In a Heartbeat - Elizabeth Adler [42]
“I have to ask you to leave for a while,” the nurse said frostily to Mel. “There are things we need to do and the doctor is due for his visit.”
Mel knew the nurse was right, she shouldn’t be there to see the indignity of what they had to do for Ed: change catheters, run tests, sponge down his body . . . the body that had loved her so wildly and so well.
Overwhelmed, she drifted out into the hallway, hardly noticing the new young uniform on duty, though he noticed her, all right. Pulling herself together, she headed for the pay phone and dialed her home number.
“Hello?” Riley’s voice was breathless with unspoken questions.
Whatever happened, however bad she felt, the sound of her daughter’s voice always flooded Mel with a particular happiness that nothing could touch. That was the beauty of being a parent, she thought gratefully. There was always Riley.
“Hi, baby, it’s Mom.”
“Oh, Mommy, we’ve been waiting for you to call.”
“I’m sorry, honey, I’ve just been so caught up, I forgot. . . . I mean I didn’t forget you, it’s just that . . .”
“I know, Mom, it’s okay, really it is. Is Ed all right?”
She sounded so understanding, so grown-up, Mel could have wept. But she didn’t want what had happened to Ed to force Riley to grow up, to face things she should not have to face. Not yet. She was only seven.
“Ed’s doing okay, honey, he’s holding on. You know what a big strong guy he is.”
“I know, Mommy. But on the TV news, they said he was still in a coma. Does that mean he can’t speak to you?”
Mel’s sigh was dredged from her guts. “I’m afraid it does.”
“But, Mom, d’you think Ed can hear you? Hear what you’re saying? Because I want you to tell him something from me. That I love him. That when he’s better he can come on our private Sundays anytime he wants. Anytime, Mom. Will you be sure to tell him that?”
Mel could see her daughter as though she were there: phone clamped anxiously to her ear, a finger twisting a strand of copper hair into a ragged curl, brown eyes wide and earnest. Riley had said she loved Ed, that she would share her precious private Sundays with him. It was an important moment, something Mel would treasure forever, something she would be sure to tell Ed, perhaps it would even make him smile. . . . Maybe Riley could do what she couldn’t.
She choked up as she promised Riley she would be sure to tell Ed in just a few minutes, when she went back into his room.
“I’m right here, at the hospital, honey,” she said, “and I wanted to tell you how much I’m missing you. I hate being away from you, baby.”
“I hate it too.” Riley’s voice was small and Mel thought she detected a faint sob.
Oh, God, she thought despairingly, I don’t have the right to do this, I should be home with my child. But how can I leave Ed? I can’t, I can’t. . . . And yet I can’t bring Riley here, to sit vigil at a dying man’s bedside.
“School okay, honey?” she asked, trying to bring the conversation back to an even keel.
“Okay. Except Jason Mason drives me nuts, always tagging along after me, sending me silly notes in class. He even tries to sit next to me at lunch,” Riley added indignantly, making Mel laugh.
“It must be love, honey. He just can’t resist those sparkling brown eyes and glorious red curls.”
“I hate my glorious red curls. I’m gonna iron my hair straight and bleach it blonde. Then I’ll look like a real California babe.”
“Oh, sure. Like on Baywatch. Just what every mother wants her daughter to be. Thanks a lot, pal.”
Riley giggled and Mel heaved another sigh, of relief this time. “You take care, my daughter, you hear me,” she said, smiling. “I miss you and I love you and I’ll see you soon. Now, is Harriet there?”
“Thanks, Mom, and I love you too. Yes, she’s here, hanging on to every word.” Riley giggled again; then, suddenly serious, she added, “You won’t forget the message, to Ed?”
“I won’t forget, honey. And when he hears it, nor will he.”
“Love you, Mom,” Riley yelled, and then Harriet was on the line.
“So?” she asked cryptically.
“A woman of few words, I see,” Mel retorted.
“You want me to ask