I didn’t like her tone, but her kid was having surgery so I didn’t say anything to her. Plus, there was the fact that I didn’t think it was my place to mouth off to Bradyn’s sister, or any of his family members, for that matter.
“Doesn’t matter,” Bradyn said. “I’m staying.”
As if to prove his point, he went over to the empty chair next to Warren Jr. and pulled me after him. Ashley glared at both of us, but absently, like it was more of a reflex than her actually doing something consciously. It didn’t make me like her, though.
“Hi, Uncle Bradyn.” The kid glanced at me and smiled, raising a hand in a little wave. “I’m Les.”
“Hey, kiddo.” Bradyn ruffled his nephew’s hair.
“Hi, Les. I’m Nyx.”
His eyes widened. “Nyx? I’ve never heard that name before.”
I grinned at him. “It’s not a common one.”
“It’s weird.” The little girl leaned over from the other side of Les and gave me one of those annoyed looks that spoiled little girls seemed to perfect.
“Betsy.” Bradyn gave her a stern look.
“It’s okay,” I said, squeezing his hand. “Everyone’s a little on edge. And my name is weird.”
Betsy didn’t seem to appreciate me sticking up for her. She leaned back in her seat and glared at nothing. I couldn’t say that I wouldn’t have been pissed off if I’d been her age and stuck at the hospital, but she looked old enough to understand that her brother was sick. Any child of–
I pushed the thoughts away. I was in no position to judge any kids or their parents. This was not about me.
“Is Clancy gonna be okay?” Les asked. The worried expression on his face looked too old for someone his age.
“An appendectomy is a pretty common surgery,” Bradyn said. “And the doctors here are really good.”
“How do you know that?”
“When I was in high school, I had to have my appendix out, and I had it done here.”
The kid’s eyes went wide. “Really? I didn’t know that.”
As Bradyn continued to talk to his nephew, I let my attention wander. This wasn’t a date or even a family function. I was here to be whatever Bradyn needed me to be. Someone to talk to. Someone to stand or sit with. If talking with Les made Bradyn feel better, then I’d sit back and let them talk.
Mr. Traylor kept throwing me dirty looks, but I didn’t respond. If he thought he was the most intimidating person I’d ever met, he was dead wrong. He wasn’t even on my top five. Maybe not on my top ten if I really stopped and thought about it. I wasn’t going to do anything about it, though. Sometimes it was a good thing to be aggressive when it came to bullies, but sometimes it was better to just ignore them.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed, only that the Lesters and the Traylors had paced and sat and then paced again. Finally, a short man in scrubs came over to where we were waiting.
“Clancy Traylor’s family?”
“Yes, I’m his mother.”
Warren followed Ashley over, and the rest of us came behind them. Bradyn reached for my hand again, and Les grabbed the other one.
“The surgery went well,” the doctor said. “We were able to get to the infection before it spread too far. He’s on antibiotics and will need to stay here for at least several days so we can monitor him.”
It was like everyone sighed at once. As much as I didn’t like their attitudes or how they treated Bradyn, they loved the kid.
“We’ve moved him into recovery,” the doctor continued. “I can take you back to him.” He looked from Ashley and Warren to the rest of us. “Only the parents. The rest of you can come back tomorrow during regular visiting hours.”
Mr. Traylor stepped forward, knocking his son-in-law out of the way. “I want to see my grandson.”
The doctor looked from Ashley to Mr. Traylor and then back again. “I can take two people into recovery, Mrs. Lester.”
Without even looking at her husband, Ashley took her father’s arm “Daddy and I will go. Warren, why don’t you take the kids and Mom to the house and then bring me back a bag of things so I can stay the night.”
I waited for Warren to speak up and tell his father-in-law to stay put, that he was going to see his son and the grandparents could take the kids home.