“Well, Reid, I’d like to do a CAT scan first to make sure there’s nothing going on that we need to be concerned about.” Dr. Farruggia glanced up at me briefly, and I was able to read her correct assessment between the lines: the scan needed to make sure there was no bleeding in his brain. “Then, depending on what that tells us, we’ll take it from there.”
Reid looked over at me, and I nodded, agreeing with her plan.
“Okay,” he said. “When will you do the scan?”
“I’ll put in the order now and someone should be here to take you back soon.”
“Oh. Okay then.”
She stood up and shook his hand again. “I’ll be back when we have your results. If you have any pain, let us know by hitting the call button on the remote, okay?”
“I will. Thank you.”
Dr. Farruggia smiled at me before exiting the room, plunging the room into silence again.
“See?” I said, feigning cheerfulness. “Just a quick scan and they’ll send you home with some Tylenol.”
I didn’t know why I said that. I knew that wasn’t going to happen, and the look in Reid’s eyes as his gaze met mine told me he knew that too.
“Ollie…”
I scooted to the edge of my seat and took his hand in mine again. “I know, Reid,” I said, and then pressed a kiss to his palm. “I know.”
fifteen
THEY WHEELED REID back for the CAT scan not too long after Dr. Farruggia had left, and I waited alone in the empty room, looking down at Reid’s phone in my hands. He’d handed it to me to keep a hold of while he was there, and I debated whether to make the call to his parents. I’d intended to wait until we got the results back to let them know whether it was necessary or not to come down, but if I were in their shoes, I’d want to know what was going on.
I scrolled through his contacts, looking for either of his parents’ numbers, and when I saw the listing for “Mom,” I hit the call button. His mother answered on the second ring.
“Reid, you’re missing out on the most extraordinary salmon,” she said by way of greeting. There was the sound of people chattering in the background and glasses clinking. “You should’ve come with us.”
“Hello, Mrs. Valentine. This is Ollie, Reid’s”—I hesitated, unsure of how much she knew—“friend.”
“Oh, yes, Ollie, hello. Is everything all right?”
“Actually…”How to put this so they didn’t freak out?“Reid has been suffering from some headaches this week. He assured me it was nothing serious, but he had another one tonight, andI thought we should get it checked out, just to be on the safe side. He’s getting a scan at Floyd right now, and we should know something soon.”
“At Floyd? FloydHospital?” The connection muffled like she’d pulled the phone away, and I could hear her repeating what I’d said to someone. When she got back on the line, she said, “Ollie? We’ll be up there soon.”
“Okay. There may not be any need, but I know he’d like to have you here just in case.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you letting us know.”
“Anytime.” I hung up just as Reid was wheeled back in the room, and I stood up to greet him. “Easy enough, huh?”
“Mhmm.” He winced as another shot of pain seemed to lance through him, and he covered his eyes with his hand.
“Does the light make it worse?” I looked up at the nurse who’d wheeled him in. “Sue, can we dim the lights at all?”
“Of course.” She flipped them off so that only a faint glow over the counter filtered through the room, and soon after, Reid eased back onto the bed.
I leaned down and cupped his face, pressing a kiss to his forehead and wishing I could ease the pain by doing so.
“I’m so pissed off,” he said, his face downturned. “I really wanted taco Tuesday.”
That made me laugh, and he managed a smile too. “You’ll get an even more amazing taco Tuesday when you feel better.”
“I like the sound of that. But for now,” he said, tapping his finger against his lips, “kiss?”