Amy was downing her second donut when Karma walked back in the waiting room. Amy took a deep breath, and held it, she didn't know what to say. Lauren did, "Karma, how is he? Sit down." Lauren gestured at the empty seat on the vinyl couch next to Amy. Lauren sat down across from them, on the other side of the mountain of food.
"Um, Felix brought food, do you want a sandwich? There's a latte here too, and..." Amy trailed off and took a sip of her own coffee, to cease the babbling. Amy looked to Lauren, She took Lauren's expression it to mean, I got her food and clothing, Karma's emotions are your department. So Amy shifted in her seat to get a little bit closer, and took Karma's hand, she felt her relax. Amy resisted the urge to kiss Karma's forehead as they snuggled in. Boundaries had to be kept. Lauren let the silence continue, as much as the awkwardness was killing her. Karma finally mumbled, "Mom said she'd be here in a few." Lauren stood up, "It's been a while, I'll go find her," she was thankful for something to do.
Feeling a little abandoned, Amy tried the food route again, "You sure you don't want your latte? It's getting cold." Karma sat up straight and took a sip of the now luke-warm latte. Amy handed her a donut too. Her appetite discovered, Karma picked up a sandwich and handed the bag of fries to Amy. They ate in silence until there was only a handful of fries left. Full of fast food courage, Amy said, "did they let you see your dad?"
"Yeah, he's really tired," Karma answered, please keep talking, Amy thought. "They did some tests, and are going to keep him here for now," Karma continued. "I had to get out of there, my mom is freaking out and freaking me out. The nurse had to beg her to get out of Dad's room."
Amy said weakly, "Your mom's always been a worrier, you know, she'll chill out soon," Amy always figured the reason Karma was such a planner was because Molly and Lucas didn't plan, ever. "Oh hey, if you need to stay over, Liam and Shane brought you guys toothbrushes and a change of clothes, it's right here, if you need it." She kicked one of the duffle bags under the table.
"Shane and Liam were here?" Amy nodded. Karma was lucky to have such good friends, for sure. She needed to make sure she thanked them for sticking with her through this. It was good to have backup.
"That's okay?" Amy's insecurities started bubbling up. I shouldn't let Lauren take over like this, she thought.
"Of course," Karma saw the worry on Amy's face, her questions must've sounded kind of accusatory. "Of course, thanks for letting them know. And thanks for getting all this together, I'm so lucky to have friends like you guys." Karma's thoughts drifted back to her dad laying in the hospital room, he looked so sick, it was scary. But having Amy here, and knowing her friends had her back, made her feel a little less worried.
Lauren's voice brought Karma out of her thoughts, "How long do you need to keep him for observation? Is he going to stay in this room or be moved someplace else? What about his family? Can they stay with him?" Lauren and Molly were walking into the waiting room with a very annoyed looking nurse. Karma got up and hugged her mom, who sobbed into her shoulder as they embraced. Amy cautiously walked over to join them, trying to catch up with Lauren and the nurse's conversation. She took in as much of the information as she could. The heart attack was mild; he didn't need surgery right away. Specialists would see him tomorrow. He was asleep now; the nurse suggested they head home. It was going to be okay, for now, it seemed. Lauren looked confident and that reassured Amy.
Lauren turned to the nurse, "you're sure even his wife can't stay with him? It seems he'll be able to recover better with his wife by his side." Lauren wasn't going to let this go, she needed an excuse to separate her from Karma. The best situation for Karma right now was to be with her friends, not her mother.
Molly started to calm down and let go of Karma. Amy and Karma each took one of her elbows and led her to a chair. Lauren knelt in front of Molly and placed her hands on the woman's knees. She made sure they had eye contact, and said, "Molly, the nurse is going to allow you to stay in the room with Lucas tonight, if you can keep yourself composed. You need to be a supportive presence for him. Can you do that for him?"
Karma squeezed her mother's hand, and waited for her to respond. Seriously, Lauren is a freakin' hero. Where did she learn all this? Molly looked over at her, and Karma smiled as reassuring a smile as possible. Molly sat up straight and looked at the nurse, "yes, I can do that. I want to stay here." Where did all that confidence come from, Karma wondered. She lightly side-hugged her mom then got up and picked up one of the duffels the boys had brought, checked it had her mom and dad's stuff, and handed it to Molly. "Amy and Lauren got some overnight bags together for us. There's clothes and toothbrushes for both you and dad there." Lauren gave contact information to the nurse, and Amy had gone to clean up the food containers.
"I'll take mom back to the room, then meet you guys back here," she said to Lauren, and she guided Molly down the hallway.