Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 199(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 133(@300wpm)
A doctor appears, and recognizing James, he gives him an update once James tells him why he’s here.
“Iris’ condition is stable,” the doctor reassures him, turning his gaze to me. “Is she your grandma?” he asks in a soothing tone.
I feel my head shake. “She’s more than that…,” I stammer, feeling that wave of emotions rising up to crash over me again. James’ hand on my back is holding it at bay as if he can absorb bad stuff just by being present.
I want to hug him for being here, for understanding. Most of all, I’m relieved Iris is okay.
“What happened?” I ask the doctor, who crimps a smile, glancing at his watch.
“You can go through,” he says, moving his eyes to an open doorway. “But no excitement,” he cautions us both, making me blush for some reason.
I think if I told Iris what I’ve been doing with my day, I might be pushing it. But I’ll see how she’s feeling. She’s the one person I don’t have any issue talking to about James, and it’s going to shock her enough to see him here with me.
“I’ll wait out here,” James says.
I want James with me, but like the doc said, no excitement.
James is the kind of guy to raise a woman’s blood pressure, so I reluctantly go without him. Phil is coming out of another doorway, his ashen face lifting a little when he spots me.
“Jasmine, you came!” he sighs, and for the first time since I’ve known him, I give him a hug, comforting him as he shakes with emotion. He tells me how scared he’s been.
“How is she?” I ask him, making the man catch himself before he shows too much. He eases himself away from me and casually wipes his eyes.
He puffs some air out of his cheeks before smiling. “Go see for yourself,” he says, sounding brighter already. “She’ll be okay. Just her heart,” Phil says. The words were catching in his throat. “I got to get some air,” he murmurs, and I follow the sounds of beeping machines once he’s gone.
Iris is propped up in a bed that looks enormous because she is so tiny and frail.
“Hey, kiddo,” she croaks, holding up both arms with an effort, flapping her hands to signal me over to her, giving me just what I need to feel from her when she hugs me. All my reserves falling away, I end up blubbering like I’m already at her funeral.
I know what the doctor just told me, but I’m having all the “excitement” once my emotions finally spill over.
Iris is as kind and understanding as ever, hushing me and stroking my hair. She assumes I’m broken up because she is where she is, which I am, but my bawling is so unlike me. I can usually detach from everything, even Iris, when I feel things are getting too big on the emotional front.
I know in a second it’s because of James. He’s done more than claim me. He’s made me feel something I never thought I would in this life.
“You’re not crying a river over some man, I hope.” Iris teases me, making herself laugh and then coughs until I sit up to make sure she’s all right.
“I’m okay. I’m fine,” she says impatiently, waving off my concern and giving me that steel-eyed look.
The Iris I know and love is alive and well. She sees a lot more than I think.
“What happened, though?” I have to ask, wondering how she went from feeling fine to the hospital so quickly.
She huffs a sigh and lets her hands fall into her lap. “I guess the old heartstrings got a shock, is all,” she murmurs, giving a little shrug before frowning at all the tubes and wires hooked up to her frail body.
“What do you mean?” I ask, almost cautiously.
“When I saw that man this morning… ya know? Mr. Incredible… and then I saw him later again, tugging petals off some flowers,” she reflects.
I feel my stomach start buzzing with nerves—excitement, sadness, and a whole new set of feelings for James if Iris’s story is going where I think it is.
“I told you he was grieving. That nobody acts that crazy…,” she says, breaking off to cough again and setting off some alarm. A nurse appears and gives me a special look. I know I shouldn’t be talking to Iris about this. Not now.
“I think that’s enough action for a while, eh Iris?” the nurse croons, helping her with an oxygen mask and adjusting a drip line until Iris calms and nods, settling back into her pillows.
Her thin, frail hand reaches for mine.
“I got it wrong… Jasmine,” she whispers through the mask. “Man like that… the right girl… he’d do anything to keep her. Guy looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, wondering if she loved him back.”