“Thank you, Ulrike.”Lifting her chin, she regarded the other woman levelly.“I’m sure you’re right.”She wanted to add that he wasn’t normally like this, but the lie wouldn’t come this time.Instead, she merely lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug.
“It’s not true what he said, that he won’t walk again, because he will, even though it’ll take lots of rehab,” Ulrike continued, probably hoping to lift her spirits.“He’s just not listening at the moment.He’s feeling like his world has been shattered, that’s all.”
He and she both, Aurora thought.“I’ll give him half an hour, then I’ll try to talk to him again,” she assured the nurse, even though she wasn’t sure if she would indeed make that attempt.
“Good idea.”Ulrike patted her arm on the way past as she headed down the hall towards the nurse’s station.“Call me if you want some support when you go in again.”
Aurora didn’t know how the nurses did it.How they remained sympathetic and compassionate in the face of openly hostile patients like her father.
Aurora was still leaning against the wall five minutes later, contemplating her shoes, when the sound of running feet alerted her to Astrid’s arrival.
“They said he’s awake,” she puffed, dropping a large suitcase at Aurora’s feet.Her surge of pleasure at seeing her little sister died before it even had a chance to rise properly.There was no sisterly hug hello, no questions about how she was holding up.It was always Aurora’s place to play the role of caring sister; she always gave and Astrid always received.But in Aurora’s deflated emotional state, she had no reserves left to give.So instead of plastering on a look that said she was happy to see her sister, she simply said, “He’s in there.He doesn’t want to see me.Perhaps he’ll talk to you instead.”
“What?Why?”Astrid looked surprised, almost as if she wasn’t aware of how bad her father’s relationship with Aurora had become.And maybe she wasn’t aware, because Aurora hadn’t told her.
“I’m sure he’ll tell you everything.I’ll stay here and watch your bag,” she added, waving Astrid towards the door to their father’s room.Her little sister hadn’t seen Karl in over two years, but she didn’t seem the least bit worried about how he was going to receive her, or what she was going to say.Astrid was lucky; she seemed to have a thick skin, laughing off anything mean or rude Karl might say.But then she’d always been his favorite, and so had never really endured the sharp edge of his tongue.Maybe today might be different.But Aurora wasn’t going in with her to find out.
After Astrid disappeared through the door, Aurora stood pondering the large suitcase.Astrid had clearly come straight from the train station.She’d been wearing sweats, and her hair was tied up in a messy bun.But she’d looked good, face unblemished and smooth of any worry lines and brown eyes—the mirror of Aurora’s—bright and clear.Working at the newspaper seemed to agree with Astrid, and Aurora was glad about that.At least one of them was happy and carefree, and perhaps that was the way it should stay.Perhaps it was Aurora’s duty to shoulder the burden of their father so Astrid could lead a normal life.
Glaring at the suitcase as if it could give her all the answers, she finally decided she would leave it behind the desk at the nurse’s station until Astrid emerged from Karl’s room.And she should probably get back to work, especially if her father wouldn’t see her.But she couldn’t raise the energy to lift one foot in front of the other, let alone lift the suitcase.So she sat down on it instead.What was she going to do?How were they going to solve the problem that was Karl?
Aurora was so lost in her own thoughts she didn’t hear the person approaching until a hand landed on her shoulder.She looked up into Jiro’s wonderful, handsome face.
“You okay?”he asked carefully.
She just shook her head, unable to form the jumble of emotions inside her chest into words.
“Come here.”Strong arms came around her waist and dragged her to standing.Then he pulled her into the solid wall of his chest, wrapping her into his embrace.She laid her cheek against his collarbone and they stood, unspeaking.The flood of sensations that filled her at his touch washed away all the miserable feelings.It was like he was a balm to her wounded soul.Like he understood what she needed.
This.This was what she had yearned for.This was where she felt safe.Wanted.Perhaps even loved.That thought made her pull up and mentally kick herself.He didn’t love her; he hardly knew her.But right now he was the thing she needed most, and she didn’t even care that she was a cop in uniform with a job to do.She accepted what he was giving wholeheartedly and sank into it.
After many, many long moments, Aurora felt strong enough to lift her head and look into his eyes.
“I heard Karl was awake,” he said, brushing a strand of hair gently away from her face.“I take it things didn’t go well.”
“Nope.”She didn’t want to talk about it.Wanted to be anywhere but here right now.
“Okay.”He stroked the side of her cheek.“Well, I’ve just had some news.Papa is also awake.”
“Wow.”Aurora drew back.“That’s great.”And a tad ironic, both their father’s waking up within an hour of each other.She wasn’t superstitious, but if she were, she might read something into that.
“I was on my way to see him, but I wanted to stop by here first.Do you want to come with me?”he offered.
Why not?There was nothing for her here right now, so she nodded in agreement.“I’ll just see if I can store Astrid’s luggage behind the nurses’ desk,” she said, grabbing the handle of the suitcase.
“I’ve got it.”Jiro took the bag from her, raising an eyebrow as if to ask if she was going to argue with him?Not today.She turned the bag over to him with a smile of gratitude.“So Astrid has arrived then?”he asked as they ambled down the hallway.
“Yes, I’d introduce you, but she’s in with Fader, and I would guess now isn’t a good time to interrupt them.”That was probably an understatement.But then again, Astrid might be happy with an interruption around now, if Karl was giving her even half as much grief as he’d given Aurora.She didn’t want to go back into that room, however, and so she kept walking forward with Jiro by her side, away from all that pain and anguish, toward the light.
“Do you have to go back to work?”Jiro asked.
“Not really.”She shot him a sideways glance.“I was going to sit in on the meeting with you, Taro and Jacob later tonight anyway,” she added by way of explanation.Mårten couldn’t really disapprove of her abandoning her father to her sister’s tender mercies and heading to see Kenichi instead.She was technically still working, as Kenichi was one of their key witnesses, and it would benefit them all for her to find out his condition, and see how soon he could be interviewed.
They dropped the bag off with the nurse and headed down the next hallway.This area was a much busier section of the hospital, with nurses and doctors striding down the hallways, and visitors coming and going from patient rooms.As they walked, Jiro slipped his hand into hers, as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do.And it was natural.It felt so right that Aurora left her hand linked with his, just enjoying the sensation.
Kenichi also had a guard stationed outside his private room, which brought more than a few stares from passers by.But if the meeting tonight with Jacob went well, hopefully this extra protection would no longer be required.Aurora surreptitiously dropped Jiro’s hand—but not without a large dose of regret—and identified herself and Jiro to the guard, who stood aside to let them in.But Aurora quailed before she stepped through, suddenly unsure.
“You should go in by yourself,” she said, taking a step backward and almost colliding with the guard in her effort to slip away.
