I look at Brooke and I feel a wave of jealousy. Anna and I will never know what it’s like to live a block away from each other. We’ll never plan our class schedules so we can ride to school together, and we’ll never run into each other on campus and feel giddy when we unexpectedly spot the other one heading our way. It hasn’t even been a full day since Brooke last saw this guy; she has no idea what it’s like to miss someone.
But if Anna’s thinking the same thing, she never lets on. “He sounds great.” Then she picks up her fork and says, “I’m starving,” as she starts in on her breakfast.
28
The three of us spend the next few hours on the road. We stop at Starved Rock State Park and wander around the trails, looking at the rock formations and waterfalls. Anna doesn’t say anything, but she looks exhausted, and it hits me that this probably isn’t the ideal time for a hike. After forty-five minutes of sightseeing, I suggest we head back to Evanston and she looks relieved.
When we arrive at the bookstore, it’s only two-thirty, and the downtown area is busy. I don’t find a parking spot until I reach the next block.
“This is perfect,” Anna says as I pull the SUV into a tight space across from the park. “We can stop in the coffeehouse and grab a latte.”
We pile out of the car and I feed some quarters into the meter. Inside, we head over to our couch in the corner and Anna and Brooke plop down facing each other. Anna starts telling Brooke about the bands that play here on Sunday nights while I order drinks from the barista.
The three of us sit together for a little while, and I can tell that Anna’s stalling. She keeps checking her watch, and finally, when she can’t hold off any longer, she says good-bye to Brooke. The two of them hug and exchange a few more words, and Brooke makes me promise to bring her back here again soon.
After Anna’s gone, Brooke and I sit a little longer, sipping our coffees and talking about the day. “Mom and Dad would like her,” Brooke says.
“Yeah.” I let out a huff. “As soon as they get past the part where she lives down the street from our grandmother.” I roll my eyes. “And that she goes to the high school our mother graduated from. And that she and Maggie have become close friends. But yeah, as soon as they get past all of that, I bet they’d love her.” I set my coffee on the table, lean back against the couch, and fix my eyes on the ceiling. “I have to tell them when I get home tomorrow.” My head falls to the side and I look at Brooke. “They’re going to kill me.”
“No, they won’t. They might not get it completely, but what are they going to do? Besides, think about how nice it will be not to have to sneak around.” I try, but I’ve been doing it so long I can’t even imagine it.
Brooke tips her head back and takes another gulp, and then sets her cup on the table next to mine. Neither one of us say anything, but we both know it’s time for her to go.
She follows me past the barista and down the long hallway that leads to the bathrooms, and I check the men’s room while she stands outside waiting. Once I’ve confirmed that it’s empty, I open the door a crack and wave her inside.
I lock the door and without even saying a word, she reaches for my hands. She shakes her arms out hard like she always does and then kisses me on the cheek. “Thank you so much.”
“Any time,” I tell her, which isn’t entirely true but sounds like the right thing to say.
She shuts her eyes and I do the same. When I open them, we’re standing in Brooke’s bedroom, right where I picked her up this morning. “I still want you to meet everyone,” she says, and I tell her I’ll try. Then I close my eyes. When I open them again, I’m standing in the bathroom alone.
I’m not sure what to do with myself for the next hour while Anna’s at work. I head outside and start walking in the general direction of the record store when an ambulance turns the corner and flies past me, siren blaring, lights spinning. I’m just about to cross the street when I see it pull to a stop directly in front of the bookstore.
I take off running.
When I reach the entrance, the EMTs are wheeling a stretcher through the door, parting the crowd that’s already started gathering outside. I follow behind them.
“Anna!” I call out once I’m inside, but I don’t see her anywhere.
I keep following the stretcher as it turns down the Cooking aisle.
And that’s where I find her. She’s sitting on the ground, her hands wrapped around her father, who’s slumped down against the bookcases, his legs bent at an awkward angle. One of the EMTs reaches out to pull Anna away, but she looks at him with terror in her eyes and refuses to budge. “What’s wrong with him?” she cries.
“I don’t know,” I hear him say. “I need you to move away so we can figure it out, okay? Please.”
I can’t get to her side fast enough.
When she sees me, she grips her dad’s arm even tighter, but I kneel down next to her and pull her toward me. “Come here,” I say. My hands are shaking as I reach for hers. “Let them help your dad.”
I look over at Mr. Greene. His eyes are wide open, staring straight ahead. But then his head falls slowly to one side and he looks right at me and blinks in slow motion.
Anna’s head spins toward me, then back to her dad, and back to me again. Finally she releases his arm and lets me leads her a few feet away. The paramedics lower Mr. Greene to the floor and start working to bring him back from wherever he is right now.
“What happened?” I ask her.
“I don’t know. When I got to the store, I didn’t think he was here.” Her voice is trembling, and she’s breathing so hard the words are coming out all choppy. “I walked around for a few minutes and finally found him.” She gestures toward her dad. “I don’t know how long he’s been like this, Bennett. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Justin must have heard the sirens from the record store because he bursts through the door, looking rattled as he scans the room. He’s clearly relieved to see Anna, but his expression changes again when he spots the paramedic team that’s gathered around her dad.
“What happened?” he asks us, but neither one of us knows what to say. “I just found him like this,” Anna says. She’s crying now, and I keep telling her it’s going to be okay, even though I have no idea if that’s true.
One of the EMTs stands up and walks over to us. He looks directly at Anna. “We’re taking him to Northwestern Memorial.”
“My mom works there,” Anna says quietly. “She’s a nurse.” Then she looks at me. “We need to find her,” she whispers, and before I can say a word, Justin says, “I’m on it,” and takes off toward the phone in the back room.
The EMT pulls out a clipboard and dislodges a pen from the plastic holder. “Were you with him earlier today?” Behind him, the other two paramedics are strapping machines to Mr. Greene’s chest and moving him onto a stretcher.
“This morning,” Anna says, her voice quiet and weak. “He was fine.”
He writes it down. “What time did you see him last?”
Anna speaks louder this time. “About ten o’clock.” She looks away, and I don’t know if she’s thinking the same thing, but I have to ask.
“What would have happened if we’d found him earlier?”
The EMT shakes his head. “We don’t know anything yet. I really can’t say.”
“What would have happened?” I repeat.
“I don’t know. You may have seen signs that something was wrong.” He looks straight at me. “Look, let us get him to the hospital first and find out what happened, okay?”
The other two paramedics give him a sign, and he snaps the notebook shut and starts moving toward the door. “You can ride to the hospital with us,” he says to Anna. To me, he says, “Sorry, family only.”
He looks at Anna again and says, “Follow me.”
Anna starts to move but I tighten my hold on her. “Ride with me. We’ll be right behind him.”
The EMT’s eyes narrow as he addresses Anna. “You’re going to let your father ride alone?”
“We’ll be right behind you,” I say. The other paramedics pass us wheeling the stretcher to the ambulance,
