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Kali woke with a start. Something was different.
The pain.
She wasn't in pain.
She wasn't in pain? She took several slow breaths, assessed. No, she felt fine. Another breath. This wasn't a reason for joy. Not likely. Science may not back it up, but with the hours she'd logged witnessing patients' ebbs and flows, she knew it was more likely a reason for fear.
***
LINCOLN HEADED OUT first thing in the morning to get a cell phone. Something simple. A phone, not a mini computer. The salesman was practically livid, treating Lincoln like he was some pariah—or a mental patient. Lincoln just smiled. He understood. He'd been that guy. Lived and breathed that guy, intent on following protocol, on making the biggest sale possible—though Lincoln had dealt with transactions in the hundreds of thousands, not hundreds. But he stood his ground through all of the salesman's slick, persistent talk and walked away with a simple phone. No internet. No data. But a carrier who boasted the best signal strength in the province—assured to get reception even at his castle in the air.
He resisted the urge to call Kali immediately and spent the day lying in the sun, walking the harbour, and imagining a life where she'd let him take her in his arms. He hardly let his thoughts travel further than that: to wrap his arms around her, fully clothed, to offer comfort. That'd be enough for now.
When he couldn't wait any longer, at five-thirty on the dot, Lincoln dialled Kali's number. Two. Three. Four. Five rings. Then her voice, an octave or two higher than normal, saying she'd get back to him as soon as she could.
Apparently, that night, she couldn't.
The next day he tried again, at 5:45 this time. Again, she, apparently, was not able to return the call. At nine, his truck loaded up with the shipment he'd picked up earlier that afternoon, he returned to the woods.
He decided to wait, to have some patience, and at six two days later, his muscles aching, the birds praising his efforts, he pulled out the phone once more. He didn't leave a message but stepped into his truck and navigated the access road he was wearing down a little more with each trip.
In the foyer of her building he buzzed. Once. Twice. Three times. Anger rose with each push. He'd let Kali live with him for almost three months. Had been good to her. To her son. And she couldn't even return a call? Have the decency to tell him to get lost if that's what she wanted? And she probably did want it, he got that. But she also told him he could call, told him he could see Theo again. He pressed the buzzer once more.
“You looking for that new gal, the one with the sweet little boy? The quiet one?”
Lincoln turned. “Yes.”
The woman looked like Lincoln's grandmother. An older, more tanned version of his mother, with skin that defied age and tight white curls covering her head. “I'm afraid she's not here. Can only hope she comes back soon.”
Lincoln stared.
The woman seemed harmless, a look of concern covering her face but a twinkle of joy at being the one to know the gossip.
“Why?”
“Mmm.” She shook her head. “An accident.”
Lincoln's chest tightened. Kali, or Theo, or both?
“I was there. It's like she didn't even see the truck. I don't know. Maybe she was taking the boy to the park across the way.” She pointed, and Lincoln followed her gaze. “She looked both ways, too, which is the weird thing. The odd thing. And then she stepped out like she didn't see the truck barrelling toward her. Lincoln's palms moistened. He tried to speak, but no sound escaped.
He swallowed. “Is she? Are they?”
“Oh!” The woman exclaimed, a half-smile behind her alarm. “They'll be fine, I would say. Just fine. The driver saw her, thankfully. A horrible screech. A yell or two. She was shaken up. Very shaken up. The little boy saw the truck, I guess. Anyway, he must have been trying to yank his mother out of the way and took a tumble. Not even a bad one by the look of it. But,” the woman paused, “she's a nurse, did you know that?”
Lincoln nodded.
“Said she thought he fractured his arm.” The woman put her hand on her flower-patterned chest.
Lincoln breathed.
“The odd thing was, she called a cab to take them to the hospital. And she drives. I've seen her.”
Lincoln stepped back. “Maybe she was shaken up?”
The woman nodded. “Maybe. Well, she was. All pale like, well as pale as we get.” She laughed. “But at the same time she had the sense enough to go to her car and get his booster seat. So she couldn't have been that shaken up.” The woman put a hand to her chin; several wiry hairs stuck out of it. “Seems a sweet gal. You're not her man, are you?”
Lincoln shook his head.
“Hmm. Well,” she elbowed him, “maybe if you cleaned yourself up a bit, you could be. Working man?”
“Huh?” Lincoln looked toward the park. The intersection before it was a simple one: no sharp turns, no big trees blocking the view from the crosswalk.
“You a labourer? Just come from a site?”
Lincoln glanced at his dirty arms. “Yeah, uh ... kinda. When did this happen?”
“An hour and a half ago? Maybe two?”
“Thanks.” Lincoln stepped out of the foyer and looked up and down the street. So distracted she didn't see a truck? Something was definitely going on.
He tried her number once more and almost threw the phone when he heard that high octave voice.
He could wait, or he could try to find her.
She'd most likely be at her old ER. And they may push her through, but not likely, which, unless it was a really slow night, meant a fractured arm would be a long wait. So if he left now, she'd almost certainly be sitting in one of those uncomfortable chairs, waiting.
Lincoln tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as light after light turned red seconds before he approached each intersection. Parking his pickup in the city was rarely simple but, as if fate finally cut him a break, a large spot was free as close to the hospital doors as anyone could hope to get. As he walked the short steps to those doors, his pace slowed. What was he doing? And what did he expect?
Kali had been ignoring his calls for almost a week. She didn't want him around. Stalking probably wouldn't change that. He hesitated, painfully aware of the stares. Since his mother's party, his hair didn't scream homeless quite the way it used to, but his clothes were filthy, his arms, his shoes.
A woman in a business suit shook her head as she passed him. An old man out with his I.V. and a cigarette cast him a sly grin. Most avoided looking at him at all.
Lincoln strode through the automatic doors and into the ER.
No Kali.
He surveyed the room, not sure what to do next. She could be driving home now ... in some cab. She could be in the bowels of the building. He pulled out his phone again, shook his head, and slid the device into his pocket.
A familiar face walked by.
“Hey!”
The nurse who'd admitted Lincoln several months ago clenched her clipboard to her chest and tried not to cringe. Her expression relaxed as he came closer. “Oh, you're that guy, aren't you?” She smiled. “The one who saved Theo.”
Lincoln nodded. “Are they here?”
“Yeah.” She looked to her chart. “Just a sec.” She stepped to the side of him, called a patient, disappeared a moment, then was before him again. “Kid's got a fracture. Nothing too serious, but he's waiting to get it set.”
Lincoln looked past her, hoping to see ... he didn't know what. “How long will they be?”
“I'm not sure. An hour. Maybe two. I could probably get you back there, so you could—”
“No.” Lincoln shook his head. “No, that's okay.”
The woman stared at him. “You two close now? Kali told me she was staying with you for a bit. She seemed pretty shaken up. Worse than Theo.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I tried to get her to take a sedative but,” she stepped closer, “maybe it would help. You being there, if—”
“No, I—” Lincoln rubbed a hand along his neck. “Maybe just tell her I was here? Tell her if ... if she needs anything to call, or to call either way, or—”
“Yeah, sure. I'll do that.” The woman looked to the waiting room, at her chart, then back at Lincoln. “You know what's going on with her? She seems off. I mean I know there's been a ton of changes—the new job, the move. But a move's good, right? It's awesome she's out of that dump of an apartment. And the job's great. But still ...” The woman's voice trailed off.
“Yeah, still.” Lincoln rubbed his chin. “What's your name?”
“Shelley.”
“Thanks so much, Shelley, for your help. If you can tell her I was here, ask her to call, that'd be perfect.”
Shelley wrapped her arms around the clipboard again. She nodded and smiled as Lincoln backed away.
Outside, Lincoln ran his hands through his hair. Trickles of sweat broke out at his temple and the back of his neck. She wouldn't call. There was almost no way she would call. And something was wrong, even her co-worker noticed it.
Would Kali talk to him if he were standing here when she came out those doors? Would she turn down a drive when he had his keys in his hand ready to take her?
There were any number of doors she could come out of, but this was the one she'd most likely use to get a cab. Lincoln navigated to a bench at the side of the courtyard. His legs bounced. He rested his hands on his knees in an effort to still them, but a few minutes later they were bouncing again. He stood. Shelley had said an hour, maybe two. He could spend a half an hour walking around the Commons, maybe even pick up something for them to eat, and still be back in time.