Two on a Train- chapter 4
The family settled into Angela's room as best as possible given the size of the room and still being on edge. Mrs. Rossini came back with a literal truck load of food for everyone, which was a good thing because Angela's hospital dinner looked barely edible. The family enjoyed the dinner and even shared some laughs. Soon, it was time for Samantha and Jonathan to head home. Jonathan was reluctant to leave Angela.
"Are you sure you are going to be okay Mom?" he asked with anxiety in his voice.
"Yes sweetheart I am going to be just fine. Go home and rest. I will see you tomorrow or the day after, okay? I hope they release me over the weekend so I can rest up at home" she said.
"Okay Mom. I'll call you when I get home from school tomorrow. I love you Mom" he said as he hugged her goodbye. Samantha also hugged and kissed her goodbye, telling her she loved her too. They all made a conscious effort to remember to tell each other they loved one another before leaving, not that they currently needed the reminder.
"So what can I get you Angela? Now that you ate, I'm hoping we can get your doctor in to give us an update" he said.
"Yes I hope so too. I really want to see Mother. I hope they give me the clearance to see her tonight or at least first thing tomorrow morning. I just need to see her" she said as she held back her tears.
Tony moved closer to her on the bed, taking her hand in his own. Just then, they heard a knocking at the door and Andy popped his head in, carrying a bouquet of red roses.
"Andy? What are you doing here? How did you know what happened?"asked Angela as she and Tony both pulled their hands back and he practically jumped off the bed. He was cursing himself for not asking Angela for his number earlier and for feeling slightly more than jealous at the sight of him holding the flowers. His anger towards himself turned to some satisfaction in knowing Andy had chosen the wrong color roses.
"Oh Angela you are okay! I called the house after I heard about the accident but no one picked up. I finally called the Bower Agency and someone let me know what happened. Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice. Tony backed away from the bed to allow Andy to come closer.
"Angela, I'm so sorry. I didn't have his number and with the surgery and Mona and the kids, I just forgot to get his number from you. I'm really sorry Andy. I'm going to head up and see Mona for a bit okay?" he said as he walked out the door, not waiting for either of them to answer.
Once in the hallway, he leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes. He was overcome with emotion as it finally seemed to catch up with him from the day's events. He tried to figure out what exactly he was feeling, but all his emotions just seemed to be coming at once. He managed to get himself under control and took a few deep breaths. He was feeling relief that Angela was okay- he couldn't picture a life without her in it and when he did, it left him with an empty feeling. He was still so very scared for Mona- his heart sank each time he thought about the seriousness of her situation and panic set in when he thought she might not make it. He felt helpless when he looked into the scared eyes of both Samantha and Jonathan- not knowing how to make their own pain go away. But most of all right at this very moment, he was feeling jealous, when he had no right to, in his eyes, to feel that way. Andy was in Angela's life because of him. Because he chose wrong… no differently those few months ago. If he hadn't been so scared, so insecure, so not worthy of Angela's love and affection, maybe there wouldn't even be an Andy. Or a Kathleen. He had to shake these thoughts from his mind as he headed up to the ICU.
Angela wanted to stop Tony, but she knew he was probably already out of earshot and how would that look to Andy? He already walked in on an awkward moment with Tony so close to her on the bed. Since Tony left, Andy pulled the chair up to the bed and sat down.
"That must have been so horrific Angela! Thank god you are alright!" he said after Angela retold the story of the accident.
"Yes it was but I will be fine. This leg is the biggest hurdle right now. I'm just… so worried about Mother. Tony and the kids were able to see her but I'm still waiting on clearance. I don't know when I'll get up to see her. I don't know what I'll do if something happens to her- I just don't know" she said as she wiped a lone tear that had fallen.
"Hey now! I don't know her that well, but what I do know is she is a spitfire! If anyone can survive this it's going to be her!" said Andy.
"I hope so…" she said as they were interrupted by a knock at the door and Angela's doctor walking into the room.
"Hello Mrs. Bower, how are you feeling? Your husband is pretty persistent and has asked the nurses a few times now for an update. Let him know I apologize as I was held up in another surgery. Is… is he around?" the doctor asked, looking for Tony but confused by Andy's presence.
"Tony is with my mother in the ICU. I'd really like to get to see her soon. Can I go to see her please?" asked Angela, hoping neither the doctor or Andy would push the question of Tony being her husband any further.
"I would really like that leg to remain immobile until at least tomorrow morning. I'll come back and check you out first thing in the morning. Assuming it is healing well and there are no signs of infection, I'll give the orders for a wheelchair to be sent down. Your visit will need to be short, I don't want any setbacks this early in your recovery. Okay I'd like to examine you, if your… friend wouldn't mind leaving for a few minutes" the doctor said as he motioned to Andy.
"I… ummm I will leave you to rest Angela. I'll see about stopping by tomorrow sometime" he said as he went to lean in to kiss her but thought better of it and instead shook her hand awkwardly. Angela waived back as he walked out of the room.
The doctor examined her head and wrist. There were no additional signs of distress or further injury. Her leg appeared to be stable as well, no signs of infection. Her other vitals appeared stable and the doctor was confident in concluding her exam for the evening.
"Take it easy Mrs. Bower and don't be afraid to ask for pain medication as you need it, especially overnight. The nurses will be in shortly to redress the wound and bring your medications. I will see you tomorrow" said the doctor as he walked out of the room.
Angela took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt like bursting out into tears but she'd spent so much time crying today she didn't know if she even had tears left to cry. She felt like she'd been on a never ending rollercoaster and the end is nowhere in sight. She felt horrible she didn't even think to call Andy. How could she not have thought to call him? Her first thought was of course calling Tony- not only is he her emergency contact, that was the first name and number she gave the staff when she woke up, not even hesitating when the staff asked who they should call. She looked over at the flowers he brought and smiled. It would have been nice if they were pink roses instead of red ones, but it was the thought that counted right? Tony wouldn't have brought her red roses, only pink ones, like he does for 'the house', she thought with a chuckle. She couldn't help but think back to the conversation she had with her mother this morning, before the accident. She was right, she was always right about everything, but definitely when it comes to Tony. She started to tear up again as she wondered if she would get the chance to tell her, when the phone rang.
"Hello?" she said. "Oh Tony! How is Mother doing? Okay good… yes the doctor came in and said I have to wait until tomorrow… no… he ummm went home… yes please Tony thank you" she said as there was a pause on the line.
"Mother! It's Angela. I wish I could be there with you right now but I'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'm here though, just waiting for you to wake up and find something to make fun of me over. I think I would even join you right now! The kids have been so supportive today even though I know they are worried. Tony has been my rock as per usual- I couldn't be doing any of this without him. You were right about him you know… okay, I'll let you rest now. I love you Mother… Tony?" she called as she waited for him to get back on the line.
"Thank you Tony. I'll see you in a little while… no I'm good thank you" she said as she hung up the phone. The tears she had been holding back for the past few hours finally couldn't be contained as she put her head in her hand and cried.
Tony left Mona's room for the night. He made sure to triple check the staff had Angela's room information in case they needed to reach them. So far she was holding strong, no real improvements but no setbacks either. If he couldn't sleep tonight after Angela settled in, he'd come back and check on her he thought to himself.
He walked to the hospital gift shop. He got there just before it was about to close. He grabbed a few things for himself- a toothbrush, toothpaste and comb, just to get him through the night. He picked up some magazines, some candy bars and crossword puzzles for them to do to kill some time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a little brown teddy bear with a heart saying get well soon. The bear was holding a small pink rose. He picked it up and added it to his pile before paying and heading back to Angela's room.
He knocked on the door and waited before he heard her say come in. He knew Andy had left but he wasn't sure if he'd come back and thought it better to put some of the walls they had built between them back up. He hated to admit how painful it was going back to the way things were between them, but he knew while they were still dating other people, it was a necessary evil.
"Hi Angela. I brought you back some snacks and things to do if you feel up to it. Here you go…" he said as he handed her the bag. Her smile widened as she pulled out all her favorites. She got to the last purchase and pulled out the small teddy bear.
"Oh Tony, it's so cute! Thank you! A pink rose, my favorite…" she said as she gently touched the rose.
"I know…" he said as sat down on the chair next to her bed. He pulled the chair as close to her as it would allow, momentarily forgetting the walls he was trying to build back up. He leaned over and took hold of her hand, placing a kiss on her hand. She squeezed back and held his gaze for what was only a few moments, but felt much longer. Tony got up off of his chair and sat as close to her on the bed as possible. It was like the electricity between them reignited, like a magnetic force was pulling them together. They were mere inches from kissing, when they were interrupted by Angela's phone ringing. It was like cold water being thrown on them- they both jumped and pulled back immediately. Tony answered the phone as he was closest to it.
"Hello… this is he… what, what happened… okay I'll be right there…" he said as he hung up the phone, panic and alarm very evident in his voice.
"It's Mona. Her… her heart stopped beating and they are working on getting her back. They are doing everything they can for her right now. They asked me to come up. I've gotta go Angela. I'll make sure I update you as soon as I know more" he said as he gave her a quick hug and ran out the door.
Angela couldn't process anything at the moment, the serious of the situation yet to fully be comprehended. She looked down at the teddy bear still lying next to her on the bed. She picked it up and gave it a hug. It was then that the seriousness of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. She let out a gut wrenching cry, silently sending up a prayer that she could only hope would be answered.