Chapter 97:  Where is He?

            “Uncle Jack?”

“Who is this?”

“It’s me Harold.”

“Harry!  It’s been quite awhile!  How are you doing, son?”

“I’m good, Uncle Jack, but how’s Brian?  I dropped in at the hospital to see him yesterday…”

“Oh… around about what time?  I didn’t see you there.”

“No one did but Debbie Novotny’s brother Vic.  I came around about the time that fire was blazing in the area.  I only stayed a minute or two; and when I got there no one was inside the room with Brian.”

“Oh then you probably visited while we all stepped away for a moment.  Your Aunt Joanie and cousin Claire had gone for coffee and to the hospital’s chapel to pray, while Justin and I went to the restroom.”

“Oh.  It all makes perfect sense now.  I had become a bit concerned there when I discovered no one inside Brian’s room when I arrived.  So, how is he now?  Please tell me he’s still alive and improved somewhat since I last saw him.”

“Well, he was still alive when your aunt Joanie, Claire, and I had left him last night; and since then Debbie Novotny had visited Brian and called me with an update.  She called me with an update later last night; she said he was awake and talking.  That’s an amazing improvement since I’ve last left him.  So, I would figure he’s probably doing a lot better now… hopefully.  In about an hour or so I myself will be headed back over there.  I can call you with an update, Harry, if you like?”

“Can you please, Uncle Jack?  I would go myself and visit Brian now, but my kid is inside a hospital out of state.  I’m here with her right this moment, but I plan to get back over there to see Brian again as soon as I possibly can.”

“Overall, how’s Rosalind doing, Harry?”  Jack courteously asked about his great-niece. “Were you ever able to get in touch with Brian and ask his help after I had given you his number?  You said you were going to call him?”

“Yes I did, Uncle Jack, and he helped a helluva lot.  In fact, we had thought she was cured but…”

“Yeah, I know how cancer is,” Jack was actually speaking from personal experience, but Harold didn’t know that.  No one else did because Jack hadn’t told anyone yet that he was recently diagnosed with the Big C – the late stages of lung cancer.  “Talk to you later, son; and I’ll get back to you on Brian’s condition.”

“Thanks, Uncle Jack.  Bye.”

“Bye, Harry.”

*****

“Mr. Taylor-Kinney, these are the release forms as well as transfer forms you need to sign off on, on behalf of your husband,” a nurse brought the forms to Justin and he signed them. 

“Justin?”  Ted had just arrived then and couldn’t help overhearing the instructions the nurse had given Justin.  “You’re moving Brian to another hospital?”  He asked.

“Yes, I am and your timing is superb, Ted.  Can I trouble you to take Debbie and my grandmother home?”

“Justin,” his grandmother protested, “I rather go to the other hospital with…”

“Grandma,” Justin cut her off.  “Please go with Ted.  You remember meeting him at the wedding... don’t you?  He was Brian’s best man at our last wedding, as well as his employee.”

“Hi, Ted.  I do remember meeting you.  In fact, we almost knocked each other down yesterday when you were going and I was coming."

“Yeah," Ted chuckled.  "Hi, Mrs. Taylor, and Ms. Novotny.  I remember you both from both weddings,” Ted greeted the women.

“But Justin I want to be with Brian and you at the other hospital,” his grandmother further pleaded.  However, Debbie didn’t put up a fuss because she wanted to pay both Michael and Carl a visit and start notifying people about her brother’s death; and then she could drop by the other hospital and see Brian later.

“Grandma, don’t worry about Brian or me.  Just let me get my husband settled in at the other hospital and I’ll call everyone and let them know what’s happening.  Let me just handle things by myself for right now, please, grandma.”

“Okay, dear,” she stopped giving Justin opposition, mellowed and kissed her grandson.  “But please, Justin, I’m so worried about you.  So, promise me that you’ll keep it together and don’t exhaust yourself or completely fall apart.  You look worst than ever now.”

“I promise, grandma.  I’m tough.  I’ll be alright; and do me a favor though.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“Call everyone.  Like my in-laws and Lindsay and Mel and tell them that I’m moving Brian.  I don’t want anyone to show up here to visit him and have to learn that way that I moved him.”

“Sure.  I’ll do that.  Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Hey there,” Debbie pulled Justin into a bear hug and kiss him intensely.  “I surely hope you know what you’re doing, Sunshine; and your grandma’s right.  You look like shit!”

“Don’t worry about a thing, Debbie.  I’m taking care of my husband and myself.  Brian asked that I move him.”

“Yeah,” Debbie nodded but still she was in total disagreement with Justin’s decision not to do the surgery immediately and she was just as worried for Justin’s own welfare as his grandmother was.  He didn’t look the least bit healthy or stable to her either.

“Don’t worry so much, Debbie.  I’ll get a second opinion from the doctors at Upsula, and if they say that Brian should have the operation, I’ll strongly reconsider it.”

“Upsula!”  Ted exclaimed.

“Yeah, Ted – Upsula in West Virginia.  That’s where I’m moving Brian,” Justin said. 

“Mr. Taylor-Kinney,” an orderly interrupted and addressed Justin. “The air ambulance is now ready to take off.  I can escort you to the roof now.”

“Bye all,” Justin greeted everyone.

“Bye, Justin,” they all simultaneously moaned.  Everyone’s heart was aching for Justin and yearning for Brian to get better.

Justin then rushed on out of there behind the orderly, but he felt terribly faint, nauseous and it seemed every nerve, joint, and bone inside his body ached and quivered, top off with a massive head ache, but still he didn’t complain any.

*****

Meanwhile, Ted had taken the women home, dropped them off at their respectful homes, and during the drive back to his place his cell rang.  “Emmett… Emmett Honeycutt,” Ted hadn’t heard from him in awhile, so he figured he’s calling on Brian’s account.

“Hi, Ted.  I just heard on the News about your boss Brian.  Have you been to see him yet by chance, sweetie?”

“Twice already, but I only got to actually see him once though. The second time I went there I didn’t get to see him at all, because he wasn’t inside his bed then but was in the process of being transferred to another hospital – Upsula in West Virginia.”

“Oh?”  Emmett moaned and then he asked Ted to fill him in on Brian’s condition.  Ted told him all that Debbie and Justin’s grandmother had told him.

“Wow!  Poor Brian and Justin,” Emmett solemnly stated.

*****

            Harold, while still sitting at his daughter’s bedside, felt his phone vibrate, checked the number and saw it was his uncle, but the phone wouldn’t transmit from within the hospital; so, he rushed outside to return the call, and that’s when Jack told him that Brian was there inside the same hospital as his daughter.  He started to rush over to see Brian immediately, but first he stopped in on his daughter again, and she was woke by then which caused him to be delayed a few moments before hurrying over to Brian’s bedside.

“Sweetheart,” Harold then announced when his daughter began to look almost totally like herself again and quite vibrant.  “Guess what?”  He told her, “Our cousin Brian is inside this hospital.”

“Really!  Wow!”  She got excited.  “Did he come to see me!  Where is he!  I can’t wait to see him!  You know how in-love I am with Brian.”  She was then getting out of the bed to run to him like she always did in the past whenever he dropped by the hospital to see her.

“Sweetheart… sweetheart.  Get back into bed,” her father halted her and coaxed her back to bed and tucked her cozily back in.  “Honey, Brian isn’t here for a visit.  Actually he’s under the weather himself,” he tried to put it gently to her.  “He was admitted here as a patient too.”

“Ohhhh,” Rosalind moaned as all the previous cheer quickly departed from her.  “Brian’s sick?  How sick?  What’s wrong with him?  Then I better still get out of this bed and go to him.”

“No, you stay put.  I’ll visit him first and I besides most likely the hospital’s policy is that a person has to be at least sixteen years of age to visit a patient.”

“What?  Why?  I can’t go to see my own cousin?  What kind of rule is that?”

“Most hospitals have that rule, Roxie, because people your age tend to carry around a lot of childhood diseases and the hospital don’t want kids infecting the patients and vice versa because often young people are very susceptible to the patient’s ailments as well.  So, it’s for both the protection of the child and the patient.”

“Awww,” Rosalind disappointedly growled.

“Stay put and in high spirits just like you are now, and I’ll be right back,” Harold kissed his little princess on the forehead and then he headed up to ICU to see Brian.

*****

“Hey there,” Harold greeted Brian, surprising him with his presence when he was the first one to arrive at his bedside; and again Harold was surprised to see Justin wasn’t there.  “You don’t look all that bad.”

“Look again, Harry!  But what the fuck you’re doing here already?  How did you know so soon that I was here?”  Brian still in his meager state somehow managed to sarcastically snicker.  “Seen my husband Justin around the hospital anywhere?  You do know what he looks like… don’t you?”

“Sure, I do, Brian.  I’ve seen you two photographed in the media enough times to know.  I guess Justin and I will finally meet now.”

“Sure.  I guess so,” Brian supposed as well.  “But where the fuck is my husband!”  Brian was terribly worried that so much time had passed since he woke up and he hadn’t seen Justin at the new hospital NOT once.