Charlie St. Cloud Page 0,72

through an IV to deal with her severe dehydration.

Once they got her to the hospital, they would have started the delicate job of heating her body to prevent cell damage by adding saline to the stomach, bladder, and lungs or by using a heart-and-lung machine that removed blood from the body, warmed it, and then pumped it back in.

But why were they taking so long in the OR? Maybe it wasn’t just hypothermia. Perhaps her head injury was more serious than he imagined. Charlie’s thoughts were snapped when the revolving doors spun around and a homeless man lurched through. His shirt was bloody from what Charlie guessed was a gunshot or stab wound in the shoulder.

Then the doors turned again, and Charlie saw Tess’s mother enter. He recognized her immediately from the oval shape of her face and the angle of her nose. Charlie jumped up. “Mrs. Carroll,” he said, “I’m so sorry I didn’t get to Tess sooner.”

She shook her head. “Bless you for finding her,” she said, reaching out to touch his arm. “Please call me Grace.”

“I’m Charlie,” he said. “Charlie St. Cloud.”

“St. Cloud. Like an angel from the sky,” she said. Tink approached and put a burly arm around her.

“Have the doctors told you anything about Tess yet?” Charlie asked.

“No, I got here ten minutes after the helicopter landed, and the Coast Guard wouldn’t tell me anything.” She stared into Charlie’s eyes. “How’d she look when you found her? Was she injured? Did she say anything?”

In that instant, Charlie realized Grace had no idea of the gravity of the situation. He was suddenly thrust back onto Mingo Rock with Tess lying limp in his arms. He had called her name again and again and implored her to wake up. He had told her everyone was waiting in Marblehead for her to come home. But she couldn’t hear him. She was gone. No flicker of eyelids, no tremor of lips, no squeeze of the hand.

“I bet Tessie is still talking about sailing around the world this week,” Grace was saying through a forced smile.

Before Charlie could answer, the ER doors opened and a nurse came out. It was Sonia Banerji, an old friend from the high-school band. She wore a light blue RN’s uniform and her black hair was braided in a long ponytail.

“Mrs. Carroll?” she said. “Please come with me. The doctors are waiting to see you in the back.”

“Oh good,” Grace said.

Charlie, however, was completely crushed. His stomach clenched. Over the years he had learned to read the signs in the ER. First and foremost, doctors always showed up with good tidings but dispatched the nurses to bring families in when things had gone wrong. Second, families got to see their relatives right away when all was well. They met with the doctors behind closed doors when the news was bad.

“How is Tess?” Grace said. “Please tell me.”

“This way please,” Sonia said. “The doctors have all the information.”

Grace turned to Charlie and said, “Come on, let’s go. You, too, Tink. I’m not setting foot in there by myself.” The three marched forward into the ER, and Sonia showed them to a private consultation room.

Two young doctors were waiting for them. The first physician began with a few banal pleasantries and introductions. Charlie watched her carefully for clues. Her face expressed compassion, but the muscles in her neck were taut. Her eyes focused intently, but there was a distance to her stare. He recognized the pattern. She was trying to stay detached. That was the way it always was. Doctors and medics couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved.

The other M.D. dived into the facts. Her speech was staccato. “Tess suffered acute head trauma and extreme hypothermia. She’s in critical condition. She’s unable to breathe on her own. We have her on a respirator now.”

Grace put her hand to her mouth.

“I can assure you that she isn’t in any pain,” the doctor said. “She’s in a deep coma. She’s not responsive in any way. We measure these things on something called the Glasgow Scale. Fifteen is normal. Tess is at level five. It’s a very grave situation.”

Grace was shaking now, and Tink put his arm around her. “What’s going to happen?” he asked. “Will she wake up?”

“No one knows the answer to that question,” the doctor said. “She’s in God’s hands. The only thing we can do is wait.”

“Wait for what?” Grace said. “Why can’t you do anything?”

“She’s a very strong and healthy woman,” the doctor said, “and