Restoration

by Laurie Larsen

  He looked down and noticed something sticky and red on Carly’s clothes, and now, due to the hug, was also on his. “What is this? Are you okay? Is this blood?”

  Carly nodded. “Oh, yes, it’s blood, but it’s not mine.”

  “My mother’s ...?”

  “No, she ran into a deer. Or more likely, the deer ran into her. That’s what’s caused the accident. It was on a dark, thin, windy road, and judging from how the deer had crashed into the windshield, I imagine he jumped out of the woods and onto the road and your mother couldn’t do anything about it.”

  “But, why ...?” he gestured to her clothes covered with it.

  “I couldn’t get into the car to get to Grace, so Haley and I ... and the Uber driver, in fact, pulled the deer off the car.”

  “Wow. I wish I could’ve helped.”

  A stretcher containing his mother rolled by and Ryan left them to catch up to it. “Mom?” She didn’t answer but he stayed even with the stretcher, reaching for her hand and holding it in his own as they moved. “Will she be all right? How bad are her injuries?”

  “We’ll find out when we get in there,” the EMT said. “And you are?”

  “Her son, Ryan Melrose. She had my daughter in the back seat.”

  “Ahh, the little girl. She was kept snug and safe by her car seat. I’m not too worried about her. Your mom doesn’t appear to have severe injuries, but I’ll feel a lot better when she’s conscious.”

  He followed the stretcher through the reception area of the ER and into one of the cubicles in the back. He sat with her for a few minutes, and then it dawned on him that his father needed to know. Everything had happened so quickly. He leaned over his mom’s deceptively peaceful-looking face and whispered, “I’ll be right back, Mom. I’m gonna call Dad.”

  He looked at the sign in the cubicle warning against making cell phone calls in the ER and walked back outside. Carly and Grace had moved on, so he assumed they had been taken to an ER cubicle too. He placed the call to his father and gave him the news. “Dad, they think she’s going to be fine, but she’s unconscious so that’s their first order of business.”

  “Oh, son, I’m so sorry. I’ll be right there. How’s Grace?”

  “Grace is good.” He got the three words out before emotion escaped and tears popped into his eyes. He ended the call and took a moment to get himself under control. Thank you, Lord, he said silently. Thank you, thank you.

  He went back into the ER and this time, found Grace’s cubicle. “Hi, baby,” he said when he went in, holding his hands out to grab hers.

  “Hi Daddy,” she said, her sweet voice clear.

  “I’m so sorry you were in a car accident,” he said. “You are going to be fine. How do you feel?”

  “Good.”

  Carly said, “The EMT had given her a physical exam when she was in the ambulance and he feels good about her, but they want the ER doc to look at her too.”

  “Where’s Grandma?”

  “She’s got her own cubicle and she’s waiting for the doctor too.”

  “Grandma screamed.”

  Ryan looked at Carly. Grace harbored memories of the accident. He hoped they wouldn’t traumatize her or cause issues down the road. “Grandma screamed because she saw the deer coming?”

  Grace’s forehead creased with thought and she nodded hesitantly.

  “Did you see the deer, sweetie?” Ryan asked her.

  Grace shook her head.

  “That’s why Grandma wrecked the car. A deer came from the side of the road and jumped into the window.”

  Grace’s eyebrows furrowed as she tried to picture this unimaginable scene.

  “Isn’t that crazy?” Ryan said.

  “That crazy deer.”

  “Yes. Grandma wasn’t expecting it and she ran off the road. But guess what. The most important thing is that you are safe and sound.”

  “And Grandma will be safe and sound.”

  “Yes.” As he said it, he hoped and prayed it was true.

  Twenty minutes later, Grace was officially released from the hospital with no restrictions. The doctor recommended baby aspirin in case she complained of a headache, but he was convinced she had no concussion symptoms.

  “Let’s go find your mom,” said Carly.

  They went to her cubicle and Ryan was glad he had his two ladies with him for support. Carly held back. “It’s crowded in there. Grace and I will wait out here.”

  Ryan nodded, pushed back the fabric divider and went in. His dad was there sitting beside Mom, who laid with her eyes closed. Ryan went to his father’s side and gave him a hug. “She’s gonna be fine, Dad. Have faith. Just you wait and see.”

  “You’re right, Ryan. I am fine.” His mother’s voice had him pulling away from his father in shock.

  “Mom!”

  “She came out of her coma about ten minutes ago. Docs want to admit her for observation overnight, but they don’t see any serious injuries.”

  Ryan rose and walked to her bed. “Thank God.”

  “How’s Grace?” Her voice was hoarse, and tears formed in her eyes. He immediately answered to ease her worries.

  “She’s fine, Mom. Perfectly fine.”

  “I’m so sorry ...,” she said and then sobbed.

  “No, Mom, you have nothing to be sorry about. It was an accident. A deer jumped out of the woods and landed on your car. No one could’ve avoided that, especially in the dark.”

  His mom took a deep breath and pushed it out of her lungs. “Carly must be furious with me. I wouldn’t blame her if she never let me drive Grace again.”

  “Nothing could be further from the truth.” They all turned toward the cubicle door flap at the sound of Carly’s voice. Her face carried a beautiful, translucent smile and she walked into the small room, holding Grace. “It was an accident, and it could’ve happened to anyone. I just thank God that you and Grace are all right.”

  His mom held out her hand, and both Carly and Grace grabbed it. “You’re so kind and generous to say that, Carly.” And then his mom stopped speaking because her voice broke.

  HALEY AND THE UBER driver sat in the lobby of the ER, and came to their feet in unison when Ryan, Carly and Grace walked in. In a flurry of questions and answers, it was shared that Grace was absolutely fine, released to go home, and Ryan’s mother was staying for observation, but also was expected to be fine.

  Ryan shook hands with the Uber driver. “I can’t thank you enough, man.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t do anything.”

  Ryan gestured to his blood-stained shirt. “Yes, you did. You pulled a deer out of a car, so my little girl could get out of there. And,” he checked his watch, “you’ve lost out on an hour’s worth of fares, just so you could sit with Haley and find out how everything turned out. In fact,” he said and pulled some bills out of his pocket, “take this. This was the OT I made tonight. That’s the whole reason my mom was on that dark road at that hour in the first place, because I agreed to work OT. Next time, I won’t be quite so anxious for the money. Take it, please. It’ll help.”

  The driver hesitated.

  “Heck, you might need that much to dry clean your shirt,” Haley joked.

  He laughed and went ahead and accepted the small stack of bills. “Thank you.”

  “What’s your name, by the way?” Ryan asked him.

  “Blake,” Haley answered for him. They all turned their heads toward her and stared. She blushed, a faint pink covering her cheeks. “What? His name is Blake.”

  They all laughed, and Blake said, “Well, all’s well that ends well. Glad it all worked out. I better get going. Can I drive you home, Haley?”

  They all said their good-byes, and Ryan turned to Carly. “So, you don’t have a car here, huh? How about I take you and Grace home?”

  Carly was grinning, but not at him. She was looking over toward
the door and he followed her gaze. Haley and Blake leaned in close in conversation. He smiled, and she did too. He slipped a hand into hers and they headed together through the exit door.

  “What on earth ...?” Ryan puzzled.

  Carly put a gentle elbow in his ribs. “Looks like those two bonded over near tragedy.”

  “Oh.”

  They loaded into Ryan’s car, Carly spending extra time and attention hooking Grace into her car seat. Thankfully, his little girl did not demonstrate any concern or fear getting back into a car after the scare she’d experienced.

  “So,” he said when they’d taken off, “fill in some gaps for me here. How did you know where to find my mom and Grace?”

  “I had no idea. But we were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Ocean Highway and I knew we’d be sitting there for a while. I was feeling more and more nervous and I wanted to do what I could to locate them. So, I told the driver ... well, Blake now ... to go to your parents’ house. I figured the two of us could put our heads together and find her better than being apart.”

  Ryan’s heart rushed with emotion. Better together than apart. Yes, he thought so too. And he hoped she didn’t just feel that way about finding their misplaced daughter, but about their relationship as well.

  But he didn’t interrupt her with his thoughts. She went on, “So Blake’s GPS took us down some dark beach road that wasn’t well lit. We came upon the accident. But I guess since I had told him to go to your parents’ house, that’s the shortcut your mom had taken too. Probably to avoid the same beach traffic.”

  He pulled into Carly’s apartment parking lot and a desire overwhelmed his senses. He turned to Carly. “Would you pray with me?”

  She watched his face for a moment, smiled gently and said, “Sure.”

  He reached for her hands and they held hands as he prayed. “Dear Lord, thank you for keeping Grace and my mother safe. Thank you for family. Thank you for being able to lean on each other when there are times of concern and worry. Thank you for Carly, for the great mother she is. And thank you for our daughter Grace, who we love very much. Amen.”

  He kept his eyes closed and held on to her hands for just a few more seconds while he added a silent addendum, “And please find a way for the three of us to live together as a family.”

  They walked up to Carly’s apartment. Ryan and Carly watched Grace closely for signs of worry, but after an hour of playing with her toys on the living room floor, she started yawning. Carly took her to change into pajamas and brush her teeth, and then returned.

  “Ready for a good night kiss and hug?” he asked her, his heart so full it could explode. He wouldn’t have to miss this. So close.

  “No, she has something else in mind,” Carly said.

  “Daddy read me a story?” Grace said and of course there was no way he could refuse. Both Grace’s parents sat on the bed, one on each side while she selected a book and then crawled into her sheets between the two of them. They’d never actually done this before, bedtime stories all together and Ryan was determined to treasure each second. He read, something silly about farmyard animals and he managed to come up with a different accent and voice tone for each of the characters, which delighted Grace to no end.

  When he was done, Grace rolled onto her stomach and he rubbed her back while he sang a lullaby his mother used to sing to him, that he pulled out of the far reaches of his memory bank. Soon, her heavy, even breathing suggested that she was out.

  He winked at Carly and they tiptoed out, Carly closing the door quietly behind them.

  He knew he should leave Carly to the rest of her evening, and get home, but he didn’t want to. He had the strong sensation that he was right where he was supposed to be and leaving would be a mistake. On the other hand, Carly had broken up with him, in no uncertain terms, and his presence in her living room after Grace had gone to bed, was not what she wanted.

  He looked up from his thoughts when she approached him. She held a DVD in her hand. “Care to watch a movie together?”

  “Sure.” He hoped he didn’t sound too anxious. On the other hand, he really didn’t care if he did.

  They watched a five-year-old comedy that they’d both probably seen ten times before. But Ryan didn’t care. He was sitting with the woman he loved, and his precious daughter was sleeping just feet away, healthy and fine. It really didn’t matter what they did. He was just thankful to be here.

  Carly paused it once to make popcorn and Ryan took the moment to take a peek at Grace. Her breathing was even, her eyes were peacefully closed, and he breathed a word of thanks for the happy outcome.

  “How is she?” Carly asked when he returned.

  “Perfect.”

  They watched the rest of the movie and it was late when it was over. Carly stood to take the popcorn bowls to the kitchen and then lingered. “Well, thanks for everything, Ryan.”

  He shook his head and got to his feet. “You don’t have anything to thank me for, Carly.”

  “You were here for me and helped me get through this.”

  “You were the Superwoman. Figuring out where they were, dragging a dead deer off the car! Golly!” They laughed together. How he yearned to lean in and kiss her, pull her into an embrace and enjoy every bit of her. But of course, he couldn’t. He wouldn’t put whatever future they had in jeopardy by doing that. “The doc suggested we check her out after four hours of sleeping to make sure we could arouse her. That would convince them she had no concussion symptoms.”

  “Oh, that’s right. I’ll have to set my alarm for four am.”

  An idea gripped him, and he didn’t want to let it go. “No, how about this? You sleep. I’ll stay here on the couch and get up at four to check on her.”

  He watched an expression flicker over her face. First, she looked like she liked the idea, before she clamped it down. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

  He shrugged. “You’re not asking. I’m offering. I want you to get a good night’s sleep. And I want to help Grace if she has any trouble through the night. So what better solution than for me to stay here and help you?”

  She hesitated, but the fact that she was staring at his face seemed to indicate she was considering his offer. “You wouldn’t be comfortable on that couch. It’s not even as long as you are.”

  He laughed. In his mind he squelched the question he wanted to ask, “I’d be more comfortable in bed with you.” Instead, he said, “I’ve often spent the night on a couch and slept just fine. What do you say Carly? Can I stay?”

  She relented, and he gave a fist pump like he’d just made the winning three-pointer at the buzzer. She laughed and headed down the hall, returning with sheets, a blanket and a pillow.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Carly awoke, a quiet peace covering her as she opened her eyes. Blurry minded for a moment, she turned her head and saw that the digital clock was displaying, almost like a shout, 8:45!

  Eight forty-five? She hadn’t slept this late in years! What was wrong with her?

  She struggled to get her legs out of the sheets and got to her feet, stumbling to the bedroom door. First, she ran to Grace’s room, and seeing it was empty, she realized she heard voices. One sweet little girl voice. One deep man’s voice.

  Of course. Ryan had spent the night and had taken care of Grace’s needs, throughout the night and in the morning. And she ... was able to sleep like she hadn’t a care in the world.

  She felt like kissing him. If only she hadn’t ended their relationship.

  She made her way to the living room and he immediately lifted his head at her approach. His eyes went wide at the sight of her, rested on her for a moment, then he dipped his head. “Good morning,” he said with a forced joviality. Realization dawned within her. She must look horrid to have invoked that reaction. She could only imagine. Bedhead hair, streaked face, wrinkled pajamas. Not to mention her morning breath. She’d never had to wor
ry about these things before. She’d never lived with anyone but Grace, and Grace certainly didn’t care.

  Speaking of Grace, she got to her feet and ran over, throwing her little arms around Carly. “Hi sweetheart, how are you feeling this morning?”

  “Good!” She went back to whatever she and Ryan were doing. On closer look, it appeared to be a big jigsaw puzzle laid out on the coffee table.

  Ryan spoke to her while he concentrated on the puzzle. “I got up at four, but she had no issues at all. Then she wanted to get up at six. I hope we didn’t disturb you. Did you get a good night’s sleep?” He looked up at her again and smiled into her eyes. She noticed he pointedly ignored looking anywhere but her eyes.

  “Yes, I did. In fact, I can’t believe I slept this late. I haven’t slept this long since before Grace was born.”

  “Ahhh, good. I’m happy to help.”

  “Well, the least I can do is make breakfast for the two of you.” She started for the kitchen, wondering what she had in stock as far as breakfast food items went.

  “We ate,” Ryan said abruptly, and his head went back to the puzzle.

  “Oh, right.” She sighed and ran a hand through her messy hair. “Well, how about if I take a shower. You all right here?”

  “Yes. Yes, good.”

  HE SENSED, RATHER THAN saw her walk out of the room, but as soon as she did Ryan breathed a deep sigh. Carly, in her normal state of dress and makeup and hair styling, was a beautiful, desirable girl. One that Ryan had always been extremely attracted to. But Carly, first thing in the morning, with her hair tousled from bed, and her complexion pink and creamy from the warmth and ... God forgive him ... her body accentuated by those skimpy pajamas she had on? Her mere presence in the apartment, looking how she had, made it impossible to control his feelings for her. The woman was gorgeous. No doubt about it.

  The woman, also, was not his. But one thing was certain. They weren’t done. Not by a long shot. Not if he had anything to say about it.