what he was saying.
Heather was holding Blane’s hand. They both looked overwhelmed.
Jacob and Sam came into the room. They waved
to Blane. Sandy greeted Jacob with Tanner, who he took from her.
Jacob kissed Jill’s cheek and stood behind her.
“ We’re ready to start,”
the doctor said over the speaker so they could hear. “Are you
ready?”
“ I’m ready,” Blane
said.
“ Okay,” Jill said in a low
tone. “We want to focus our love on the blood going into
Blane.”
“ Heather, this is it,” the
doctor said. “Are you ready?”
“ I’m ready,” Heather
said.
“ Nurse?” the doctor
asked.
The nurse turned the valve. They watched the
red blood flow through Blane’s IV and into his arm. Jill felt like
she held her breath through the entire infusion.
“ Taste garlic?” the doctor
asked.
“ I do,” Blane said. He
glanced at Heather.
“ I have to ask everyone to
leave now,” the doctor said. “You need to sleep. The most important
thing is for you to rest.”
Sam held open the door. Akeem and Sandy
left.
“ We’ll meet you out here,”
said Sam before he followed Akeem out of the room.
Jill didn’t dare take her eyes off Blane.
She felt more than saw her twins doing the same thing. Jacob put
his arm around her and guided her from the room. They met at the
elevator landing.
“ We want to imagine that
the cells are going into Blane’s bones,” Jill said. “They are
growing and dividing. Can you see them?”
Akeem and Sandy nodded their heads.
“ Good,” Jill said. “Me
too.”
A few minutes later, Heather joined them.
She looked worried and exhausted.
“ Come on,” Jacob said. “We
have dinner waiting for us at the Castle.”
They stepped onto the elevator together.
“ I think Delphie made a
casserole,” Jacob said.
Everyone groaned and he laughed.
“ Mike’s running the
grill,” Jacob said.
When they reached the ground floor, no one
wanted to get off the elevator. Sam put his arm around Heather and
guided her from the elevator. Sandy and Akeem followed. Jill stood
on the elevator.
“ You think he’s going to
be all right?” Jill asked Jacob.
“ I don’t know,” Jacob
said.
With a nod, Jill and Bladen left the
elevator. Tanner made a sound at his mother and brother’s
departure.
“ I hear you, son,” Jacob
said.
They left the hospital in a worried
silence.
Chapter Three hundred and
six
Clear my head
Tuesday night — 9:22 p.m.
“ Thanks for staying,
Charlie,” Sophia said.
“ It’s a good shift for
me,” Charlie said.
“ You didn’t have to stay
another hour,” Sophia said.
Charlie shrugged and held the door open for
her.
“ I just want you to know
that I appreciate it,” Sophia said.
Charlie pulled the door
closed, and Sophia locked the door to Sam’s No. 3 on
15 th Street. Charlie gave it a tug to make sure it was locked.
They had closed up the restaurant. The cooks and clean-up crew were
still inside. Their job was to clean up the restaurant and make
sure the doors were locked. They went to the bar entrance and
checked that it was locked. It was supposed to be Sophia’s job, but
she always got a little scared being there at night. The manager
let Charlie stay so she wouldn’t have to be alone.
“ I feel a little safer
having you here,” Sophia said.
Charlie grinned.
“ I can walk you to your
car,” Charlie said.
“ That would be nice,”
Sophia said. “Do you want a ride home?”
“ Nah,” Charlie said. “We
live in the other direction from you. Plus, I can take the
bus.”
They turned up
15 th Street and walked a few blocks to a cheap paid parking lot.
Sophia unlocked her car.
“ You sure you don’t want a
ride?” Sophia asked. “It’s no problem.”
“ I’m okay,” Charlie said.
“It’s nice to walk for a bit after getting off work. Clears my
head.”
“ I bet,” Sophia
said.
“ Plus, I spent a lot of
years on the streets,” Charlie gave her a bright smile. “It’s nice
to roam a