“How is she?”
“She was conscious but her blood pressure was very low.”
I breathed out. I would have gone with her. She hated riding the ambulance alone, even when she had enough stamina to rate the paramedics for hotness.
“If you want, clock out early after you finish with the post-lunch routine,” Sylvie said.
“My car broke down again. I walked from my sister’s.” The Riviera shore towns, including Riviera View, didn’t have a hospital. I had to get to San Luis Obispo if I wanted to see Vi.
“You know what? I finish at five. You can come with me. I’ll drop you off there.” Sylvie lived in San Luis and, as an administrator, she worked nine to five most days.
“Thank you.”
I tried to put on a happy face for the other residents, but Sue noticed it and patted my hand. “She’ll be fine,” she said as I walked past her on my way to Vi’s room, to unnecessarily organize her bedside table and smooth the sheets that someone else had stretched.
The hours slowly ticked by. When it was time, I changed back into my outfit and went with Sylvie to her car. Crossing Ocean Avenue, the town’s main street that stretched toward the beach, where my sister’s studio was above her shop, I was happy I was back here and not in Wayford. I loved this town. It was home.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked when Sylvie dropped me off at the hospital entrance.
“I have to get back to my kids,” she replied apologetically. She didn’t have to; I knew what it was like with young children and a full-time job.
I smiled warmly at her. “I’ll tell her you said hi.”
But I didn’t get to. Because when I got to the ward, contrary to the update I had received by phone, Vi’s condition wasn’t good. She wasn’t asleep; she was unconscious.
“She’s on oxygen and unconscious, and you didn’t bother telling us?” I walked over to the nurses’ station.
“Sandy Hills, right? Should we have waited for you? Her saturation dropped.”
“Never mind.” I sighed and went back to Vi.
I stroked her hair and watched the tubes that came out of her. She was attached to a heart monitor. Her pulse was low.
“Hey, Vi. I’m not in scrubs. In fact, I think you’ll regret not opening your eyes right now and seeing what I have on instead. It’s an outfit you haven’t seen yet, and you’re gonna love it. Or enjoy trashing it. I can’t really tell which, now that I think about it. I really need you to be better and see this,” I whispered.
Another nurse came in. “Are you a relative?”
“I’m from Sandy Hills.”
“In that case, I can tell you that it’s not looking too good. There’s indication of system shutdown,” she said, seeing me as a colleague who wasn’t emotionally invested in Vi beyond what our profession required. “Do you have her next of kin listed?”
“What are you planning on doing about it? Can I talk to a doctor?” I got up, ignoring her question. Vi didn’t have a next of kin listed.
“We’ll let you guys know if and when.”
“If and when?” Though I asked, I didn’t want to hear the reply.
The nurse pressed her lips together, raised her eyebrows, and gave me that nod that said,Yep.
“Can I talk to a doctor?” I repeated. She might be giving up on Vi, but I wasn’t going to do that.
“They’re doing a round; they’ll get here.”
“Then I’ll wait.” I swallowed the pang of all that information, and though I wasn’t the praying type, I prayed for the best.
After the nurse left, I continued chatting to Vi. She never opened her eyes, or moved, or even pressed my hand that was holding hers. “Come on, Vi, you’d usually kill for my stories. Remember Benny’s son? The one who farted on our first and only date and blamed the waiter?” I laughed alone in that hospital room at the memory of that horrible date five years ago and Vi’s reaction when I had told her about it. She wasn’t able to look at Benny without chuckling after that. I laughed now, too, but the tears were hiding right behind the laughter.
At some point, I went to pee and get coffee from the vending machines in the large hall outside. Since there was no change in Vi’s condition, I assumed it was okay for me to take a bio break. After a few sips of turbid liquid, I threw the cup to the bin.
