She didn’t look too banged up, at least not to Vi. “Have you seen a doctor yet?”
“No, but a darling nurse is keeping an eye on me.” She looked pale and exhausted.
“Are you in pain?” Vi asked.
“A headache. I hit my head. My arm hurts, too.”
Oh, no. Vi hoped she didn’t have a concussion. “What happened?”
“Malcom and I were in the car, and?—”
“Fighting when you’re driving is a bad idea.”
“Fighting? We weren’t even speaking to each other. And now…” Gran’s eyes filled, and she bit her lip.
She’d never cried in front of Vi, and seeing her about to fall apart nearly broke her heart. “Neither you nor Malcom shoulddrive when you’re upset,” she said as gently as she could. “Anyway, I thought he didn’t drive at night.”
“Remember, it wasn’t close to dark when we arrived at the restaurant, and we left shortly after you did.” Her hands twisted the corner of the blanket. “We shouldn’t have fought that way, especially in public. What Malcom planned to do without a word to me was shocking. Then he yelled, and I let my temper get the better of me. By the way, remind me to thank Blake for paying for our dinner.”
Vi nodded and prodded, “About the accident…”
“It wasn’t Malcom’s fault. A teenage boy driving around with his friends crashed into us.”
“Oh, my God. Are they hurt, too?”
“They didn’t need to come to the ER, so I doubt it. You should see Malcom’s beautiful gold Mercedes. We think it’s been totaled. His mechanic will let us know. The car has already been towed there. The boy called his parents and they came right over.”
“How’s Malcom?”
“He was able to arrange a tow of his car to the garage and talk with his insurance agent. But he’s in pain, too. Terrible pain.”
This was worrisome. Vi wondered how Blake was coping. Soon enough, she’d find out. “You called from his phone?”
“I left mine at home. Can you believe that?”
“How did you get here? Did you call Falcon Ride Service?”
For a moment, Gran looked puzzled. Then, “Ah, you mean the ride share company Malcom founded. We didn’t have to. A nice policeman, Officer Noodling, helped us. Isn’t that a funny name? He issued a ticket to the driver and checked both Malcom and me for injuries. He’s the one who decided to bring us here.”
“I’m so sorry, Gran, and I wish we hadn’t left the restaurant when we did.”
“Don’t worry about that. It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
Gran closed her eyes, and Vi clenched her hands at her sides. “Are you okay?”
“I will be, once my head and arm stop hurting.”
Vi sat in the empty chair. After over an hour with nothing happening, her patience snapped. Enough waiting for the doctor. She stood. “I’ll be right back.” As she reached the door to Gran’s room, a sharp knock sounded and the door opened.
A man who couldn’t have been much older than Vi strode in. Tall and thin, he looked like a gangly teen himself. “I’m Dr. Martin,” he said. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Newberger?”
“Please, call me Caroline. My head hurts and so does my arm.”
“The nurse told me. That’s quite a bruise on your upper arm.”
Vi hadn’t noticed that. “I’m Vi Preston, Caroline’s granddaughter,” she told the doctor.
“Nice to meet you,” he said and started a thorough checkup on Gran. “I ordered a CT scan to make sure your head and neck are okay. Someone will be here shortly to take you upstairs where we do all that.”
