Andrew Brown was at the Denver hospital almost before the ambulances. Delia, armed with a pillow and a paperback, straggled into the waiting room behind him. Amy was already there, chewing on her nails and casting anxious glances at the hospital employees roaming about her. Bright stood by in a corner, staring silently out the window.
"Dr. Brown!" Amy ran across the room to him. She hugged him tightly. "Thank the Lord you're here—maybe they'll tell you something."
"Amy, what happened?" The parental concern in Andy's voice could not be hidden. "What happened today?" Andy released Amy and set her an arm's length away so he could watch her. Delia came up from behind Andy, peering around his body to stare at Amy.
"I… I don't know, Dr. Brown. We were ice skating one moment, just hanging out. Next thing I know, we're pulling Colin and Ephram out of the water. It was so crazy and fast, I…" Amy let the sentence hang. "I just don't know."
"That's okay, Amy. Let me find a doctor, while you and Delia sit here. Can you do that?" Andy smiled gently, although his heart began to pound. It had been a bitterly cold day, and the water would have been deathly cold. The hospital call had revealed nothing to him, even though he told them he was a doctor. He was anxious to check on Ephram; a feeling in his gut told him something was horribly wrong.
"I'll take care of her, Dad," Delia smiled charmingly, showing off a missing tooth. Andy smiled distractedly before kissing the top of her head, then he turned and stalked towards the nurses' station.
Bright watched Delia and Amy sit down, talking idly about a television show they both watched. He shook his head – he knew Amy remembered more than she told Dr. Brown… and it bothered him. Not that he himself was a close friend of Ephram's; he just knew from experience lying to people could cut you up inside. He had learned that the hard way with the Harts.
Suddenly, a great uproar rose from down the hallway. With a sinking feeling in his gut, Bright tore himself from his window and walked around, trying to see the cause of the commotion. Amy and Delia followed, their own hearts beating wildly. What Amy saw, she would never forget.
Dr. Brown was down on his knees, shaking angry fists at the ceiling. Tears were reluctantly sliding down his face, trailing off into his beard. His chin was quivering fiercely, making his breathing appear even more halting. Many of his hot, angry words were intelligible, but Amy's heart sank when she heard him cry, "Oh, God, no! He was so young… too young!"
"Daddy?" Delia asked hesitantly, her young eyes wide in wonder. She'd never seen her father act like this, not even when her mother had been killed. "Daddy?"
"Is it Colin?" Amy asked quickly, hating herself for saying it, but having to none the less.
Andrew Brown's eyes roved around the room until he found Amy, and they were suddenly full of anger and hardness. His eyelids flickered uncertainly a few times before he shook his head.
"Ephram?" Delia asked, suddenly aware something terrible had happened to her older brother. "Daddy's what's wrong with Ephram?"
By this time, various medical personnel had helped Andrew to his feet. He was beginning to calm down, but a burning, bitter sensation was rapidly filling his mind. He opened his mouth, ready to deny what they had told him, but he found he could not. Looking into Delia's round, wide eyes, he felt himself break.
"Ephram's dead."