“How about we get an early dinner tonight, darling? We can grab something in the food court so we won’t be far,” Zander asks.
“Okay.” I quickly text Seb, then follow Zander down to the food court. I opt for the cafeteria today, as the food here's quite good. I grab a barbecue chicken plate and brownie, following Zander to a table. I wonder how Jake will react to everything. He’ll be worried about me, Mom, and Lily bee first, if he remembers the accident. Will the doctor tell him the whole truth right away or keep it from him? How will Ray react? Surely, he’ll come out of his own head if Jake’s awake and talking.
Zander brings me out of my thoughts by telling me about the job happening at Finn today. Troy got pushed into a pool by a little girl while on security detail. “Any pictures?”
He smiles and hands me his phone. Someone must have taken shots from the surveillance camera. I see a play-by-play of a little girl coming up behind him and pushing the back of his knees. He turns his foot and slips off the tile, falling backwards into the pool with a look of complete shock on his face. I laugh out loud at Troy. He looks murderous when he gets out of the pool, but then sees the little girl and softens. Handing back his phone, I offer him half my brownie, and then we go back upstairs to wait for Dr. Crosby.
I call Sarah when we get back to the room and tell her the good news, and she’s thrilled for us. I talk about how surreal it feels and about Ray, as well as how amazing Zander's been. She reminds me to take things one moment at a time before hanging up.
Around 7pm, Leigh joins us again. “Jake is awake. A little groggy, but fine. He remembers the accident, but is confused. He seems to know time has passed but hasn’t connected the dots, so to speak. Dr. Crosby told him he had a brain injury and is in the hospital recovering.”
“What’s the next step?” I ask.
“Jake seems comfortable with the answers for now, so Dr. Crosby told him to rest tonight, and they would talk more tomorrow. He’s half-asleep watching tv. I removed his feeding tube, but the catheter remains. We don’t want him walking around right away, and we'll start him on broth in the morning.”
“When can I see him?” I ask as Dr. Crosby joins us.
“Hopefully tomorrow, Summer. I’ll explain about the coma in the morning. Assuming that goes well, you can visit later in the day. Please be aware that he can get overwhelmed easily. We want to introduce him slowly to his new world. I will call Ray this evening and see what his reaction is. I’ll play his visit by ear, as my priority is Jake. We'll monitor him all night, but he should be fine unless he becomes extremely overwhelmed.”
Tears well in my eyes. It’s over, and Jake’s okay. He’s really okay. “Thank you so much. Both of you.”
“It’s our pleasure, Summer,” Dr. Crosby says before leaving.
“Now that he’s woken up, we will monitor his brain activity for about a week, or until his incision heals. After that, the hospital can release him. We can discuss that further later, after the three of you are reunited. Now get out of here and get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning,” Leigh smiles and leaves.
I lean my head against the back of the couch and close my eyes as tears fall. Almost two years of silence, and now, finally, I can talk to Jake again. It feels like a piece of my life is being restored. A secret wish, a longing I’d always harbored, but dismissed as impossible. Suddenly, it feels unreal, like a dream come true after what feels like a lifetime of yearning and waiting.
Tomorrow I get to see Jake, to see his eyes and his smile. Hear him say my name. A choked sob tears from my throat as Zander pulls me into a comforting hug. I sob uncontrollably, my tears a hot stream against Zander’s shirt, soaking through the fabric. He’s back.He’s back.I keep repeatingit in my mind.
When the tears slow, I pull back and wipe my face. “I’m so proud of how strong you are, darling. You’ve handled all of this with such maturity,” Zander says. “Your long-awaited reunion will be complete tomorrow. Now, let’s go get some rest. You have another big day coming.”
I get up, grab my bag, and follow Zander out into the hall. When we get to our room in the hotel, I shower, then talk to Seb for a while. Everyone is happy for us, but I just feel so drained. Zander says the stress is causing me to crash, and that’s a totally normal reaction. Did I mention how incredibly, unbelievably amazing he is? He puts on an action movie for us, but I fall asleep quickly.
Chapter 47
Summer
Although I slept soundly through the night, my dreams were a chaotic jumble of past and future possibilities. Memories of when we were kids, Ray taking Jake away from me after he leaves the hospital, Jake not knowing who I am, Jake moving in with me and Zander. The most prevalent, though, is me living with Jake and all the guys in this big house with kids running around. I’m not sure how to feel about the last one.
After eating blueberry pancakes and filling my thermos with tea, we head to the hospital. My stomach is a mess of fluttering nerves, excitement, and a bone-deep dread all tangled up together.
Zander squeezes my hand as we leave the elevator and head down the hall. “Morning,” Leigh greets us. “Dr. Crosby is in with Jake now. He had a good night, sleeping on and off. Faith gave him a little broth this morning before she left, and he’s been sipping on water and ice chips. She set up a sitcom for him to watch, but he slept more than anything. Head on into the left room, and Dr. Crosby will be in when she’s done.”
“Thanks,” I smile. We settle into the lounge area, and I pull out my schoolwork. I’m reading through the physics notes from yesterday when there’s a knock at the door. Dr. Crosby enters and sits in the armchair. “Good morning.”
She looks a little weary this morning. “Morning. Is everything all right?”
“Jake is fine, Summer. I told him he was going to be okay, but that he'd been in a coma for a while. He seemed to handle that information well. There are gaps in his memory of the accident. Either that, or he hasn’t processed them because he didn’t ask questions about it. He also hasn’t asked about you or his family. I’m not sure what the best approach is here.”
I smile to myself. “He won’t ask you questions, Dr. Crosby. He’ll wait you out until you give him the information. It’s a long story, but when we were kids, a police officer came to school, and he taught us to have a safe word or phrase if we were ever in trouble or really scared. It became a thing between Jake and me as we got older. If one of us was scared or confused, the other would say the phrase, reassuring us that everything would be alright. I bet he’s waiting to hear it because he’s overwhelmed. We’ve never let each other go through anything alone. I waited a long time to hear it after the accident, but I never did.”
“How much have your looks changed since you saw Jake last?”
“I’ve filled out, but my hair and face are the same. My skin is probably tanned. Why?”
“I’m debating whether sending you in there will be too much for him. He’s still healing, and I don’t want to overwhelm him.”
“Tell him you have a message for him. Tell him, ‘flying makes me a better care provider,’ and see what his reaction is. I’ll wait here until you think he’s ready, Dr. Crosby.”
