Austin Hospital - waiting area - Tuesday, January 16, 2007, 6:04 am
Mother pauses for a second at the sound of a door. She continues her pacing, however, when finding it was another patient. Father and brother are sitting, still worrying, but sitting. Finally, the doctor comes out of the emergency room, shoulders dropped, eyes sad, and a very tired looking face.
"Is she okay?! Is my Jasmine okay?!" Mom asks. She's so nervous, she's almost strangling the doctor. "WELL?!!" This time she's yelling. "IS SHE?!!"
The doctor looks right into my mom's eyes and she knows the answer. As she flops into the seat next to my father, Dr. Mendez says, "The bullet went right into the middle of her main artery. It was just big enough to block almost all blood flow. I'm sorry. It was too dangerous to try to remove it." My mom now breaks into tears. It's the most she's cried in her life. "She still has an hour or two to live. You should spend it with her. It would be best for her to die looking at all of your faces. If she has a request, I suggest filling it to the best of your ability." My family gets up and walks with my hospital bed as it's wheeled out of the E.R.
"Hi, Mommy. Hi, Daddy. Hi, Francis." I say with a smile. Dr. Mendez hasn't told me yet, but I already know. It'll probably be better for me to pretend that I have no clue to what's going on. "Please stop crying, Mom. I'm sure it isn't as bad as it always is in the movies." We spend the next 45 minutes together. The nurses let us get a video game system in the room and we play until we beat the game.
It's almost time, I think. "Can I call somebody and go on my email? I want to tell my friends before it's time." Everybody in the room has a confused and shocked look on their faces. "Yes, I know I'm gonna leave soon. I didn't want to ruin the fun we were having. Well?"
"Um, yeah. I guess. We brought the laptop, just in case. It's a good thing we did." My dad says, happy his idea was good.
"Thanks. When I go on the phone, may I be alone in the room, please?" Everyone nods. "Thank you." When everybody is out, I open my cell and dial Ivy.
"Hey, what's up?" she says when she answers.
"Hey, Sasuke. Can you get everybody on a conference? I need to tell you guys something."
"Uh... okay. Whatever."
"Thanks." I open the laptop and take a deep breath.
