The Best of Us (Sullivan's Crossing #4)(48)

His father stepped off the elevator and walked over to him. “You okay?” Rob asked.

“I’m fine,” he said. “She’s out of surgery. I’ll see her in an hour or two. I’m a little nervous. I hope she’s not in too much pain.”

“Want me to go downstairs and get you a soda or something?”

“A water, maybe? That would be good. Thanks.”

The MacElroys didn’t come back out and he had no idea where they were. An hour later Maggie came to the waiting area and Finn shot to his feet.

“It was a very positive surgery, Finn. Very clean, very contained, nothing out of the ordinary. The initial pathology report is that it’s benign, not malignant, but they will take a closer look. I think we got every little sliver of it but her next MRI will tell the whole story.”

“God,” Finn said weakly. The idea of surgery for a brain tumor was so traumatic and intense he hadn’t even thought about the possibility of cancer.

“Her recovery the next few days is going to be difficult. She’s going to have a bad headache. She’ll have 24/7 nursing coverage. But she’s young, healthy, strong—she’s going to recover just fine.”

“Is she conscious now?”

“She’s in and out. I’ll take you to see her in recovery, before they move her to ICU, which is going to happen within the hour. Keep it brief. Then I suggest you guys go back to Timberlake. By tomorrow afternoon she might be able to text you, but the nurses aren’t going to let her spend a lot of time doing that. And she’s not only going to be very tired, she’s also going to take advantage of pain medication and sleep a lot. They’ll have her up walking tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Not a lot of walking. She’ll start with a few steps, with assistance. Come with me, let’s go in.”

“Maggie, is she scary looking?” he asked. “I mean, I can take it, but should you prepare me?”

Maggie shook her head. “Nah, it’s not scary. There’s an IV, bandage, heart monitor, the usual gear. It’s all precautionary—she’s in good shape. Let’s do this.”

“Maggie, why do you look so good? You were in there ten hours!”

Maggie smiled and shook her head. “I think I could use a little work, but thank you for being so sweet. I got some fresh scrubs and brushed my teeth. I’m going to be staying here most of the night. I want to check on her until she’s several hours post-op. I have a couple of much shorter procedures tomorrow.”

She turned and Finn followed her. They passed a lot of beds behind drawn curtains and the action back here was even more interesting to Finn. There were doctors and nurses flowing through the large suite, a big curved counter in the center of a work area. Maggie pulled back a curtain and stepped close to the bed. “Maia, are you awake?” Maggie asked. “Finn is here.”

She opened her eyes. She tried to smile but her lips looked dry and chapped. There was an intimidating bandage, a fat section on the left side, gauze wrapped around her head to hold it in place.

He touched her hand and leaned down toward her, speaking softly. “Maggie said you did great.”

“Were you here all day?” she whispered.

“Yeah. Me and my dad. I wanted to see you after surgery but Maggie said we shouldn’t stay. You’re going to need all your strength to get better. If they don’t cut you loose in a few days, I’ll come back. You can text me when you feel up to it.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “If you need me, have someone call me and I’ll come.”

“I wish this was over,” she said.

“Pretty soon,” he said. “Does it hurt a lot?”

“Six,” she said.

Finn looked at Maggie. Maggie smiled. “On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst.”

“Almost seven,” Maia said, her voice soft and scratchy. “My throat...”

“From the intubation tube,” Maggie said. “That will pass soon.”

“I need water,” she said.

“We’ll swab out your mouth,” Maggie said. “For now you’re getting your fluids by IV.”

“Finn,” she said. Her eyes were clouded with tears. “Were you here all day?”

She was groggy, he decided. Maybe a little confused. “I told you I’d be here. I promised. And if you need me to come back, I will.”

“Maggie told me it took all day. I closed my eyes and woke up with a huge bandage and a headache. It seemed like five minutes.”

“We’re getting it behind us,” he said. “One hour at a time.”

“I’m going to have to do something about my hair. It’s shaved on one side...”

“Maia, that’s not important. If you shaved your whole head you would still be the most beautiful girl in town.”

“I’m keeping you forever...”

“Good.” He kissed her cheek again. “I’m going to go. Get some sleep. Everything is going to be okay now. That fucker is out of your head now.” His cheeks grew pink and he looked up at Maggie. “Sorry, Maggie.”

“My sentiments exactly,” she said with a slight smile.

He kissed Maia’s cheek one more time. “Sleep. Remember I love you.”