The Homecoming (Thunder Point #6)(79)

She bent over him for a closer look. “Norm! What is it?”

“It’s in my gut, my chest, my back—I can’t sit up. I gotta...I gotta see Seth before... I have to talk to Seth.”

He’d broken out in a sweat, his forehead completely damp. His hands were shaking. He pinched his eyes closed. “Oh, Norm! Are you having a heart attack?”

It took him a second to respond because his breath was short. “I might be,” he finally growled out.

Gwen ran to the kitchen and dialed 911. Then she ran back to the sewing room to be with her husband while he died.

Eighteen

Seth was standing outside the deputy’s office, talking with Steve Pritkus. Steve had just arrived for the night shift. Both their radios started chattering at the same time. Paramedics were en route to an address for a possible coronary.

Seth and Pritkus looked at each other suddenly. They both knew it was the Sileski address.

“Go, go, go,” Pritkus said. “I’ll see if Doc Grant is still in the office and bring him!”

Seth jumped in his squad car and ran the lights and siren the short drive to his parents’ house. He pulled in their drive, all the way up and onto the grass so he wouldn’t be blocking paramedics, and ran into the house.

“Mom? Dad?”

“In here, Seth,” Gwen called.

He followed her voice into the sewing room, finding Norm bent over in the chair, shaking, weak, white-faced, sweating. He got down on one knee. “Paramedics on the way, Dad, and we’re looking for Doc Grant. Don’t panic.”

“I ain’t,” Norm said weakly. “If I don’t make it, send your mother on a cruise.”

“You can send her on a cruise. Don’t talk now.” Seth held his father’s hand.

The next sound he heard was Iris, running into the house. “Oh, my God, Gwen, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“He’s having a heart attack,” she said.

“We don’t know that yet,” Seth said. “But we need medical.”

Right after that, Scott Grant showed up, a little less panicked but none the less moving at a pretty fast clip. He shooed Seth out of the way, got on one knee, immediately gave Norm an aspirin and took his blood pressure. He fished a small tablet out of a vial and instructed Norm to hold it under his tongue. He asked questions about the pain, looked in his eyes, ears, nose, taking his pulse and temperature, checking the blood pressure again, asked about the pain again.

“I did this,” Iris said, tears streaming. “This is my fault!”

“What are you talking about?” Seth asked.

“No, it wasn’t your fault,” Gwen said. “He came home from work with the pains and I gave him an antacid before he watched the movie.”

“What movie?” Seth asked.

“I found your assembly presentation online and I showed your mother,” Iris said.

“And I showed your father,” Gwen said.

“And he had a heart attack,” Iris cried. “Oh, Seth, will you ever forgive me? I do things like that—just make decisions and then... God, I’m so sorry!”

“You found that video and showed my parents?”

“I know, I’m a very bad person. I should have asked you! And now look what I’ve done!”

“No, darling,” Gwen said again. “He came home with the heart attack.”

“Why did you do that?” Seth asked Iris.

“Because you were so brilliant. Because it was important for your parents to see. Because they’d be so proud of you and all you’ve done with your life!”

“Iris, what if you find something online that’s embarrassing and humiliating and gives me a heart attack?” Seth asked.

Scott got to his feet, stethoscope around his neck. “I don’t think there’s any heart attack. I’m not real sure of the condition of his heart since he hasn’t been a regular patient. His blood pressure is high at the moment, no doubt due to severe gastric distress and the pain. But I think what you gave him is a giant gallbladder attack. He says he’s had indigestion before and had a big, fatty pork sandwich for lunch. And the whites of his eyes are taking on a jaundiced hue.”

“Iris, you gave my father a gallbladder attack,” Seth said.

“Oh, Seth, do you hate me?” she asked, tears running down her cheeks.

He just laughed. “I love you, Iris. But you’re a runaway train.”

The paramedics arrived, talked to Dr. Grant and they unanimously decided on transport to Pacific Hospital. Scott called the E.R. An IV was started. Norm quietly asked Scott if Seth could ride in the ambulance.

“Don’t you want your wife to ride with you?” Scott asked.

“I’ll take her and follow,” Iris said. “Seth, go with your dad.”

“I’ll go,” he said. Then he looked at his mother. “Mom, make sure you turn off the stove.”

It was a pretty tight fit in the back of that ambulance but before they were out of town, Norm was much more comfortable thanks to a little pain medication. With Seth on one side of him and a young paramedic on the other side monitoring his blood pressure, Norm closed his eyes and his breathing relaxed.

Norm opened his eyes and looked at Seth. “If I die I want you to sue Stu for that sandwich.”