“Why don’t you take Mrs. Caplan to get a cup of coffee,” Becky said cheerfully. “I need to empty your dad’s catheter bag, and I’m pretty sure you don’t need to be here for that.”
“Why would you say that? There are things I don’t need to know. What the hell, Becky.” Then, because he couldn’t not, he added, “Is there a lot?”
She laughed at him.
So weird.
* * *
There were a few people blinking sleepily in the hospital cafeteria. Mary made Nick sit at a table in the corner, before saying she’d be right back.
Nick pulled his phone from his pocket.
He had missed calls and texts.
Gibby had tried to call him three times. Martha twice. Bob once.
There were voicemails, but he ignored those for the moment.
Gibby had texted him, demanding he pick up the phone or she was going to kick his ass.
Martha’s said she wanted to talk to him.
Bob wrote that he’d be there when Nick was ready.
There was one from Jazz, wondering why Gibby wanted to know if Nick was with her, and since he wasn’t, where Nick could possibly be?
Nothing from Seth or Owen.
Mary returned, placing a banana, a muffin, and a bottle of juice in front of him. “You’ll eat all of it. And drink all of the juice.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I received a phone call three hours ago. The only time a phone rings in the middle of the night is to deliver bad news. For all I knew, something had happened to Rodney while he was on duty. So, imagine my surprise when the hospital told me the boy I was responsible for had shown up on his own. You will do as I say, and you will like it.”
“But I—”
“Less talking, more banana.”
Nick picked up the banana. “You’re very good at the guilt-trip thing.”
She sniffed. “I prefer to think of it as knowing what’s best.”
“Oh. Well. You’re very good at that, then.”
“Thank you.” She sipped her coffee, watching him peel the banana. He made a show of taking a big bite and chewing obnoxiously. She wasn’t impressed. “This is hurting you more than me, just so you know.”
He slumped in his seat. “Sorry.”
“So you’ve already said. I appreciate it, but we’re going to move on from it now.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not mad.”
“Okay.”
“Eat the muffin.”
He did.
She waited until he was halfway through it when she said, “Rodney was shot once.”
Nick looked up at her. He tried to swallow without chewing and ended up choking. He coughed, spraying crumbs on the table.
Mary cocked her head. “Delightful.”
He glared at her, opening the juice bottle and taking a drink to help clear his throat. “You did that on purpose.”
“And you’ll never prove it. Though, I suppose if you’re going to choke on food, at least you’re in a good place to do it.”
“I didn’t know that about Cap.”
She shrugged, taking another drink of coffee. “It was a long time ago. Back when he was a beat cop. Two years on the job, and he got a call for a domestic disturbance. Scary thing, those, though I suppose all calls that come in have a chance of being dangerous. He arrived, and the man didn’t want to leave. The woman had a restraining order against him, and there were warrants out for his arrest. He also had a gun and shot Rodney in the arm.” She set the cup on the table, holding it between her hands. “In the grand scheme of things, it was nothing life-threatening. But imagine getting a call saying that someone you love has been hurt in the line of duty.”
“I don’t have to imagine that.”
She shook her head. “Of course you don’t. I panicked, only hearing the words Rodney’s been shot over and over again in my head. By the time I got to the hospital, I created this entire world in my head, one where Rodney was dying, or already dead. I was going to have to put on a brave face when I arrived, I knew, but I cried almost the whole way on the train. So even though I knew he was gone, I dried my eyes and strode in, ready to face what was to come. But instead of losing him, I was brought to one of the rooms. Rodney was spouting off at the doctor, saying it was just a flesh wound, and he would absolutely not be admitted, that it was wrapped, and he was ready to go.