But it’s clear that Jan doesn’t think it’s important, because she barely hides an eye-roll. “Okay. Ms. Lawrence, I’m afraid visitors under the age of twelve aren’t allowed in the ICU. If you want to stay with your daughter, you’ll have to make other arrangements for your son.”
“I don’t have any other arrangements,” Melissa says fiercely. “And I’m not leaving my daughter.”
“Perhaps your husband could come and pick up your son?” Jan suggests. We’re trained not to assume that people have traditional families nowadays, so I think Jan’s deliberately being a bitch.
“His father is in Toronto,” Melissa says simply.
“A grandparent, then, or a friend?”
“My parents are out of the country,” Melissa explains. “There’s no one else local.”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Lawrence, but that’s our policy,” Jan says, looking anything but sorry. “You’ll have to either leave with your son or arrange for someone to pick him up.”
“But this is an unusual circumstance, Jan,” I put in. “You couldn’t make an exception, just for tonight?”
“I don’t make the rules,” Jan says primly. “My job is to enforce them.”
“But there must be someone who can override the rules,” Melissa argues. “Can you call your boss, or?—”
“The administrative staff will be in tomorrow,” Jan interrupts. “But tonight, Ms. Lawrence, my word is law.” The set of her mouth tells me Jan’s enjoying this.
Melissa takes a deep breath. “All right. If you insist, I’ll call Claire’s father and ask him to come pick up Liam. But you should know that he’s a lawyer, and he’s never met a fight he didn’t like. I expect he’ll want to file a complaint with both the hospital and your regulatory college. Your refusal to use common sense to override an arbitrary rule is cruel to a sick child and her family.”
Melissa isn’t wrong, but Jan doesn’t care. “If you want to make a complaint, you can contact the ombudsperson’s office on Monday,” she says smugly. “But right now, your son can’t stay in my ICU. If you won’t obey the rules, my next call will be to security.”
“Melissa, let’s step outside for a minute,” I suggest.
She glances back at Claire, who appears to have fallen asleep, before following me through the double doors out of the ICU.
“Melissa, I’m sorry,” I tell her. “Jan’s a bitch with a stick up her ass, but she’s right that her word is law tonight. I could try to go over her head and call someone in admin, but she’d be enraged. And since the other nurses follow her lead, and they’ll be the ones looking after Claire . . . it’s probably not a good idea.”
Melissa looks at me helplessly. “I don’t know what to do, Luke, but I can’t leave Claire right now. I could call Troy, but it’ll take him over an hour to get here. And my parents are in Italy, and I haven’t had time to find a babysitter in Somerset, and?—”
All of a sudden, the solution seems obvious. “My mom can look after Liam for the night.”
Melissa’s eyes widen with surprise. “I can’t ask your mom to babysit Liam.”
“Melissa, she’d be upset if I didn’t suggest it. Your daughter’s in the ICU. That’s what friends do.”
“Friends,” she says softly, then pauses and chews her lip.
“Yeah. Friends. After you called me, my mom said she’d like to have you over for dinner, once your daughter’s better. I told her that was unlikely to happen, but still?—”
“Sure, but there’s a big difference between coming for dinner and dropping a three-year-old on her doorstep without notice,” Melissa interrupts.
“Yeah, the three-year-old won’t notice if she’s cleaned the house in advance.” This earns me a half smile, and I can see Melissa’s resolve weakening. “Come on, Milly.” The old nickname slips out reflexively. “My dad’s away on a work trip, so my mom will be grateful for the company. I’d watch Liam myself, but I want to sleep at the hospital tonight.”
A pinch of worry appears between her brows. “You’re worried about Claire.”
Yeah, I’m worried about Claire. “Not really, but you know. Just in case.”
“Well, okay,” she says reluctantly. “Thank you, Luke. And thank your mom for me.”
“Of course.”
Liam’s still sleeping with his head nestled in the crook of her shoulder, so unless we wake him up, there’s no way for me to take him without touching Melissa.
“Uh—can I—” I ask, reaching my arms out awkwardly.
