let you know I’m not leaving. I’ll just be right outside if anything changes.”
“Yep. If you’ll give me your cell phone number, I can put it in her chart in case we ever need to get in touch with you regarding their condition.”
“Oh, that would be fantastic.” She pulls a paper towel and folds it up. I scrunch my eyebrows and let out a small laugh. “How very resourceful of you.”
She giggles. “Yeah, you learn to write on scraps around here.”
“It’s 555.”
“Uh huh.”
“224.” When I see she’s almost done, I finish with, “5485.”
She glances up to me. “Got it, Mr. Banks.”
I can’t even remember if I told her my name. The last several hours are just a blur. No telling what my dad is going to say when he finds out about this. The good thing is he’ll probably have attorney’s here any minute with damn non-disclosure forms to try to keep the press from finding out his son has a potential love child while engaged to another woman. He’ll use this to his advantage to try to explain why I should be with Veronica over Gabby, no doubt. I roll my eyes and turn on my heel, walk through the double doors, take the elevator down, and out the rotating door to fresh air, well smoggy air, but being outside makes me feel free. Like I’m not being suffocated or that my world is collapsing around me.
I punch in the numbers to call Gabby. She answers quickly. “Hey. Where have you been?”
“Hey.” I don’t know how to even begin to tell her. “Everything’s fine right now.”
“Uh. Okay.” She drags out the okay.
“It’s Veronica, Gabby...”
“What happened?” I hate that I’m having to do this over the phone. I can hear the disappointment and concern in her voice. “Is she okay? What about the baby?”
“They are okay right now. I don’t understand it all. Something about the placenta I think they said. It’s partially detached. They need to try to keep the baby in as long as possible.”
“That sounds serious,” she whispers.
“It is. They admitted her. She’ll be in the hospital until she has the baby.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know what to say. Are you there?” This phone call is so tense. I don’t know how I expected it to go. I thought that being outside would resolve this tightening in my chest, but it’s not. I realize this tightening in my chest is the wedge that is trying to form. This wedge called Veronica that has been trying to come between me and Gabby.
“Yeah. I thought I would stay through dinner and make sure she has everything for the night before I leave.”
“Oh.” There’s a pause and I am at a loss for words. “Do you want me to bring you some dinner?” she asks.
“Yeah. That’d be great.” She has no idea that it’s not the dinner I want. It’s her closeness. I need her. Like now.
“Well as soon as I get done with my session I’ll come by. Which hospital is she at anyway?”
“Emory. Downtown. She was at work when she started bleeding really bad.”
“Ah. Have you talked to Ryan?”
I have had so much on my mind that it didn’t even occur to me to talk to Ryan. “No, but that’s a good idea. Maybe I’ll call him and make sure that we’re doing everything we can. Doesn’t hurt either to have connections. Maybe that will make the nurses look after them a little more.”
“Yeah.”
“Listen, call me when you’re close. I’ll meet you outside. Be careful.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“You can surprise me.”
I hear her voice perk up. “Ah, you don’t usually like surprises Mr. Always In Control Pants.”
It makes me chuckle. “I like you, and you were the best surprise to me. You always surprise me.”
“Hmph. See you in a little bit.”
I smile as I look to the sky. I realize I’ve been pacing. My nerves have had about all the fun they can take today. “Okay.”
“Oh and Mr. Banks?”
See. I think we’re about to hang up and she surprises me. “Yeah?”
“I don’t
“Yep. If you’ll give me your cell phone number, I can put it in her chart in case we ever need to get in touch with you regarding their condition.”
“Oh, that would be fantastic.” She pulls a paper towel and folds it up. I scrunch my eyebrows and let out a small laugh. “How very resourceful of you.”
She giggles. “Yeah, you learn to write on scraps around here.”
“It’s 555.”
“Uh huh.”
“224.” When I see she’s almost done, I finish with, “5485.”
She glances up to me. “Got it, Mr. Banks.”
I can’t even remember if I told her my name. The last several hours are just a blur. No telling what my dad is going to say when he finds out about this. The good thing is he’ll probably have attorney’s here any minute with damn non-disclosure forms to try to keep the press from finding out his son has a potential love child while engaged to another woman. He’ll use this to his advantage to try to explain why I should be with Veronica over Gabby, no doubt. I roll my eyes and turn on my heel, walk through the double doors, take the elevator down, and out the rotating door to fresh air, well smoggy air, but being outside makes me feel free. Like I’m not being suffocated or that my world is collapsing around me.
I punch in the numbers to call Gabby. She answers quickly. “Hey. Where have you been?”
“Hey.” I don’t know how to even begin to tell her. “Everything’s fine right now.”
“Uh. Okay.” She drags out the okay.
“It’s Veronica, Gabby...”
“What happened?” I hate that I’m having to do this over the phone. I can hear the disappointment and concern in her voice. “Is she okay? What about the baby?”
“They are okay right now. I don’t understand it all. Something about the placenta I think they said. It’s partially detached. They need to try to keep the baby in as long as possible.”
“That sounds serious,” she whispers.
“It is. They admitted her. She’ll be in the hospital until she has the baby.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know what to say. Are you there?” This phone call is so tense. I don’t know how I expected it to go. I thought that being outside would resolve this tightening in my chest, but it’s not. I realize this tightening in my chest is the wedge that is trying to form. This wedge called Veronica that has been trying to come between me and Gabby.
“Yeah. I thought I would stay through dinner and make sure she has everything for the night before I leave.”
“Oh.” There’s a pause and I am at a loss for words. “Do you want me to bring you some dinner?” she asks.
“Yeah. That’d be great.” She has no idea that it’s not the dinner I want. It’s her closeness. I need her. Like now.
“Well as soon as I get done with my session I’ll come by. Which hospital is she at anyway?”
“Emory. Downtown. She was at work when she started bleeding really bad.”
“Ah. Have you talked to Ryan?”
I have had so much on my mind that it didn’t even occur to me to talk to Ryan. “No, but that’s a good idea. Maybe I’ll call him and make sure that we’re doing everything we can. Doesn’t hurt either to have connections. Maybe that will make the nurses look after them a little more.”
“Yeah.”
“Listen, call me when you’re close. I’ll meet you outside. Be careful.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“You can surprise me.”
I hear her voice perk up. “Ah, you don’t usually like surprises Mr. Always In Control Pants.”
It makes me chuckle. “I like you, and you were the best surprise to me. You always surprise me.”
“Hmph. See you in a little bit.”
I smile as I look to the sky. I realize I’ve been pacing. My nerves have had about all the fun they can take today. “Okay.”
“Oh and Mr. Banks?”
See. I think we’re about to hang up and she surprises me. “Yeah?”
“I don’t
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