stop worrying I am going to be a doctor. In fact, from now on, you all can call me Dr. Jannie.'
'Goodnight, Dr. Jannie. Sweet dreams.' Nana spoke softly from the doorway,' I'll see you tomorrow, darling girl.'
'Night,' Damon said. He turned away, then turned back. 'Oh, all right Dr. Jannie.'
She and I were quiet for a few moments after Nana and Damon left. I came over and put my arm around her. I think that the parting scene had been too much for both of us. I sat on the edge of the hospital bed, and I held her as if she would break. We stayed like that for a long time, talking a little bit, but mostly just holding on to each other.
I was surprised when I saw that Jannie had fallen fast asleep in my arms again. That's when the tears finally started to roll from my eyes.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I stayed in the hospital with Jannie all night. I was as saddened and afraid as I've ever been; the fear was a living thing constricting my chest. I slept some, but not much. I thought about the bank robberies a little just to put my mind somewhere else. Innocent people had been savagely murdered and that hit home with me and everybody else.
I also thought about Christine. I loved her, couldn't help it, but I believed she had made up her mind about the two of us. I couldn't change it. She didn't want to be with a homicide detective; and I probably couldn't be anything else.
Jannie and I were both awake around five the next morning. Her room looked out on an expansive sun roof and a small, flowering garden. We sat quietly and watched the sunrise through the window. It looked so stunningly beautiful and serene that it made me sad all over again. What if this was our last sunrise together? I didn't want to think like that, but I couldn't help it.
'Don't worry, Daddy,' Jannie said, reading my face like the little necromancer she can be sometimes. 'There'll be lots of pretty sunrises in my life … I am a little scared, though. Truth be told.'
'Truth be told,” I said. 'That's the way it always has to be between us.'
'Okay. So I'm very scared,' Jannie said in a tiny voice.
'Me too, little girl.'
We held hands and stared at the glorious orangey-red sun. Jannie was very quiet. It took all of my willpower to keep from breaking up. I started to choke and hid it with a false yawn that I was sure didn't fool her.
'What happens this morning?' Jannie finally asked in a whisper.
'The rest of the pre-op work-up,' I told her. 'Maybe another blood test.'
She wrinkled her nose. 'They're vampires here, you know. It's why I made you stay the night.'
'Good thinking on your part. I fought off a few dastardly attacks in the wee hours. Didn't want to wake you. They'll probably give you your very first shave.'
Jannie put both hands over her head. 'No!'
'Just a little in the back. It will look cool.'
She continued to look horrified,' Yeah, right. You think so? Why don't you get a shave on the back of your head too. Then we can both look cool.'
I grinned at her. 'I will if you want me to.'
Dr. Petito walked into Jannie's room and heard us trying to cheer each other up.
'You're number one on our list,' he told her and smiled.
Jannie puffed up her little chest,' See that? I'm number one.'
They took Jannie away from me at five minutes past seven in the morning.
Chapter Thirty-Five
I held a special image in my mind of Jannie dancing with Rosie the cat, singing 'Roses are Red.' I let it play over and over again that long, terrible morning at St. Anthony's. I suspect that waiting in hospitals is as close as we get to being in hell before our time, or at least in purgatory. Nana, Damon, and I didn't talk much the whole time. Sampson and Jannie's aunts came by for short stints. They were devastated too. It was just awful. The worst hours of my life.
Sampson took Nana and Damon to the cafeteria to get something to eat, but I wouldn't leave. There was no word of how Jannie was doing. Everything at the hospital felt unreal to me. Images of Maria's death came flashing back to me. After my wife was wounded in a senseless drive-by shooting, she had been brought to St. Anthony's too.
At a few minutes past five, the neurologist, Dr. Petito, walked into the waiting room where we were gathered. I saw him before he saw us. I felt ill. Suddenly, my heart was racing, thudding loudly. I couldn't tell anything from his face, other than that he looked tired. He saw us, waved a hand, and walked our way.
He was smiling, and I knew it was good.
'We got it,' Dr. Petito said as soon as he reached us. He shook my hand, then Nana's, and Damon's. 'Congratulations.'
'Thank you,' I whispered as I held his hand tightly, 'for all your sacrifices.'
About fifteen minutes later, Nana and I were allowed into the recovery suite. Suddenly I was feeling buoyant, pleasantly lightheaded. Jannie was the only patient in there. We walked quietly to her bedside, almost on tiptoes. A
