Habitude, page 21
“Jonathan,” She starts, “I don’t know what size vehicle I want.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, do I get something larger because we plan on having a family in the next few years or do I get something size appropriate for what I need now and then get something bigger when we need it?”
“I typically get new cars every three to four years. I’d like to do the same for you.”
“OK. That helps narrow it down then.” She scrolls through a few more options, clicking on one and then backing out of it.
“You seem a little more on board with the idea now.”
“A little. I’m sorry if I seemed kind of rude about it earlier.”
“You didn’t. I think you seemed more concerned than anything. I can appreciate that.”
“I’m glad you do.”
“Have you found anything you really like?”
“I haven’t narrowed it down to one specific vehicle. I do know that I don’t want anything smaller than I have now. So I’ve mostly been looking at crossovers and SUVs.”
“Make sure it has everything you want. If you find a model you love and it doesn’t have all the features you’re looking for we can always order one.”
“You like doing that don’t you?” She gently nudges him with her elbow.
“What’s that? Order things?”
“Yes. Custom order, special order. You name it, as long as it’s better than what most people get.” She smiles.
“Well, I have the money to pay for what I want and I don’t want to settle. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
“It isn’t. I’m just giving you shit.” She smiles at his seriousness.
“You deserve to have all that you want too, Faith. I intend on giving that to you.”
“You’ve already given me so much.”
“It will never be enough.” He kisses the top of her head.
“I highly disagree.”
“That is your prerogative.”
Faith smiles at him, knowing he’s right.
On the way over to Faith’s parents’ house they take a slight detour to drive through the parking lot of the car dealership. It’s the largest one around that sells luxury vehicles without having to go into Caulfield. Faith sees a couple vehicles she is sure she wants to test drive tomorrow. She likes the white Audi SQ8 Prestige and the red Range Rover Evoque.
“What are we going to do with my car?” She wonders aloud.
“What do you want to do with your car? I see it the same way as I did your house. Whatever you decide to do with it, the money from that is yours.”
Faith starts, “Jonathan...”
He cuts her off before she can finish, “It wouldn’t be a gift if you’re using your own money for it, even in the form of a trade-in.”
Faith sees that she isn’t going to win this battle either. She’s going to have to stop allowing him win all these at some point, he makes it so difficult to argue with him and his cute self.
Chapter 36
Fortitude
Noun; strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage
Frank’s Christmas lights are shining bright as Jonathan pulls up to the curb to park. He welcomes the two of them inside excitedly. Walking into the living room they see the Christmas tree lighting the room festively with colorful lights and gifts stacked neatly underneath. The smell of dinner fills the air. Diane has a ham cooking in the oven along with a few sides. Faith looks around and notices that Hope hasn’t arrived yet.
Frank looks at Faith and asks, “So, how has your Christmas been so far?”
“It’s been pretty good. Jonathan has been spoiling me all day.”
“As he should.” Frank smiles and pats Jonathan’s shoulder.
“To some extent, yes.” She laughs slightly and glances at Jonathan. “But this has been over the top.”
“How big did you go son?” Frank asks then quickly glances at Faith’s hand to be sure there’s no ring.
Jonathan acts confused and says, “Actually, none of her gifts today have been that large.”
Frank chuckles. Just then, Diane comes into the living room. Faith asks, “Did you need help in the kitchen, Mom?”
“No. I’ve got it for now. I’ll need some help in a little while.”
“OK, let me know. When is Hope supposed to get here?”
Diane looks at her watch. “She should have already been here.”
“Do you want me to call her?”
“I think we can give her a few more minutes.”
Faith gives Jonathan a slightly concerned look. Jonathan tries to smile reassuringly.
Frank pipes in, “I’m sure she’s fine.”
Then Jonathan adds. “Didn’t you tell me when I first came to Sunday dinner that she’s always late?”
“I did.”
“Then I’m sure she’s just living up to that.”
“Probably.” She excuses herself to the bathroom. While in there she texts Hope simply to be sure everything is OK. Hope may be late often, but it’s not like her to be late on Christmas day, not when there are presents to be opened. Faith doesn’t have a very good feeling about this.
She doesn’t get a reply right away. Faith is just hoping it’s because Hope is on her way and doesn’t want to text while driving.
They all sit in the living room waiting until Hope gets there. Diane doesn’t want to finish the food before she arrives for fear that it will be cold by the time they sit down to eat.
Trying to keep the mood light Faith tells her parents, “Jonathan has insisted on taking me to the car dealership tomorrow to buy me a new car.”
“That’s very kind of him.” Frank says with raised eyebrows.
Diane glances at Jonathan and smiles then says, “That is quite generous.”
“Yes, it is. I’ve tried to convince him otherwise, but he won’t hear it.”
“No, I suppose…”
Before Frank can finish his sentence the phone rings, interrupting him. Diane answers, “Hello.” She listens then continues, “Oh, dear.” She puts the phone on speaker and they hear the man on the other end of the line say, “We’ve admitted her. She’ll be going in for surgery shortly.”
“Can you wait until we get there?” Panic rising in Diane’s throat. “If it’s OK, I’d like to see her before she goes in.”
Faith looks at her father then to Jonathan with confusion and worry on her face.
The man on the phone says, “Yes, but hurry.”
Jonathan is already standing up with keys in his hand. He starts grabbing their coats as he tells them, “I’ll drive.”
Faith, Frank and Diane all get into Jonathan’s Mercedes. Frank and Faith sit in the back seat. Jonathan drives to the hospital while Diane explains what little she knows from the phone call.
“Hope has been in a car accident. Her vital signs are OK for now, but there is some internal bleeding they need to fix, which is why they’re going to be taking her in for surgery.”
Faith feels her heart migrate to her throat making it hard to swallow and even more difficult to speak. All she can choke out is, “How?”
“They didn’t say, honey. They didn’t say much more than what you heard.”
Jonathan pulls up to the hospital doors. Frank and Diane are the first to get out. Diane rushes to the desk asking which room Hope is in. The receptionist tells Diane the room number and Faith texts it to Jonathan as he parks the car. They take the elevators to the fourth floor. Diane is frantically scanning the plaques with the room numbers and arrows on the walls.
Once they find it, Frank holds the door open for them to walk in before he rushes to the side of Hope’s bed. Jonathan isn’t far behind, being blinded by the stark whiteness of the room and the bright fluorescent lights. He tries to focus on being there for Faith and her parents, but has found hospitals to be a difficult place ever since his parents’ accident.
Faith see’s Hope lying in the hospital bed with a large bandage covering the gash across her forehead. Reaching for her leg she says, “I knew something was wrong. Are you OK?”
Diane is sitting beside Hope holding her hand as a tears slowly run down her cheeks.
Hope answers in a strained voice. “I’m fine.” She inhales trying to manage the pain then continues, “Dumbass truck driver blew a stop sign. Luckily my car took the brunt of it like a champ. Probably saved my life.”
“That is quite lucky, dear.” Diane says gently while stroking her hand.
Frank is sitting across from Diane on the other side of Hope. He notices the hand he’s holding of Hope’s has an IV in it. Hope smiles up at him and says, “I’m OK, Daddy.”
“Are you in pain?” Jonathan asks.
“Some. They gave me something to help then said they’d be right back in to take me to get prepped for surgery.” She looks at both of her parents, “I’m not sure how much longer we’ll have before they do that. Thank you guys so much for coming. I’m really glad you’re here.” A tear trickles down her cheek slowly.
“Me too, honey.” Diane reaches across to hug her, hoping that it in some way makes her feel better.
As if on cue, the nurse and a couple of assistants come in to take Hope to surgery. They wheel her in the bed down the long hallway to the elevators. Diane sits down on the chair in the corner of the room. Frank sits down beside Diane, taking her hand in his.
Jonathan grabs Faith’s hand and squeezes gently. Faith smiles and says, “I guess we just wait now.”
Jonathan excuses himself to the hallway. He takes a deep breath closing his eyes, as he leans back against the wall. He typically avoids hospitals at all costs. Standing up getting ready to head back into Hope’s room he notices some empty chairs at the end of the hall. He walks down, picks them up, and brings them back into the room.
Faith mouths ‘thank you’. Setting them down next to each other, Faith and Jonathan both take a seat.
An hour later, the doctor walks in. He updates them saying, “Everything went very well. We came across a bit more bleeding than we anticipated. We were able to stop it entirely. She has quite a bit of healing ahead of her though.”
“Thank you doctor.” Frank says.
“She’s in recovery right now. When she’s ready they will bring her back in here. We do need to keep her tonight and possibly tomorrow night as well. We will keep an eye on her vitals and make sure that everything is OK before we send her home of course.”
Diane shakes her head in agreement and says, “Thank you again.”
A half an hour later Hope is wheeled back into her room. She looks groggy and half asleep. Diane grabs her hand as soon as they have her bed locked in place and all of Hope’s monitors hooked back up.
“How are you doing, Hope?”
“I’m OK. Kind of out of it.” Her voice raspy and dry.
“You should get some rest. Would you like for us to leave?”
“No. Mummy, please don’t leave.” She grasps her mom’s hand as tight as she can.
Jonathan looks at Frank and suggests, “Maybe Faith and I can run to your house and bring your truck back for you.” Turning to look at Hope he says, “We can run to your place and grab anything you might need too, Hope.”
Hope answers, her voice strained. “A phone charger. I need that. Also, a change of clothes.” She gingerly touches the gash on her forehead and says, “This bled like you wouldn’t believe. I’m sure it ruined my clothes.”
Faith simply says, “Consider it done.”
Frank looks at Jonathan. “Thank you, son. We really appreciate that.”
Diane stands and hugs Faith tightly. “Be careful please.”
“I will Mom.”
Diane focuses on Jonathan next, hugging him as well, she says, “Keep her safe.”
“It’s my pleasure to, ma’am.”
Leaving the hospital Jonathan visibly relaxes. He opens Faith’s door for her.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He gets into the driver’s seat and asks, “Are you doing OK?”
“I am. Are you? I noticed that you didn’t seem very comfortable in there.”
“Hospitals don’t sit well with me.”
“I can imagine. I’m sorry, I hadn’t thought of that.”
“No, don’t apologize. I want to be there for you and your family.”
“Thank you, Jonathan.”
“I will do anything for you, Faith. No matter how uncomfortable it may be.”
They go to Hope’s apartment first. Faith grabs her a comfortable outfit to hopefully be able to go home in when she’s ready. Then she finds her phone charger. She also notices a book on Hope’s night stand so she grabs that as well.
Next, Jonathan drives to Faith’s parent’s house. Faith grabs the keys for her dad’s truck then drives that back to the hospital following Jonathan.
Hope is asleep when they walk into her room. Frank suggests they all go to the cafeteria since no one has eaten dinner. Diane protests, not wanting to leave Hope’s side, but then gives in knowing that Frank is simply trying to take care of her.
Jonathan doesn’t eat anything. His stomach is in knots. If he were to add food on top of that he would be in for a rough night. In contrast, Faith loads her plate with every carb and sweet thing she finds. Her nerves have her bingeing. Jonathan notices, but says nothing.
Diane on the other hand, doesn’t bite her tongue. “Faith, I don’t think you need all that, do you?”
The look on Faith’s face breaks Jonathan’s heart. She hadn’t realized how much she had put on her plate, but now she is feeling guilty and self-conscious about it. That’s more than she needs right now on top of everything else she’s feeling. In an attempt to make her feel better, Jonathan offers to eat some of the food.
Frank takes a sip of his soda. He isn’t paying attention to what is going on at the table. His mind is still with Hope. Diane puts her hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to the present. “Are you doing OK, Frank?”
“I’m OK. I know she’s OK, so I’m OK.”
“That’s good enough for now.”
“How are you doing?” He places his hand on hers lowering it to his forearm.
“I’m OK too. She’s going to be just fine. It’s still scary though.” She looks at Faith. Noticing the vulnerable expression on her face, Diane now realizes that what she said wasn’t very kind. “Faith, I’m sorry. We all deal with things a little differently. I shouldn’t have pointed that out in such a rude way. I don’t know what I was thinking. Please forgive me.”
“It’s OK, Mom. I understand.” Faith takes a bite of a roll.
“No. It isn’t OK. I never meant to hurt your feelings and I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” Faith halfheartedly smiles. It’s all she can muster given the circumstances. Jonathan sits back putting his arm on the back of her chair.
When they’re done eating they go back up to Hope’s room. She is awake and has a CNA checking her vitals.
“You guys didn’t go home?” Hope asks, grateful they are back.
“Nope, you can’t get rid of us that easy.” Frank says as he walks over to resume his position at her side holding her hand.
“I don’t ever want to do that.” Hope’s voice is still a bit raspy from the ventilator.
“How are you feeling?” Faith asks.
“I’m OK. I feel like I got kicked in the stomach by an elephant. My throat feels like I swallowed a porcupine, and my head feels like it’s been stepped on by a hippopotamus.”
Jonathan laughs a bit. “You got beat up by a small zoo.”
Hope laughs too. Grimacing as she says, “Ugh, it hurts to laugh.”
Faith smiles at the two of them laughing together. She’s so grateful that Jonathan is able to put his own feelings aside in this capacity to be there for them.
Diane smiles too, “Think of it this way, you can only feel better from here.”
Frank asks, “Are they giving you more for the pain?”
The CNA who is standing right by the IV bag looks at him and says, “Just did. I needed to get her vitals first.”
Hope looks up to them. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be here all night. If you need anything feel free to hit the call button.”
“You’re my call boy?” She says in the flirtiest tone she can muster right now.
“Let’s go with your call person.” They smile at her.
“Dually noted. Do you have a name?”
“It’s Andy.” They point to the name tag, but then realize that it was flipped over.
“Nice to meet you. Andy.” Hope pulls her hand from her mom’s grasp and holds it out to them.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hope.” Andy says as they shake her hand.
Once they’re no longer in the room Frank gives Diane a look of confusion. Hope notices and says, “They don’t see themselves as male or female. Those identities and the things that are represented by them don’t fit how Andy feels. So, they prefer to be called they instead of using specifically male or female pronouns.”
“Huh. You got all that from your interaction?” Diane asks.
“It is a bit of an assumption, but yeah.”
“Isn’t that called non-binary?” Frank asks.
Faith says, “Exactly.” She looks at Hope and smiles.
Diane says, “Who are we to tell someone what to feel.” Then shrugs her shoulders.
A sense of pride fills Faith. Seeing how accepting and understanding her family is makes her incredibly grateful to be related to them.
Moonlight has replaced the sunlight that had been streaming through the window. Faith checks the time. Diane and Frank both follow her eyes to the clock right above the door.
“It’s getting late dear.” Diane pats Hope’s hand gently and continues, “We should get going home. You need your rest. I will be back first thing tomorrow morning, as soon as they’ll allow me through the doors.” She gently squeezes Hope’s hand.
“OK. Thank you guys for being here. It really means a lot!”
