Without Compromise (14 page)

              He stood up, “No. I’m not. . .” he ran a hand over his face, tiring of the explanation already.

              Erica, the first nurse joined them, “Do you need some help moving her?”

              “I was just finding out what we need to do. Sign a release or something.”

              Erica smiled in understanding, “He’s the boyfriend, Sandy.”

              “Oh,” Sandy laughed. “Sorry.”

              Tag was reeling a little from being called Josie’s boyfriend, so he didn’t comment.

              The transfer was made without problem. Tag was left to watch the steady rise and fall of Josie’s chest, listen to the beeps, and hope for the best.

              “You know, Jo,” he traced the knuckles of her right hand lightly with his finger, “I can’t help but think you’d tell me to pray if you were awake. Of course, if you were awake, I wouldn’t be here, terrified that I was going to lose you.”

              He glanced up at the clock, not surprised to see that it was only two o’clock. It seemed much longer, of course, but the hours of the night always seemed longest when he was trying to remain awake.

              “Josie, I don’t know how to pray. You know I would do it for you,” he whispered, not caring that tears were falling. “I would do just about anything for you, but I don’t know how.”

              He rested his forehead on his folded arms and closed his eyes for a couple minutes. He woke to a tapping on his shoulder.

              He raised his face to Molly’s smiling face.

              “I considered going for the sidearm,” she whispered, “but I was pretty sure that would be more of a rude awakening for me than you.”

              Tag reflexively reached down and grasped his weapon to ensure it was really there.

              “That was really irresponsible of me,” he rubbed a hand over his eyes.

              Molly didn’t respond to that.

              “Are they going to take her into her tests soon?” he stood up, suddenly realizing how long it had been since he had used the restroom.

              “At nine, but I thought I’d come in now to relieve you. Go home and get a shower. Eat.”

              He nodded, “You want me to bring anything back to you?”

              Molly shook her head, “You don’t have to come back, Tag.”

              He didn’t respond. She knew he was going to be coming back.

              Tag forced himself to find things to do around his house until noon. He tried to eat some lunch then but found nothing appealed to him, so he wrapped up his sandwich and left for the hospital. By the time Tag returned to the hospital, Josie’s parents were back in town.

              “Nice to see you again, Tag,” Sol offered his hand across the bed. “Wish it wasn’t under these circumstances.”

              Tag blinked at the man’s near-cheerful disposition.

              “This is my wife, Doris. Doris, this is Tag Madden. He’s Molly’s neighbor.”

              Doris appeared to be assessing his worth from her position across the room.

              They each made the appropriate responses.

              Tag looked back to Josie. She appeared to have gained a little color.

              “How did the tests come out?” he asked Molly who was the one most likely to have heard it directly from the doctor.

              “Good,” Molly was sitting beside her sister. “The swelling has gone down. They’re just keeping her sedated a little longer because of her wrist.”

              “Her wrist?”

              “They didn’t set it last night. They set it about twenty minutes ago. She should start to wake up in a few hours.”

              “We’re going to run home,” Sol gave his daughter a peck on the cheek “We’ll be back this evening.”

              Molly stood up, “Did you eat anything?”

              “I made myself a sandwich,” he took the chair she had vacated.

              Molly pulled her purse strap up, “I think that was a deflection, but I’m not sure.”

              Tag pulled Josie’s hand into his own and ignored Molly.

              “I’m going to go grab some lunch,” she stood in the doorway. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

              He nodded, not looking away from Josie.

              Molly was gone for about two minutes when the rate of beeps changed. Tag looked up at the monitor, wondering what the change meant.

              The fingers he held twitched.

              Tag leaned toward her, “Josie?”

              The tip of her tongue came out and wet her lips.

              He looked around for a cup, thinking she was probably thirsty.

              “Not nice,” her voice rasped.

              Tag stood up and leaned over her, “What’s not nice, honey? Does something hurt?”

              She shook her head and it looked like she was trying to force her eyes open, “L – lying to Mol.”

              He reached for the cup he had seen but found it empty.

              “Hold on, Josie,” he went to the sink and put some water in the cup.

              He held the straw to her lips, “Take a sip.”

              She did as she was told.

              “Now, what’s that?”

              The brief smile she managed turned into a grimace, but she answered his question, “You didn’t eat anything. You might have made a sandwich, but you didn’t eat.”

              Tag laughed and took her hand again, perching on the edge of the bed rather than on the chair, “I didn’t lie.”

              Her eyes opened slightly, “Covering the truth – still a lie.”

              “She called me on it anyway.”

              Josie’s fingers squeezed his.

              “I’m going to call Molly.”

              “No!” Josie’s eyes opened wide then. “Don’t yet.”

              She blinked a few more times, trying to wake up.

              Tag gave her another drink of water.

              “I think I should have the nurse come look at you.”

              One half of her mouth lifted in a grin, “Like an exhibit?”

              Tag pressed the call light and a nurse appeared quickly.

              “Something wrong?”

              Tag leaned away from Josie, “No. Nothing at all.”

              “You’re awake,” the nurse grinned. “I’m Cora – your nurse. How are you feeling?”

              “I’ve been better. Tag thought you needed to see me.”

              The nurse looked at the monitors and down at Josie’s bandages, “Headache, nausea?”

              “No, but that water hurt my throat.”

              “Water?” Cora looked at Tag.

              He nodded at the cup on the bedside table.

              The nurse pursed her lips slightly, “She really shouldn’t have more than ice chips right away. I’ll get some in here in a minute. Do you want something for the pain in your throat?”

              “Not right now,” Josie shifted. “Can I sit up?”

              The nurse reached for the bed controls, “You can have your head elevated to forty-five degrees. No higher right now.”

              Tag slid down to allow for the incline.

              “I’m going to need to check all your bandages soon,” Cora shot a look at Tag.

              “Not yet,” Josie’s hand tightened on Tag’s.

              The nurse nodded, “Call me if you need anything.”

              “Tag,” Josie wasted no time, “what are you doing here?”

              He was hurt by her words. He hadn’t come with any expectations, but he had also assumed she would be glad to see him – that she would understand that he would be here for her.

              He chose the easy way out, “Molly called me.”

              He stood up and moved to the chair beside her bed. He would have taken back his hand, but she gripped it more firmly when he tried.

              “Thanks, Tag.”

              “Sure,” he looked down at his lap.

              “What do they say about my injuries? Anything permanent?”

              Tag shook his head, looking at her injured limb instead of her face, “The doctor doesn’t think so. You have a torn ACL and a broken wrist.”

              “Great,” she lifted up her left hand to inspect the cast. “Wonder how long this is going to take to heal.”

              “I think they said it would be six to eight weeks for the wrist. Not sure when they’re doing the surgery on your knee.”

              “You tore yours,” she reminded him of something he had told her. “How long did that take?”

              “A couple months before I was up and running again.”

              Josie pulled a face, “I’m going to have to get them to do it right away if I’m going to be ready for the shoot in February.”

              “I think they’re going to want to wait until they are sure your head is okay.”

              “Is that a wisecrack?” she forced him to really look at her.

              He shook his head, “No, but you really took a blow.”

              “Did I get a metal plate?”

              “Sorry,” he didn’t care for her joking about this. “No.”

              “How bad do I look?”

              “Not bad at all,” Tag swallowed hard. “You’ve never looked more beautiful.”

              “I didn’t take you for the sentimental type, Thaddeus,” she smiled.

              “You could have died, Josie,” he forced the words past his throat. “Please don’t joke around.”

              “Tag,” she shifted so she could get a better view of him, “Why are you rejecting Jesus?”

              He felt his eyebrows jump to his hairline. That was not the next thing he expected to come out of her mouth.

              “My biggest regret in leaving this earth would have been that I didn’t push you a little harder – that I didn’t find out why you aren’t interested in knowing God.”

              “That seems pretty trivial compared to leaving your family, your friends,” he knew she could hear the irritation in his voice, but he couldn’t quell it.

              “No, Tag, it isn’t trivial. I know all my family is heading to Heaven when they die. If I left them now, I would see them again eventually. If I left you now, I wouldn’t have that same assurance. If I had died today, I would have lost the chance to ask you why you weren’t even interested in God.”

              “In the first place,” he stood up and started pacing, “your accident was yesterday. In the second place, I don’t think God cares one way or another about whether he has a relationship with me.”

              She eyed him speculatively. Tag couldn’t begin to guess what she was thinking nor was he sure he wanted to know.

              “Would you like me to show you how to pray, Tag?”

              “What?!”

              “You said you didn’t know how to pray,” she stated simply.

              His jaw dropped, “I thought you were asleep.”

              Josie shrugged, “Must be true that people can hear you. I remember you saying you didn’t know how to pray.”

              Tag wasn’t sure how to answer that. It was one thing to say those things when you were all alone, but if she had heard everything he said, he was going to have to rethink the past twenty-four hours.

              “I don’t know, Josie,” he stood with his back to her. “I don’t really have anything to say to God.”

              Josie was silent so long he had to turn and look to see if she was still awake.

              “What if I said I couldn’t move my legs?” she pressed. “Then would you have something to say to God?”

              A vice clenched his heart, “Can you really not move your legs, Josie?”

              She exhaled a frustrated breath, “Tag, you were willing to pray when you were afraid for me, but you aren’t now. Maybe what you need to push you in the right direction is a little well-placed fear.”

              “What I need is to know the truth about your legs,” he ripped the sheet off the lower half of her legs and pinched the bottom of her foot.

              “Ouch,” she complained of his treatment, frowning hugely.

              Tag let out a sigh of relief, “Sorry.”

              She curled her good leg up under her, “Sheet, please.”

              He dropped the sheet back over her feet.

              “I told you it was hypothetical, Tag. I’m just wondering why you were willing to pray earlier and not now.”