First Sight (18 page)

I realized that I still hadn’t introduced the two of them.  “Travis, this is my brother, Brian.  Brian, this is my coworker, Travis.”  The two guys shook hands, and I noticed that they were
indeed
the same height
—probably
around the same age as well.

“Thanks for driving
Maddy
out here, Travis,” Brian said
, sounding very much like the older brother.
  “She’s lucky to work with such great people.”

“Of course,” Travis replied.  “I wouldn’t have let her come out here alone
after getting
news like that.
  I’m glad to hear that your mom is going to be okay.
”

Brian nodded in approval
.  “Look,
I can drive
Maddy
home on my way back to Baltimore later.  You don’t need to wait around here all night.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem,” Travis replied.  “I don’t mind.”  He looked down at me to see what I wanted.
  Although I was glad that he was
here
with me, I still just
needed
to see my mom and didn’t want Travis to have to sit around
a waiting room
for hours
while I stayed with her
.
  He hadn’t even been home from work yet.

“I can get a ride back with Brian
.
  I don’t want you to be stuck here waiting for me,” I explained.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,
” I
said
.  A part of me did want him to stay, but that certainly wouldn’t be fair to him.  He wasn’t my
boyfriend
, and I’m sure he had things to do besides hang around a hospital all night.  “Thanks though.  And thank you for driving me here.”
 
Travis hesitated, and I impulsively gave him a quick hug, stretching up on my tip toes to put my arms around his neck.  “I really do appreciate it,” I
whispered
.

Travis’s eyes sho
ne
as he looked down at me, and I thought that maybe he didn’t want to leave either.
  “Call me if you need anything.”  He turned his attention to my brother, who was looking a little surprised by our exchange.  “It was nice to meet you, Brian.”

“You too, Travis.
  Drive safely.”

“Goodnight,” I said softly, and Travis
gave me a small smile before he
turned and walked away.

Brian was watching me as I turned back to him but let the moment slide by without comment. 
“All right,”
he
said, interrupting
any further thoughts of Travis
.  “
Are you ready
to see Mom?”

***

I didn’t get to work until 10:30 the next morning.  It had been a long night at the hospital
, and Brian had
n’t
dropped me off at my apartment
until
after midnight.  That meant it was probably 1:00 a.m. by the time he got home. 
After Travis had left,
I’d
followed Brian
into one of the little curtained areas in the emergency room
.  My dad
had been
sitting in an uncomfortable looking chair, and my
mom lying
in
the
bed
, covered by a couple
of
thin hospital blankets.
  My heart
had
skipped a be
at when I saw
her there.  She looked so
pale
and had
all the
se
t
ubes sticking out of her body.

“Mom?”
I asked hesitantly as I approached her.

“Hi Sweetheart,” she croaked, her voice hoarse.

“Hi Mom,” I replied, rushing over to her as tears filled my eyes. 
“I’m so glad that you’re okay.” 
I gave her a gentle hug, afraid that I’d hurt her more somehow. 
She looked
exhausted
but good compared to
what
my worst fears
had been
.  My dad left the room to go get some coffee with Brian, and I took his place by her bedside.
  She seemed too tired to really say much, so I
’d
just sat the
re beside her
for a long time
, holding her hand until my dad and brother returned.

My mind returned to the present as I pulled open the door of my office building. 
It felt so strange
coming to work
now—I’d just been here yesterday, but so much had happened since then, it felt like a million years ago.
  I probably should have just taken the day off.  Truth be told, I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and not see anyone
else
for the rest of the day. 
I hadn’t slept well, and I could really use a f
ew more hours of rest.

When I reached
the
seventh
floor,
I
managed to
avoid speaking with anyone in the reception area and headed straight to the office that
Marissa
and I shared.
  “
Maddy
!”
Marissa
cried
out as
soon as
I walked in.  She jumped up and ran over to me, pulling me into a hug. 
“Oh my God!
  How are you?  How’s your mom?  Travis told me what happened this morning—he was so worried about you!”
  Her words all came out in a jumbled rush, and she cl
u
ng tightly to me.

“She’s okay,” I said, pulling back a little so I could breathe.  “I’m okay. 
Her car was totaled, but they are mostly just keeping her
in the hospital
for observation.
  They moved her from the ER to her own room last night, so that’s good.
”

“
Oh thank God;
I was so worried when you weren’t here this morning.”

“I know
,” I said, realizing that I probably should have called her.
“
I spoke to Jennifer
earlier
, but I guess she’s at a meeting offsite all day?”

“Yeah, she won’t be in
the office
.”

“Oh, okay,” I said nodding.  “
I figured she would let you guys know. 
I should’ve called you, but I was just
so
exhausted. 
I didn’t get home until really late last night
, so I pretty much just crashed after that.”

“I’m just glad everything’s okay.”

“Thanks,
Marissa
,
” I said quietly.
 
“So am I.”

“Let me know if you need anything. 
Seriously.”

“I will,” I said, giving her a tiny smile.  It was nice to have such great friends at work.  I think everyone here genuinely was concerned for me.  Travis had been so sweet last night, and it sounded like
Marissa
and the others had been worried this morning. 
I turned and walked over to my desk, throwing my coat over the back of my chair and dumping my bag on the floor.
  I didn’t feel like even trying to organize my things
this morning
.  I signed on to my computer and noticed that Travis had sent me an
email
as soon as he’d gotten to the office today.

Maddy
,

I hope everything is okay with your mom.  Let me know if you need anything.

Travis

My heart melted a little as I read his note, but I didn’t have it in m
e
to type a response
just
yet. 
I was to
o
emotionally
drained already. 
I half-heartedly clicked through my other messages
, unable to focus on anything.
  The
web
developer I was working with had thanked me for the documents I’d sent over last night,
which I’d all but forgotten about at this point,
and there was another
email
about an all-hands meeting later this week.
  I realized that I was reading the agenda for
the meeting
over and over
again
without comprehending a word of it
when
Marissa
asked me if I wanted to go to lunch.

“I think I’ll just eat at my desk today,
Marissa
. 
I got here pretty late, and
I kind of feel like being alone
.”

“Okay,” she said with a smile.  “I just wanted to check.”

“Thanks,” I said, giving her a small smile
in return
.

“See
ya
soon,” she said, heading out the door.
  “I’m
gonna
eat with Elizabeth in the break room
if you change your mind
.”

“See
ya
,” I said. 
I realized
after she left
that I hadn’t actually brought anything for lunch, but I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry anyway.  I sighed, putting my elbows on my desk and resting my face in my hands. 
So much for trying to get anything done during my lunch break.
  I’d have to
leave to
go buy something if I wanted
anything to
e
at.
 
I heard
a rustling in the doorway
a few moments later
and looked up to see Travis
standing there,
hesitantly peeking
in
to
my office.
 
As h
is brown eyes locked with mine
, m
y heart fluttered a little
,
and
I
smiled a real smile for the first time
all
day. 
“Travis,” I said
happily.

“Hey
Maddy
,”
he said, his voice deep
.  “
Marissa
said you were here.”

“Yeah, I came in late.  Sorry I didn’t
email
you back yet.”

His face lightened a little, and he stepped inside.  “How are you?”

“Okay,” I said simply.

He didn’t look convinced but left it alone. 
“How’s your mom?
”

“The same.
 
They were able to move
her
to her
own room last night,
which is good.  No
w they
’re just keeping her for observation.”

“
Well
,
that’s good to hear. 
I’m glad that she’s all right
,
”
he added softly.

“Thanks
; so am I.
  Last night was
so unreal.”

“
I was just going to go grab some lunch. 
Do y
ou want to come eat with us?”

“
No,
I forgot my lunch
,” I said with a
wry
smile.  “I’m not
really
that hungry anyway.”

“You should eat something,” he replied
, sounding concerned
.
“I’m running down to
the café to
buy a sandwich.  Do you want me to pick something up for you?”

“No
,” I said, shaking my head.
“T
hanks, but
I’m not really feeling that great.”

“You
do
look a little tired. 
How about if I
get you
some soup?”

“Um
…
okay. 
That does sound good
—if
you don’t mind.”

“No problem.”  He
lingered in
the doorway
, and
I looked up at him,
once again
meeting his dark brown eyes
. 
“I was worried when I didn’t hear back from you this morning.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.  I was going to write yo
u back, but I came in late and was just kind of overwhelmed
trying to catch up on
everything
.”
  He nodded as
I spoke
.  “But thank you for coming with me yesterday.  I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t there.”