30. Harlan
30
HARLAN
An orange glow filled the waiting room from the rays of light coming through the window. It was the last few moments of sunset. We'd been at the hospital for the past twelve hours. All day, Daphne had been updating me, either by text or coming out to see me every couple of hours or so. Each time she did, she'd insist that I should go home. I never argued with her. I just told her I was fine where I was.
There was no way I was leaving her by herself. I was worried about Daphne. Even though her dad was still alive, he wasn't in her life. Her aunt was really the only family she had left. I knew something about that. Grandad was it for me. I had some second cousins in Florida and a few scattered around the country, but no immediate family and no one I was close to.
I was checking my phone for the dozenth time when I heard a familiar voice. "Hey."
I lifted my head to find Zoe standing in front of me in purple scrubs. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she didn't have a drop of makeup on. She looked like a teenager, not the mom of a preteen boy. She'd always looked young for her age. She blamed it on her round face and freckles.
"I heard you were here."
I sat up a little straighter. "Did you see Daphne? Is she okay? How's Miss Rhonda?"
"No, I haven't seen her or checked in on Miss Rhonda yet. But you are the hot goss in the locker room." Zoe made her voice several octaves higher to sound like a giddy schoolgirl. "Harlan Mitchell from Farm Strong is here. He's so sexy. He's been in the waiting room all day, and he smiled at me."
"Ha ha ha," I said flatly.
"Sadly, I'm serious." She lowered herself down beside me. "When I dropped AJ off at Brent's, Leanne told me what happened, so I figured you were here. But if I hadn't known Harlan from Farm Strong was here, I would have found out as soon as I got here. It's all the nursing staff is talking about."
Brent Caldwell's mom, Leanne, had been at the class this morning. I was sure that most of Firefly Island knew what had happened by now. My phone had been blowing up with people wanting updates all day. Several people had stopped by, but since Miss Rhonda had been admitted to the ICU, it was immediate family only.
"Have you been in to see her?" Zoe asked.
"No, but Daphne's been coming out. Last I heard, she was awake. They admitted her to the ICU and are still running tests. You could probably find out a lot more than I have."
She patted my arm and stood. "Have you been here all day?"
I nodded.
"Have you eaten anything?"
"I'm fine." I ran my hands through my hair and scrubbed them over my face.
"You need to eat something, Harlan." Zoe was using her ‘mom' voice. It was the same one she used when she told AJ it was time for bed or that he only had thirty more minutes of screen time.
As much as I appreciated her looking out for me, I wasn't eleven, and I had zero appetite.
"I'm fine," I maintained as I dropped my arms.
"Hey," a soft voice filled the room.
I looked up and saw Daphne standing in the doorway.
"How is she?" Zoe and I both asked at the same time.
"Stable. She got really upset when they told her she would be here for a while. The machines went crazy, her blood pressure spiked, and she tried to take out her I.V. They gave her something to help her sleep."
"What did they give her?" Zoe asked.
As the two women discussed Miss Rhonda's condition, I noticed the dark circles beneath Daphne's eyes. Her complexion was pale and sallow. Every protective instinct came alive in me. I'd been here all day, but I didn't feel that it was enough. I should have made sure that she'd eaten and had water. That she'd had breaks. But each time she'd come out to update me, it had been so brief, and she'd rushed back to be with her aunt.
"You should really go home and get some rest." Zoe rubbed Daphne's upper arm in comfort. "Visiting hours are over, and with what they gave her, she's going to be out until the morning."
Daphne bit her bottom lip nervously. "I think I might just stay here and sleep in the waiting room."
Zoe glanced up at me, her eyes clearly communicating that I needed to take Daphne home.
"A good night's sleep will do you good," I offered. "Your aunt would not want you spending the night here."
"I'll check in on her and call you if there's any change. You should get some rest," Zoe insisted.
I could see a battle going on behind Daphne's baby blues. When her shoulders dropped in surrender, I knew that she'd relented. "Okay."
"See you guys later." Zoe pulled Daphne in for a quick hug before heading out of the waiting room.
We silently made our way to the parking garage. After I opened the door to my truck, she climbed in, and I went around to the driver's side. The first five minutes of the drive were silent. I was giving her space and didn't think she'd want to be bombarded with questions.
"Do you want to stop someplace to eat?" I finally asked.
"No." She shook her head. "I'm not hungry. I'm too tired to eat."
As much as I wanted to argue with her, I didn't.
"If you change your mind, just let me know."
She glanced at me. "I just want to go home and go to sleep."
Home . Even though I knew it was a figure of speech, hearing her call her aunt's house home did something to me. A warmth filled my chest, but I tried to ignore it.
I nodded and turned my attention back to the highway.
"Thanks again. You didn't have to stay all day."
My eyes cut back to hers. "Yes, I did."
"You didn't, but thanks."
"So, if I was the one in the hospital with Grandad, you would have left?" I challenged.
She could deny the connection we that had all she wanted, but she knew it was there. Even if she was seeing Kale Butler, there was still something between us.
Her mouth opened, but then it closed again. When she opened it again, her phone rang, startling her. She jumped in her seat. When she did, her purse tumbled down by her feet. She reached down and scrambled to pick up the call.
"Hello," she said breathlessly as she brought the device to her ear. "Hello."
"Oh, hi."
I glanced over, and saw her shoulders slump.
"No, I thought you were…it doesn't matter. I was planning to call?—"
I couldn't hear what the person on the other end was saying, just that she kept interrupting Daphne.
"Yes, my aunt was rushed to the hospital and?—"
"No. I'm not coming in tomorrow. I had to stay?—"
"I know, but?—"
"Well, I can see if?—"
"I don't know how long I'll be?—"
"She might need a triple bypass; they are still running tests, and I'm?—"
"No, there's no one else to take?—"
"Alexandra, between vacation and sick leave, I have four weeks. I'm taking them now. I'll see you in a month."
As she hung up the phone, I could hear the woman talking on the other end.
Beside me, Daphne exhaled and slumped back in her chair.
"Are you okay?"
"I might have just lost my job."
I wanted to say that any job that didn't understand she was having a family emergency wasn't worth having, but I didn't think it was my place.
Instead, I took the opportunity to ask, "So, Rhonda might need surgery?"
"Yeah, triple bypass. Her arteries are blocked. They said the recovery is six to twelve weeks, but I only have four I can take."
"We'll take care of her," I assured her. "You don't have to worry."
A tear slid down Daphne's face as she nodded and turned her head to look out the window. I wanted to comfort her, but I didn't want to cross any lines. I flexed my hands on the steering wheel in an effort to keep them in place. But when I heard her take in a shaky breath, I reached out and rested my hand on her thigh.
She covered my hand with hers and squeezed. We didn't talk the rest of the ride home. I didn't ask her more about her aunt's diagnoses or about Kale Butler. We just rode in silence.
When we pulled up to the farmhouse, her hand was on the handle before the truck came to a complete stop.
"Thank you again. For everything."
"Of course, if you need anything, I'm right next door. I don't care if it's three o'clock in the morning."
A tiny grin tugged at her lips. "I'll just throw a rock at your window."
Seeing her grin, even if it was just a tiny smile, made me feel like a superhero, like I was faster than a speeding bullet and could leap a tall building in a single bound.
"Or you could text."
Her nose scrunched. "Yeah, that would probably be faster."
She got out, and I watched her until she got inside and shut the door. I had a lot of questions that I didn't have answers to—but I did know one thing. Daphne Moore was going to be in Firefly for four more weeks.