Page 73 of Till The Cows Come Home
“You’re brave, Sage. He’s still here because of you.”
“No, he’sherebecause of me.” She sighed. “If I didn’t push him, he would have been tipped back in his recliner right about now.”
“Sage, don’t do that. No one tells Stu what to do. He was there because he wanted to be, and nothing was stopping him. Not you or me or the entirety of Lox, Virginia.”
She rested her head at my navel and I smoothed her curls until a commotion outside the room signaled that Gale Baker had arrived, and moments later a nurse guided her into the room.
“Oh Stu!” she cried, rushing to the other side of Sage.
I pulled up a chair so they could sit together, and as the two shared their grip on Stu’s hand, Gale looked to Sage.
“Did they tell you anything else?”
“No, Miles was going to see if he could find someone with answers once you got here.”
“I didn’t want Sage to be alone, but I’d be happy to tracksomeone down if you can keep each other company while I’m gone.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. I got her.”
“I got you too,” Sage whispered, squeezing her mother’s hand.
Content they’d be alright in my absence, I wandered to the nurse’s station to see if I could get someone to track down Stu’s doctor. As soon as I approached the counter, the weight of all the eyes behind it were on me.
“Hi. Sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering if anyone would be able to tell me when the doctor for room 459, Stu Baker, would be in to give us some more information.”
“That’s me,” a woman answered, but her back was turned to me as she studied something on the screen in front of her.
After a few moments she spun around in her chair, standing to introduce herself.
“I’m Dr. Brinks, sorry for the delay. I was looking over Mr. Baker’s blood tests and imaging. I can walk with you to the room if the family is ready?”
“They’re very eager for answers, so I’d appreciate it, thank you.”
She nodded, following me down the hall, and as we entered the room, Sage and Gale perked up.
“Hi, are you the family of Mr. Baker?”
“Yes,” they answered in unison.
“My name is Dr. Brinks, I just finished looking over the results of some tests we ran, and unfortunately Mr. Baker did have a severe heart attack. When he got here he was put in a medically induced coma in order to minimize injury to his brain.”
“You’re saying he could be awake right now?” Gale asked.
“He could be, but you wouldn’t want that. Our imaging showed some swelling in the brain, and the coma will essentially allow it time to rest. In twenty-four hours I’ll do moreimaging, and if the swelling has minimized enough we can begin the extubation process and attempt to wake him up.”
“So what do we do now?”
“Maybe the hardest part of all…you wait.”
“Walk with me?” Sage whispered.
I nodded, creeping out of the room. Her mother was finally asleep, parked in a recliner as close to Stu as she could get, and the last thing I wanted to do was wake her at 4:00 a.m. Once we were far from the room, winding down the dimly lit hallways, Sage’s worries began to bubble over.
“What if we’re doing the wrong thing? What if it wasn’t the physical stress of the rebuild that got to my father, but the mental stress of being back at the farm? What if he never wakes up?
“Sage, hun, come here.”
I tugged her towards me, tucking her into my shoulder, and as her cheek hit my collarbone, my body absorbed a sigh the size of Texas.
