Chapter 47

"Jen!" exclaimed Karen. "Hi, how are you?" she asked, surprised to see her.

Jen smiled, leaning over to give Ryan's mother a hug as she sat in the chair. "Fine," she told her.

"Wish I could say the same, but... " Karen told her with a sad smile.

"He'll be okay," Jen said positively.

"We're praying," Karen told her. "Where's Robby?" she asked Ryan.

"He's at home. He'll be okay," he answered. "Where's Dad?"

"He's getting coffee for us."

"Oh." Ryan sat down in the chair in the waiting room. Jen sat next to him, tired, but deep down feeling a rush of adrenaline that she was with him again. She looked around the room, hating the sight of the shiny linoleum floors and the feel of the chair beneath her.

"Ryan, I wished you would have stayed with Robby," his mother told him. "I don't like the thought of him home alone right now."

"Well, I wanted to be here. He'll be okay by himself."

She didn't answer, instead looking over as her husband came back with the Styrofoam cups of hot coffee. JR seemed very surprised to see Jen.

"Well hullo there Jen," he said, sitting down. "How are you?"

She smiled, shrugging.

"Yeah, me too," he told her, pouring sugar into his cup.

"You want something to eat?" Ryan asked her, getting up. "I'm kinda hungry."

It seemed a millennium ago that she had eaten that cereal. "Yeah, kinda."

"Where's the food?" he asked his dad.

His dad told him.

"You stay here?" Ryan asked her, looking at the tired figure in the chair. She nodded, and he smiled at her as he walked away.

She looked over at his parents across from her. "So, how is he?" she asked them.

"Well," said JR. "He's still unconscious which isn't really a good sign. He's also hemorrhaging--bleeding--in his brain, and he's got some extra fluid in there which they had to drain. He's got a nasty bump on the head you could say... " he told her wryly.

"He's very strong," she told him. "He can pick me up anyways," she smiled. "But he'll be okay. I'm sure of it."

He nodded, taking a sip of his coffee. "So, long time no see huh Jen?"

She smiled shyly.

JR smiled at her back. "That's aright. We really appreciate you being here," he told her.

"We do," agreed his wife. "You know you're like family."

"Thanks," she said.

"Ryan took Robby home," Karen told her husband. "I think he'll be okay by himself for awhile."

JR nodded. "Ryan didn't want to stay at home," he said, thinking out loud.

"No. That's okay." She added to Jen, "Ryan feels guilty you know."

"Why?" Jen asked.

"Oh, he thinks he should have picked him up at baseball practice." She shook her head. "He's never picked him up at baseball practice," she said, rolling her eyes as if to say, "That's Ryan for you."

"Well, it's not his fault."

"Yeah, you know the driver was here for awhile too. He brought him some flowers; we put them in his room. He feels really bad too. It wasn't his fault," she told her.

"Oh really?" Jen had been wondering about that.

"Yeah, looks like it was Will's fault," she sighed. "Anyway, he came by with his wife. Very nice man."

Jen nodded, thinking. She stared down at the pattern on the floor, her vision blurring as her eyes filled with tears.