Eli glanced up at me and chuckled. “I’m assuming you’d like to get some food?”

“Yeah, I think it’s time to get my blood sugar back up,” I replied. “Can we just head to the cafeteria? I don’t want to leave the hospital.”

I leaned over the bed and kissed Mason on the forehead, even though it was bandaged tightly with gauze. “We’ll be right back, Daddy,” I said lovingly.

“Did you just call him Daddy?” Eli smirked as he walked up next to me.

“He’s my trucker daddy,” I replied, keeping my eyes on Mason, squeezing his hand gently. Eli chuckled.

“What?” I said as I looked at Eli, who sported a big grin.

“Nothing, but it’ll give me something to rib him about in the future.” I rolled my eyes at him.

“I only call him that in private…well, almost in private since you just heard me.” My face flushed. “You don’t have a pet name for your…?” I began and realized I didn’t know if Eli had a someone special in his life. He wasn’t wearing a ring, so I assumed he was single.

“It’s been a long time, Connor. Let’s go get some food,” he said somberly as he turned toward the door. I kept my eyes on him as he walked away. I wasn’t about to ask—it wasn’t the time.

When we arrived at the cafeteria, it was late morning, and I was famished. With Mason’s medical emergency and the doctor’s explanation of his injuries, my stomach had remained in knots for most of the morning. The cafeteria had a great variety of breakfast foods, both hot and cold. I opted for scrambled eggs, bacon, waffles, and a fruit cup topped off with a large coffee. Eli stared at my tray and probably wondered where I’d put it all. Eli chose coffee, oatmeal and toast.

Once we sat down, I dove into my food. Even though I wasn’t a competitive swimmer any longer, I still tended to eat like a starved athlete. We ate in silence for a bit until Eli took out his cell phone and brought up a hotel’s website to show me.

“Since we’ll both be here for Mason for who knows how long, I think I’ve found a reasonably priced residence hotel we can stay at. It’s a short ten-minute walk to the hospital too. It’ll give us some flexibility where we can split time with him,” Eli stated.

It sounded like a great plan, and I was happy he had the foresight to investigate it. “I can help pay for the room too—that is if you don’t mind sharing,” I replied quickly with a mouthful of food.

“Of course, I figured a room with two beds would make sense and save money. I looked at the availability online, and they do have a room for a short-term stay. It even has a small kitchen. I think when we’re done with breakfast, I’ll take our duffel bags and go check us in. I figured you’d wanna stay here withyourdaddythe rest of the day,” he said with a huffed laugh followed by a wink. As soon as he said it, I smiled broadly. His humor helped alleviate some of the anxiety that had overcome me earlier.

After we finished breakfast, we headed back up to the room where we'd left our bags, but I wanted to make a quick stop at the gift shop. I didn’t have any reading material with me, and the magazines in the waiting rooms were terrible. I thought it would be a good idea to get a book so I could read to Mason instead of boring, incessant chatter. Perhaps the constant drone of the book’s storyline could help, as the doctor had suggested.

Eli left with our bags and said he’d find a grocery or convenience store close by to pick up some beverages and small food items we could keep at the hotel. I told him what I liked and he said he’d be back in a couple of hours. I didn’t plan on leaving Mason’s side until visitor hours were over.

I settled into the hard recliner on the other side of Mason’s bed and realized it was for the patient to use. It wasn’t very comfortable, but I didn’t want to spend time sitting in a folding chair. Before I opened the book, I decided to call Mom and Spencer again to let them know about Mason’s condition.

I called Spencer first and gave him the specifics of what the doctors had told us. As usual, he was supportive and said if I needed anything, to be sure and let him know. He also said Evan was aware and sent his well wishes.

The next phone call was to Mom. Just hearing her voice made me cry again. I wanted her there with me—I missed her comfort and presence, and I hadn’t seen her since Mason dropped me off in Portland before school started. Her voice was soothing, and it helped, but I think she knew it wasn’t quite enough. She told me to be strong and to let her know about his progress or any changes. Once I ended the call, I exhaled heavily and stared at the tiled ceiling.

Once I finally pulled myself from my thoughts, I opened the book I found, by sheer luck, in the hospital gift shop.The Princess Bride by William Goldmanhad been on a clearance shelf. I instinctively knew Mason would enjoy having it read to him since he told me it was one of his favorite movies. I’d never read the book, only seen the movie, so I knew I’d probably enjoy it too. I felt it would be fun to work on different voices with a dramatic narration as well.

The new quarter had already started at EOU, and I did my best to keep up with the research for my thesis. I only had one class left, which I was thankful for. Being in Seattle didn’t help, and I didn't want to fall behind and jeopardize not finishing by the end of spring. But without a library, I’d become slightly hindered. I had Spencer ship my laptop to me during our break, which helped so I had something else to focus on while being with Mason. I knew, once he was discharged, I'd be able to catch up.

Thanksgiving break had ended, and it was a few days past the holiday. Eli and I had treated it just like another day. The only difference was that the cafeteria had turkey and all the side dishes for the hospital staff if they had to work. We partook of them as well.

It was easy staying with Eli at the hotel, and he didn’t snore, which I appreciated. There were times when we visited Mason at the same time, but we also planned opposite shifts in the mornings and evenings. My preferred time was evenings, especially if Sam, Mason’s nurse, was working. She was the familiar face from the night I’d arrived.

Mason’s condition had steadily improved. They had begun to wean him off the sedation and watched his brain activity increase. He was still on a ventilator. I’d switched to the folding chair on his right to read the book just in case he came to. I noticed his eyes fluttering under his lids, and every so often, his face would wince, probably from pain. I made sure the doctors and nurses knew so they could manage his discomfort.

I’d only gotten through about half the book, and I found I was spending quite a bit of time adjusting the characters' voices while I read. It was fun and distracted me from the constant worry. Eli had insisted I needed to tell Mason I loved him when we were in Crescent City, and I kept that promise. I said it more than once a day. Although I knew he couldn’t respond, I felt he heard me.

It had been almost two weeks since Mason was brought into the hospital. I dutifully recited to him fromThe Princess Bridewhen suddenly, I heard a gagged cough. I looked up to see his eyes flutter. His heart monitor began to beep faster. I jumped up and rushed to the hallway to call for help, but Sam was already on her way to his room. She saw me and smiled.

“I think he coughed, and he’s trying to open his eyes,” I said excitedly. Sam motioned for me to calm down as she checked his responses. I was always amazed at how she remained so collected and unbothered in a professional capacity, which helped ease my anxiety.

“Looks as if your man is waking up. Let me get ahold of his doctors,” she said. “Stay and gently reassure him that he’ll be fine.” She left the room in a rush, and I took hold of his hand.

She had said ‘your man,’ which made my stomach flutter, but I knew she’d seen my tender touch and gentle affection with him—along with that one night when she caught me snuggled against his neck.

---