Watching Ryan sleep made Kirsten both concerned and curious.
"Why wasn't it an accident?" she asked Sandy, "How did he lose his spleen?"
"He was attacked." Sandy whispered, worried that their voices would wake Ryan up.
"Someone attacked him, beat him with a blunt instrument." Sandy continued once he was sure Ryan was still asleep, and then he looked at Kirsten and told her, "In his own home."
"Dawn?" Kirsten asked, suddenly sick at the idea that someone could do that, especially someone who was supposed to be his mother.
Sandy shook his head before telling her, "They suspected Dawn's boyfriend. But they could never prove it. Everyone claimed an unknown assailant broke into the house and attacked Ryan. And when Ryan woke up a few days later, he agreed to the same story. So the case was closed."
"When?" Kirsten asked. "Three years ago." Sandy told her. Now Kirsten really felt sick and angry. Ryan would have only been thirteen, beaten by a grown man and his own mother protecting that man.
"How come I was never told about this?" she asked.
"Kirsten," Sandy tried to explain as gently as possible, "You saw Ryan's reaction when he realized I knew. I don't think he could handle you and Seth knowing about his past. He'd never want you to feel sorry for him. If he wants to talk about it, he will. If not, then you have to respect his privacy and let it go. I know enough about the past abuse to answer whatever questions occasionally come up. Except, of course, how many other times he's broken his arm. That may have been a little helpful this morning."
He had hoped to lighten the mood a little bit, by bringing the discussion back to the day's events. Not that what happened that day was funny, but it was an accident. Ryan's past wasn't an accident, and it definitely wasn't funny. Kirsten could only sigh as she sat down next to Ryan and began to brush his hair out of his face again.
"I wouldn't feel sorry for him." She said, "I would. It's just. He really hasn't had it easy, has he?"
Kirsten and Sandy both jumped when they heard, "You know he hates when someone does that." It shouldn't have been a surprise to see Seth standing in the doorway, but somehow it was.
"Seth," Sandy asked, "What are you doing here?"
"No, seriously, Mom," Seth continued, "He hates when people play with his hair. Do you know how long it takes him to achieve that shaggy look, that I just woke up and can't do a thing with my beautiful blond locks hairstyle of his? Hours, Mom, hours."
"Seth," Sandy repeated, "Again, what are you doing here?"
"Well, I woke up this morning to find a note, a note stating that Mom had to rush over to the hospital because Dad broke Ryan's arm. Of course, she promised to call, but no one called. And no one has his or her cell phone on. So I came here to see for myself." Seth explained to them.
"Dad broke Ryan's arm!" Sandy repeated, staring at Kirsten, "You really left him a note saying Dad broke Ryan's arm?"
"Well, that's what you said when you called." Kirsten said, "You said there was an accident and you broke Ryan's arm. So that's what I said in the note. You broke Ryan's arm."
"Oh, man," they all heard Ryan moan, "Not this again."
"Not what again?" Sandy asked as Kirsten told him, "We thought you were sleeping."
"I was." Ryan told them, "Until you both decided to continue the Sandy broke Ryan's arm argument. No one could sleep through that."
"We weren't arguing." Sandy told him.
"Fine," Ryan said, "Discussing. Loudly."
"Ryan," Kirsten explained, "We weren't discussing loudly either. We were just explaining to Seth what happened. That's all. Why don't you try to go back to sleep, we'll be quieter."
"Seth?" Ryan asked, ignoring the rest of what Kirsten said and settling his eyes on Seth, "Hey, man, what are you doing here?"
Seth couldn't help but smile at the goofy look on Ryan's face. He figured Ryan had to be flying pretty high, which was probably a good thing, given how gross Seth thought his arm looked.
"Well, ya see, bro," Seth told him, "I heard there was some kind of accident in which Dad may or may not have been deeply involved. So I figured it would be in our best interest if I got over here and taught you the finer points of Jewish guilt."
Ryan just looked at Seth for a minute, trying his best to understand what he was talking about, but all Ryan could say was, "Huh?"
"Yeah, ok. I guess I didn't get here in time." Seth told him, "Try to follow me here, Ry. See, Dad took you surfing. Dad broke your arm. Dad feels real bad. Real, real bad. Dad wants to make it up to you. I'm here to help you help Dad make it up to you."
"Seth..." Sandy started to warn, before Ryan said, "No really, Seth. It was an accident. No one has to make anything up to me. Not for an accident."
"Ryan, Ryan, Ryan," Seth said, "You just don't get it. Of course Dad has to make it up to you. He broke your arm. Now you can't ride your bike. Now you can't work to save up all your hard earned cash. Now he must get you a car. I think possibly a convertible, since opening a car door would be too difficult for you. With a convertible all you will need to do is hop in. And naturally, as the good brother that I am, I will gladly offer my services chauffeuring you everywhere you need to go."
"Seth, cut it out." Kirsten warned him. But Ryan just laughed. Only Seth would try to use a broken arm to get a car out of his parents, and it wasn't even Seth's arm that was broken.
"What color convertible?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know," Seth said, "Something bright and shiny. Maybe red or yellow."
"Not yellow. Teresa's car is yellow. Something dark. Black or dark blue. A cool color. Not a girly color." Ryan told him.
"Boys," Kirsten warned, "Knock it off. No one is getting a convertible."
"So much for Jewish guilt." Ryan mumbled.
"You forget, Ry. Mom's not Jewish. And she's not the one feeling guilty." Seth said then leaned in close and whispered, "Trust me, we just need to work on Dad."
Ryan could only laugh again at Seth. He was actually almost enjoying himself, until the door opened and he heard a familiar, unfriendly voice say, "What's this I hear, Sanford, you broke the boy's arm?" Ryan looked up past Seth to see Caleb walking into the room. And despite the 'happy medicine' he was on, he quickly tensed up.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Kirsten asked.
"Didn't Seth tell you?" Caleb asked, pointing over to Seth.
"Oh, yeah." Seth explained, "Mom, Grandpa came by this morning looking for you. He drove me over here since you both took the cars and we don't have our own. Yet. But, I thought you were just going to drop me off and leave?"
"No, I just needed to park the car." Caleb said, "Wanted to see for myself what happened. What'd the boy do, Sandman?"
Ryan could only close his eyes and pretend to rest again. He hoped Caleb would take the hint and leave, quickly.
"The boy." Sandy hissed, "Ryan, didn't do anything. There was a surfing accident. It was my fault."
"And this is how you care for a boy in your charge?" Caleb said, "You break his arm? It's no wonder you and Kiki never had more then one child. I can see two kids are more then you can handle."
"Dad..." Kirsten started to warn as she saw Sandy tense up.
"Mr. Nichol, can you call Marissa for me?" Ryan asked. He didn't want to listen to another fight between Caleb and Sandy, especially since the fight would be about him.
"Oh, I did already." Seth said, "But she and Summer are over at Ultra Spa for the day. So I left a message on her voice mail. You think you're in pain? They're going for bikini waxes. I mean, OW!"
Ryan again laughed at how quickly Seth could change the subject to something so inane. And he was relieved that he didn't need to worry about Marissa now. He had forgotten she told him about the Spa; another reason he agreed to go surfing with Sandy.
"So last summer the kid burns down my house," Caleb continued, "And this summer the Sandman breaks his arm. It'll be interesting to see what this family plans on next summer."
"Caleb..." Sandy warned, but Kirsten cut him off, "Dad, look, they're going to be coming to take Ryan up to surgery soon. I'll call you later when we get home. We can meet tomorrow."
"Nonsense." Caleb said, "I'm assuming we're going to be here a while. We can go over our business while we wait. It won't take long, then we can have lunch. How long did they say the surgery would take?"
"A few hours, then Ryan has to go to recovery." Kirsten told him. They were all staring at Caleb, trying to figure out why he would want to wait at the hospital so no one noticed Ryan begin to shift uncomfortably in the bed until he finally snapped, "Can we not talk about the surgery?"
Ryan continued staring up at the ceiling, even though he knew everyone was now staring at him. "I just," he tried to explain, "There's got to be something else to talk about."
No one said anything for a moment, and Ryan really hated the silence. He knew it meant they were all feeling sorry for him.
"You know," Seth finally said, "I've always wondered why girls willingly pay someone to put hot wax on their nether regions and then rip out the hair. It sounds medieval. I mean, seriously, Mom, why do girls do that?"
"Seth!" Kirsten exclaimed, embarrassed by the question, "I don't really think that's appropriate. I'm sure you can think of something else to talk about."
"Why?" Seth asked, "It's an honest question. I mean, Dad, would you put hot wax there?"
Sandy just shook his head and said, "Ah, no." Normally he would have stopped Seth from going off on such an obscene tangent, but it was at least having the desired effect on Ryan, who was now smiling as he watched Seth discuss the torturous female beauty secrets.
"How about you, dude?" Seth asked Ryan, "Would you put hot wax there?"
Ryan could only laugh as he told Seth, "No, can't say that I would."
"And neither would I." Seth said, "So enlighten us, Mom. Explain this whole concept to us."
"Seth..." Kirsten started to warn, but before she could go any further, before the discussion could go any further, the door to Ryan's room opened and two orderlies pushing a gurney came in.
Ryan's smile quickly faded as the one orderly asked, "Ryan Atwood?"
Ryan could only nod as Sandy said, "Yes. Yes, he is."
"Hey, Ryan. I'm Roger and this is Dion. We're here to take you on a little ride." the orderly began to explain, "We need to move Ryan so if you're not family, we need you to step outside." And when no one, not even Caleb moved, Roger then said, "Ok, if you're not the patient or the parents then you need to step outside."
Ryan again could only nod as Seth said, "OK, man, I'll catch up to you before you go."
Once Caleb and Seth left, the orderly then began to explain, "Ok, Ryan, just let us move you. Try not to move your arm at all. Let us do all the work. On the count of three, we're going to move you. Ready? One. Two. Three."
Ryan tensed up as he was moved over to the gurney and watched as they brought over his IV bag. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, hoping to calm his nerves.
"Ok, Mom or Dad," he heard the orderly Roger say, "One of you can accompany Ryan up to the operating room. The other one can bring the rest of the family to the waiting room. We'll show you where that is. If we're all set then let's go."
No one said anything as the orderlies wheeled Ryan out of his room and headed for the operating room. And even though Ryan knew they were all there following behind the gurney, he didn't want to open his eyes. If he didn't look at any of them, they wouldn't see that he was scared.
As they exited the elevator, Roger stopped and pointed, "Okay family, the waiting room is over there. That's where the doctor will come find you after to talk to you. Mom or Dad, who's coming with us?"
"I am." Sandy said, quickly.
"Fine." Roger said, "Mom, you and the rest of the family say goodbye here.
Caleb was the first to say anything and all he said was, "Ryan," as he turned and walked towards the waiting room.
"Kind of gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling when he does that!" Seth joked, "Ok, man, I'll see ya when you're done. Or when they're done. I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." Ryan said, not really wanting to say anything else.
Kirsten kissed him on his forehead and said, "Bye, sweetie," and then patted him on his shoulder.
Kirsten and Seth watched as the orderlies pushed Ryan away, with Sandy following behind. They didn't head for the waiting room, not even after doors leading to the operating room closed.
Ryan wasn't sure what to expect as they went in. Last time he was in surgery, he wasn't exactly awake to see what was happening. He didn't expect to end up in a room strangely similar to the emergency room.
"This is the waiting area." Roger explained, "It should only be a few minutes before they're ready for you."
As Dion handed Sandy a pair of scrubs, he told him, "Dad, you need to put these on."
"You know, you don't have to stay." Ryan said as he watched Sandy start to slip into the green scrubs.
"Why not?" Roger asked before Sandy could answer, "You're still a minor. Dad can stay." Then Dion leaned over and told him, "Trust me, Ryan, it makes them feel better if you let them stay."
Ryan could only nod again as he closed his eyes. Sandy staying meant Sandy talking, and Ryan didn't want to talk, so he hoped by keeping his eyes closed, Sandy would take the hint and not talk. The silence lasted all of thirty seconds before Sandy said, "You know, Ryan, it's going to be okay."
Ryan kept his eyes closed as he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to talk about it, didn't really want to think about it so he hoped Sandy would somehow just stop talking about it.
"No, really Ryan," Sandy continued as Ryan just let out a loud sigh, "It's going to be fine. They'll fix your arm and put it in a cast, and in a few hours we'll be home. And we'll all be arguing over which one of Kirsten's specialties we should be ordering. On second thought, tonight you can decide. Chinese, Mexican, Seafood. Your choice tonight."
"Yeah, okay." Ryan said quietly. He wanted to add, "whatever," but decided against it.
"Ryan," Sandy continued, "I promise, nothing's going to happen."
"Yeah, I'll love it." Ryan sarcastically added. And with that, Sandy finally stopped talking. Ryan waited for a very quiet minute before he opened his eyes and looked at Sandy. It was the first time Ryan noticed how nervous Sandy was as Ryan watched him drum his fingers against his knee and bounce his legs up and down.
"Sorry. Couldn't resist." Ryan said, trying to smile.
"I guess I shouldn't promise when I don't know for sure." Sandy told him, "But it is a pretty safe bet that nothing's going to go wrong."
"Yeah, I guess." Ryan said, turning his head away from Sandy and staring back up at the ceiling.
"It's not the same this time, Ryan." Sandy promised, "It's not that serious. I mean, not that you breaking your arm, or I should say me breaking your arm isn't serious, but its not as serious. It's different this time."
As Ryan continued staring at the ceiling, he finally admitted, "I just remember trying to wake up, wanting to wake up and just not being able to. And then when I finally did wake up, wishing I hadn't. It's just. No one ever told me why I couldn't wake up, and I don't remember enough about it to figure it out. It could have been the anesthesia. I don't know."
"Or it could have been your injuries, which were substantial." Sandy added.
"You know, it's not right that they told you, and no one said anything to me about you knowing." Ryan told him.
"I guess they figured I had the right to know, part of my job." Sandy said.
Ryan looked at him before asking, "What, as my lawyer?"
"No. Parent." Sandy told him, as Roger and Dion came back over to the gurney.
"Your turn, Ryan." Dion said as he and Roger began to push the gurney towards the operating room. "Dad," Dion continued, "You can either say goodbye here or come into the operating room for a minute."
"Coming." was all Sandy could say, since he suddenly had a lump in his throat.
Sandy followed behind as they entered the operating room, and he suddenly began to worry at how cold it was in there, that Ryan would be cold. He wanted to make sure Ryan was covered with a blanket, that he wasn't shivering, but the nurse stopped him before he could move up next to the gurney.
"Sir, you need to wait here for a minute, until they finished moving your son." She told him.
"Ok, Ryan, same game plan as last time." He heard Roger say, "Let Dion and I move you over to the operating table. On the count of three. Ready. One. Two. Three."
Sandy watched as the orderlies quickly slid Ryan over onto the operating table, taking great care of his right arm, and then told him, "Good luck, man. We'll be seeing you." Sandy could only thank them as they left, as now the nurses converged on Ryan, hooking him up to various monitors, covering his lower body with a blanket, and basically preparing Ryan for surgery. And Sandy watched as Ryan closed his eyes and began to breath heavily. It was obvious to Sandy as he approached Ryan that he was still scared, and there was nothing Sandy could do to help him. All he could think to do was grab Ryan's shoulder and give it a light squeeze.
Sandy didn't notice the anesthesiologist or the surgeon walk in until he heard the anesthesiologist say, "Mr. Cohen, you need to say goodbye now. We're just about ready to start."
"Okay." Sandy said as he nodded. It was only then that Ryan opened his eyes and looked at Sandy. "Don't worry, Ryan. I'll see you soon. Okay, kid?"
Ryan could only nod as the anesthesiologist slipped an oxygen mask over Ryan's face and told him, "Okay, this may sting a little as I inject it into your IV, but you will start to relax almost immediately."
Sandy watched as Ryan winced for a split second. "Count backwards from 100, Ryan," he heard the doctor say, and Sandy listened as Ryan said, "100, 99, 98, 9........"
"Mr. Cohen," Dr. Gross said, "You need to leave now. The nurse will show you out. I'll meet you in the waiting room in a few hours."
"I'll see you soon, kid." Sandy whispered as he walked out of the operating room.
"Why wasn't it an accident?" she asked Sandy, "How did he lose his spleen?"
"He was attacked." Sandy whispered, worried that their voices would wake Ryan up.
"Someone attacked him, beat him with a blunt instrument." Sandy continued once he was sure Ryan was still asleep, and then he looked at Kirsten and told her, "In his own home."
"Dawn?" Kirsten asked, suddenly sick at the idea that someone could do that, especially someone who was supposed to be his mother.
Sandy shook his head before telling her, "They suspected Dawn's boyfriend. But they could never prove it. Everyone claimed an unknown assailant broke into the house and attacked Ryan. And when Ryan woke up a few days later, he agreed to the same story. So the case was closed."
"When?" Kirsten asked. "Three years ago." Sandy told her. Now Kirsten really felt sick and angry. Ryan would have only been thirteen, beaten by a grown man and his own mother protecting that man.
"How come I was never told about this?" she asked.
"Kirsten," Sandy tried to explain as gently as possible, "You saw Ryan's reaction when he realized I knew. I don't think he could handle you and Seth knowing about his past. He'd never want you to feel sorry for him. If he wants to talk about it, he will. If not, then you have to respect his privacy and let it go. I know enough about the past abuse to answer whatever questions occasionally come up. Except, of course, how many other times he's broken his arm. That may have been a little helpful this morning."
He had hoped to lighten the mood a little bit, by bringing the discussion back to the day's events. Not that what happened that day was funny, but it was an accident. Ryan's past wasn't an accident, and it definitely wasn't funny. Kirsten could only sigh as she sat down next to Ryan and began to brush his hair out of his face again.
"I wouldn't feel sorry for him." She said, "I would. It's just. He really hasn't had it easy, has he?"
Kirsten and Sandy both jumped when they heard, "You know he hates when someone does that." It shouldn't have been a surprise to see Seth standing in the doorway, but somehow it was.
"Seth," Sandy asked, "What are you doing here?"
"No, seriously, Mom," Seth continued, "He hates when people play with his hair. Do you know how long it takes him to achieve that shaggy look, that I just woke up and can't do a thing with my beautiful blond locks hairstyle of his? Hours, Mom, hours."
"Seth," Sandy repeated, "Again, what are you doing here?"
"Well, I woke up this morning to find a note, a note stating that Mom had to rush over to the hospital because Dad broke Ryan's arm. Of course, she promised to call, but no one called. And no one has his or her cell phone on. So I came here to see for myself." Seth explained to them.
"Dad broke Ryan's arm!" Sandy repeated, staring at Kirsten, "You really left him a note saying Dad broke Ryan's arm?"
"Well, that's what you said when you called." Kirsten said, "You said there was an accident and you broke Ryan's arm. So that's what I said in the note. You broke Ryan's arm."
"Oh, man," they all heard Ryan moan, "Not this again."
"Not what again?" Sandy asked as Kirsten told him, "We thought you were sleeping."
"I was." Ryan told them, "Until you both decided to continue the Sandy broke Ryan's arm argument. No one could sleep through that."
"We weren't arguing." Sandy told him.
"Fine," Ryan said, "Discussing. Loudly."
"Ryan," Kirsten explained, "We weren't discussing loudly either. We were just explaining to Seth what happened. That's all. Why don't you try to go back to sleep, we'll be quieter."
"Seth?" Ryan asked, ignoring the rest of what Kirsten said and settling his eyes on Seth, "Hey, man, what are you doing here?"
Seth couldn't help but smile at the goofy look on Ryan's face. He figured Ryan had to be flying pretty high, which was probably a good thing, given how gross Seth thought his arm looked.
"Well, ya see, bro," Seth told him, "I heard there was some kind of accident in which Dad may or may not have been deeply involved. So I figured it would be in our best interest if I got over here and taught you the finer points of Jewish guilt."
Ryan just looked at Seth for a minute, trying his best to understand what he was talking about, but all Ryan could say was, "Huh?"
"Yeah, ok. I guess I didn't get here in time." Seth told him, "Try to follow me here, Ry. See, Dad took you surfing. Dad broke your arm. Dad feels real bad. Real, real bad. Dad wants to make it up to you. I'm here to help you help Dad make it up to you."
"Seth..." Sandy started to warn, before Ryan said, "No really, Seth. It was an accident. No one has to make anything up to me. Not for an accident."
"Ryan, Ryan, Ryan," Seth said, "You just don't get it. Of course Dad has to make it up to you. He broke your arm. Now you can't ride your bike. Now you can't work to save up all your hard earned cash. Now he must get you a car. I think possibly a convertible, since opening a car door would be too difficult for you. With a convertible all you will need to do is hop in. And naturally, as the good brother that I am, I will gladly offer my services chauffeuring you everywhere you need to go."
"Seth, cut it out." Kirsten warned him. But Ryan just laughed. Only Seth would try to use a broken arm to get a car out of his parents, and it wasn't even Seth's arm that was broken.
"What color convertible?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know," Seth said, "Something bright and shiny. Maybe red or yellow."
"Not yellow. Teresa's car is yellow. Something dark. Black or dark blue. A cool color. Not a girly color." Ryan told him.
"Boys," Kirsten warned, "Knock it off. No one is getting a convertible."
"So much for Jewish guilt." Ryan mumbled.
"You forget, Ry. Mom's not Jewish. And she's not the one feeling guilty." Seth said then leaned in close and whispered, "Trust me, we just need to work on Dad."
Ryan could only laugh again at Seth. He was actually almost enjoying himself, until the door opened and he heard a familiar, unfriendly voice say, "What's this I hear, Sanford, you broke the boy's arm?" Ryan looked up past Seth to see Caleb walking into the room. And despite the 'happy medicine' he was on, he quickly tensed up.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Kirsten asked.
"Didn't Seth tell you?" Caleb asked, pointing over to Seth.
"Oh, yeah." Seth explained, "Mom, Grandpa came by this morning looking for you. He drove me over here since you both took the cars and we don't have our own. Yet. But, I thought you were just going to drop me off and leave?"
"No, I just needed to park the car." Caleb said, "Wanted to see for myself what happened. What'd the boy do, Sandman?"
Ryan could only close his eyes and pretend to rest again. He hoped Caleb would take the hint and leave, quickly.
"The boy." Sandy hissed, "Ryan, didn't do anything. There was a surfing accident. It was my fault."
"And this is how you care for a boy in your charge?" Caleb said, "You break his arm? It's no wonder you and Kiki never had more then one child. I can see two kids are more then you can handle."
"Dad..." Kirsten started to warn as she saw Sandy tense up.
"Mr. Nichol, can you call Marissa for me?" Ryan asked. He didn't want to listen to another fight between Caleb and Sandy, especially since the fight would be about him.
"Oh, I did already." Seth said, "But she and Summer are over at Ultra Spa for the day. So I left a message on her voice mail. You think you're in pain? They're going for bikini waxes. I mean, OW!"
Ryan again laughed at how quickly Seth could change the subject to something so inane. And he was relieved that he didn't need to worry about Marissa now. He had forgotten she told him about the Spa; another reason he agreed to go surfing with Sandy.
"So last summer the kid burns down my house," Caleb continued, "And this summer the Sandman breaks his arm. It'll be interesting to see what this family plans on next summer."
"Caleb..." Sandy warned, but Kirsten cut him off, "Dad, look, they're going to be coming to take Ryan up to surgery soon. I'll call you later when we get home. We can meet tomorrow."
"Nonsense." Caleb said, "I'm assuming we're going to be here a while. We can go over our business while we wait. It won't take long, then we can have lunch. How long did they say the surgery would take?"
"A few hours, then Ryan has to go to recovery." Kirsten told him. They were all staring at Caleb, trying to figure out why he would want to wait at the hospital so no one noticed Ryan begin to shift uncomfortably in the bed until he finally snapped, "Can we not talk about the surgery?"
Ryan continued staring up at the ceiling, even though he knew everyone was now staring at him. "I just," he tried to explain, "There's got to be something else to talk about."
No one said anything for a moment, and Ryan really hated the silence. He knew it meant they were all feeling sorry for him.
"You know," Seth finally said, "I've always wondered why girls willingly pay someone to put hot wax on their nether regions and then rip out the hair. It sounds medieval. I mean, seriously, Mom, why do girls do that?"
"Seth!" Kirsten exclaimed, embarrassed by the question, "I don't really think that's appropriate. I'm sure you can think of something else to talk about."
"Why?" Seth asked, "It's an honest question. I mean, Dad, would you put hot wax there?"
Sandy just shook his head and said, "Ah, no." Normally he would have stopped Seth from going off on such an obscene tangent, but it was at least having the desired effect on Ryan, who was now smiling as he watched Seth discuss the torturous female beauty secrets.
"How about you, dude?" Seth asked Ryan, "Would you put hot wax there?"
Ryan could only laugh as he told Seth, "No, can't say that I would."
"And neither would I." Seth said, "So enlighten us, Mom. Explain this whole concept to us."
"Seth..." Kirsten started to warn, but before she could go any further, before the discussion could go any further, the door to Ryan's room opened and two orderlies pushing a gurney came in.
Ryan's smile quickly faded as the one orderly asked, "Ryan Atwood?"
Ryan could only nod as Sandy said, "Yes. Yes, he is."
"Hey, Ryan. I'm Roger and this is Dion. We're here to take you on a little ride." the orderly began to explain, "We need to move Ryan so if you're not family, we need you to step outside." And when no one, not even Caleb moved, Roger then said, "Ok, if you're not the patient or the parents then you need to step outside."
Ryan again could only nod as Seth said, "OK, man, I'll catch up to you before you go."
Once Caleb and Seth left, the orderly then began to explain, "Ok, Ryan, just let us move you. Try not to move your arm at all. Let us do all the work. On the count of three, we're going to move you. Ready? One. Two. Three."
Ryan tensed up as he was moved over to the gurney and watched as they brought over his IV bag. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, hoping to calm his nerves.
"Ok, Mom or Dad," he heard the orderly Roger say, "One of you can accompany Ryan up to the operating room. The other one can bring the rest of the family to the waiting room. We'll show you where that is. If we're all set then let's go."
No one said anything as the orderlies wheeled Ryan out of his room and headed for the operating room. And even though Ryan knew they were all there following behind the gurney, he didn't want to open his eyes. If he didn't look at any of them, they wouldn't see that he was scared.
As they exited the elevator, Roger stopped and pointed, "Okay family, the waiting room is over there. That's where the doctor will come find you after to talk to you. Mom or Dad, who's coming with us?"
"I am." Sandy said, quickly.
"Fine." Roger said, "Mom, you and the rest of the family say goodbye here.
Caleb was the first to say anything and all he said was, "Ryan," as he turned and walked towards the waiting room.
"Kind of gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling when he does that!" Seth joked, "Ok, man, I'll see ya when you're done. Or when they're done. I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." Ryan said, not really wanting to say anything else.
Kirsten kissed him on his forehead and said, "Bye, sweetie," and then patted him on his shoulder.
Kirsten and Seth watched as the orderlies pushed Ryan away, with Sandy following behind. They didn't head for the waiting room, not even after doors leading to the operating room closed.
Ryan wasn't sure what to expect as they went in. Last time he was in surgery, he wasn't exactly awake to see what was happening. He didn't expect to end up in a room strangely similar to the emergency room.
"This is the waiting area." Roger explained, "It should only be a few minutes before they're ready for you."
As Dion handed Sandy a pair of scrubs, he told him, "Dad, you need to put these on."
"You know, you don't have to stay." Ryan said as he watched Sandy start to slip into the green scrubs.
"Why not?" Roger asked before Sandy could answer, "You're still a minor. Dad can stay." Then Dion leaned over and told him, "Trust me, Ryan, it makes them feel better if you let them stay."
Ryan could only nod again as he closed his eyes. Sandy staying meant Sandy talking, and Ryan didn't want to talk, so he hoped by keeping his eyes closed, Sandy would take the hint and not talk. The silence lasted all of thirty seconds before Sandy said, "You know, Ryan, it's going to be okay."
Ryan kept his eyes closed as he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to talk about it, didn't really want to think about it so he hoped Sandy would somehow just stop talking about it.
"No, really Ryan," Sandy continued as Ryan just let out a loud sigh, "It's going to be fine. They'll fix your arm and put it in a cast, and in a few hours we'll be home. And we'll all be arguing over which one of Kirsten's specialties we should be ordering. On second thought, tonight you can decide. Chinese, Mexican, Seafood. Your choice tonight."
"Yeah, okay." Ryan said quietly. He wanted to add, "whatever," but decided against it.
"Ryan," Sandy continued, "I promise, nothing's going to happen."
"Yeah, I'll love it." Ryan sarcastically added. And with that, Sandy finally stopped talking. Ryan waited for a very quiet minute before he opened his eyes and looked at Sandy. It was the first time Ryan noticed how nervous Sandy was as Ryan watched him drum his fingers against his knee and bounce his legs up and down.
"Sorry. Couldn't resist." Ryan said, trying to smile.
"I guess I shouldn't promise when I don't know for sure." Sandy told him, "But it is a pretty safe bet that nothing's going to go wrong."
"Yeah, I guess." Ryan said, turning his head away from Sandy and staring back up at the ceiling.
"It's not the same this time, Ryan." Sandy promised, "It's not that serious. I mean, not that you breaking your arm, or I should say me breaking your arm isn't serious, but its not as serious. It's different this time."
As Ryan continued staring at the ceiling, he finally admitted, "I just remember trying to wake up, wanting to wake up and just not being able to. And then when I finally did wake up, wishing I hadn't. It's just. No one ever told me why I couldn't wake up, and I don't remember enough about it to figure it out. It could have been the anesthesia. I don't know."
"Or it could have been your injuries, which were substantial." Sandy added.
"You know, it's not right that they told you, and no one said anything to me about you knowing." Ryan told him.
"I guess they figured I had the right to know, part of my job." Sandy said.
Ryan looked at him before asking, "What, as my lawyer?"
"No. Parent." Sandy told him, as Roger and Dion came back over to the gurney.
"Your turn, Ryan." Dion said as he and Roger began to push the gurney towards the operating room. "Dad," Dion continued, "You can either say goodbye here or come into the operating room for a minute."
"Coming." was all Sandy could say, since he suddenly had a lump in his throat.
Sandy followed behind as they entered the operating room, and he suddenly began to worry at how cold it was in there, that Ryan would be cold. He wanted to make sure Ryan was covered with a blanket, that he wasn't shivering, but the nurse stopped him before he could move up next to the gurney.
"Sir, you need to wait here for a minute, until they finished moving your son." She told him.
"Ok, Ryan, same game plan as last time." He heard Roger say, "Let Dion and I move you over to the operating table. On the count of three. Ready. One. Two. Three."
Sandy watched as the orderlies quickly slid Ryan over onto the operating table, taking great care of his right arm, and then told him, "Good luck, man. We'll be seeing you." Sandy could only thank them as they left, as now the nurses converged on Ryan, hooking him up to various monitors, covering his lower body with a blanket, and basically preparing Ryan for surgery. And Sandy watched as Ryan closed his eyes and began to breath heavily. It was obvious to Sandy as he approached Ryan that he was still scared, and there was nothing Sandy could do to help him. All he could think to do was grab Ryan's shoulder and give it a light squeeze.
Sandy didn't notice the anesthesiologist or the surgeon walk in until he heard the anesthesiologist say, "Mr. Cohen, you need to say goodbye now. We're just about ready to start."
"Okay." Sandy said as he nodded. It was only then that Ryan opened his eyes and looked at Sandy. "Don't worry, Ryan. I'll see you soon. Okay, kid?"
Ryan could only nod as the anesthesiologist slipped an oxygen mask over Ryan's face and told him, "Okay, this may sting a little as I inject it into your IV, but you will start to relax almost immediately."
Sandy watched as Ryan winced for a split second. "Count backwards from 100, Ryan," he heard the doctor say, and Sandy listened as Ryan said, "100, 99, 98, 9........"
"Mr. Cohen," Dr. Gross said, "You need to leave now. The nurse will show you out. I'll meet you in the waiting room in a few hours."
"I'll see you soon, kid." Sandy whispered as he walked out of the operating room.