Lost Cause, Chapter 30
“ Julian Crane….hello…hello?”
“ Mr. Crane. It’s me, Whitney.”
“ Hello, Whitney.”
“ Mom….Mom had a relapse. She’s in surgery. I just thought you’d want to
know.”
“ Thank you, Whitney.”
“ Bye.”
Julian hung up the phone. Fox walked in. “ Father, I….what’s wrong?”
“ Eve’s in surgery.”
“ Come on. Let’s go to the hospital. You know that’s where you want to be.
“
Simone brought her father some coffee.
“ Here Daddy.”
“ Thanks Sugarbear.”
“ Daddy, she’ll be fine. She’s strong.”
“ I hope so. “
“ She will. She has us to come back to. “
“ Simone, she doesn’t even remember us.”
“ Daddy, it doesn’t matter. We love her, and we’re going to see her through
it.”
Just then, Simone saw Julian and Fox.
“ Hi Nicholas.”
“ What are you doing here?”, TC asked.
“ Whitney called me.”
“ She shouldn’t have.”
“ Yes, she should have, Daddy. As you just reminded me, Mom doesn’t remember
us. Waking up from another surgery, having the one person that she DOES remember
is best for her recovery. Thank you for coming, Mr. Crane.”
“ You’re very kind, Simone. I’ll be over there.”, Julian motioned
to the opposite side of the room.
“ Good.”, TC barked.
Simone motioned to Fox to follow her.
“ I’m glad your Dad is here.”
“ Honest?”
“ Nicholas, my mother is the only person I’m concerned about. She’s the
sick one. Your father loves her. I accept that.”
“ You’re talking to me. Is that a signal of a change?”
Simone smiled. “ I had a talk with my father. I realize now that I was being
down on you because of my father, and that it wasn’t fair to you. We can be
friends, Nicholas. No need to hide it. This entire situation is complicated
enough as it is. I don’t need anything else making my life uncomfortable.”
“ I’ll be here for you, Simone. I promise. You know that saying, save someone’s
life…”
“ There’s the doctor.”
They all gathered around the doctor. “ Eve made it through the surgery just
fine. “
“ You said that the last time.”, Julian barked.
“ Mr. Crane, Dr. Russell sustained serious injuries. We thought we had caught
all the bleeding last time, but hadn’t. Sometimes there are small bleeders.
But, I believe we caught them all, and we’ll be monitoring Dr. Russell closely.
“
“ Twenty –four hour, around the clock nursing care, as of this minute!”
TC wanted to say something, but he had to agree with Julian. He felt better
thinking that Eve was getting the special care, so he stayed silent about
that, but spoke up. “ When can we see Eve?”
“ She’ll be back in her room in about an hour.”
“ Thank you.”
“ I’ll keep you all updated. “
Once the doctor was gone, TC went up to Julian. “ I know you’re not going
anywhere, but I’d appreciate it if the girls and I went in to see Eve first.
After I’m finished, you can come in and stay. We can work out alternate times.”
Julian couldn’t believe it. “ Yes, that would be best.”
Simone came over to her father after Julian walked away and kissed him.
“ Thank you for thinking about Mom. Would it be better for you if Whitney
or I tried to be in the room with Mom and Mr. Crane? “
“ It would help.”
Simone laughed. “ I thought so. One step at a time, Daddy. It will be fine.
“
“ Simone, I love her. What if..”
“ Daddy, if she’s sick, she won’t be any good to any of us. Let’s go find
Whitney and tell her the good news.”
Once TC and Simone left, Fox came over to Julian. “ I can’t believe Coach
Russell was calm with you.”
“ I know.”
“ He’s trying, Father. It’s tough on him.”
“ It’s tough on Eve. He needs to be a grownup.”
“ Stop judging, Father.”
“ Oh, you’re just trying to suck up to his daughter.”
“ Would you blame me?”
“ No. Not at all, Son.”
“ Let’s get something to eat. It’ll be awhile before you can see Dr. Eve.
Sea Scape. Now.”