“I was sweaty and sticky.” Her face scrunched up as I kissed the tip of her nose.
“I could help you get clean, but I’ll only get you dirty again.” Her head fell into my chest as she laughed. “I’m here to take care of you.”
“I know you are, Fireman Nicky.” Ellie giggled as I tickled her side.
“Do I even want to know what other stories you heard from those two tonight in the kitchen?”
The smile fell from Ellie’s face as her hands drifted up my arms. “Marilyn told me about Maddie—about her son.” My head jerked back as my mouth flattened to a thin line. I wasn’t hiding anything, but I wanted to tell Ellie in my own time. I didn’t need her making all kinds of assumptions in her head from my sister’s loose lips.
“Don’t get mad, she only said that it was so nice to see us like this after how she . . . after what happened.” Ellie ran her fingers through my damp hair. “I see how close you got with Jack after so little time. Marilyn said you’d known Maddie’s son since he was a baby.”
I could shrug my shoulders at Maddie’s memory for the most part now. But I still thought of Kevin. I even tried to stay in contact with him, but my cards came back unopened. Maddie shot me a text saying any contact was a bad idea and we all needed to make a clean break. It hurt, and when it came to him, I suspected it always would.
“You take care of everyone; I’d . . . I’d like to take care of you. Just a little.” I laughed at her flushed cheeks, not sure if embarrassment, the heat of the shower, or the off-the-charts sex we’d just had were the cause.
“You already do, more than you know.” My hand trailed down her cheek. She shut her eyes and leaned in as my thumb grazed her lips. I kissed her slowly, then peppered tiny kisses across her cheeks and groaned. “Did I ever mention how much I fucking love your freckles.”
Ellie laughed as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I did love them, and I loved her. What I hated was keeping that to myself.
“EVERYTHING OKAY?” ELLIEasked when she answered on the first ring. “You usually don’t call me during school. The kids are reading so I snuck out into the hallway.”
“Not really. My grandmother is in the emergency room. All they can tell me is that she fell. Marilyn is on a field trip with David, and I can’t get a hold of her. I’m almost at Jacobi Hospital now.” Staying calm was a struggle. A thousand scenarios raced through my brain, broken hip, concussion . . . stroke. She was in her early eighties; the awful possibilities were endless.
“Oh Nick, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do? I can try to contact one of the teachers on the trip. They’re in Philadelphia, so I don’t know if she can get back early.”
“No, I’m all right. I just . . . I guess I needed to hear your voice for a minute. I just got to the emergency room now. I’ll call you later, sweetheart.”
“Okay, let me know if you need me. She’s a tough lady. She’ll be all right; I know it.” Ellie’s voice took on a soft tone. I leaned against the wall and smiled. She probably spoke to her little students that way to get them to calm down. It worked for a moment.
“I will, Ellie, thank you.”
I sprinted through the automatic doors at the emergency room’s entrance and headed straight for the nurses’ desk.
“Ana Garcia. She was brought in by ambulance about an hour ago; I’m her grandson.”
The nurse looked at the pile of charts on her desk and nodded. “Yes, she’s having some tests done, but I’ll have the doctor come out and speak to you. You can have a seat in the waiting room.”
I inhaled a deep breath and nodded and made my way to the empty row of chairs. I leaned my elbows on my knees and dropped my face to my hands. I was in my thirties and still had my grandmother, which was very rare. She was so much more than that. She was the one who raised me. She was the one who had given me baths, packed my lunch every day, and spanked me when I got out of line. She was seated in the front row for big events in my life and was the first one I called with any news—good or bad. I looked to her for everything. That feisty old woman was my center. What was I supposed to do without her?
“Excuse me, are you Ana Garcia’s grandson?” I popped out of my seat and rushed to where the doctor stood.
“Yes, how is she?”
“It’s too soon to tell. She’s still unconscious and undergoing some tests. She took a very bad fall off the ladder.”
“Ladder!” My eyes went wide as my teeth clenched. I could bet she was rearranging the top shelves of the kitchen cabinets since Marilyn never did it to her satisfaction. She never waited for anyone’s help. I wished she was conscious so I could scream at her.
“She’s lucky the UPS man saw her on the floor through the window and called nine-one-one. Her head needed a few stitches, but we need to see if she’s unconscious from the fall or if something happened that made her fall.”
“Like a stroke.” I cocked my head, but the doctor only shrugged.
“Like I said; too soon to tell. We’ll come out here and let you know as soon as we do.” The doctor turned to go back to the emergency room, but my feet were cemented to the floor. What if she had a stroke that paralyzed her? She would hate living like that. Or what if she couldn’t speak anymore? How much therapy would she need, and could it even help at her age? I shook my head as a smile tugged at my lips. If anyone could fight back from a stroke, it would be her.
I lifted my eyes to the fluorescent lights and offered a silent plea to God. I wasn’t ready to give her up. Maybe He could let me be selfish just a few more years. Let me keep her. Other than offering prayers I wasn’t sure were being heard, I could do nothing but sit. Alone. After the first hour, I was ready to climb the walls. I paced back and forth between the nurses’ desk and cracked plastic seats in the waiting room, asking for updates no one had. The more time that passed, the more panicked I became. In another fifteen minutes, I was about to hit my breaking point and burst through the ER doors, so they had no choice but to give me some kind of answer.
“Excuse me.” A familiar squeaky voice made my head pop up. “Did an Ana Garcia get taken in?”
Ellie leaned against the front desk as she craned her head around the waiting room.
