Part XIII
Chet figured that Brice and Mackie should be close to finished, so he headed back downstairs as Dr. Early continued on his rounds. The nurse suddenly remembered something she needed from downstairs and shared the elevator down with Chet.
Johnny stood and stretched, taking a look out of the window. When the phone rang a minute later, Johnny practically dove at it to keep it from ringing a second time. He held his breath as both Roy and Kim stirred slightly, but they settled back down almost immediately.
Letting out the breath back out slowly, Johnny took the phone as far away from Roy's bed as the cord allowed before speaking.
"Hello?"
"Johnny? Thank goodness. You're the one I was hoping to catch."
"Joanne? Man, I was trying to call you earlier, but the line was busy. Listen, Chris and Kim are here with me and Roy. They're fine."
He could hear her taking a deep steadying breath over the phone.
"Thank God. I was hoping that if they weren't there that you might at least have an idea of where else to start looking. Johnny? Something has come up that I need to take care of immediately. Are the kids alright there or should I take them to my sister's?"
"Shouldn't be a problem. Dr. Early knows they're here with their dad."
"Good. Johnny? Were you in the room when Dixie spoke to my mother?"
Johnny squirmed a bit, but answered.
"Well, yeah, but I was busy with Roy holding the basin for him and I didn't really hear what she was saying to hear over that."
Joanne had been a paramedic's wife long enough to know that 'holding the basin' for someone meant that person was throwing up.
"Why was Roy throwing up?"
"It was just a side effect - nothing to worry about. When you mix a concussion with a loud noise, that just happens sometimes."
Loud noise. Yelling. She remembered what Dixie said about that.
"Johnny? I hate to ask, but I need to know. Did you happen to hear what Roy and my mother were talking about?"
"Uhm - not really. I mean, Roy didn't say anything after he said his name when I passed him the phone. After that, well, I could hear your mother, but I couldn't tell what she was saying. And then Dixie took the phone and I had to grab the basin and that was about all there was to it."
"I see. Thanks, Johnny. I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"Right. See you then."
As he hung the phone back up, Johnny was frowning thoughtfully, wondering what Joanne had to do that was so urgent.
Joanne gave Cathy a quick call to let her know about the kids, then headed to her mother's house. During the drive, she ran over in her head what she wanted to say.
Her mother seemed surprised that the kids weren't with her, but Joanne shrugged that off.
"Mom, I need to talk with you. It won't take long. I have to go pick up the children."
"Of course. Come on in, dear."
Going in, Joanne took a seat and turned down the offer of coffee, but accepted a glass of water.
"Mom - please just sit down and listen. I've been running a lot of things through my head but most of them don't need to be said. You're my mother. I will always love you and it isn't my place to tell you what to do or who to like or even how to act. However from now on, if you start saying or doing anything that might affect your relationship with my children, we will simply leave. I won't argue or discuss it."
Straightening her back and lifting her chin, her mother looked extremely indignant.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you might be implying."
Joanne finished the water and rose to put the glass in the sink.
"You're a very intelligent woman, Mom. I'm sure that you'll figure it out."
As she left her mother sputtering slightly behind her, Joanne reflected that Roy probably would have approved of her handling of that. She hadn't rasied her voice once. Still, she knew the real test was yet to come. The real test would be the first occasion that her mother made her follow through with her promise.
Driving to the hospital was very different compared to the drive to her mother's. Instead of getting calmer and surer of what to say, she was getting more anxious and less certain of what to say or how to say it. She couldn't even be sure at this point that Roy would even care to hear anything that she had to say. She needed to apologize. She couldn't blame her mother – she hadn't had to listen, after all. And her sister had been blunt, but right. Joanne faced the fact that she had a heaping helping of crow to eat ahead of her.