Chapter 2
When it appeared he wasn’t going to continue, I asked, “Is there anything I can do?”
“She said you were a sweetheart,” Zack murmured, almost to himself. “She talks about you a lot. You’re a really good friend. I was worried at first, you know. Because the internet can be a scary place. But you two, you were just meant to be friends.”
He was babbling, and I heard the tension and stress in his tone. This was not the confident and self-assured man I had heard so much about and whom I had “met” once and talked to while I was Skyping with Josie. He was a mess of fear and worry. And there was a yearning in me to fix that if I could. I said his name as gently as possible, and when he made an affirmative noise, I asked carefully, “Do you want me to come there? I can be on a plane in a few hours.”
The words were out of my mouth before I gave them much thought, and it was only after I said them that I realized how much I felt the need to be there. Being there would be so much better than waiting for news on the other side of the country. My browser was still open, and with a few clicks and some info, I saw the best I could do was a fight at nine fifteen that morning, with a layover at O’Hare. There were no direct flights from LAX to Greater Rochester International Airport.
Zack remained quiet while I searched. I didn’t push. It was an admittedly weird request, and I gave him the time to think it over. Even though I very much wanted to be at Josie’s side, and to provide support for Zack, if he told me not to come, I would respect that. I’d hate it, but I wouldn’t push the issue.
Finally I heard his breath whoosh out. “Josie would like that.”
Relief flooded in. Thank God. “Thank you,” I said softly. “I’ll be there sometime this evening.”
“Okay, Ben.” Zack’s voice sounded hollow. “You’re really important to her.”
“She’s important to me, too,” I responded honestly.
“I know.”
* * * *
I landed in Rochester, New York, at almost seven o’clock that night. Since I didn’t check a bag, I ducked into the bathroom before heading for the car rental counter. My eyes were more red than brown at the moment, bloodshot from my sleep deprivation, and my dark hair was a mess. I tried to tame it with a little water and my fingers, wishing I had a comb in my carry-on. My hair didn’t look any better than when I started, and I noticed more gray than usual peeking through at the front. Giving it up as a lost cause, I washed my hands and left the bathroom.
I was tired and worried, and there had been no more news from Zack the entire day. The line was long at the rental counter, but since I’d reserved the car prior to arriving, when I finally got to the front, the process went quickly.
I found my sedan, tossed my bag in the backseat, and plugged my destination into the maps app on my phone. When I saw it was a less than a ten-minute drive from the airport to the hospital, I nearly cried in relief. It took me fifteen minutes to navigate out of the parking garage and get on the road, and nearly as long to find parking once I got to the hospital, but finally I was striding off the elevator on the ICU floor. Heart pounding in my chest, running on worry and fear, I spotted the nurse’s station and headed in that direction.
But as I passed the family waiting room, I saw a man slumped in a chair, his head back and his eyes closed. Even if I had never seen Zack that one time, there would be no doubt this was Josie’s brother. He had the same light brown hair, the same long nose and dimpled chin. I could see the stress and worry etched on his features. I stopped in the doorway and took a second to smooth my wrinkled shirt. I cleared my throat, trying not to startle him, but his eyes flew open and he jerked upright.
“Zack?”
“You look older than I remember,” he blurted, then a blush stained his cheeks. I gave him a little smile. He was under a lot of worry and stress, and I couldn’t fault him for his statement.
“I’m only forty-six,” I responded softly, trying to inject some humor. “How are you doing? How is Josie?”
“She’s still not awake, but her vitals are really good and she’s breathing on her own and everything. They’ve taken her down for another MRI. The doctor is hopeful.”
I noticed he didn’t answer my question about his well-being, but I let it slide and walked further into the room. When I motioned to the chair beside him, he nodded and I sat. I really just wanted to give him a big hug and take some of his burden. But we didn’t really know each other, and I thought that would be too forward.