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“Jo, you’re off today,” Ali argued.
Jo stared at her. “I know, but I can’t just not do something. He needs me and I need to be there for him.” She felt tears springing to her eyes. “If anything happens to him…” She choked and shook her head. “I have to be there.”
“You are too close to the situation, Jo. Trust me. I will go and see what’s happening, but you can’t be a part of this.”
“What?” Jo hissed. “He knows and trusts me.”
Ali sighed. “Let me go. You take shower, get dressed, and wait for me to call you. Can you do that?”
Jo nodded, but then looked down at the floor. She wasn’t sure she could make that promise. “I need to be there, Ali. You can’t stop me from going.” She tilted her head, the pain radiating to her chest.
“Wait until I call you.” Ali leaned in and kissed the top of Jo’s forehead and then turned and hurried off. Ali couldn’t say much, because how would she explain that she heard what was going on? They would question their relationship immediately.
“Ali!” Jo ran out of the room and down the hall. Ali glanced over her shoulder and waited. “Be vague. They’re not supposed to know we’re intimately involved, and I don’t want this to hurt you in any way.” Ali gave a nod and then turned and left the apartment. Jo stood there, her chest caving in for a moment. Vincent would be just fine. If Ali was going to be involved, then she knew that he was in great hands. She went back to her bedroom to get everything for her shower. The minute Ali called her, she would be out the door. If she could only wait that long.
He’s asking for you. Those words echoed in Jo’s mind as she raced to the train and took the slow ride. What if they were forced to go in and do it, and she wasn’t able to get there in time? She didn’t think she would ever forgive herself. Once she reached her stop, she was the first one in line to get off the train and sprinted towards the hospital.
The elevator was slow to reach her, but she tried her best to be patient. Or else she would have taken the flights of stairs to reach the surgical floor. Finally, she was on the elevator and headed to the department. Once off the elevator, she maneuvered her way around to Vincent’s room, where he was being prepped for his surgery.
Ali stood outside, her back to her, as she spoke to Vincent’s mom, Flora. She sensed Jo and turned to glanced over her shoulder. She gave a smile, then turned back to Flora. She mumbled something and Flora glanced over to Jo. Flora flew towards her and fell into Jo’s arms.
“I’m so scared.”
“Hey, don’t be scared.” Jo pulled back and looked to her. Jo gently touched the back of each of Flora’s arms and gave an encouraging smile. “He’s in great hands.” The words came out with ease, but there was a hesitancy. She wanted to trust those words more than anything, but her heart was heavy. “Go to the lobby, and they’ll find you once the surgery is over.”
“You’ll be there, right?” Flora’s eyes widened.
Jo glanced to Ali and Ali gave a slight shrug. Jo felt the emotion jump to the pit of her stomach. “I’m going to try,” Jo whispered. “I’m off the clock today and I’ll have to see if I can get it approved.” If nothing else, it was a solid excuse.
Flora nodded but didn’t look happy that Jo was bailing on the surgery. She turned and went to the lobby, where Jo hoped she had family members waiting for her. She turned to Ali and tilted her head.
“Please don’t start. You are too close to this. You can go in there, give him some encouraging words, but that’s it.”
Jo sighed and nodded. She pushed past her to enter his room. He was already hooked up to some machines that were running his vitals on a steady loop. He looked up and smiled.
“You’re here,” he said.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” she replied, her eagerness deflated when she saw him frown. “What’s wrong, Bud.”
“I’m nervous. My stomach is doing flip flops.” He reached down and touched his stomach. It was the same feeling that Jo felt. “What if…”
“Hey, you’re not going to think about that. You know Ali?” she asked. He gave a small nod. “She’s going to be in there, and I can assure you that she’s one of the best.” There was a knock on the door and Jo looked over to find Ali standing there.
“They really need to take him to the OR,” she said.
Jo nodded, then turned back to him. His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “Why can’t you be there? Please?”
Jo sighed. “I’ll try,” she whispered. She turned and Sue Ellen, one of the nurses, was coming in to grab him for surgery. Jo walked out of the room with Ali close behind her. “I know why I shouldn’t be in there, but I’ve been the one involved in his care. He trusts me.”
“I know, and that’s distinctly why I thought you were getting too attached.” Ali sighed.
“You know I’m the best nurse to have him in my care. I won’t get in the way. I’ll be professional, and I’ll do things how you want them done. But I feel I need to be there.” Ali looked away from Jo’s prying eyes. Jo held her breath, questioning if she was really about to get through to her. “Please.”
“Fine,” Ali groaned. “It’s against my better judgment, but you can be in there. We need to scrub in, and if I order you out of there…”
Jo eagerly nodded. “I’ll go.”
Ali sighed, and they hurried to the room to get scrubbed in for surgery. Jo knew that this was the best alternative, because she wouldn’t be able to get him out of her mind for the duration of the surgery.
