Hometown Legend by Jerry B. Jenkins

Author:Jerry B. Jenkins [JENKINS, JERRY B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC000000
ISBN: 9780759526440
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2001-11-01T05:00:00+00:00

25

Mr. Raschke slept most of the next afternoon in the waiting room. His wife, after thanking me too many times for their airline tickets, spent most of her time in with Bev. I was still not allowed in her ICU room, but through the glass wall I saw her with her eyes open for just a few minutes when she talked to her mama some. I wished I was in there, but when Mrs. Raschke took a break, she told me Bev wasn’t making sense anyway. “Couldn’t understand a thing,” she said. “I don’t think she even knew she was talking to me.”

“Does she know I’m here?” I said.

“I thought she knew that already, Mr. Sawyer. I didn’t say anything. I don’t believe she was really awake anyway.”

Rachel showed up after school and Mrs. Raschke held her close. “I’ll never forget somebody singing that old Jimmie Rodgers song at your mama’s funeral and you crying your eyes out, poor thing.” Then she broke down for the first time and I figured she was remembering her own daughter as a little girl.

The floor nurse joined us and said, “The doctor is hopeful the repair procedure was successful and they won’t have to go in again. They don’t expect her to be lucid until about midday tomorrow, but barring any other complications, she should be out of the woods.”

I was so relieved I could hardly speak. “What about out of the hospital?”

“That may be another week, and she’ll need bed rest at home too. But they’re optimistic, provided she has a restful night and everything stays positive.”

I thanked her and turned away. It’d been a long, long time since I’d cried. Rachel had to notice, but she didn’t say anything. “God still answers,” I said. She nodded.

• • •

I didn’t know for sure when Bev would be conscious and really out of danger, but we had to talk. At least I did. Only thing I was afraid of was that maybe she hadn’t really told Kim she cared for me. Maybe Kim was just assuming based on somethin else Bev said. What if I went telling her I realized I loved her and it sent her back into a coma?

The next morning I shaved, showered, ate, and was out of the house in twenty-five minutes. I was kinda surprised to find nobody waiting at ICU, but the night nurse, about to come off her shift, told me Kim had just left and the Raschkes were expected by mid-morning.

“The doctor says Miss Raschke should be awake today.”

“No kidding! She doing all right?”

“He’s encouraged. Her temp is normal. They’ve cut back on the meds, so she’s sleeping on her own, and when her body tells her she’s rested, she’ll wake up.”

“How long, you figure?”

“Not long. She should be back in a regular room tomorrow.”

I pulled a chair next to Bev’s door. The walls and the doors of all the rooms in Intensive Care were glass to give the nurses a good view. I turned the chair to face her and just sat watching.

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