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“No, plus my blood pressure and heart rate are normal. I’m probably fine, but it isn’t something I can ignore. I need to leave a message for my cardiologist.”
She shoves her shoes on and grabs her keys. “Call him from the car. Let’s go.”
CHAPTER 37
CALLIOPE
I’m doingmy best not to look as terrified as I feel. I’m not sure I’m doing a great job at it when he looks over at me while I’m driving. “Don’t speed. If I thought it was an emergency, I would’ve called an ambulance.”
“I know. I’m not speeding. I just need to get around this guy out here taking his car for a walk.”
His smile makes me feel a little better.
The emergency room is busy but they’re expecting him, and we’re escorted straight back. I guess when you’re dealing with a heart patient, they take no chances. We’re tucked into a corner room where they attach electrodes to his chest.
“Looks good,” the doctor says after a few minutes. “No sign of a heart attack. Dr. McAllister has ordered some further testing, an echocardiogram and a cardiac MRI. Have you had any symptoms before today?”
“No, I’ve been fine.”
“Any change in your routine? Taking your meds? Increased exercise?”
Arlow glances over at me and his response is reluctant. “I’ve been overdoing it a little. Some more vigorous exercise lately…farm work.”
Oh god, this is from the digging. I asked him before, when we were burying Carl, if it’d be too much and he said not to worry, that he knew his limitations. He accomplished so much during the hour I left to have a private, sobbing breakdown because he overdid it. I do my best to suppress the guilt. This isn’t about me. It’s about saving him.
The doctor nods, noting it down. “Okay, they’ll be in to get you for the tests soon and your cardiologist is being updated as we go.”
Once the doctor leaves, I move beside the gurney to grab his hand. “How do you feel?”
“The same. I’m not dizzy or weak or anything. It just hurts.”
A nurse comes in to remove the electrodes and instructs him to change into a gown. “Woo, sexy,” I tease, helping him by tying the back closed.
If he’s afraid, it doesn’t show. He grins and climbs back onto the gurney. “These were not made for someone my height.”
“I think everyone’s ass hangs out of them,” I giggle, pulling the thin blanket up over his legs.
The orderly comes to take him to another floor for the tests, and I drop a quick kiss on his lips, squeezing his hand. “I love you.”
“Love you, Peach. Be right back.”
Tears fill my eyes the second he’s out of sight and I let them fall. I’m terrified. Anything could happen. He could need surgery or have a sudden heart attack. After everything we’ve been through, I can’t lose him already. We’ve fought to be together. We deserve some happiness. I can’t imagine my life without him, never hearing his voice or seeing his smile.
The tests take over two hours—the longest of my life—and by the time they roll him back in, I’ve regained my composure and washed my face. “About time. I thought maybe you got bored and went home,” I quip, moving my chair closer to the gurney.
“I tried after they lubed up my chest, but then they locked me in a tube.”
“My poor guy.” His smile is sweet when I kiss his forehead.
It’s another hour before the doctor returns. “All your results look fine, but your cardiologist wants to review them with you before we discharge you.”
As if his words conjure him, a gray headed man strides into the room, plants his hands on his hips and shakes his head at Arlow like a disapproving mother. “Just what the hell have you been doing?”
The emergency doctor chuckles and excuses himself.
“Dr. McAllister, hope I didn’t interrupt something important,” Arlow says, noting the dress clothes his cardiologist is wearing.
“Actually, you got me out of the world’s most boring charity event so thanks for that, but that’s not the point. Your heart is fine. No changes since your last scans. The pain is from costochondritis. It’s an inflammation of the cartilage in your ribs and presents with cardiac symptoms, but it’s completely unrelated to your heart.”
