Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
He cleared his throat. “Not from me.”
I linked my hands together, glancing at him and then the balloons. There was a big blue one that said Get Well Soon and a few more colorful ones around it.
“I came from Around the Corner.” He thrust a brown paper bag at me with Rose’s shop’s little logo on the side.
Curious, I took it and looked inside: one cup of what smelled like coffee, one sandwich, and a muffin. I put it down on the floor. Rose made the sandwiches herself every morning. She used a spread she’d come up with on her own, as she’d told me countless times. Knowing she hadn’t made these, even though I hadn’t had anything since our dinner the night before, I couldn’t even stomach eating them. I picked up the coffee since I could’ve used a little more energy for more pacing.
Raymond continued, “I thought I could drop by and see if they needed any help with anything, and the girl—Sally, I think—she handed me the balloons when she heard I was coming here next.”
I grunted unintelligibly. That was better.
“How is it? Are they busy?” I asked a moment later.
“Yes. There was a line at the register. She is doing great. Oh, they also said they’d be here as soon as they closed down, to check on her.”
I nodded; I had expected as much. Since she wanted to be with me, I didn’t have to worry about the other one who worked with her early in the mornings anymore, whatever his name was.
We fell silent.
“Any news?” he asked after a few moments.
I ran my hand over my face. “Not a goddamn thing.”
“When did they take her in?”
“Eight. I don’t know when they started, though. She must’ve waited for a while.”
“How long is this surgery supposed to last?”
That was what was scaring the hell out of me. When we’d spoken to the doctor and I’d asked him how long these surgeries usually lasted, he hadn’t given me a straight answer, which was expected, but he’d said other times it had lasted anywhere from forty-five minutes to three hours. We had passed the three-hour mark a while ago, so I knew something must have gone wrong.
I rubbed a hand over my heart when I felt it tighten painfully. “She should’ve been out by now.”
Raymond took a look at me and didn’t say anything else.
All I could do was play with her ring, which was a dead weight in my pocket, and hope she was doing fine and holding on. We sat like that for another two hours until finally a damn nurse made her way toward us instead of going to someone else.
I sprung up from my seat, my limbs prickling from all the hours I had sat on that uncomfortable chair.
“She is out of surgery now and in the recovery room.” She smiled at us, as if everything was perfectly fine. She should’ve come down there hours ago.
“When can I see her?” I growled.
“We’ll go up to her room now, and you can wait there.”
“I think I’ve waited enough,” I snapped. “Take me to see her.”
The nurse lost her smile and scowled back at me. That was fine.
“She’s been in surgery for quite some time now, so we’re just anxious to see her,” Raymond spoke up. “Waiting for her in the room would be great, thank you.”
The woman, probably somewhere in her fifties based on her black and white natural hair, lost some of her stern look, which I didn’t care for, and then she sighed.
“They’ll bring her up to the room as soon as she is ready. They need to keep an eye on her until she starts coming around from the anesthesia.”
“Is she okay?” I rushed the words out, taking a step forward. “Did something go wrong?”
“I’m sure she is fine. The doctor will come to her room to check on things later and he’ll be able to give you more information. Now follow me, please.”
Up in her room, nothing changed. I barely took in the surroundings as we walked into the private room I’d paid for. There was a big TV mounted on the wall right across from the hospital bed, a leather couch right under the big window where the whole city was laid out in front of you, and then two comfortable enough chairs on the left side of the bed. There was also a door to what looked like a private bathroom on the left side as soon as you walked into the room. Raymond stood closer to the door with his ridiculous and cheerful balloons and wisely stayed out of my way as I started my pacing again.
“Tie those stupid things to a chair or something. You look ridiculous, for God’s sake,” I growled when he just stood there. I ignored the twitch of Raymond’s lips.