Mending Hearts (3 page)

“
I remember Danny and dad
teaching James to ride.” 

“
It looks like Braden will
be riding like a pro before the day is over,” Alec says, before he
kisses the top of my head. “We all face challenges on a daily
basis. Even learning to ride a bicycle is challenging for a
child.” 

I add, “Drug addiction is no different for
adults.” 

I turn around and hug Alec’s waist. “Why did
you take another shower when you just took one before you
left?” 

“
I guess I was trying to
wash off the events of the last couple days,” he says.

“
I’m
sorry.” 

“
It’s not your fault.
This too shall pass.
Those
are ancient words of wisdom. A king asked a wise man for words that
would make him sad when he was happy and happy when he was sad. The
wise man told the king those words, and the king had them engraved
on a ring.” 

“
We do seem to have our
share of drama.” I lean up and kiss him. “Are you
hungry?” 

“
I am,” he says, and then he
kisses me back. 

“
I’m starving.” Raelynn,
James, and I sit at the table while Alec eats his salad with cubed
chicken. The kids eat graham crackers and milk for a snack while I
have sweet tea.

“
Are you ready to go?” Alec
asks once he is done eating. 

I look up at Alec, expecting to see him
talking to Rae, but I am surprised to see him talking to me. “I
thought you and Rae would go, while James and I stayed
home.” 

“
I thought you and James
would come with us,” he says, walking closer to
me. 

“
I don’t want to upset her
if she wakes up and we are there.” 

“
If
Molly wakes up, you being there isn’t going to upset
her.”

Raelynn and James gather a few toys into a
small backpack, and I get a few drinks and snacks and place them in
my much-too-large purse that I carry just for this reason.

“
Are we ready?” Alec
asks. 

“
We have to get Sissy’s
momma’s cards from the porch,” James says.

“
Oh, we can’t forget those.”
Raelynn skips to the lanai to get the cards from the table. “Thank
you, Bubby. These will make mommy feel better.” 

On the way to the hospital, Sam calls and
says Molly is beginning to wake up. When we get to the hospital, I
see Molly’s and Alec’s parents standing at the coffee pot talking.
Raelynn yells, “Grandma and grandpa,” and runs over to them. James
is still holding my hand and his ninja backpack holding his toys.
Alec rubs my back and tells me he’ll be right back.

James and I sit down, and I
turn the television on so James can watch cartoons. No one is in
the waiting room but us.
They must not have
found Molly’s friend’s family yet
. Mason
walks in the room and smiles at me before walking over to where
Alec is. He is dressed in a pair of dark blue scrubs. I wonder why
he chooses to dress in scrubs when he has his own
practice. 

I look over at Sam and Bridget; they both
look better today, despite their lack of sleep and excess of worry.
I know they are relieved to know their daughter is waking up and
has been given another chance. I look down at James and brush his
hair away from his face. When I’m done, he shakes his head and his
bangs fall back into his face. I smile and he laughs at me. “I’m
sorry, I thought your hair was in your face.” 

“
It feels funny when it’s
all smooth.” 

I hear someone crying and I turn to look in
the direction it is coming from. Walking through the doorway is a
petite woman with short black hair. She is wearing a pale pink
sundress and a pair of white sandals. She looks like she is dressed
for work, and I wonder whether she just got the dreadful news that
her loved one is here. A nurse greets her and walks her through the
large double doors leading into I.C.U. I look at Alec and he is
looking at me.

Raelynn comes over and sits down next to
James. “Daddy said we can go back and see mommy in a few minutes,”
she says to me as she scoots back further into the burgundy cloth
chair.

“
That’s good, I’m sure
she’ll be happy to see you,” I say.

“
I missed her. I haven’t
seen her in a very long time.” 

“
Sissy, don’t forget to give
her the cards. They will help make her feel better.”

I look down at James and brush his hair away
from his face again. He shakes his head and I have to laugh.
“Remind me later to get your hair cut.” 

“
I like Bubby’s hair long,
Emma,” Raelynn says.

Alec and Mason walk over and sit across from
us. “Raelynn, are you ready?” 

“
Yes,
daddy.” 

“
We’ll be right here.” I
kiss Alec and then I look at Raelynn and smooth out her white
floral dress. I straighten her ponytail and hug her before she
leaves. I watch them walk out through the large double
doors.

Sam, John, Doris, and Bridget come over and
sit with James, Mason, and me. “Have you seen Molly today?” I ask
Mason. 

“
Just briefly. She’s awake,
but she isn’t feeling very well.” 

“
I imagine not. I’m just
glad she’s awake. That’s a good sign.” 

“
Emma, Molly was asking to
speak to you,” Bridget says, leaning forward so I can see
her.

I look over at her and ask, “Why would she
want to see me?” 

“
I have no idea and I didn’t
think to ask. I was just so happy to see her awake.” Bridget leans
back in her seat and looks across from me at Mason. He shrugs his
shoulders and doesn’t say anything. James watches television and
Mason says he needs to get home.
“I have a
very pregnant wife
who needs to get to her
doctor’s appointment.” 

“
How is Angel doing?” I
ask. 

“
She is doing amazing. The
babies are getting big. I think they are running out of room to
grow,” he jokes.

“
Tell her I was asking about
her and if she needs me, to call me.” 

“
I will, Emma. Thank you.
James, Angel wants you to come to the house sometime. She misses
you,” Mason says, kneeling down so he can speak to James at eye
level. 

“
I miss her, too. She is
berry nice.” James looks at Mason, and
Mason smiles at him. 

Mason stands up and says, “We’ll get a time
together for him and Raelynn to stay with us.” He looks around and
says, “Call me if anything changes or if you need me.”

We say our goodbyes and Mason leaves. James
and I color while Bridget and Sam go back to see Molly. John and
Doris refill their coffee cups and talk quietly away from James.
The petite woman with black hair comes out and gets a cup of coffee
and goes back through the large double doors again.

“
Here’s Alec and Raelynn,”
Doris says as she walks over to us.

We all stand. Alec is carrying Raelynn.
Raelynn has her face buried in Alec’s neck, and I know she is
crying. I hold James’ hand so I can feel closer to him. Bridget and
Sam come out next as Alec reaches us. No one says anything; we wait
for Alec to speak first. 

“
Molly is awake and the
doctor thinks she’ll make a full recovery,” Alec announces. “They
are going to move her to a regular hospital room later on
today.” 

I let out a deep breath and say a silent
prayer. “So soon, is that normal to be moved from I.C.U. so
quickly?” I ask.

“
Narcan works very quickly
and other than the fractured ribs, she’s fine,” Alec says. “Molly
sustained several fractured ribs from CPR being performed on her
after her overdose.” 

“
I didn’t realize CPR caused
fractured ribs,” I admit. 

“
When done correctly, it
can.” 

John steps up and takes Raelynn from Alec’s
arms and Doris also takes James’ hands and says, “Let go get
something to drink.” 

I look at Sam, Bridget, and then Alec. “This
is great news,” I say honestly. 

“
Emma?” Alec
says.

I look at him with concern. “Yes, what is
it?” 

“
Molly would like to see
you. If you don’t want to go back to see her, I’ll understand,”
Alec says softly. 

I look at Sam, Bridget, and then Alec. I
wonder what she would want to see me about. “No, that’s all right,
I’ll see her.” 

“
Emma, you don’t have to,”
Alec says. 

I look at him and smile. “I know I don’t
have to; I want to.” 

“
I’ll come with you,” Alec
says as he steps closer to me. 

“
No, you stay here with the
kids. I would like to see her alone. Tell James I’ll be back in a
few minutes.” 

“
All right, do you remember
where her room is?” Alec asks.

“
I do, I’ll be
back.” 

I walk through the double
doors and I can hear someone crying. I walk down the cold sterile
halls and stop outside the room the crying is coming from. It’s the
room of the unknown man who was brought in with Molly. I watch as
he lies there unconscious and the dark-haired petite
woman sits closely to his bed, holding his
motionless hand as she cries. I walk to Molly’s room and thank God
that the man’s family has been found.

When I get to Molly’s room, I take a deep
breath before walking in. I have no idea what she wants, and I have
no idea what to expect. I walk into her room and see that she is
lying in bed with her eyes closed. The get-well cards the kids made
her are sitting on her bedside table. I follow the glitter trail
from the table, on the floor, and to the bed. She looks pale and
thin lying there. The I.V. is still in her hand.

I clear my throat as I enter her room. She
hears me and looks over at me.

“
Hi, Molly. Alec said you
wanted to see me?” 

She clears her throat as she tries to sit up
in bed. “I do. I wasn’t so sure you would see me.” She winces when
she tries to sit up. She is also guarding her ribs with her
arms.

“
You look better today than
you did yesterday,” I admit.

“
Thank you. I did suffer a
few broken ribs that are very painful.” 

“
I heard, I’m
sorry.” 

“
Don’t be. It’s a small
price to pay for being alive. Please sit down. I’m sorry that you
had to see that last night,” she says as she cautiously pulls the
covers up to her chest. 

“
I’m sorrier that Raelynn
had to see that,” I say, looking at her. I reluctantly take a seat
beside her hospital bed.

“
That’s what I wanted to
talk to you about.” She looks at me and her eyes become teary.
“First, I want to thank you for taking such good care of Raelynn.
She deserves to be happy, and I know you are the reason for some of
her happiness.” Molly looks at the glittery cards on the table and
says, “During our visit Rae often spoke of you and her
Bubby.” 

“
Molly, I’m sorry about
that. I have no idea….” 

“
No, Emma, you have no
reason to apologize for anything. I know Alec has moved on and I
don’t blame him. I am very grateful he has moved on with someone
who treats our daughter like her own.” 

“
Raelynn is very easy to
love. She is a very sweet little girl.” I look at Molly and say,
“The credit goes to Alec. He is an incredible man and
father.” 

“
I know he is. He loved that
little girl before she was even born.”

The nurse comes in and tells Molly they will
be moving her to a regular room shortly. I stand away from the bed
so they can check her vital signs. When I hear them ask her about
her detox symptoms, I move farther away from the bed to give her
some privacy. I know Alec says that she signs herself out of the
hospital when she detoxes. I pray this time she doesn’t. 

The nurse leaves the room and I walk closer
to the bed. I don’t sit down but stand there near her.

“
Alec said you wanted to see
me,” I finally say. 

“
I do. I want your
help.” 

“
You want my help with
what?” I ask in confusion. 

“
I want you to help me to
get better, to be the person I used to be.” 

“
Molly, Alec is the person
to help you do that. I have no idea how to help you. He, on the
other hand, has almost unlimited resources.” 

“
Emma, Alec doesn’t think
I’m serious, and I can’t say that I blame him. I can’t depend on
him to help me. I want you to help me get into one of those
treatment centers. The ones far away where I can’t leave, because I
have no idea where to go.” She wipes the tears from her face and
stares at the glittery cards. “I know I need help. God knows I want
help and I also know I can’t do it by myself.” 

The nurse comes in and tells Molly they are
going to move her to a regular room now. I walk towards the door
and I turn around when I hear my name. The nurse leaves and I walk
over to Molly’s bed. “Will you help me?”

I lean closer to her bed. “I will, but
Molly, if you mess this up, I’m done. Raelynn deserves a mother who
can be there for her.” 

“
I understand,” Molly says,
as she wipes away the tears. 

“
I mean it, Molly. If you
don’t do it for you, you do it for her.”