The Accident

5

5

Present Day

Groggy and cranky, following my near sleepless night after visiting Cole’s accident, I pushed through my patient day, then drove to the hospital to check on Cole. It was dreary and windy out, the kind of day that did nothing to elevate my mood. I was concerned about Cole. Would he survive? If so, what was in store for him? My obsession with his outcome had been continuous since the moment I saw him lifted into the ambulance. I parked in the doctor’s lot, got his room number, and took the elevator to his floor. As I walked to his room, I heard a quiet conversation emanating from within and spotted Sara and Win huddled around Cole’s bed. He lay silently, attached to a respirator, and a host of medical machines monitoring his vitals. Quickly scanning the machines I noted all the essential numbers were within the normal range.

“He’s in a coma,” Sara said. “Doctors can’t say whether he’ll come out of it and when.” Her voice broke at the end. Win put his arm around her shoulder, his face twisted in agony.

“I’m so sorry.”

“His ribs are broken. His left shoulder was dislocated. They reset the shoulder and will set the ribs tomorrow after he’s been stabilized. He’s got a ton of lacerations and bruises, the worst being the gash on his head. Considering the impact of the crash, he came out pretty good physically.” Win cleared his throat. “The MRI indicates a normal brain pattern. Still, it’s the mental part that keeps us in the dark.”

“Isn’t that usually the case?”

With her head bowed, Sara silently cried, every so often blotting her eyes with a tissue.

Win rubbed Sara’s back and whispered to her, “I need to talk to Grant for a moment. I’ll be right back.” He rose and motioned with his head. “Step outside for a moment.”

We stepped into the hallway and waited for an elderly man in a hospital gown to shuffle by with his walker. When he seemed to take forever, I tried to anticipate Win’s questions.

“What do you know about Lara being with Cole?” Win asked.

“Nothing. He never mentioned her. I was as shocked as you were.”

Win rubbed his forehead, expelled a long sigh. “You did see her, right?”

“I did, one time. She never mentioned Cole.” I could only imagine what might have been going through Win’s mind. He had to wonder what was the nature of their relationship, and if Cole knew about her involvement with his father.

“Lara will never be able to tell us,” Win said. “That woman, when she was in control of her moods, had so much life in her. I’m going to miss her. I know I shouldn’t be talking like this. I’m pining for both her and my son. I’m clinging to the hope that Cole will survive even though I know that Lara will be no more. I tell myself that I should be glad that Lara is out of my life…but…”

Placing my hand on his shoulder, I acknowledged his pain. “It’s okay. You shared some meaningful moments.”

“I’m also so embarrassed. What if Lara told Cole? That could have influenced the accident.”

I had no answer. I lent a sympathetic ear.

He began to pace.

“You have to get a grip, Win. Sara needs your strength.”

He took several deep breaths. “I know. I’m not going to burden her with any confessions.”

“You can share with me if it helps.”

“Thanks, you’re a true friend. We should go back in.”

When we returned I spent a few minutes with Sara trying to send her some feel goods. I had a good grasp of what she was going through. We were all pulling for Cole to recover with no permanent damage.