“Don’t be ridiculous. He’s your doctor, not some high school Romeo. I think the bump on your head jiggled your brain.” She was amused, but not particularly interested in what he was saying. Bill Webster was a nice man, and they’d had a nice talk the night before, but it meant nothing to either of them.
“Would you, Mom?” Peter was persistent, and she only laughed at him, refusing to address the question seriously. There was no need to. What he was saying was absurd.
“No, I wouldn’t. I’m not interested in going out with anyone. And he’s not interested in going out with me. So you can stop matchmaking, and concentrate on getting better.”
She helped the nurses bathe him then, and later that morning, she went to her office. Jean had put out as many fires as she could, and fortunately things weren’t as busy as they could be. It was the middle of August, and most people were on vacation till after Labor Day.
She went home that afternoon to see the kids, and have dinner with them. She spoke to Peter on the phone several times that afternoon, and he was in good spirits. A number of his friends had come by to see him, and they’d brought him something to eat. He and Jessica had broken up in June, so there was no current girlfriend in his life to fuss over him, but he was just happy to see his friends. And Liz finally had a few minutes to call Victoria and her mother too. She’d told them both about the accident after it happened, and it was nice to be able to reassure both of them. As usual, her mother made ominous predictions about possible unexpected lethal aftereffects, and Victoria asked her what she could do to help. But there was nothing anyone could do yet. It was just nice for Liz to hear her voice and unwind a little bit. And after the brief respite, she went back to the work on her desk.
After dinner at home that night, Liz took a shower and changed, and told Jamie to put his shoes on. She was taking him to see his brother. She had asked the girls to wait one more day, because she knew that the onslaught of their talk and laughter and questions and well-intentioned fussing over Peter would exhaust him. But Jamie’s visit was as much for Jamie as for Peter. She knew he still needed to see that Peter was okay.
Jamie was quiet on the way to the hospital, and she thought he looked a little anxious as he stared out the window. And then finally he turned to her as they pulled into the hospital parking lot and asked her a pointed question.
“Will it scare me, Mommy?” It was honest, and what he asked her touched her, and she was honest with him.
“Maybe a little. Hospitals are a little scary. It’s a lot of people and machines and funny sounds. But Peter doesn’t look scary.” His face was a little bruised, but not very. “He has a funny-looking collar on, and he’s in a big bed that goes up and down if you push a button.”
“Will he ever come home again?”
“Yes, baby, very soon. Before school starts.”
“Is that soon?” Jamie wasn’t good about time, and he knew it.
“In a couple of weeks,” she explained to him. “Maybe even sooner. There’s a nice doctor there who wants to meet you. His name is Bill.”
“Will he give me a shot?” Jamie looked panicked. For him, this was not only an adventure, it was an ordeal, but he was willing to walk through fire to see Peter, or do whatever he had to do.
“No, he won’t give you a shot,” his mother said gently.
“Good. I hate shots. Did he give Peter a shot?” He was worried about his brother.
“A bunch of them, but Peter’s a big boy and doesn’t mind.” The only thing he hated was Jell-O and oatmeal. His friends had brought him a pizza that afternoon, and he had sounded happy when he told her. “Shall we go in now?” Jamie nodded and slipped a hand into hers as they walked into the main lobby. He held her hand tightly in his own, and she could feel that his palm was damp, as they went up in the elevator to the Trauma ICU, and he flinched visibly as they got out of the elevator and saw someone on a gurney.
“Is he dead?” Jamie asked in a horrified whisper, standing close to her. The man’s eyes were closed and there was a nurse standing next to him.
“He’s just sleeping, Jamie, it’s okay. Nothing bad is going to happen.” She shepherded him quickly down the hall to the ICU, and they could see Peter the minute they walked in. He was sitting up in bed, and he gave a whoop of glee when he saw Jamie. And the minute Jamie saw him, he smiled from ear to ear.
“Hi, big guy, come over here and kiss me!” he shouted, and Jamie ran to him and then came to a dead stop when he saw all the monitors and machines. He was afraid to get too near. “Come on,” Peter encouraged him, “just one more big step, and I’ve got you.” Jamie took the last step as though he were fording a stream filled with snakes, but as soon as he could, Peter grabbed him firmly, and pulled him closer. He was smiling at him, and leaned over to give him a hug and a kiss, and as Liz approached she saw that Jamie was beaming. “Boy, I missed you!”
“I missed you too. I thought you were dead,” Jamie said simply, “but Mom said you weren’t. I didn’t believe her at first, that’s why she brought me here to see you.”
“You bet I’m not dead. But it was a dumb thing to do, jumping into the pool like that. You’d better not do anything as stupid as I did, or you’ll be in big trouble with me, kiddo. How’s everything at home?”
“Boring. The girls keep telling everyone what happened to you. They all cried when you went away in the ambulance. Me too,” he said, looking up at his big brother in relief. This was just what he needed. “Can I make your bed go up and down?” he asked with interest, as he looked around. There were other people in the ICU, but their curtains were drawn, and he couldn’t see them.
“Sure.” Peter showed him the buttons and how to do it, and he winced as Jamie first flung him up then down, and then moved him to a sitting position.
“Does that hurt?” Jamie was fascinated with making the bed move.
“A little,” Peter admitted.
“Do you want to lie down again?”
“Okay, I’ll tell you how far, and when to stop.” Peter was always a good sport about making Jamie happy. And as Jamie was concentrating on flattening the bed out again, Bill Webster walked in, and looked at the scene with interest. He glanced at Liz, and then back at her two sons. Peter had just told him to let go of the button, and Jamie was satisfied that he had done a good job of it. He wanted to do it again, but this time Peter asked him not to. He
