doctor.
“Children,” he said, “I think it’s best you sit back and wait while I confer with the adult here.”
Straightening, Ruby wrapped her arm around her brother’s shoulders. She emitted the air of a seasoned protector. “This is about our mama. We got a right to know.”
The doctor looked to Lily for approval. While such an allowance was uncommon, they were hardly common kids. What was more, having lived through their father’s passing, they surely grasped the gravity of the situation.
Lily submitted a nod, and the doctor proceeded.
“First off, in regard to Mr. Reed, I’m pleased to say we found no remnants of the bullet in his side region and no damage to major organs. He did suffer a fractured rib, however, and required a transfusion due to blood loss. As always, infection remains a risk. But so long as he takes good care of the stitched wounds, I expect his recovery to be a smooth one.”
He stopped there, and Lily realized: Ellis was safe. He would be all right! Relief swept through her, but for just a second.
“And our mama?” Ruby asked. Her eyes alone betrayed her fears as the doctor shifted his focus in her direction.
“Unfortunately, the bullet that struck your mother’s back did shatter a small but important bone. Whenever that happens, our biggest concern is the possibility of permanent damage to the spinal cord.”
The potential results wrung Lily’s heart. That the mother of these two young children, their sole parent in this world, could lose the use of her legs. That in a reversal of roles, the kids could be caring for Geraldine for the rest of her days.
Perhaps it had been a mistake, permitting the children to stay for this.
“So?” Ruby said. “What’d you find?” She was growing impatient, and Lily wondered how much of the medical talk the children comprehended.
“A little to the left or to the right,” the doctor replied, “and we would have been in far more trouble. Your mother is a lucky woman, and a strong one too.”
Calvin asked in a small voice, “She’s…okay?” Ruby squeezed him closer.
“There’ll be some swelling, and assisted exercises will be helpful. But yes, it’s safe to say she’ll be just fine.”
Grins swept across the children’s faces. Their glee instantly spread to Lily, and even her mother, who was gauging the outcome from her chair.
“Mr. Reed is awake now,” the doctor added, “but he might be a bit groggy. Mrs. Dillard should be waking any time. A nurse can take you all to see them soon.” As he walked away, Ruby wrapped Calvin in a hug, and the two hopped about like jumping beans. Despite all they had gone through, at least in this moment, they were bursting with the innocence of youth.
Then Samuel joined in, and they became a bouncing trio. Whether or not he knew what he was celebrating didn’t matter a whit.
Lily hated to shush them but did so gently, being mindful of other patients, before an anxious voice came from behind.
“Lily! There you are.”
Though she recognized his voice, the surprise didn’t fully hit her until she saw Clayton approaching. He looked her up and down, assessing. “You’re not hurt,” he said with relief.
“No…I’m perfectly fine.”
“Oh, thank God,” he said. “The chief didn’t have any details.”
“The chief?”
“Your mother phoned him about you being out. I was just there packing up my desk. I jumped in my car as soon as I heard.”
She was ceaselessly amazed by the support her parents gave, regardless of the effects on their lives. And now here was Clayton, another person in her life willing to look out for her, to protect her. “I feel terrible that it caused you to drive all this way. I would’ve assured you…if I’d known.”
“Sweetheart,” he said, “what in the world happened here?”
A simple question with an overwhelming answer.
All at once, she felt so very tired. Aside from a brief nap while curled up on hospital chairs, it seemed an eternity since she had truly rested. The idea of recounting the journey all over again only added to her fatigue. Even so, she owed it to Clayton to at last tell him everything.
In the background, a nurse was pushing a patient in a squeaky wooden wheelchair, fresh visitors were milling about, and Lily’s mother was trying to calm the children while suppressing her own smile.
“Let’s…find some place quiet,” Lily said.
• • •
The emptiness of the stairwell amplified the silence in the stale air. A full minute had passed after Lily finished, and Clayton still