Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [118]
Sage knew she was convincing herself of that as well as him.
“Mr. Dunbar?”
Both Sage and her father turned at the sound of the masculine voice. It was the doctor. Both of them were on their feet in no time.
“How is she?” Sage asked before her father could form the words.
The tall, gray-hired man looked at Sage from under thick, bushy brows. “You’re Mrs. Dunbar’s daughter?” he asked, his expression friendly.
“Yes. I’m Sage Dunbar.”
He reached out his hand. “And I’m Doctor Connelly.” He then turned to address both her and her father. “We think we’ve located the root of Mrs. Dunbar’s problem. It seems that her appendix is about to burst and has begun leaking fluid into her system. We’re taking her to surgery immediately to remove it.”
“Her appendix?” Sage asked.
“Yes. Now that we know what’s causing the problem, it’s a fairly routine surgical procedure that shouldn’t take but a couple of hours. However, I need to be honest with you and let you know that due to her high blood pressure, it may complicate things.”
Sage frowned. She hadn’t known that her mother had high blood pressure. Not knowing that information made her realize that she had never really inquired about the true nature of her mother’s health. Like most young people, she thought her parents were in good health and would be around forever.
“I’ll be back out as soon as the surgery is over.”
“Can I see her?” Sage asked.
“Sorry, but we’ve already started prepping her for surgery. We want to get started right away before the fluid gets into her bloodstream. I’ll be back out as soon as the surgery is over, and then I’ll let you see her.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” Sage said as everything he’d said weighed heavily on her mind. After he left, she turned to her father. “Do you want to walk with me to the café to get a cup of coffee?”
“No, I’d rather sit and wait right here, just in case the doctor comes back out.”
Sage knew there was no sense in telling him that they wouldn’t be seeing the doctor again until after the surgery. “Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“No, I’m fine.”
She nodded. “Just try to relax, Dad, and I’ll be right back.” She had started to walk off when her father called after her. “Sage?”
She turned back. “Yes?”
“Thanks for coming.”
Sage looked at him. Had he thought that she wouldn’t come because of the differences between them? Had that special relationship they’d always shared eroded to this?
Knowing she needed to be by herself for a while and think things through, she nodded and quickly walked toward the elevator.
A couple of hours later, Sage and her father sat across from each other in the waiting room. Other people were in the room, but conversations were muted as everyone waited for word of their loved ones from various doctors.
Sage shifted her gaze to her father, and again she thought of how battered he looked. Although he’d said he hadn’t wanted anything, she had brought him a cup of coffee anyway. He drank half of it, and now the rest was sitting on the table in front of him, cold.
There hadn’t been much conversation between them. She had tried talking about Eden and the progress that had been made, but he hadn’t taken the bait. His mind was still concentrated on the surgery being performed on his wife.
“Has anyone called Reverend and Sister Jones?” she asked, breaking into the silence.
He glanced up at her and nodded. “Yes. They came earlier today and indicated they’d be coming back later.”
Sage nodded. Her mother was close to the elderly couple. “What about Uncle Jess and Aunt Mable?”
“Your aunt left a few days ago to fly out to California to see Ginger. Jess stopped by a little before you got here. He said he would be coming back when he got off work.”
Sage was about to say something when she saw Dr. Connelly coming toward them. Her father saw him at the same time and quickly stood and asked, “How is she, Doctor?”
He smiled. “She’s doing fine. We managed to keep her blood pressure stabilized during the