A woman and her daughter dozed on one sofa, a family huddled on another.
Molly leaned into the group. ‘The official status still is critical condition,’ she said, because anyone calling the hospital would hear that. ‘We’re waiting for follow-up tests.’
‘Was she hit by a car?’
‘No. It’s an internal thing.’
‘Internal, like organs?’
Molly gave a quick nod.
‘Will she be okay?’
‘We hope so.’
There was a moment’s silence, then a quiet barrage.
‘Is there anything we can do?’
‘Can we make calls?’
‘Does she need anything?’
‘Positive thoughts,’ Molly said and was momentarily startled when one of the women she didn’t know gave her a hug. She was even more surprised to miss the warmth when the woman pulled back. Unable to speak, she waved her thanks and, cell phone in hand, made for the door.
Waiting just outside in the hall, standing half a head taller than Molly, was the Good Samaritan. His tie was loose, collar unbuttoned. He was visibly relieved when she stopped. With the earlier scene rushing back, how could she not? Her first thought was to apologize for her mother’s abominable behavior, but he spoke first.
‘How is she?’
Molly scrunched up her nose and shook her head.
He made a defeated sound. ‘I knew it was bad. She was clammy and cold. It was terrifying. As soon as the paramedics took over, I left.’ He seemed tormented. ‘I just freaked out. Her name was right there on her shoe tag, and after I read it, I recognized her face. She’s every runner’s idol, and there I was, trying to get her to breathe. It didn’t help, did it.’
Molly hesitated, then shook her head.
‘Brain dead?’ he whispered.
She lifted a shoulder–couldn’t quite deny it to this man, who clearly connected the dots.
He seemed to deflate. ‘I keep thinking that if I’d been doing a faster pace, I’d’ve gotten there sooner.’
Molly hugged herself. ‘If you’d been on a different road, you’d never have found her at all.’
‘I should have stayed, maybe gone in the ambulance; but she didn’t know me, so it wasn’t like I was a friend going with a friend.’
‘I’m her sister,’ Molly blurted out, ‘and I was supposed to have been tracking that run, only I had other things to do. Know how guilty I feel?’
He didn’t blink. ‘Yes. I do. The minute the ambulance crew took over, I turned around and ran home so I could shower and go back to school and try to convince parents that I’m a good, caring person who’s well qualified to teach their kids. As if I could really focus on work.’
Oh boy, did Molly agree. Sitting in her office had been a joke. She couldn’t work while her sister was on life support.
Nick was working, though, and she did need to reach him. Gesturing toward Robin’s room, she said, ‘I have to make a call.’ She set off, stopped, turned back. She was really glad he returned. ‘Thank you.’
‘I didn’t do enough.’
‘She wasn’t breathing. You did what you could. She’s alive now because of you.’ When he still looked haunted, she smiled. ‘Forget what my mom said. She needs to blame someone for this. One day, she’ll thank you herself.’
She continued on this time, past Robin’s room to a spot by a window where her cell phone had four bars. ‘It’s me,’ she said when Nick picked up.
There were several seconds of newsroom buzz, then a passionate, ‘Geez, Molly, I’ve been trying you all day. Why’d you take so long returning my call?’
‘It’s been a little hectic, Nick.’
‘How is she?’
‘She’s holding on.’
‘What does that mean? Is she awake? Talking? Moving around? Is she breathing on her own? Has she been stabilized?’
Molly could feel those prodding blue eyes. She wasn’t sure she liked being on this side of the notepad. ‘They’ll run more tests later.’
‘Was it a heart attack?’
‘They’re trying to figure out exactly what’s going on.’
‘But the initial problem–definitely the heart? Has she had heart trouble before? Is it a structural problem, like a valve or a hole? Can they fix it?’
Molly was growing uneasy. ‘Is this for an article?’
‘Molly,’ he protested, sounding hurt. ‘It’s for me. I used to date Robin. Plus, her sister is my friend.’
Molly was duly chastised. ‘I’m sorry. You just sound so reporter-like.’ And there was the issue of Andrea Welker and a bad drug test, something Robin had told him in confidence that had shown up in the paper. Nick swore he had gotten the information from a separate source, but neither Robin nor Kathryn fully bought that. Don’t believe what he says, Robin had told Molly once too often, and lest she forget, Kathryn repeated the warning often. But Molly liked Nick. He was interesting, and he was going places. That he liked Molly enough to want to be her friend even after her sister had shafted him was flattering.
‘No, I’m sorry,’ he said now, conciliatory. ‘If you’d called me last night, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. When you didn’t return my call this morning, I started calling other people. It’s an occupational hazard.’
‘That’s what frightens me. Nick, I need your help. Can you keep this out of the paper?’
There was a short pause, then a surprised, ‘How can I do that? It’s news.’
‘You have clout there. You can get them to hold off. The more people hear, the more they call us, and we just can’t talk until we know more.’
‘What do you know now?’
Molly had been hoping for a promise. Disappointed, she didn’t reply.
‘Are we friends?’ he asked quietly. ‘Friends trust one another.’
Friends also call more than one measly time before calling other people, Molly thought. Of course, she was hypersensitive.
But she wasn’t stupid. ‘The point is my family needs privacy,’ she explained. ‘And honestly, there isn’t much to tell. Robin did have a heart event, but all her vital signs are good.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie.
‘Is a heart "event" the same as a
