So sorry it's been a while since I've updated, end of the school year is always busy. But thank God it's over :) Anyway, now that it's summer I'm going to try to update more regularly, since my schedule has been a bit choppy lately. Hope you guys like this chapter too!
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Chapter 6: Visiting Hours
Jules wandered through the walls of the hospital, unsure of where exactly she was going. The lady at the reception desk had given her the room number - 212 - but she had no idea how to get there. This wasn't her hospital. She continued down the hall, looking at doors for the right number. 132, 133, 134 - wait, something was wrong here. She looked at the other doors, which all read one hundreds. Oh great, she wasn't even on the right floor.
She must have looked pretty lost, because a man came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked. His civilian clothes made him hard to trust, since he obviously didn't work there, but she would recognize his voice anywhere. "Steve?" she asked incredulously. "Julianna?" He quickly pulled his in for a hug. "You should have told me you were in town, we could have gotten together sometime." he told her. She nodded awkwardly and pulled out of the hug. "I'm looking for my dad's room, 212?" she asked. Steve smiled. "You know that's one floor up, right? Elevator's this way." He pressed the button and they waited for the impending ding to tell them that the elevator was here.
As she stepped inside, another kind of ding went off in her purse. She reached for her phone but, not finding it in it's usual spot, began to panic. She must have dropped it in the wrong pocket. She dug around for a moment with Steve watching her intently before it went to voicemail. "Hi Mama," Sadie's voice began. "I miss you mama, please come home really fast." she said. Jules dug faster, and eventually found her phone. "Hi Sadie." she said. "Can you give the phone to Daddy for me?"
"I don't know where is he."
"Yell for him, Sades."
"Like you?"
"Yup, just like I yell at him Dee." She had to cover the speaker on her phone as her daughter yelled directly into the receiver. Her 'Daddy!' was met with a 'Yes Princess?' and then a thumping sound indicating that she was on the stairs. "Sades, walk on the stairs please." Jules reminded her daughter. Steve looked at her strangely and waved his hand at the open elevator doors. "No, Dee- Sadie! Walk on the stairs. You do not run." She couldn't believe that she had to yell at her daughter through a phone.
A moment later Steve tapped her on the shoulder and pointed at the door they now stood in front of. "There," he pointed with a smile. Jules smiled back. "Thanks, Steve." she moved the receiver away from her mouth so that Sam and Sadie couldn't hear her. "So, I'll see you around?" she asked. He nodded and checked over his shoulder. "Yeah, I guess. I'm only here for a few days to visit my folks. One of my old high school friends wanted me to come see him for a bit. We worked here before I switched to Toronto." he explained. He smiled and gave her a wave before walking back down the hall they had come from.
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The loud footsteps on the stairs told Sam that Sadie was coming to see him. No matter how many times Jules reminded her, she had a thing for running around the house like a maniac. "Daddy!" she shouted for the second time. "Phone!" He poked his head out of his and Jules' bedroom and saw her running down the hall with his cellphone in her hand. "Sadie, use your walking feet. Wait, you took my phone?" She nodded. "It's Mommy."
He smiled and took the phone from her hand. "Hey Jules. Yeah, everything's fine. I know, I - yes, well I left her alone for twenty seconds. Yup, again. I'll keep an eye on her." He raised his eyebrows at Sadie and she held her arms up. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his hip. "Two more days. Did you ask for something for your head? Well, don't pass out or cry or something. Okay, I'll let you go. Bye Jules. Yeah, I know. Bye - no, I'm taking her to Wordy's tonight. Okay, Jules - yeah, I got everything. Jules, I gotta go. Bye." He pressed end and placed his phone on his dresser. "Your mother talks a lot doesn't she?" Sadie nodded quickly. "But you, princess, need to quit taking my phone. Or ask me first. I'll call mommy for you." Sadie nodded once again. He put her down and she ran back to her room.
He hoped that Jules' visit with her dad was going okay.
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Jules had always hated her father for a reason. Their entire visit, he had blamed her for being in the hospital because he was worrying about her getting shot again. Like he ever gave a shit before. She had walked out after ten minutes, and she didn't plan on going back.
She knew that Adam had to work today and Alexa would be at school, but Lisa and Liam were probably still at the house. She walked outside in the warm summer air down the street towards the house. Adam had been right when he said that the hospital was right down the street. It only took her ten minutes to walk there. She opened the door and immediately a young child came to greet her. "Hi Aunt Jules!" Liam shouted. "You're back already?" Jules nodded and smiled. "Yeah, Grandpa and I had a really quick visit." She told him. There was no point telling a four year old all the details. Lisa's voice echoed throughout the house. "Liam, don't trample her too much." she warned. "Jules, would you like something to eat?" she offered. "It's almost lunchtime." Jules shook her head. "No thanks, but do you have any Advil? I've got a really bad headache." Lisa smiled sympathetically. "Check the bathroom cupboard above the sink." Jules smiled back and went off in search of it.
She lay down in her bed, her fingers slowly massaging her temples. Sam would usually do it for her but since he wasn't here she would have to manage on her own. Thank God she only had two days until she could go home. After her visit with her father, she couldn't help feeling like the entire trip had been a waste. If she hurried, she could grab a plane and get home in time So Sam didn't have to ditch Sadie with Shelley overnight. She still felt bad about that. Daytime was one thing, but overnight? That was asking a lot.
But she couldn't go home. She couldn't go home because her flight wasn't for another day and she couldn't very well just book another one. Couldn't go home because it would be rude the Lisa and Adam to just leave early. And on top of it all, there was no one at her home. Sure, they'd be home later. By no one would be there to pick her up from the airport when she got in. So she couldn't go home.
She felt a familiar sense of drowsiness creeping up on her again. It was only 12:00 and she was already tired. Maybe she had a serious case of jet lag. Or maybe just all-the-time-lag. She was always tired now. At least her headache was going away. But she couldn't help feeling like she was missing something. She was forgetting something important. Something was supposed to have happened already, but she had no idea what.
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Any ideas what's going on?