to deliver three meals a day, for the three of you, as long as you’re here,” Brenda said.
“Has the doctor been in yet?” Laura asked.
“Yes, he was. He said we watch and wait. He examined the cast on her arm and checked her pupils and a few other things,” Chase answered.
“I can stay as long as you like, Chase, but if you’d rather just have family, that’s fine too,” Brenda told him.
“Stay if you can, Brenda, unless you have things to do.”
“Nothing that can’t wait.” She smiled at her friend, before turning to Laura. “Mrs. Drake, how are you doing?”
“Please call me Laura. I’m concerned but I’m okay. Dr. and Mrs. Rose, friends from Clinton, are driving over this afternoon.”
“Good, I’m glad,” Chase remarked.
“Yes, that’s nice. Isn’t that the doctor Sunny worked with? I believe she mentioned that the night we all had dinner together.”
“Yes, that’s actually where Sunny and I met. I had to take Brice in to see the doctor while in Clinton on business and Sunny was working.”
“I didn’t know that.” Brenda laughed. “Leave it to little Bricey to find his dad a wife.”
“I felt so bad for keeping her at work after hours that I invited her to join me and the kids for dinner at our hotel.”
“And the rest, as they say, is history.” Laura laughed.
“And apparently it was love at first sight,” Brenda added.
“Pretty much, yes,” Chase replied sadly.
“Laura, how are the kids?” Brenda asked, afraid she already knew the answer.
“They didn’t take it well, as we’d expected, but Marty was able to calm them down. George was watching a movie with them when we left.”
A nurse came in to check on Sunny. She removed an empty bag of fluids and replaced it with a full one. Then she checked her vitals. “She’s holding her own,” she told them. “Her vitals are strong.”
When the delivery boy from the restaurant showed up with their lunch, the two mothers were able to persuade Chase to go to the lounge with them to eat.
“You can relax a little. And it’s right down the hall. You’ll be close by if Sunny needs you.”
“This is really good, Chase,” Laura said as she took a bite of the vegetable soup. They had each also been brought a sandwich and a dessert.
When he’d finished eating, Chase told the two women to stay and rest. “I’m going back in. I’d like to be alone with Sunny.”
“Okay, sweetheart, you go on. But please, send someone to get us if there is any change,” Laura requested.
“I will,” he replied with a smile.
When he entered the room, a male nurse he hadn’t seen before was standing next to Sunny’s bed holding a pillow in his hand.
“What are you doing?” Chase demanded.
“Just putting a pillow behind her head, sir,” the nurse replied. He looked nervous as he attempted to place the pillow under Sunny’s head.
“I’ll do it.” Chase took the pillow from the nurse’s hand.
“Yes, sir, I’ll just be going now.” He hurriedly left the room.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was a long and tiring day for the people who loved Sunny. Chase rarely left her side. He held her hand and whispered in her ear almost continually. Only occasionally could Laura or Marty persuade him to take a break.
“The doctor said to watch and wait but for how long?” Chase looked at his mother for guidance.
“I don’t know, he didn’t really say, did he?”
“I wonder if Dr. Rose is here yet?”
“Laura went downstairs to wait for him. I’m sure she’ll bring him up to see you and Sunny as soon as he gets here.”
Connie the nurse assigned to Sunny for the afternoon shift came in and introduced herself. “I’m Connie. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll be back to check her vitals in just a little while.”
“Thank you,” Chase said absently.
“Can I get you anything? Perhaps a cup of coffee, I can get some from our staff lounge. I guarantee it’ll be better than what you’ve been getting out of the machines.”
“That would be wonderful. You can bring us both a cup if you don’t mind. Black is fine,” Marty told her.
“Coming right up.” She placed a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “You’ve got to keep your strength up.”
After Connie had gone to get the coffee, Marty told her son, “Chase, you’ve got to pull yourself together here. I’ve never seen you like this…even when Brittney…”
“Mom, you have no idea what I’m feeling right now. The pain I felt when Brittney died is nothing, compared to