Chapter 5
“OPEN!” HOPE COULD still hear JoAnn’s angry, disapproving shout echoing around the back of her mind when she awoke.
Quietly, pensively, she got Sam dressed, fed him breakfast, and drove him to school. She took him to class, glancing around for Katie and Will as they walked. She found herself hoping their paths wouldn’t cross that morning. That way Will wouldn’t have to say anything at all, and it would spare both of them the embarrassment.
Inside the classroom, Hope was surprised to see that Katie was already there. Her heart sank. He showed up early to avoid me, she thought to herself. But then she looked closer at Katie. The little girl appeared drowsy. Her eyes were red, as if she’d been crying. A frown was plastered across her pretty little face.
“Good morning,” Miss Milby said to them as they entered the room. She stepped closer to Hope, waited for Sam to take his seat, and lowered her voice.
“Have you heard about Katie’s father? About the accident?”
Hope’s stomach dropped as if in freefall. “N-no,” she stammered. “What accident?”
“Last night, he was on the way home from work, headed over to his mother’s house to pick up Katie. He hit a patch of ice and lost control of his truck.”
Hope felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. “Is he alright?”
“He’s in the ICU,” said Miss Milby. “His mother was trying to explain it to me this morning, but it all sounded so complicated. Something about an intracranial bleed, and he’s in a medically induced coma… do you know what all of that means?”
“Yeah, I do,” said Hope, and bit her lip to avoid speaking the words that were on the tip of her tongue. It’s serious. Very, very serious.
“He’s at Mercy,” the teacher said. “Maybe you can find out more at work today.”
“Is Katie holding up okay? I know she has to be scared…” Hope’s voice trailed off as her eyes fixed on the little girl again. While her heart was aching over the news of Will’s accident, the parent in her was thankful that Katie hadn’t been involved in the wreck as well.
“Katie’s upset, of course,” said Miss Milby, “but she’s got her grandma. Will’s mother loves her to pieces and will take great care of her until her dad comes home.” She paused, then added, “Hopefully.”
Hope left the school and walked quickly to her car, berating herself and asking the questions which had no answers: why did this happen? Is it my fault? After all, Will wouldn’t have been on the road if I hadn’t invited them for dinner. Had he been rushing to make it on time? Did my dinner invitation inadvertently caused the wreck?
She arrived at the hospital a few minutes early and went straight to the ICU instead of her own unit. After someone at the nurse’s station buzzed her in through the locked double doors, she asked for Will’s nurse, who introduced herself as Connie. Hope explained that she was a friend of Will’s, and Connie led her to his room to peek in on him.
She cupped her hand over her mouth in shock at the sight of Will in the hospital bed. She could barely see his face, between the gauze that covered a wound on his forehead and the tape strapped across his cheeks to secure the breathing tube in place. A beeping heart monitor and the slow, rhythmic sound of air being pumped from ventilator into his lungs seemed as loud as thunder in the small space of his room.
The worst part, though, was the darkness. The blinds were closed, which didn’t seem right. Will was happiest in the great outdoors, she knew. It was even evidenced by his face, ruddy with what seemed like a mild, but permanent sunburn. He didn’t belong in the darkness, not even in a coma. Will belonged in the light.
She crossed the room and reached for the cord to open the blinds, but stopped short. Remembering the incident with JoAnn the day before, Hope turned to Connie. “Do you mind if I open the blinds?”
“I wouldn’t,” Connie said. “I heard you already got a lesson in what the blinds mean to us.”
“Wow. Word travels fast.”
“If you open those blinds, his soul might be confused, and may think –”
“But I know the patient,” interrupted Hope. “If you want him to pull through, then I’m telling you, he needs sunlight. It’s as important to him as it is having air to breathe.”
Connie shook her head, giving Hope a stern look.
She drew her hand back from the cord and sighed with defeat.