“I’m happy to take her down now.” The doctor gained my attention. “I was concerned the swelling would be too much for surgery today, but it’s fine.”
I gripped my mother’s hand tighter.
“How long will the surgery take, sir?” I enquired. “And what will you be doing?”
“The fracture your mum has is placed in such a way that would make it difficult to heal well on its own. I’m going to insert a small metal plate and have half a dozen screws seal it to the bone. This will ensure the fracture heals correctly, and the plate and screws will give the bone added strength and protection. A surgery like this can run from two to three hours, maybe more, maybe less. Each operation is different.”
I looked to Dr O’Rourke, making sure he was okay with what this other doctor was saying. I knew he was a general practitioner and didn’t operate on people but he was a doctor, he knew a hell of a lot more about this kind of thing than I did. I was silent as Dr O’Rourke asked a few questions that I didn’t know the meaning of so I looked back at my mum. Her eyes were on mine.
“You’re so pretty.” She hummed. “My little.”
I huffed a laugh. “You’re definitely high, I look like a girly version of Dad.”
“Exactly,” Mum chirped. “You’re beautiful. My green-eyed angel.”
I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you, y’know?”
“I love you too,” she winked. “More than all the water in the sea.”
We both turned our to attention to the surgeon when he addressed my mother.
“I’ll see you down in theatre in about thirty or so minutes, Mrs Fulton.”
“Thank you, sir.”
He inclined his head to us both, shook Dr O’Rourke’s hand once more then he left the cubicle. I exhaled a big breath and looked at Dr O’Rourke.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “We were discussin’ the surgery and his plan.”
“Are you happy with it?”
“Yes.”
I relaxed. “Okay then.”
The next thirty minutes sped by and before I knew it, Mum was changed into a hospital gown, had a shower cap on her head and was being wheeled by a porter down a long hallway towards the surgery rooms. A nurse accompanied us with Mum’s chart, Dr O’Rourke and I trailed behind them but as we neared the door, I suddenly broke into a run to reach Mum’s side. I leaned in and kissed her.
“I love you.”
“Love you more, little.”
The porter stopped moving and allowed Dr O’Rourke to kiss and cuddle my mum too. Then with a smile and a blink, she disappeared behind double doors leaving us to stare after her. A glance around showed the hallway that led to the operating theatre was devoid of chairs. It was an empty, white-walled passageway, but I didn’t care that I had nowhere to sit, I wasn’t leaving until my mother came back through those doors. Dr O’Rourke seemed to sense this too.
“She won’t want ye out here worryin’ like this, kid.”
“I’d rather be out here worrying than inside a waiting room feeling trapped and panicked. I need to be close to her and this is as close as I can get right now so I’m staying right here.”
Dr O’Rourke didn’t argue with me, he simply nodded and leaned against the wall next to me.
“Aren’t you going to wait in the waiting room?”
“No,” he answered, glancing down at me. “I need to be close to her too.”
Something changed between us in that moment. He was still Dr O’Rourke, but he was also my mother’s partner. I wasn’t the only person in the world who loved my mum, Dr O’Rourke did too. He looked at her like she hung the galaxy, never mind just the moon. He was a good man and I was happy Mum had found him, but right then and there, I was really happy that he was the man she picked.
“You’re a good man, Dr O’Rourke,” I said, offering him a tired smile. “My mum really does love you.”
“I love her too,” he replied, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he returned my smile. “I think we’re goin’ to get along just fine movin’ forward, what d’ye think?”
“I think you’re right, we need to be a team to help Mum.”
“Sounds like a plan to me, little.”
I looked up at him, surprised he said the nickname only my mum has ever used, but touched that he wanted to forge a bond with me. Without warning, I stepped towards Dr O’Rourke and wrapped my arms around his stocky build. He returned my hug wholeheartedly.
“Everything will be okay,” I said. “Won’t it?”
“I bloody well hope so, kid.”
I stepped away from Dr O’Rourke and leaned back against the wall next to him. I checked my phone for the hundredth time and sent Risk another text. I needed him. I felt constricted with the weight of the situation I had found myself in. My mother was sick . . . really sick. I didn’t know how to cope but I knew that Risk would help me. He always did. I needed him to breathe. I needed him more than ever before.
“He’ll be here.”
I looked up at Dr O’Rourke and blinked.
“Risk.” He clarified. “He’ll come runnin’ once he knows ye need him, Frankie. He always does.”
“Frankie!”
I spun around the second I heard his voice and when my eyes landed on him, I began to move in his direction without thought. Risk ran down the entire length of the corridor, only slowing down when he neared me. When he was a couple of metres away, I could see his round, ice-blue eyes clearly. His white-blond hair that was normally perfectly styled was messy and unkempt. His handsome, freckled face was flushed from running and his clothes were an iron’s nightmare. I didn’t think
