Since Ambie had left a note saying she was with Rosemary Sharpe, and Roxie and I had left a note on our kitchen table saying we were with Ambie, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to take Roxie to the hospital to visit Mr. Stoyko, seeing as we were so close by. It was actually Evan’s idea, and since he was driving, we all agreed.
After getting directions from the hospital’s front desk, we took the elevator up to the cardio floor on the fifteenth. We found the waiting room, which was decorated in blue and green, with a television tuned to the all-news channel in the centre of the room. Drops of cold rain had begun pattering on the windows.
“We’ll wait here,” I said to Roxie. She’d taken off her toque, and her pink and red hair stood in spikes all over her head. With her dark eye make-up and pale face, she looked young and unsure.
“Won’t you come with me, Jennifer?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t you rather go alone?”
She shook her head.
“Okay, let’s go see him then,” I said. It surprised me how tough and brave Roxie could be most of the time, but not always. I’d learned that she got hesitant and quiet when something meant a lot to her.
We walked past the nurses’ station and counted the door numbers until we found room 1507B. The door was closed. Roxie raised her hand as if to knock, then let it drop to her side.
“We could just look in and see if he’s awake,” I said.
Roxie nodded and took a deep breath. She raised her hand again and pushed open the door. We entered and tiptoed around the corner. Mr. Stoyko was propped up in bed, holding a folded newspaper and looking at the rain running in streaks down the window. His snow white hair was combed back, and he wore blue striped pajamas. His face was lined and tired. When he saw Roxie, his eyes brightened, and he smiled. “Roxie, at last you come to see me,” he said with his Polish accent. “You are here to break me out, no?” He chuckled, and the tension seemed to leave Roxie’s face. Still, she didn’t say anything.
“How are you, Mr. Stoyko?” I asked to fill the silence.
“Good. Good. Nice to see you, Jennifer.” His soft grey eyes settled on Roxie again. He raised his hand. “Ah, my dear child, come let me look at you.”
Roxie leapt onto the chair beside his bed and perched on its edge, leaning close to him.
“I’ve missed you, little one,” I heard Mr. Stoyko say as I turned to leave. “You been keeping out of trouble for me?”
“Trying,” Roxie said, and Mr. Stoyko’s chuckle followed me out of the room.
As I headed back towards the lounge and Ambie and Evan, I felt like crying. I don’t know if it was from happiness for Roxie or sadness for Ambie, or maybe it was just relief that nothing bad had happened to anyone. It’s funny how you can feel all different emotions at the same time. It’s like you’re so filled up with feelings that it’s all you can do to keep from bursting.
Evan looked up at me as I entered the lounge. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“I think so. How you doing, Amb?” I went to sit next to her in the long row of blue seats.
“Better. I guess it’s not good to want something too much. I’m sorry I kept it a secret from you, Jennifer. Stupid, I know.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Ambie stood up. “I’ll never see my money. I feel like such a fool.”
“How much?” I asked, thinking it best she got it out in the open.
“It was my university savings.” Ambie’s bottom lip trembled. “Almost eight thousand dollars. All my savings and money my parents had given me from the time I was little.”
“Oh, Ambie.”
“I have no idea how I’m going to tell my parents. They’re going to be really, really disappointed.”
There didn’t seem any way around what she’d just said, but I hoped she would finally talk to her mother about her real dad. It was something they probably should have done a long time ago.
We arrived home early in the evening. Evan dropped Ambie off first, then Roxie and me. Dad had left a phone message that he was at work, so we didn’t have to explain our absence. Roxie was in a good mood, and we shared some leftover casserole before we headed for our rooms. I checked my e-mail, and there was nothing of interest. Every time I opened my incoming messages, I felt a shiver of hope that Pete had sent me a message, but I had stopped expecting any. I shut down the mail program and stood to take a nightgown out of my drawer. It was then I heard knocking. It sounded like it was coming from downstairs. I walked to the head of the stairs and looked down. I could hear music coming from Roxie’s room and rain falling on the roof, but the knocking noise had stopped. I turned to go back to my room when I heard a sharp rap at the front door. Who would be visiting this time of night? I hurried down the stairs and turned on the porch light, moving the curtain to look outside. Whoever was standing there had their back to me, but my heart gave a leap. I flung open the door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, reaching out to pull Pete inside out of the driving rain.
“I’ve come to see you. You didn’t answer my e-mail, so I tried calling a few times, but you never called back. I thought something must be wrong.” Pete drew me closer into a hug. “How are you, Bannon?”
I’d never gotten any messages that he’d called. Then I remembered that I hadn’t been checking the message pad by the phone. Dad normally told me when I had a phone call, so it was likely Roxie who’d taken the messages.
“Good now,” I said. I stood back and looked him over carefully. His black hair had grown longer, and he looked like he’d put on a bit of weight. It suited him. His dark eyes were looking me over too. We smiled at each other. “Did you really come all this way to see me?”
“I worked late nights to get my assignments done so I could have this weekend. Whoever said first year university was party time couldn’t have been in pre-med at McGill.”
“I’ve been working harder too,” I said as we walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. “No more marks in the fifties for me.”
“I knew you could do it.” Pete reached over and held my hand. “So, why haven’t you been in touch?”
I was suddenly shy. I didn’t want to say that I thought he’d found somebody new. “Oh, you know. There’s been a lot going on.”
“I guess neither of us is the best at corresponding, but I’m going to be better. It’s just I’ve been working such long hours—I didn’t tell you, I’m got a part time job in the university pub.”
“No, you didn’t tell me.”
“Mom’s had to quit work because she’s developed arthritis in her hands. It means there isn’t much money.”
“I’m sorry, Pete. Is she feeling okay?”
“Not bad. She’s starting to find other things to do with her time. She’d planned to retire in a few years anyway. Any word from Leslie?”
“She phoned a few nights ago. She’ll be home for Christmas.”
“I’ll see her then. I’ll be home right after exams for almost two weeks.”
For the first time in a long time, I felt happiness welling up inside me. Pete hadn’t gone away and forgotten me. He was just like I remembered him. There was a chance this part of my life might have a happy ending after all.