Chapter 24: The Emergency Room
Cassandra’s POV
“I have to go to the hospital,” I told Dillon. “It’s Jordyn’s grandfather. Something’s wrong.”
I stood up and pushed back my chair, grabbing frantically for my purse.
Despite whatever was going on between me and Dillon, I adored Stanley. My heart raced.
“I’ll drive you,” Dillon said without missing a beat.
We hurried outside and rushed to the hospital.
“I’ll wait here,” Dillon said, squeezing my hand. “Good luck.”
I nodded thankfully and then ran into the hospital. I found Jordyn and Velma standing outside a surgery room. Jordyn looked disheveled and Velma was pacing.
“Jorydn,” I said, hurrying towards him.
Velma saw me, stopped, and shot me a disdainful look.
“What are YOU doing here?” she scoffed snidely. “This is a FAMILY matter.”
“Mother,” Jordyn snapped at Velma. “This is a hospital. I won’t tolerate your snide remarks. Not here.”
Velma shut her mouth, but she glared at me. I ignored her hostility, choosing instead to focus on the real issue – Stanley.
“How is he? What happened?” I asked, glancing at the surgery door. “Is he…is he in there?”
From the hallway, we could hear the beeping of the heart monitor.
“I’m not sure,” Jordyn said, his face pale. He ran his hands through his hair. “He suffered a sudden bout of myocarditis. It was awful, Cassandra.” His face shifted. He had a far away look in his eyes. “He just…he collapsed. We called an ambulance. I think they came in time. That’s what the doctor said. But I don’t know. It doesn’t look good.”
“Is he having heart surgery?” I asked.
He only nodded, his lips pressed together tightly.
I had to admit, it didn’t sound good. But I tried to stay calm and comfort Jordyn.
“He’s right where he should be,” I said, fixing my eyes on his. “Take a deep breath. The surgeons here are the best in the city. He’s strong. He’ll pull through.”
Jordyn looked into my eyes. He looked so worried, so distraught. I kept my face calm and confident, for his sake.
ེ ེ ར ་ད ་ཐ ་
But deep down, I was really worried too.
Stanley had always been so kind to me. Through the years, he’d treated me like his own granddaughter. Family gatherings were always hard with Jordyn’s family. Velma never hid her disdain for me. But Stanley had always welcomed me with open arms. I trusted him and confided in him. He never judged me like the rest of the family.
I lost my own grandfather when I was very young. I barely even remembered him. So I’d always been so grateful for Stanley. I cherished him.
The fact that he was in there now, under the knife, having emergency heart surgery made me very anxious. My heart flooded with worry.
1 reached for Jordyn’s hand. His hand was cold and clammy.
1/3
“Come on,” I said gently. “Let’s sit down. There’s nothing we can do now but wait.”
We took two seats outside the surgery room.
“Honestly, I don’t know what she’s doing here,” Velma said, rolling her eyes.
“Make yourself useful, Mother. Go and find us some coffee.”
Velma opened her mouth to protest, but Jordyn shot her a look that shut her up.
“Fine,” she said in a huff. Then she walked down the hall, her high heels clickety, clacking as she went.
Jordyn and I sat in awkward silence.
“Thanks for coming,” he said softly, looking straight ahead at the wall across from us.
“Of course,” I replied.
We fell into silence again.
I wanted to say something to comfort him. Sure, we were getting a divorce right now, but my feelings for him were complicated and he was in duress. I tried to find the words that would ease his worry, even a little.
But I came up
short.
Nurses walked up and down the halls. We heard sounds coming from the operating room. Every so often, Jordyn glanced at the little red light outside the door that signaled the surgery was still under way.
“This is taking forever,” he mumbled.
“Waiting is the worst,” I offered sympathetically.
Velma came back, two styrofoam cups of coffee in her hands. She handed one to Jordyn and blew absently on the other.
“You didn’t get one for Cassandra?” Jordyn accused. (1)
“Oh, sorry dear,” she replied with feigned innocence. “Did you want one, too? I can tell you where the cafeteria is.”
“Mother.” Jordyn started, but I quieted him with a pat on the hand. I wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. Even though I couldn’t stand Velma, I recognized that she was anxious and hurting too. This wasn’t the time for chastising. “She’s upset too,” I said to Jordyn. “Go easy on her.”
Jordyn looked at me with grateful eyes.
“Come sit,” he said to Velma, motioning to a chair on the other side of him.
“I prefer to stand,” she remarked quickly. “I can’t just sit here and wait. In fact, I’m going to go see if I can find out anything.”
She hurried off to the desk a few feet down the hall. I knew they couldn’t tell her anything; the surgeon was still performing surgery. But if it made her feel better, then all the power to her.
“I’m sorry, she shouldn’t have done this to you,” Jordyn said.
This made me chuckle. Jordyn had never really admitted that before. On the contrary, he often sided with his mother in the past.
“Yes,” I agreed. “But there’s no need to apologize.”
We fell back into a tense silence. Again, I searched for something to say. A memory flooded my mind then, vibrant and bright.
It was Christmas, two years ago, and Stanley had made homemade eggnog. It was terrible, with gooey raw egg that sat in the
2/3
cups like snot. But he was so proud of it. So we drank it. I decided to share this memory with Jordyn, in hopes of lightening the
mood. 1
But just as I opened my mouth to speak, he did the same.
We both paused, looking at each other.
“Sorry, you go first,” Jordyn told me.
“No, go ahead. What did you want to say?” I asked.
“It wasn’t important.” He shook his head. “So go on.”
I stared into his eyes and saw a flicker of something there. Familiarity? Affection? I couldn’t quite place it. He’d looked at me so many times with cold eyes. But now?
Warmth.
I saw warmth in his eyes.
Just then, a loud buzzer went. We turned towards the surgery door. The light had changed. It was green.
Moments later, the surgeon walked out.
3/3
