Page 10 of Shimmering Emeralds
Meg was looking to me for answers, but I didn’t have any. When she blinked up at me, silently demanding a response, I dove in. “You’re right,” the hopeful light that immediately sprang into her eyes made me realize my words were already misleading her.
When I took her hand within mine, I was surprised that she didn’t yank it out of my grasp. Recalibrating the conversation, I said, “None of this is fair. Your little girl shouldn’t be in there fighting for her life. It should be me, or perhaps Kevin Durley, in there. Not Harper. She’s just a little girl and she hasn’t done anything to deserve this.”
When an enormous tear spilled over Meg’s lower lid, I wondered if my words were doing more harm than good, but I was in too far to stop now. Squeezing her hand in mine, trying to infuse her with strength, I continued with what I had to say. “You don’t deserve this either, Meg. I’d do anything in my power to make this better for you.”
My words were sincere, if futile. I wished there was something––anything––I could do to take this pain from Meg and Harper. I would do it without hesitation, but since I didn’t have a genie in a bottle, my wishes and dreams didn’t mean much.
Meg looked somewhat appreciative of my sentiment, but her mother’s face was scrunched into a scowl like she had just been forced to chew on a mouthful of thumbtacks. Her expression left little doubt about her feelings for me, but she decided to say it in case I still wasn’t clear on it. “This is all your fault. We wouldn’t be here dealing with all of this if you’d just stayed where you belong in Nashville.”
“Mother!” Meg wasn’t usually one to hold back her opinion, but even she seemed shocked by her parent’s angry outburst. “Lashing out at Levi won’t help anything.”
Meg glared in my direction, likely because she was having to defend me when deep down she blamed me, too. Seeming to make a decision, her eyes darted back to Stella before she said, “We all know he didn’t do this on purpose.”
Those words were more than I could have hoped for from Meg, considering the circumstances. They were a far-cry from forgiveness, but at least she was aware that this horrific morning had been the result of an accident.
I wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but Stella’s facial expression turned even more bitter as she glared at me after her daughter’s reprimand. “It might not have been intentional, but it happened, and we’re here because of him.”
She actually pointed at me, even though I was only one chair away from her––with Meg between us, likely keeping the older woman from lunging for my throat.
Our eyes all turned to the double-doors when they swung open. The hope that there might be news on Harper’s condition immediately dissipated when a little boy on crutches emerged, while his mom held the door open.
As soon as the child’s eyes met mine, I recognized him as the last little boy from the bus that I had carried until we found his worried mother. Recognition immediately dawned on his face, and he used his crutches to propel himself over to stand in front of my chair.
“Look, Mister Bus Driver! I have crutches and a cast!” He sounded as if he believed his injury to be the greatest thing to have ever happened in his short life.
I couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm as his mother stood shaking her head just behind him. Turning serious, the woman said, “I can’t thank you enough for getting him safely off that bus and bringing him to me.”
My throat clogged with emotion as I struggled not to point out that it was due to my driving that he had been in that precarious situation in the first place.
Stella saved me from having to utter the admission by mumbling, “Now he’s a hero for saving someone from a dire situation that he created?”
The child’s mother blinked rapidly as she processed Stella’s words. Anger flared in her eyes just before she gave Stella a firm retort. “Yes, he’s a hero. Anyone can be involved in an accident. It’s just that––an accident. But not everyone would risk his own life to save a little boy, and your daughter.” She paused to give Stella a pointed glare before continuing. “He protected them from harm inside that bus as it fell down the hill by shielding them both with his own body.”
I knew I wasn’t any kind of hero, but the woman’s staunch defense of me eased a tiny bit of my guilt. I’d made mistakes this morning, but I’d also done my best to right them.
Ignoring the adult banter, the little boy balanced on his crutches to lift his cast up for my inspection. “Will you sign it?”
“Sure,” I answered, amused by his obvious enthusiasm. I gently helped him rest the weight of his cast-covered leg on my knees.
His mother handed me a purple Sharpie indicating that a nurse had given it to her for just this type of occasion, so I scrawled the words, “Stay cool, Mister Bus Driver,” on the white plaster next to several medical professionals’ scribbles.
The little boy stared at the words for a long moment before beaming up at his mom. “He thinks I’m cool!”
Chuckling over his excitement, his mother said, “Okay, Cool Cat. Let’s get you home.”
With that, the boy used his crutches to awkwardly turn around and the two set off for the hospital’s exit. I watched them leave, happy for the brief moment of levity, even though Harper’s precarious state never left my mind.
“Hero, my a––” Stella’s intended curse word was cut off by the buzzing of her phone. She stared at the incoming text for a long moment as if she wasn’t quite able to process its meaning.
Finally, she looked up and said to Meg, “Claire is hemorrhaging. They are getting ready to do an emergency C-Section.”
Meg and her mother stared at each other in silence for an extended moment as they attempted to understand this bombshell. Meg was the first to regain her wits. Ordering her mother, she said, “Go up there, and contact me immediately with any news.”
Stella nodded blankly as if she couldn’t quite comprehend all of the crises her family had been suddenly thrust into.
When her mother remained frozen in the mud-brown vinyl waiting room chair, Meg said, “I’ll let you know of any updates on Harper. Go!”
At her daughter’s firm order, Stella left. Once her mother was gone, Meg turned to look up at me. Her beautiful eyes were filled with despair and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
