Chapters (65)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Part Two
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Part Three
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
As I hurried along the miserable, snowy sidewalk, tears streaming down my face, I imagined getting inside and running past all the rooms, finding Jake in a coma with Hal and Audrey standing next to him, or locked in an embrace, telling me I wasn’t wanted and that they were getting back together, then finding the baby but seeing that she was having open-heart surgery, or finding Cally and her friend Sarah nursing their babies together and laughing at me.
But I had to get my head back to reality. Focus.
Several nurses leaned out from their desks as they saw me roaming the halls. They got up and intercepted me. “Ma’am, can we help you, ma’am?”
I took a moment to gather my breath. “I’m looking for Hal Olson, he’s my husband.”
“Have you checked in?”
I shook my head, still trying to look into rooms.
“This way, ma’am.” They pointed me down the hall and to the right, to the visitor check-in. “You can inquire about your patient there, okay, ma’am?”
“Thank you,” I said, wondering, as I walked to the visitor desk and got in line, whether I wanted to see Hal first or go straight to Cally.
“Cally Scott?” said a woman’s voice.
The woman ahead of me in line had asked for Cally. The clerk at the visitor desk said, “Just a moment.” She typed into her computer while the woman ahead of me filled out a pink visitor badge.
“Cally Scott. Room 310,” said the clerk, and the woman walked toward the elevator. The clerk turned to me. “Can I help you?”
“Um, actually,” I said. “I’m gonna get some coffee first. I’ll be right back.” I walked away, trying to act calm. When I was out of sight of the clerk, I swerved back around to the elevator bank just in time to hop in with the woman who’d been asking for Cally. She pressed the button for the third floor.
She got off and I followed her. 322, 320, then 302, 304: this was like looking for hotel rooms. The numbers made no sense. Finally, we got to 310. I swooped past the other lady and charged into Room 310 with full adrenaline pumping. There she was: Cally. In the hospital bed.
She glanced up, and I saw her recognize me.
“Oh my God, Ruth,” said Cally, looking pale. She seemed to be in shock.
“Where is she?” I demanded, walking closer to her bed.
“Whoa.” A handsome young man stood up. I hadn’t noticed him sitting there. He hustled around the bed and came to my side of the room. He put himself between me and Cally.
“Where’s the baby, Cally? And what in the hell is going on here? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“Hey, hey,” said the man, holding his hands up like stop signs.
“Get away from me,” I said.
He exited the room in a hurry.