"Hey Howard," I say greeting him in the cafeteria once I drop Alison off in the room with my mother.
"Hello Emily, its nice to see you again, shall we get down to business?" he suggests and I nod before taking a seat at the table.
"Yes please," I say trying to speed this process up as he pulls out documents from his briefcase.
"Well as I explained in the email, in the event that something happens to both your grandparents, you were named to be the CEO of their company immediately if you were of age. So you have to sign your name on a few documents to become the official acting CEO that is until one of the recovers enough to the point where they can regain control. Also, they've started some pretty big projects that require your signatures as well and a portion of your trust fund has been placed into your account," he says and I try to soak in all the information.
"Howard, once they're able to I'm bringing them back to the states for a while. So I'll be taking care of business from afar. I want them to get the best possible care and get away from all the stress," I say strongly, giving no room for other options or opinions.
"I see," he says.
"Also, I'll sign the document that names me acting CEO, but I want to review these projects first before putting my name on anything," I say and he nods in cooperation.
"Sounds good to me," he says and I have to sign with my left hand it comes off not as bad as I expected. "You remind me a lot of your grandfather," he says and I smile taking it as the hugest compliment.
"Thanks Howard," I reply and he hands me over the folder of all the other documents and information on the ongoing projects. I order three coffees before making my way back to the room where I see my grandmother awake and talking.
"Hey grandma, I see you've met Alison," I say softly while stroking her hair.
"Yes she's a real sweetheart," my grandmother replies smiling at Alison and I see a familiar blush color her dimples.
"Are you feeling okay?" I ask.
"Yes, a lot stronger than before," she replies. "Have you spoken to Howard?" she asks.
"Yes, I'm taking care of everything, I don't want you to worry about that right now. I just want you to focus on getting better," I say.
"Just like your grandfather," she smiles and her hand caresses my cheek.
"Rest up grandma," I kiss her on her cheek and lower her bed down so she can fall asleep.
"Who's Howard?" my mom asks but nurses interrupt us by rolling my grandpa's gurney in.
"What's the update?" I ask out loud.
"Well the swelling has gone down a great deal, and the doctor may schedule the operation for this weekend if he likes the results of the scans," a nurse replies and I nod in appreciation. I walk to his beside and sit down. I hold onto his hand and I feel Alison rest her hand on my shoulders, giving me pieces of her strength to get through this. After hours of sitting around, Dr. Aquinas walks through the door, chart in hand.
"So I have good news, we're able to book an OR for surgery for your grandfather," he says and I stand to wrap my arms around and support her weight.
"That's great news doc, can you tell us what's going to happen?" I ask trying to get the run down of the operation.
"We're going to go in through here and take out the fragments left behind from the glass. He suffered the brunt of the impact and those glass particles in these locations are very dangerous," he explains while we look at the MRI scans.
"Do you know when I'll be ready to leave here?" my grandmother interrupts the silence as I look over the scans.
"Well you're getting stronger everyday and your spine seems to be healing really well. I don't see why you shouldn't be released by the end of the weekend. You're just going to need to use a motorized chair and not too much movement either since your ribs are healing as well," he explains and a smile stretches across her face. "Once it comes time to discharge you, I'll let you know your options for physical therapy".
"She'll be doing that back in the states and I already have it set up, the therapist will be coming to the house," I inform him and he nods.
"Very well, I'm glad I could deliver some good news to you all," he smiles before leaving the room.
"Oh Emmy," my grandmother calls and I rush over to her.
"Are you okay? Are you in pain?" I ask her.
"Yes, my back hurts," she says and I coo her.
"Its okay, just let the morphine settle in," I say as I press the button to the morphine drip so it could release another dose of the pain reliever.
"Can you check over the numbers for the new project?" she asks and I shush her.
"Hey don't worry about that, I have everything under control. Just get some rest," I say softly and move her hair behind her ears as her eyes close and a normal rhythm on the machine take over.
"Visiting hours are over," the nurse says and we all take our leave.
"Mom, get in," I tell her as Alison takes the backseat and my mom gets into the front.
"Where'd you get this car?" my mom asks.
"It's mine, nana and grandpa got it for me two years ago," I say as I drive towards the condo. I hear my mom sniffling and I look over to see tears flowing freely.
"Don't cry mom, everything's going to be okay," I say and wife her eyes with my fingers that spring free from the cast.
"It's just that I haven't spoken to them in years and I never got to tell them I love them," she cries harder.
"Listen, they know how much you love them. They still have your pictures scattered in their offices and apartments around the city. Tell them now, it's never too late to tell someone you love them, even if they can't hear it," I say strongly and she looks over to me.
"I love you Emmy," she says and I smile back at her.
"I love you too mom," I say and pull outside the condo. "Listen you and Alison go up to the room and order some food, here's the money to tip them," I say pulling out a wad of hundreds and handing over three.
"Where are you going?" she asks.
"I'm going to take care of some business and meet with some people," I say.
"What business?" she asks.
"Not so many questions ma, everything is okay I just have things to do, I'll be back later on tonight," I say and kiss her on the cheek.
"Alison, make sure she eats please," I ask and she nods before leaning up to peck me on the lips.
"I love you," she says and I see a sparkle in her eyes.
"I love you too," I say strongly but my voice waivers at the ferocity of her gaze and she's rendered me speechless beyond that point. They both exit the car and I wait until they've gone inside before heading to a bad part of town where my old buddies hang at.