Helsinki Sunrise (11 page)

Adam's Bible.

Eveliina picked it up and trailed her hand over its leather cover. For a brief moment, she held it close to her heart before shoving it inside her bag. She zipped the bag closed and slung it over her shoulder.

On her way out, she spotted Adam's backpack. She slid her hands beneath its straps and dragged it down the steps behind her. Adam would need clothes. He'd need his passport and proof of medical insurance, too. Eveliina hoped they were inside his bag. She didn't have time to check.

One of the paramedics, seeing her lumber down the stairs, rushed forward and grabbed the backpack from her.

“You can put that inside the canoe.” The lighter boat would move faster through the water. Eveliina hurried behind the paramedic, through the mud and onto the jetty. She hopped inside the canoe and grabbed the oars. “Thank you…for everything. Please, take care of him.”

“We will.” The paramedic pushed the canoe onto open water.

Eveliina rowed like she was in a regatta. Except she was alone on the lake, and she felt it.

Once on the mainland, she tied the canoe to the jetty, grabbed Adam's backpack and her bag, and ran for her car. Forget the regatta, this was a triathlon. She'd canoed, she'd run. What was next?

After dumping the bags inside the car trunk, she slid into the driver's seat, shoved the key into the ignition and turned it. The engine cranked a few times, and then died.

“No, this can't be happening.” She slumped over the steering wheel, her energy and emotions spent. “Jesus, I'm begging You to help me. If You love me—”

She turned the key once more, not expecting anything to happen. The engine fired, purred like a kitten for a few brief moments, then roared as Eveliina swung the car around and tore up the road.

 

 

 

 

12

 

Eveliina looked a mess. Part of her wanted to find a shower fast, get all the paint off her skin and out of her hair. But part of her didn't want to ever bathe again. If anything happened to Adam…she wanted to remember the last afternoon spent with him—the fun they'd had. Eveliina looked at her arm and traced the red handprint smeared across her skin as she negotiated the rush hour traffic. She wanted to leave his mark on her forever.

During the thirty minute drive to the city center, Eveliina kept the car's heater on. By the time she reached the hospital, her clothing was somewhat drier.

She parked close to the Meilahti Tower Hospital ER entrance and dashed inside. Leaning over the reception counter, she addressed the clerk seated on the other side. “I'm looking for Adam. Adam Carter.”

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice. A mixture of emotions filled his wiry face.

Eveliina resisted the urge to explain her disheveled appearance and continued. “He was brought in not long ago by medevac with a serious head wound.”

Jaska Tähtinen, his name tag read, typed on the keyboard with his bony fingers as he checked the screen. “He arrived about a half-hour ago. He's been taken to Radiology for a CT scan.”

“Will they bring him back here?”

Jaska shook his head. Wispy blond hair fell across his eyes. He pushed the fringe back. “You'd need to check with Admissions, but probably Intensive Care.”

“Intensive Care?”

He nodded. The fringe fell over his eyes again. “In most cases, standard procedure for someone with his injuries.”

Fresh tears stung. Eveliina remembered the ERC operator's soothing advice to take a deep breath. She did so.

“You can take a shortcut to Admissions through that door.” Jaska pointed to a large automated door on his right.

Without another word, she headed for the door. She touched the red button on the wall and an opening whooshed into view. Eveliina stepped through before the portal closed.

Barefoot, she hurried across the tiled floor. Silence and stares followed her path. She didn't care—she had to be by Adam, no matter what the cost.

Admissions was larger and busier than the ER. It was only a few minutes before Eveliina stepped up to a cubicle, but to her it felt like an eternity. Another stranger, another name tag, stared at her. This time, Mary Smith.

“Can I help you?” Mary Smith's American accent seemed out of place. As out of place as a South African missionary.

“Adam Carter. Can you tell me where I can find him?”

Like her Emergency Room counterpart, Mary Smith tickled the keyboard for a few seconds. “He's still in Radiology.”

“I don't suppose you'll know how long he'll be there?”

Mary shook her head. “Sorry, no.”

“Where will they take him…once they're done with the scan?”

“Intensive Care, for sure.”

“Which way is that?”

“Take the elevator or stairs up to the second floor and follow the signs—you can't go wrong.”

Eveliina turned around, ready to find her way to Adam.

Mary's voice followed. “Only family is allowed into Intensive Care. Are you family?”

Eveliina turned back. “Yes. I'm his future wife.” Her words felt fated. Could they be prophetic?

“What's your name, honey?” As if her accent wasn't enough proof, Mary Smith sounded pure American using that term of endearment. Eveliina had heard it in so many Hollywood movies.

She stiffened. Was Mary Smith trying to sweeten her before being the bearer of bad news?

“Eveliina.”

“I'm sorry, Eveliina, but you won't be allowed into Intensive Care looking like you just lost a paintball game. It's a sterile environment.” Her eyes filled with empathy. “Looks like whatever happened to your fiancé caught you unawares.”

“You could say that.”

“Do you live nearby?”

“Just a few miles away.”

Mary's mouth tilted upward on both sides, like a crescent. “Why don't you go home? Shower, have some dinner, get some rest? You look like you've been through a lot.”

“But Adam…”

“Let me have your cell number. I'll make sure you're called the moment anything in his condition changes.” She placed a pen and paper on the counter.

Eveliina eyed her, uncertain. Could she trust this foreigner? But what choice did she have? She snapped up the pen and scribbled down her name and number.

 

****

 

The shower water mingled with her tears, filling Eveliina with an eerie sense of déjà vu. Instantly, she was back beside Adam in the mud, rain and tears flowing down her face. She scrubbed her skin. Nothing would keep her from seeing Adam once she returned to the hospital. She hadn't wanted to wash away their last moments together, but she needed to be at his side. Besides, with her mind clearer now, Eveliina realized it was a silly notion to want to walk around painted for the rest of her life. Fact was, if she wanted to be with Adam, she'd
have
to clean up—not only on the outside, but the inside, too.

The moment she stepped out of the shower, she checked her phone to see if the hospital had called. Disappointment wrapped around her like a burial cloth. Only more missed calls from Joel. She'd ignored the ringing of her phone in the car from the lake to the hospital—hadn't returned the calls. She'd do the same now. He was the last person she wanted to speak to.

But she needed to call Mikko and let him know what was happening.

Once she'd seen Adam and spoken to his doctor.

 

****

 

“Back so soon?”

Eveliina managed to smile for Mary Smith. “I told you I live close by.”

“You clean up nicely, but you didn't take any time to rest. Did you at least have something to eat?”

Mary's concern was motherly, and Eveliina's heart ached at the remembrance of what she'd lost out on. She squeezed her eyes tight, desperate to shut out the memory of her mother. After all these years, it still hurt so much.
Maammo, how I miss you. I need you so much right now. I'm so afraid.
She could call her grandmother, but even though she'd practically raised Eveliina, it wasn't the same as having her mother's comforting arms wrapped around her.

“I— I don't think I could stomach food right now. I'll get something later at the coffee shop if I'm hungry.” Resting her palms on the counter, Eveliina leaned toward Mary. “Has there been any word on Adam?”

“I've been checking with Intensive Care so I could give you an update.” Mary's grin revealed a straight row of unblemished teeth. Did all Americans have perfect smiles? Eveliina thought it was only in the movies. She'd have to change her thinking.

“They've settled him in ICU, but there's been no change in his condition.”

“Can I see him?”

“Of course. You might even bump into Dr. Karjanlahti.” The ease with which Mary pronounced the difficult Finnish surname made Eveliina realize the American had probably been living in her country for quite some time.

“He normally does his rounds about now.”

Eveliina looked at the clock on the wall behind Mary. Seven-fifteen. Three hours had passed since Adam's fall.

“Who is he?”

“He's the neurologist attending to your fiancé.”

“Then I'd better hurry. I wouldn't want to miss him.” Eveliina turned to go, and then stopped. “I almost forgot.” She dug in her handbag and pulled out a passport with a long white paper inserted inside. “I thought you might need these—Adam's passport and proof of his travel insurance.” Eveliina had breathed a prayer of relief when she'd found those at the bottom of Adam's backpack.

“Wonderful. Give me a minute to photocopy them.”

Eveliina nodded.

True to her word, Mary took less than sixty seconds to make the copies and return the documents to Eveliina.

“Thank you.” She placed them inside her bag before hurrying across the tiled floor. The heels of her sandals clicked as they made contact with the smooth surface beneath them. Too impatient to wait for the elevator, Eveliina climbed the stairs to the second floor. She pressed the button outside ICU and waited. Seconds later, a nurse opened the door.

“Can I help you?”

Eveliina glanced inside as she nodded.

The medical staff looked like clones in their identical light-blue pants and shirts, heads and feet covered in disposable protective fabric.

“Adam Carter. I'd like to see him, please.”

“You are?”

Eveliina wavered before answering, her earlier conviction to clean up on the inside compromised. She ignored the nagging to tell the truth. She needed to see Adam. “His future wife.” It could be true. She hadn't said she was his fiancée—that would be a lie.

“Let me take you to him.”

Inside ICU, the nurse handed Eveliina a blue gown, plus hair and feet coverings much like her own.

“You'll need to put these on first.”

“OK.” As she dressed, Eveliina scanned the room, searching for Adam.

Beds and machines lined the right hand wall, like neatly arranged dominoes. Some of the beds were empty; others had no more than two visitors seated beside the occupant. The nurses' station was on the left and on the far side were three glassed rooms. Inside the one straight ahead, she could see Adam's still form. A tall man in a white coat stood beside his bed. She hoped this was Dr. Karjanlahti.

“I'm sure you'd like to talk with the doctor—he's with your fiancé at the moment.”

Eveliina nodded as she slid a light blue cover over her left foot.

“Follow me.”

The nurse led her to Adam's room.

Eveliina swallowed hard as she stepped inside.

Monitors blipped around his bed. The one that mattered most to her was the one that showed his heart still beating. Tubes and lines twisted and turned like highways emanating from one central hub—Adam. His head was swathed in a turban-like bandage and his neck mimicked the look with a sponge brace. The transparent oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth clung to his face by means of a green elastic band strapped around his head. More tubing connected white leggings to a machine hanging at the edge of his bed which ticked as it pumped the leggings tighter around Adam's calves, then exhaled like an old man dying as it released the pressure. His left arm lay bent across his body, the white of a splint stuck out on either side of the sling immobilizing his arm.

Red paint still covered him. Saving Adam's life was obviously far more important to the medical staff than Adam saving face. But he wouldn't care what he looked like.

She hadn't. Adam's welfare was all that mattered when she flew into the ER looking like something out of a horror movie, or when she'd crossed the busy reception area under the curious stares of those coming and going.

“Dr. Karjanlahti, this is Adam Carter's fiancée—”

“Eveliina Mikkola.” Eveliina extended her hand in greeting.

Dr. Karjanlahti reciprocated.

She moved beside Adam and took his hand in hers. “How is Adam doing?”

“Let's step away where we can talk more freely.” He took a few paces and stood outside the door. He spoke in a quiet voice. “It's best not to talk in front of Adam—one cannot be sure what he can hear. The last thing we want to do is alarm him.”

Like an anchor thrown overboard, Eveliina's heart sank.

The doctor continued. “He's in a serious, but stable condition.” The expression on his face told her more than the words that followed. “The CT scan revealed that Adam has developed a subdural hematoma.”

“Is that bad? Do you need to operate?” She barely recognized her voice. It was as if she stood outside her body, listening to someone else speaking from her shell.

“Only if the bleeding doesn't stop on its own. We'll need to monitor him closely and will repeatedly conduct the head imaging tests to see if there's improvement. Some subdural hematomas stop and resolve spontaneously; others require surgical drainage. Bleeding and increased pressure on the brain can be life-threatening. We have him on medication to help reduce any swelling or pressure.”