Page 148 of Waiting for Ru
“I’ll text Newt where we are.” Leigh tapped into his phone, then put it down. “Is there anyone you want me to call for you?”
Ru shook his head.
“No one?”
“My brother lives in Northumberland, but what can he do? My parents… No, I don’t want to contact them.”
Newt came to the table and sat down. “He’s in surgery.”
Ru gasped.
“Looks like the hoof caught him in his side, not directly over his heart. He has a lacerated kidney and a damaged spleen. His left lung collapsed and he’s broken some ribs, but he should be fine. Unless they find something else while they’re operating.”
Ru clung tohe should be fine.“Will they let me see him when he comes out of surgery?”
Newt sighed. “Possibly, but I don’t know when that will be and he won’t be conscious for a while. Why don’t you come home with us and we’ll keep in touch with the hospital and bring you back later?”
Ru shook his head. “I’ll stay.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Leigh said.
“Would you leave if Newt was being operated on?”
“No.” Leigh shot Newt a glance.
“I want to stay here until I can speak to him. You go home. I’m fine.”
“We’re staying with you,” Newt said.
“You have jobs to do. I’ll call you if there’s any change. I’m okay. Honestly. I’ll talk them into letting me be at his bedside or as close to it as I can get.”
“I don’t like leaving you on your own.” Leigh put his hand on Ru’s shoulder.
“I’ll be grand.” Ru mustered up a smile from somewhere.
“We’re not going to leave until he’s out of surgery,” Newt said. “We’ll stay until then.”
“Thank you,” Ru whispered.
The three of them stayed in the café. Every thirty minutes, Newt went to check up on what was happening, and finally returned with the news that Jasim was out of surgery and in recovery.
“He’s doing fine. Everything went well,” Newt said.
Ru let out a shuddering sigh. “You two should go now. I’m going to stay.”
“The theatres are on the first floor in the East wing,” Newt said. “Just up those stairs. There’s a chapel up there too where you could sit and wait.”
“Thank you.”
“Call us when you’ve seen him,” Leigh said. “One of us can come and get you or bring you clothes or whatever you need. We’re working tomorrow, but we can swap shifts.”
Ru persuaded them to leave. He knew they’d have found a way to be here with him if he’d asked them to, but he could handle this on his own. Newt had said that Jasim was doing well and Ru just needed to know that was true.
He picked up the bottle of water, made his way upstairs and found the door to the wards, theatres and the chapel. After he’d used the hand sanitiser, he went through. There was no one around so he leaned against the wall and waited for someone to come.
When he found out that Jasim was still in recovery, he went to the chapel. Inside were doors to a Wudu washing facility, whatever that was, and a multi-faith prayer room, before the space opened up into a chapel, which was empty. It was a small quiet room with a stained-glass window and three rows of seats on either side facing an altar and a wooden cross. Ru had believed, once upon a time, and maybe if he was asking for help for someone else, then if there was a God, he’d listen. Ru sat on a chair and closed his eyes.
It didn’t seem fair that just as Jasim was on the point of changing his life, an accident had changed it for him. It wasn’t yet the end of the polo season, but there was no way Jasim would be riding for a while.He’s going to be okay.Ru wouldn’t accept any other outcome.
