Mom and Ifollowed, and I pulled a chair closer to the bed so Mom could sit down.
“How are youfeeling?” I asked, taking in my dad’s two black eyes and padded bandage over hisnose. He looked like some kind of demented raccoon, and the whites of his eyeswere now blood red.
Dad smiledtiredly. “Good, bud. The painkillers are doing their job.”
“What happened?”I asked, trying not to sound too demanding.
“Someone forcedme off the road,” Dad said. “Lucky for me, airbags saved my butt. It allhappened so fast, I wasn’t able to get a license plate. It was a black Ram1500, Idaho plates, that’s all I could really see before I was hit from behind.They then pulled up beside me and forced me off the road. The asshole waswearing a ski mask, so I couldn’t see his face. The Nissan flipped and I got mynose shattered when the airbag went off, but other than the broken nose and acouple of bruises from the impact, I’m gonna be okay.”
“They had tosurgically restore your face, Jason,” Mom said with a huff, looking up at me.“They were afraid the cartilage from his nose may have gone up into his eye orsomething. They were concerned it might blind him.”
Dad grinned. “Yeah,but it didn’t, and now I’ve got that Brad Pitt nose I always wanted, so win forme… and you.”
She threw herhands in the air. “I can’t with him right now.”
I found myselfrelaxing. If my dad was joking, then he was obviously feeling pretty good, andit sounded as though the doctors were able to fix the damage without anypermanent issues.
“When can you gohome, Daddy?” Louisa asked.
“Tomorrow,” hesaid.
“That soon?” Iasked.
“Yes. They’rejust keeping me for one more day to make sure there aren’t any issues. I pushedfor today, but it was a no-go.”
“Go get Daisy,honey,” Mom said. “We’d really love to meet her.”
I didn’t wait tobe told twice and headed back down the hall to the waiting room, finding Daisywith her head buried in her phone, playing a game, or texting, or something,but her head came up as soon as she heard my footsteps.
“Hi,” she said,a worried smile covering her face.
“Hi, baby.”
“Everythingokay?”
“Yeah.” I heldmy hand out to her. “My parents both want you there.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Dadjust asks you don’t peek under his sheet.”
“Oh my god.” Shelet out a quiet snort as she stood and took my hand. “No problem.”
I smiled,kissing her quickly.
“So, if he’sjoking, that means he must be feeling okay, huh?” Daisy observed as we headedtoward his room.
“Yeah, he’sgood. They’re sending him home tomorrow.”
She squeezed myhand, pulling me to a stop. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I amnow. Being able to see him and hear him kidding around made all the differencein the world.”
She smiled. “Ibet.”
I wrapped myarms around her and pulled her close. “Love you, baby.”
“Love you, too.”She lifted my cut, folded neatly over her arm. “I’ll hold onto this for now,okay?”
