Chapter 14
Nora was sitting on the cold metal bench of the hospital waiting room, digging her fingernails into her fisted palms. She had practically said nothing since they brought her father in an ambulance to the hospital. Theo had done all the talking and the running around. He had paid very little regard to her father’s insurance and taken care of the expenses himself. Besides, he had connections in the medical profession through his work that were coming in handy.
She felt frozen, incapable of moving after the screaming and crying she had done in the ambulance and till they took her dad into intensive care. After that she had fallen completely silent. Everything was passing by in a haze and she wasn’t even sure how long she’d been sitting there on the bench. She was dazed, it was like a film reel was playing in her head. She was reliving all her childhood and teenage years spent with her father. He had given her everything he could, and allowed her every freedom and not once had Nora experienced the lack of two parents in her life.
She couldn’t imagine a world without her father in it, and now she blamed herself for what she and Theo were doing just seconds before her dad had his heart attack upstairs. This was a new kind of guilt; one she had never experienced before.
How could she be sorry for being with Theo? She knew what she felt for him was real, and even though her father might not immediately understand or forgive, he would eventually realize that Theo was what made her happy. But now his heart attack had added a whole new dimension to it. Now she was beginning to feel that somehow their actions had caused it. That she had tempted fate or something, and even though she was feeling guilty, she couldn’t bring herself to feel sorry. Being with Theo, being around him…was the most alive she had ever felt and how could she apologize for that?
Nora had remained sitting on that bench for several hours, staring blankly at the blue painted wall in front of her. All she could think about was that she was going to lose her father, that all this was her fault. Had he heard them downstairs which triggered his heart attack?
She felt a warm hand on her back and when she looked up, she saw Theo looming over her. His hair was ruffled and falling lazily over his forehead, and his green eyes looked tired but alert.
“He’s going to be fine,” Theo said and then he lowered himself to a hunched position in front of her.
“What…what are they saying?” she asked weakly and he remained hunched in front of her, with a hand lying on a knee. He was peering deep into her eyes and she held his gaze.
“It was a stroke, but it wasn’t a major one. They’ll keep him here for observation overnight or for a few days at least till he stabilizes,” Theo said and Nora tried to suppress a cry of relief. He was going to be fine!
“Can I see him now?” she asked and he shook his head gently.
“Not tonight, tomorrow once he’s awake. We can come together during the day,” he said in a kind voice…the voice she remembered him using when she was a kid.
“I’ve spoken with one of my friends, Dr. Ezra Brown, he’s one of the top five heart specialists in the world. He’ll fly down tomorrow for a quick checkup to give us his second opinion,” Theo continued and Nora bit down on her lip and nodded her head.
“That’s good. Thank you, Theo, for everything you’re doing,” she said and he frowned.
“You don’t need to thank me, Nora. Andy has been my best friend nearly all my life,” he said and finally straightened up. She looked up at him, her fingers were itching to reach out to him and touch him.
“Will you let me take you home?” he asked and she stood up.
“Yes,” she replied and followed him out of the hospital to the car park.
They had travelled in the ambulance with her father earlier, but Theo had called his chauffeur to drop his car off at some point, so his Audi was parked there now.
Nora stole glances at him as she followed him to the car, and when he held the passenger door open for her, she got in. She could feel the Goosebumps prickle her skin, when he settled down beside her. And for a few moments, they sat silently in the darkness of the car park together. A grave silence had descended between them and Nora wondered if he was thinking the same things as she was.
“I’m not ready to lose him yet,” she said, breaking the silence. She was looking ahead and sensed Theo turn to her.
“You’re not going to. He’s going to come out of this, healthy and back to normal in no time,” he said and she took in a deep quivering breath.
“I blame myself for staying away for so long. For not being here to look after my father. This is my fault,” Nora continued in a weak voice and for a second, she thought he was going to take her into his arms and hug her. But he didn’t.
“You can’t blame yourself for this, Nora. Andy is a healthy active man, and no way is he an old person in need of constant assistance or care,” he said and she shook her head.
“I still should have visited more often, made sure he visited me frequently…I might have noticed the signs then,” she said and jerked her face to look at him. Theo was searching her eyes. His face was grim and his mouth was set in a firm straight line.
“You couldn’t have, Nora. This is not your fault,” he said firmly and she suppressed another cry.
“I’ll cancel my flight back to New York. I was planning on leaving in two days. I want to stay with him for as long as it takes him to recover,” Nora said and Theo didn’t respond. She was worried that he didn’t like the idea of her sticking around for any longer…based on what he had said earlier. She thrust her chin up in the air and looked defiantly at him.
“I have to do this for dad,” she said and Theo clenched his jaw and then nodded his head.
“Of course,” he said and started the car. Nora looked out to the dark streets, her face being illuminated by the streetlights in intervals. Theo was taking her home; she was alone with him again…she should have been feeling excited but the circumstances had changed so quickly. Now all she could do was blame herself for what had happened to her father.
They rode in silence the rest of the way to their bungalow and Nora had a feeling that he wasn’t going to come in with her. She knew that everything he had done that night was for his best friend, and not for her.