“Her granddaughter, Jillian Mayfield. Please, can you just tell me where she’s been taken? You can go back to Fabio in a minute.”
The nurse huffed in irritation but put down her clipboard and began typing into the computer. I bit my tongue to keep from telling this woman where she could shove her clipboard while Grant rubbed my back soothingly. He whispered in my ear, “Let it go and focus on what’s important right now.”
I swallowed down my anger as the nurse found the information.
“She’s having tests run right now, but you can go to the family waiting area up on the second floor. They’ll call you as soon as she’s able to have visitors.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and said a quick prayer of thanks, holding back even more tears. “Is she okay?” I couldn’t bring my voice above a whisper.
The nurse shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry. I don’t have access to that information. You’ll have to wait and talk to her doctor.”
Grant put his arm around me as I sunk into his side. I was grateful he was here with me now. “Let’s go up to the waiting room. Your mom or dad might be there and have more information.”
I nodded, and we made our way to the waiting room. When the elevator dinged and opened, the first person I saw was my mom pacing at the end of the hallway.
“Mom!” I let go of Grant and ran up to her, hugging her tight. “They wouldn’t tell me anything. How’s Gamma? Have you heard anything?”
She pulled me down to sit next to her in one of the hard, plastic chairs that lined the room. “I don’t know much yet. They were taking her for testing. They think she may have had a stroke.”
“Oh my God, Mom. What’s going to happen to her? She’s gonna get better, right?” It was no longer possible to fight the tears, and I let them flow freely.
“I wish I could tell you yes, baby girl, but all we can do right now is wait and pray. It’ll be a few more hours until we really know any specific information about diagnosis or prognosis.”
I sank down into the uncomfortable seat as Grant handed each of us a tissue. I stared at the doorway, tapping my foot in time with the ticking off the clock above my head and waiting for the doctor to come in. I did what I always did when I was stressed: I daydreamed. After a half hour of silence, Grant spoke up.
“I’m going to move the car. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Mrs. Mayfield, can I bring you or Jillian anything?”
Mom looked at Grant, clearly confused by who he was and why he was here. Oh! I totally forgot to introduce them. I was not going to hear the end of this.
“I’m sorry. Mom, this is Grant. He’s a friend of mine from work and drove me here.”
Grant held out his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Mayfield. I’m so sorry to hear about your mother-in-law.”
“Thank you, Grant. And thank you for the offer. But I’m fine for now. I just need Jill’s dad to get here. He was in Texas on business and grabbed the first flight back, but I’ll need to pick him up from the airport in a few hours.”
Grant rubbed my shoulder with his thumb. “You need anything? Coffee or something to eat?”
“No, thanks.”
Grant walked toward the elevator and I took out my phone to call Christian. It went to voicemail before I remembered why he wasn’t answering. I quickly explained what happened, trying not to cry, and headed back to where Mom sat.
“So why is it that this Grant is here, and Christian is not?”
I rolled my eyes. With nothing to do but wait for news of Gamma, Mom must have decided now was a good time to play twenty questions. She wasn’t Christian’s biggest fan. She’d found a joint he’d left in my car after borrowing it last year, and she never quite got over it. He swore up and down it was an old one, from before he quit all that, but my mom’s trust in him was doused. It didn’t help that he decided not to go to college or a trade school. Mom thought he would end up mooching off of me and while she never came out and told me to dump him, it was written all over her face every time she saw