“There will be all sorts of gifts under here for Christmas and me and Mark and Patricia and Greta and Hal will open them.” She looked up at my mom. “You can come, too.”
I nodded. There. It was settled. Christmas would be at our house this year. Mom contained her excitement but I knew she was about to burst because the bells on her sweater practically rang out a tune as she bounced toward the door. She and Dad left and I tried to imagine the conversation they were having in the car.
Nathan Andrews leaned down and whispered into the sleeping ear of his tiny patient. “You did great, Mia,” he said, stroking her arm. “What a strong girl you are.” The procedure was over and with the exception of a few cries before it began, everything went as planned. Once Dr. Andrews ran catheters to Mia’s heart he performed an ablation, selecting one of the catheters to deliver a series of short impulses to the tissue of the heart to rid it of the irregular beat. “Thanks for your help,” Dr. Andrews said to the staff assisting him. He ran his finger over Mia’s cheek. “She thanks you, too.”
We found Sandra in the waiting room. “Has anybody given you an update or anything?” I asked.
“A nurse came out an hour ago and said they finished. She said it went well and asked me to wait for the doctor.” So that’s what we did. We waited, three people who really didn’t know Mia but would do anything for her. It was several minutes before Dr. Andrews appeared. He smiled and Sandra and I felt relief.
“She’s doing great,” he said. “Strong heartbeat, great pulse. She’s feisty.”
“She’s had to be,” I said.
“Well, hello, Emily,” he said, kneeling in front of her. “Mia will be very happy to see you.”
Emily smiled and squeezed my hand. “Did you fix her heart?” she asked.
“I think so. In a little while she’ll be just as big and strong and pretty as you.”
Emily beamed. I think she was having her first crush.
“How long will she need to be here?” Sandra asked.
“A few days. We’ll need to keep an eye on her.”
“We’ll watch her, too,” Emily said.
“Well, I’ll make sure that the staff knows to give you anything you need,” Dr. Andrews said. “Lollipops, balloons, you name it.”
A nurse at the desk called for Dr. Andrews. “It’s your wife,” she said.
“Excuse me,” he said. “She’s pregnant so I never know! I’ll have one of the nurses show you where Mia is sleeping.” We followed the nurse as Dr. Andrews took his call.
“Was that Patricia Addison?” a nurse asked when Dr. Andrews hung up the phone.
“Yes,” he said.
“I haven’t seen her since her son’s funeral.”
Dr. Andrews put a clipboard on top of the desk. “When did her son die?”
“Four or five years ago. He was driving home from college for Christmas and fell asleep at the wheel.” A physician interrupted before Dr. Andrews could hear the rest of the story. He picked up his paperwork and walked toward his office. It had been a long day; he was ready to go home.
We walked into the room where Mia was sleeping. Her tiny body was dwarfed among a tangle of tubes and wires. Emily gasped when she saw her. “She’s all right, Emily,” I said. “All that stuff just makes it look worse than it is.”
A nurse stood at the side of the bed and smiled. “You can come closer,” she said to Emily.
Emily stepped toward the bed and looked at Mia. “Can I hold her hand?”
The nurse nodded. “Just be very gentle so you don’t move her.” It wasn’t a comfortable reach, the bed was slightly taller than Emily, but she slid two fingers into Mia’s palm and stood still, watching her breathe.
“How long will she sleep?” Sandra said.
“It wouldn’t be unusual if she slept throughout the night,” the nurse said. “This was a big day for her,” she said, patting Mia’s leg.
“We should go so Mia can rest,” I said to Emily.
She nodded and looked at Mia’s face as if she was searching for something. She held her gaze and then squeezed her fingers around Mia’s hand.
“Okay, we can go now,” she said.
“I’ll come back first thing in the morning,” Sandra said.
“We will, too,” Emily said. We said good bye in the parking lot and I helped Emily into the backseat. I buckled her in and moved her hair out of her face.
“You’ve had a busy day,” I said. “Are you sure you want to go out for pizza tonight?”
She nodded.