Page 46 of The Do-Over
THEA
Thea didn’t sleep.
Instead, she took her cell phone and went out on the porch. It was insanely cold out, what with the snow and now the fact that it was the middle of the night, but she didn’t want Rob to overhear the call she needed to make.
She dialed the non-emergency line at the hospital and a familiar voice answered. “Hey, Laverne,” Thea said.
“Thea?” Laverne said. She was an older, motherly type, and Thea always found her reassuring to talk to. “What’s going on in Deer Ridge? I assume you’ve been out checking on all those patients of yours like the hero you are.”
“Well, yes, I did,” Thea said.
“They’re so lucky to have you,” Laverne said. “And I know all of us here at St. Joseph’s rest a little easier during storms like this just knowing that you’re on the scene.”
“That’s not why I called, though,” Thea said. “Something else has happened, and I need some advice on what to do.” She hesitated. “Is the hospital very busy tonight?”
“Actually, it’s a complete dead zone right now,” Laverne said. “You know how it goes. We’ll probably be run ragged tomorrow, but if anyone out there is in trouble tonight, they haven’t made it through the snow to us yet. It’s the calm before the storm.”
“Right,” Thea said. “Well, the thing is, there was a car accident near my house—”
“Oh, God! Are you all right?”
“Near my house,” Thea said. “I wasn’t involved.”
“Right. Sorry. I jumped the gun.”
“But I know the person who was in the accident. He ran his car off the road and into a ditch,” Thea explained. “I’ve got him at my house now, mostly because I don’t know what else to do with him. There’s no way I can bring him in. Not in this weather.”
“What’s his condition?” Laverne asked, immediately all business.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I’m not sure.” She lowered her voice, just in case Rob was listening at the window. “He seems to be having some serious memory loss.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Thea said. “But I don’t know how seriously I need to take it. Is this the kind of thing people can sleep off? Is he going to be fine in the morning?”
“Oh, honey, I don’t know,” Laverne said. “You gotta talk to a doctor.”
“Is Dr. Fitzgerald around?”
“I’ll see if I can find her. You hold, okay?”
“Okay.”
The familiar hold music of the hospital took over the phone line, and Thea tried to relax. She knew she was doing all she could for Rob. Doctor Fitzgerald was St. Joseph’s top neurologist, and there was no one better equipped to advise them on the current situation.
I just wish I could get him in so that she could examine him in person.
Thea knew how dangerous head injuries could be. She didn’t deal with them often in her line of work, but she’d had patients who had fallen and hit their heads. Some of them had never been the same again.
This really had to happen while I was in a position of responsibility…
She knew that was the wrong thing to be thinking. She didn’t regret digging Rob out of his car, and in fact she was glad that she had been in a position to help him. She was a nurse. Helping people was what she did.
Even if those people were her ex-boyfriend. Even if he was convinced that they had never broken up.
I just don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with this.
The hold music clicked off and Laverne came back on the line. “Here’s Dr. Fitzgerald for you, hon.”
