“Yeah. What are the visiting hours?”
“24/7 up here. That reminds me. Summer, I’ll need to take your photo to give you a security pass. It will be the same as Ray is wearing.”
I look over and see Ray holding up an ID on a lanyard. “Okay.”
“Anyone else will get a generic visitor pass. The photo identifies you as family, and our staff know it’s safe to discuss everything with you. Please follow me.”
Zander and I both get up and follow her down the hall to an office. “Sandy, this is Summer and Zander. They’re here with Jake. Let’s get Summer a family ID and a visitor pass for Zander.”
“Sure thing, doc.” Sandy asks us each for our IDs, then has me stand against a wall to have my photo taken. A few minutes later, we have our lanyards.
“I will see you in the morning,” Dr. Crosby says before walking off.
We go back into Jake’s room and sit down. “What do you think, Ray?” I ask.
“It’s an interesting trial and doesn’t hurt to try,” he says, but I can tell he isn’t a believer. “Dr. Crosby and I talked for over an hour beforeyou arrived. She seems caring towards everyone and is very passionate about her work. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for Jake.”
“You know I’d do anything for him, and I have an amazing father,” I smile at Zander.
“Happy to be here,” Zander smiles back.
“He’s grown,” Ray comments, looking Jake over with sadness in his eyes.
“I noticed that too when I visited in September. He must be about your height now. That will make him happy. He was always worried he’d be short.”
“True,” Ray smiles. “With his mom being only five foot three, I guess it could’ve gone either way.”
“Do you talk to her?” I ask gently. I don’t want to upset Ray, but if the trial is successful, he'll have to contact her.
“No,” he shakes his head. “But I have her number and address if I need to get in touch. I haven’t yet, but I will if Jake wakes up.”
Nodding, I turn my attention back to Jake. Sandy comes in to check Jake’s vitals and tells us everything looks good. She’s the night nurse and will be on shift until 6am. I remember we have Jake’s bag, so I go over to the sofa and unzip it. It’s mostly clothes that I put into the closet lined with shelves and his cologne. There’s a picture of his family and one of us I put on his nightstands. I put his bag on the top shelf and close the door.
“We should get checked into our hotel, darling, and we need to pick up our rental,” Zander says.
“I can drive you to the rental car office if you like?” Ray offers.
“Perfect, thank you,” Zander replies.
I give Jake a kiss and tell him I’ll be back in the morning to see him. The thought of him being alone tonight stresses me out, but I guess I have to be okay with it. It’s part of what’s required to do the trial. Despite the nice people, it feels wrong. Taking a deep breath, I gather up my bags and follow Ray downstairs to theparking garage. He points out the maps that are in each hallway so we can find our way around.
After loading our stuff into the trunk, Zander enters the address into the GPS, and we're on our way. The streets are very busy in the city, so it takes a while to get there. It turns out we're staying at different hotels. Ray booked a long-term stay hotel while we're at a regular chain hotel. After Zander gets the car keys, I tell Ray we'll see him in the morning.
The rental car office is only a few blocks from our hotel, so Zander gets us checked in quickly, and then we take the elevator to our room. I flop backwards onto the bed as soon as we get inside. “I’m wiped,” I say
“It’s been a long day. You’re probably dehydrated too.” He hands me water from his tote bag, and I chug half of it in one go. “I’m going to shower, then I need to check emails and talk to Troy.”
“Okay. I’ll just lie here until you’re done.” It’s hard to believe Jake is in North Carolina and I’m here with him. I never thought he’d leave Virginia, and I’d just keep getting frequent flyer miles from going up there to visit. Life is ever-changing; a constant flow of moments, each unique, like a river’s current. Pulling out my phone, I send an update to everyone, including Holly and Jaxon this time, that we’re all safe and settled in for the night. Responses come in from them all except Seb, who's at the movies.
I shower after Zander is done, putting one of Nick’s t-shirts on, and complete some homework while he gets caught up on work. We’re both in bed early that night, although I don’t sleep long even with my pill.
Chapter 38
Summer
The next morning I’m eager to check on Jake, so after a continental breakfast, Zander drives us to the hospital. It’s a good thing I wanted to get there early because rush hour is a mess.
We have to follow the wall maps to get back to Jake this morning, but don’t get lost. A guard asks to see our IDs to get into the research wing this morning, which I appreciate. Ray's already in Jake’s room when we arrive.
