Page 24 of Southern Comfort
Didn’t expect life’s next random twist to happen so soon.
It took forty minutes to get from table to emergency room parking lot. Kim handled the news like the smart woman she is. Quickly, she gathered her purse and I paid the bill while she called Hunter. It cut fifteen minutes off the drive, when I didn’t have to bring her back to her place. I would not have done it, if it wasn’t necessary, and she didn’t question the decision.
All thoughts of what the night could have led to, or how I would have liked kissing her, evaporated with news of my father.Please protect him.Not sure who I am talking to, or who is listening, but the plea is made. And now, walking up to the hospital’s glass doors, the partial story of what happened seems worse than knowing. Imagination can be a motherfucker.
My eyes sweep the room and find Holly and Lex sitting in a corner on their cells. Holly’s head lifts and she touches her husband’s arm. Lex rises and meets me halfway.
“So this is all we know. He had a heart attack. They are working on him now, but he is conscious.”
“Fuck me. A heart attack? That’s why he fell?”
“He was on the book ladder and apparently had the attack. He fell. He broke his hip and sprained an ankle.”
“Oh shit! I’m going in,” I say, touching his shoulder and heading for the check-in station behind the cubicle of glass. Thankfully, I don’t have to wait.
“Hello. I’m Landon Podesta. My father Ronnie was brought here. I’d like to see him.”
There is not a return greeting. The middle-aged nurse looks overworked and underappreciated. She hardly looks at me in fact.
“Let me see.” She scans her screen. “He’s in bed ten. But the doctors are with him right now. I’ll let you know when you can go back. Just take a seat.”
She meets my eyes and I see there is no reason to fight. She has the con and knows how to use it.
“Okay. Don’t forget me,” I say, turning. Then I turn back. “Is he okay? Can you tell me anything?”
“You’ll have to ask the doctor. But he was able to provide insurance information.”
“That’s good. Thank you. Thank you very much.”
Walking back to where Lex and now Holly sit waiting, I take my first real breath in an hour.
“They won’t let me back yet.”
“Okay. Want a Pepsi? There’s a machine in the hall,” Holly says with compassion on her face. “I’m so sorry, Landon.”
“Yeah, me too. Thanks. If there’s a water I’ll take one.”
She turns and heads for the hallway leading to the lobby of the hospital. I look to my friend for a comforting word.
“Ronnie is going to besofucking pissed,” Lex says knowingly.
CHAPTER SIX
Kim
Walking from the clinic for the final time is bittersweet. Affection coming from Holly, Dominique, and the staff today was as true as mine is to them. The send-off lunch was unexpected. My cheeks still hurt from Carol’s comedy set. She made us laugh till our cheeks hurt, talking about the man who walked in this week with an arrogant monkey on his shoulders.He wasn’t mean, he was entitled!
Currently the monkey on my back is starting to bug me. I thought by now I would be able to see the direction of my next adventure. It is important I look at it that way. Not knowing where I am bound but trusting the journey. How many times have I said that to my child? Now I want to eat my words because of Hunter’s issue. If he follows my path life would be harder. Better he goes to college, gets a degree in whatever calls him and get a good paying job.
I’m no Pollyanna. For me there will be few meaningful jobs to choose from. A sunny attitude only counts for so much. Approaching forty, and the thought I still have decades till social security, is sobering. Thank God for the insurance money. It has bought me time to make thoughtful decisions. I remind myself ofthe greatest reason to stay positive. I have survived the wars so far, so why not now?
Hmm. What’s on my windshield? I retrieve the folded paper with bold writing across the front.Landon was hereis the message and it brings a smile as I look inside.
Call you tonight if I haven’t jumped off a cliff.
Chuckling, I tuck the note in my hand and get in the car. Alright. He made it back late last night in anticipation of Ronnie’s release from the rehab center today. Landon Podesta, and our one quarter of a date two weeks ago, shows up in my mind too much to be dismissed as a passing thought.
It is the date and heat to beat. Why did fate put a hold on the proceedings? That bitch is fickle. We don’t have much time for a romance anyway. He will be going back to Memphis sooner than later, and I will be here. Pulling out of the parking space and turning down the music, I head home. There’s just ten minutes to iron this whole story out in my mind.
