Sounds Like Her
Claire’s son took one good look at Pam and clutched his teenage daughter to his side. His wife’s mouth dropped open. Their son held up his cell phone like it was a weapon. “I can catch it on video.”
The image of Claire’s frightened family brought Pam back to her senses. “I’m your mother’s neighbor, Pam.”
Seeing their faces tighten in disbelief, she added, “I live in the house with the tree that fell on the roof.”
“Oh! We didn’t realize anyone got hurt.” The man loosened his grip on his daughter. “My name is Darius, and this is my wife, Madison. He swiped at his son’s arm. “Put that away, Randy.”
Randy scrunched his mouth toward his right cheek. “There wasn’t anything worth adding to YouTube, anyway.”
“I’ll go with you to the waiting room,” Pam offered.
“She knows the nurses,” Jorgen added. He offered his hand for a shake, “I’m Jorgen, by the way.”
In the middle of the slow walk to the waiting room, Pam fell into nurse mode, “What was your mother complaining about before you called the ambulance?” She made eye contact with Rachel and signaled that she’d sit with the family in the waiting room.
“She was trying to shovel snow off the back deck.” Darius ran his fingers through his hair. “I sent Randy out to take over. She wouldn’t let him.”
“That sounds like Claire,” Pam agreed. Her neighbor was always doing something active. Claire said it kept her young.
“Then out of the blue, she handed Randy the shovel, went into the house, and sat in a chair.” His brow wrinkled as he relived the memory. She was out of breath.” Darius sat in one of the seats and Madison sat beside him.
“She rested her head on her forearm.” His eyes darted back and forth like he was searching his mind for a detail he had missed. It was like she was a little kid trying to sneak in a nap.”
“We knew right away something was wrong.” Madison set her hand on her husband’s forearm. “And, here we are.”
By this time, Rachel joined them. “Right now, the doctors are taking care of your mother. As soon as they know anything they’ll come out and give you an update.”
“When will we be able to see her?” Darius asked.
“The doctor will give you the information you need to know.” Pam had to give Rachel credit. Her facial expression never changed.
Darius turned to Pam to translate. “What does that mean?” Pam noticed he had his mother's dark brown eyes. They conveyed every thought that passed through his mind. At the moment, worry mixed with fear shaded them.
“It means she isn’t working directly with your mother. Rather than give misinformation, she’d rather wait for someone who is more involved to speak with the family.” She wished there was more to say to assuage his concerns.
Darius shook his head. “Why did we believe her when she said she could live alone over the winter?”
Noah came out through the doors that separated the patient’s rooms from the waiting room. “I’m here to see Claire Gibson’s family.”
Darius stood. Madison took hold of his arm, and his daughter took a position on the other side of him. Randy went to his mother’s other side.
Pam remained in the back to give Noah the freedom to do his job. She noticed the moisture at his hairline. Whatever had happened had taxed him.
“I’m here to say that for now, your mother is fine. On the ride, her heart gave her some trouble, and we had to treat her for a heart attack. We have her stabilized, but she is not out of the woods completely.”
Darius exhaled a sigh of relief and wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder, and she fell into his hold. “When can we see her?”
Their son Randy placed his phone in his pocket and straightened his posture. His sister joined him. She spoke softly into her brother's ear, "Gram's going to be okay." Randy raised his brow in acknowledgment and made eye contact with his father. His lips formed a thin line of determination.
Noah, who had been observing the interaction between the family, said, “If you like, we can take you back now.”
“We’d like that.” Darius nodded his goodbye to Pam, “Thank you for talking with us.” They headed through the doors with Noah leaving Pam and Jorgen alone in the waiting room.
Jorgen pushed his right hand into his front pocket. “That was kind of you to come out here and be with them.”
Until Jorgen mentioned it, Pam didn’t think of it as being kind. She replied, “Claire would do the same for me.” And, it was true. Claire was outside the door ready to greet Pam when she pulled up to the house. “I hope she’s going to be okay. I like her spunky personality.”
“We should get you back to the room.” Jorgen tilted his head to signal that they should go. “Your brother is waiting for you.”
At the mentioning of his name, Curtis appeared in the hall. He did not look happy. Pam was trying to decide if it was because she ran over him when she left to meet Claire’s family or if it was because Jorgen was there. “I’m going to the hotel to make some calls. I’ll be back in a bit to pick you up.”
Pam opened her mouth to speak but didn’t get the chance to say anything because her brother cut her off. “We can talk about this later. Now that I know you’re strong enough to break my toe, I can tell mom what to expect. Come give me a hug.”
He pulled his classic older brother move. When they were younger, Curtis asserted that he was acting on Pam’s best interest by delivering an edict and asking for a hug. It was his way of saying I’m doing this because I love you. In the past, she relented and gave in to whatever he said.
“I’ll hug you, but I’m not moving home.” She slowly wheeled the scooter in his direction.
Curtis chuckled and wrapped his arms around her to give her a hug. “We’ll see about that.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and made his way to the door.
He hadn’t reached the door when Jorgen said, “We may want to make our way to your room.”
A tone of urgency mixed with a hint of humor made Pam pause. Something was up. She grinned. “I’m afraid to ask.”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Jorgen walked a couple of steps ahead of her and encouraged her to follow him.
They weren’t halfway down the hall when they heard the doors open followed by Curtis’s angry accusation. “Did you do that?”
Jorgen grinned at Pam. “We almost made a clean getaway.”
She couldn’t imagine what he did. If his grin was any indication, she couldn’t wait to find out.