Page 8 of Merry Mayhem
Her grin is wide and bright as she extends her hand across the bar. “Hi, I’m Violet.”
“Hi, Violet. I’m Josh.”
“It’sreallynice to meet you, Josh,” she says with a huge smile.
CHAPTER 3
JOSH
“Hey,Michael, I’m in New Orleans. Won’t be back until really late.”
“Everything okay?” my friend, and Fire Chief, asks.
“I’m fine. But I am at St. Michael’s,” I say, naming the biggest hospital in New Orleans. We know the entire ER staff here. “I came upon a car in a ditch and pulled the driver out. I’m here with her now.”
“Oh, shit. She okay?”
“She will be,” I say, taking a deep breath.
“Good to hear. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks. I might need some time off.”
“Whatever you need.”
“Thank. I’ll fill you in lat?—”
“Oh myGod!”
I whirl toward the door to the room.
“Ma’am, I really need to inform the doc—” The nurse following the woman into the room is cut off by the rest of the people barreling into the room, all talking at once.
“Violet!”
“Oh my God, she’sunconscious?”
“Violet? Honey, can you hear me? Violet!”
“Ma’am, please don’t shake her!” the nurse says, alarmed.
“What are all these machines for?”
“She’s definitely unconscious!”
“Oh myGod!”
“What did they tell you on the phone?”
“They just said she was in an accident and was here, and we needed to come!”
As the group fills the room, I step back, pressing against the wall across from Violet’s bed. “Uh, Michael, I’m gonna have to let you go.” I hang up without waiting for his response.
There’s a woman who appears to be in her fifties. She’s got dark hair that’s pulled back into a messy ponytail at the base of her head. She’s gripping the hand of a man whose brown hair curls around the collar of his shirt. He’s wearing a jacket over his button-down shirt. He’s studying the monitors above the bed and isn’t saying much.
There are two other older men with them. One is short, round, and has a bushy white mustache that goes with his bushy white hair. He’s also wearing bright pink cargo pants with a pink and white Hawaiian shirt, and pink boat shoes. The other is taller, bald, and has a neatly trimmed goatee. He’s now demanding to see a doctor.
“Sir, I’ve paged the doctor. She’ll be here as soon as she can, but we really need to hold the noise down.”
