Following the attendant, I muttered an apology and moved my car to the lot.
At the reception desk, I leaned forward. “Any update on Walter Wheaton?”
The nurse checked the screen. “He’s still being treated in the ER.”
I exhaled slowly and nodded, then turned back to the waiting room, found my chair, and prepared to wait.
An agonizing fifty-seven minutes later, a doctor stepped into the waiting area and called, “Walter Wheaton’s relative?”
I jolted upright. “That’s me.”
“Mr. Wheaton experienced what we call atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response. It means that his heart was beating too fast and irregularly, making it inefficient at circulating blood. That’s what caused him to lose consciousness. We ran tests and administered IV medications, mainly beta-blockers, to slow his heart rate. We also performed a controlled cardioversion under sedation. So he’s now in an induced sleep to help stabilize his heart overnight.”
“So, it wasn’t a heart attack?”
“No, but we’ll need to monitor him closely. If he remains stable, we’ll wake him in the morning.”
“Can I see him?”
“Briefly. A nurse will take you in.”
I followed the nurse as he led me into a ward just behind the ER.
Walter was in the room closest to the nurses’ station, one of three occupied beds in the unit. A heart monitor beeped steadily beside him, blending with the soft chorus of beeps that came from the other beds, displaying lines and numbers I couldn’t decipher. Oxygen tubing rested beneath his nose, and IV lines ran from his arm to a bag hanging nearby.
“Oh, Walter,” I whispered, placing a careful hand over his fingers, just above the IV line taped to the back of his hand.
“I’m here, and you’re going to be just fine. We’ve got a Scrabble match waiting, you know. And Owen ... he’ll be on his way soon. You can tell him exactly what you think of Westbridge taking him back after icing him out all this time.”
I channeled my mother’s unwavering optimism.Walter will be fine. He will be.Hehadto be. Owen would never forgive himself if something happened.
“Miss?” another voice came from behind me.
I turned to find a nurse standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry, but he needs his rest now. You should go home—we’ll call if anything changes.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’ll be in the waiting area. Just call me if he needs me.”
Back in the waiting area, I sent an update to Simon and Owen.
Simon replied almost immediately.“Sounds like they have it under control. Why don’t you go home to rest or come here? Nicole left that casserole you love.”
“Maybe later, I want to be here for now. Don’t worry about me,”I texted back.
The message to Owen remained marked as ‘sent’ but not ‘delivered’ like the ones before it.
On my way back from the snacks and crappy coffee vending machine, my phone vibrated in my hand.
Ruby.
“Ruby, I’m so sorry, I completely forgot.”
“I’m at your house, where are you?”
“I’m at the hospital in Wayford. Walter had a heart incident. Not a heart attack,” I added quickly, as if saying it out loud would make a real difference.
“What? Oh, my God! I’m coming over.”
“No, don’t, Ruby. I’m just sitting here and—”
