“Your sister is fine; we’re monitoring her condition closely.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Millie asked.
“To be honest, we’re not quite sure. We’ve scheduled her for an ultrasound, and we sent some blood work to the lab. It won’t be long now before we can discuss a treatment plan.”
“What’s the ultrasound for?” I spoke up.
“We’re worried that there might be a rupture in the appendix.”
“Don’t you have to move on that?” Vlad asked. “If that’s what it is.”
“Absolutely,” the doctor said. “But I think we all can agree that we don’t want unnecessary surgery.”
Kent, Sean, and I looked at each other. That was one thing that didn’t need to be said. Of course, we wanted the hospital to be careful. Was it too much to ask that we also be kept in the loop?
“You’ll let us know as soon as you find anything?” I demanded.
“Of course. We may need consent to perform surgery, if it comes to that.”
“Why can’t Meara consent?” Kent asked.
“At this moment, she can.”
“Can we see her?” Sean demanded.
“Not right now. We want to determine exactly what is causing the pain first. It’s a fluid situation. We’re asking for your patience.” The doctor gave us a brave smile as if by demonstrating that quality himself, he could transfer it on to us.
Bravery was not our problem. The problem was that we were three alpha males, four if you counted Vlad. We weren’t accustomed to sitting idly by while other people did the work. And we didn’t take no for an answer.
When the overworked doctor tried to extract himself from our group, we raised objection after objection. He was empathetic but firm. We couldn’t see Meara. They didn’t know what was wrong. As soon as they knew anything conclusive, we would know. The best thing we could do was have a seat, maybe grab something to eat out of the vending machines.
I took one look at the crap that passed for food in the waiting room and shook my head. There was no way I was going to put that in my body. The comfort factor would be fleeting, and I might need emergency services myself after so much salt and oil.
Everyone else was thinking the same thing because no one went for a snack. We all sat down in the corner where there were enough chairs pushed together to seat us all. Millie leaned her head against Vlad’s shoulder, and I thought of Meara.
When it was her sister in the operating room, I hadn’t been there for Meara. That was going to change. If there was ever another emergency, I would be the first one to hold her hand through the entire ordeal.
I looked down at my phone. Who else could I call? What else could I do? There was silence in the waiting room as everyone struggled with his or her own demons. There was no small talk—there didn’t seem to be space for it. In the midst of our first crisis as a team, we were in no mood for levity.
I decided to call my sister. Standing up, I walked to the other side of the room to give myself some privacy. I expected to find her at work, but it was some kind of school holiday. I could hear Nova in the background, playing with crayons.
“Why aren’t you at work?” I asked stupidly.
“It’s teacher continuing ed day,” Danielle answered. “They’re all in training.”
I sighed. With that out of the way, there was nothing left but to explain the reason for my call. “Meara’s in the hospital.”
“Oh my God!” Danielle gasped. “Is it bad? What is it?”
“They don’t know,” I replied. “Stomach pain. But they don’t know why.”
“Are you there with her?”
“Yeah. We’re all here.”
“Who?”
“All the—” I realized I hadn’t explained my unconventional relationship to Danielle yet. I wasn’t sure if she would approve or not and it never seemed to be the right time. I struggled for a way to explain Sean and Kent’s presence, and finally fell back on the truth. “All the partners from the office.”