I walk slowly to where he's standing. "I've called for an ambulance. I'm taking Peter to the hospital."
I glance down at the boy. He's awake but his face is awash with pain. He's hooked up to an IV. Ben's bag sits atop the foot of the bed. "What's wrong?" I ask, not because I'll have any grasp of the details Ben will offer, but because I can see the sheer fear in the boy's face and in the face of his mother who is clinging tightly to Ben's hand.
"It's his appendix. It needs to be removed." He taps his hand against my thigh. "I'm ride in the ambulance with him. Can you bring his mother to the hospital in a cab?"
I nod. "Your hospital?"
His eyes dart to the mother before they settle back on my face. "No. There's a community hospital a few blocks from here. We're taking him there."
The boy raises his hand to get Ben's attention and he turns towards him. I watch in silence as he speaks to the boy in Spanish, his hand caressing the young man's forehead.
Chapter 13
I can't distinguish much of what transpired between Ben and the doctor in the ER at the community hospital we just arrived at. I'd hailed a taxi as they were loading Peter into the ambulance and the driver saw the thrill in a good chase so we were on the ambulance's bumper almost the entire way here. The emergency room in this place is swelling beyond its capacity. If it's even possible, it's busier than the hospital where Ben works.
I'll never understand medical jargon and as Ben explains in Spanish what is happening to Peter's mother I stand to the side watching him trying to calm her down.
"Dr. Foster?" A woman carrying a clipboard approaches all of us from the left. "We need to talk."
He glances down at Peter's mother. His hand flies through the air towards the waiting room as he says something quickly to her. She nods in response and turns on her heel in search of a chair in the over cramped, obviously, under-funded small space.
"What is it?" He turns back towards the woman with the clipboard.
"Insurance?" She cocks a brow and dots the tip of the pencil in her hand against her tongue. "I need that for the patient you just brought in."
"No." It's curt and direct.
"No?" She parrots back. "He doesn't have any?"
"Where is Melody?" He looks past her to the reception desk where several women are trying to quell the growing line of people waiting to see a doctor. "I usually deal with Melody."
"She's left for the day." She taps her foot against the tile floor. "You need to deal with me today."
He turns towards me without notice. "Kayla, I need my wallet."
I reach into my purse and pull it out, handing it to him without question.
He opens the billfold and yanks free a credit card. "This will take care of it."
"You're paying for his surgery?" The woman stares at the credit card. "Is this even going to cover the entire cost?"
Ben's head snaps in her direction. "Use the credit card, get me a lab coat and get out of my way."
"You don't work here." She's on his heels as he walks towards the reception desk.
He turns swiftly to face her, his expression a mixture of anxiety and frustration. "I volunteer here. Melody knows that. You'll learn it."
She doesn't say a word as he turns back towards me. He walks right past her, grabs my shoulders in his hands and leans down to kiss me gently on my mouth.
"I'll be here all night, Kayla." He whispers against my cheek. "I thought we'd be able to get back into my bed so I could finish what I started, but they need me here."
I run my fingers over his chin. "Thank you for bringing me here."
"Thank you for everything," he says softly. "Go home. Sleep. I'll call you tomorrow."
***
My eyes dart to where my phone is perched atop the pillow next to mine. I reach for it, pushing my hand against the screen to wake it from its sleep. It's just past five in the morning. I'd finally fallen asleep less than an hour ago. The adrenaline high I was feeling after watching Ben race to help that boy had stolen any chance I had to get a good night's rest. My mind and my heart have been on overdrive ever since I left the hospital.