The last time they were at a hospital together, Brandon used his sick sense of humor to help Nate hold it all together. Now he wished someone could do the same thing for him. But even as he wished it, he knew better. All the laughter in the world couldn’t erase the fear in his soul as he sat in the surgical waiting room of Chicago General, desperate for any word of Nate.
Keith sat down beside him and handed him a cup of coffee and an ice pack. “If you’ll come down to the office, I’ll disinfect that for you.”
Brandon’s fingers gingerly brushed the raw flesh of his cheek. “That’s what I get for passing out like some rookie at the scene of his first accident.” He took a sip of the scalding coffee, barely noticing when it burned his mouth.
“Under the circumstances, I think you can be excused.” Keith leaned back as far as the plastic chair would allow. “At least come down to my office and wait. The surgical staff will know to page us down there as soon as any news comes in.”
Brandon started shaking his head before Keith even finished. “I’m not leaving him, Keith. I’ll wait right here until he comes out of surgery.”
Keith knew better than to argue. “I called Mom. She’s gathering up the troops and heading on over.”
“Nate hasn’t even had a chance to meet the rest of them yet. We were supposed to have dinner at Grandma’s next Sunday.”
“There’ll be other Sundays, Bran.”
“For me, maybe, but what about Nate?” He glanced at the closed doors of the operating wing. “It’s been over six fucking hours, Keith. Why haven’t they told us anything?”
“He has internal bleeders that have to be sealed off, buddy. You know it takes time to do that.” He was quiet for a minute. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Brandon discarded the coffee cup and icepack, put his head in his hands, and nodded. “You know what the worst part is? I’ve never even told him. I kept telling myself that I couldn’t possibly be in love with him after only two weeks. Now I’m sitting here thinking that if he dies, I’ve got nothing left. Fourteen days and already I can’t imagine my life without the guy.”
“Love’s like that sometimes. I knew within three days of meeting Maria that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. It only took me two years to convince her that she felt the same way.”
“Yeah, well, if Nate makes it out of this, I’m going to have some convincing of my own to do. We had a fight right before he left. I said some really bad things, Keith. He said some stuff, too, but you know me, I always have to have the last word.” He choked on the words. “I never thought I might literally have it. What if I don’t get the chance to take it back?”
Keith hauled him to his feet and pulled him against his chest. “Stop talking like that, Bran. Dr. Lincoln’s the best surgeon we’ve got. The chief of surgery asked him to operate on Nate as a personal favor to me. The guys a complete asshole, but if anyone can repair the damage, it’s him.”
A commotion at the other end of the hall broke them apart. When Gale told Keith she was bringing in the troops, she wasn’t kidding. All of his brothers and sisters, except for Les and Randy, who were away at school, crowded into the waiting room with their various spouses. Brandon’s dad came in next, explaining that the grandparents would be there first thing in the morning, but tonight they were keeping the kids so the adults could come to the hospital. That was fine with Brandon. As much as he loved his nieces and nephews, he had about all the distractions he could handle at the moment. As it stood, twelve people, counting him and Keith, were crammed into a private waiting room built to seat eight. Brandon never knew standing-room-only could feel so good. For the first time since Nate was brought in, he felt a glimmer of hope. Amazing what family could do for a man. He made a mental note to introduce Nate to this crazy mob the minute he was able.
Gale came over and gave him one of those soothing hugs that only mothers know how to give. “How are you holding up, sweetheart?” She touched his scraped cheek. “And what happened to your face?”
“My face is alright. Physically, I’m fine, but they won’t tell us anything, Mom. I’m going out of my mind here.”
“Patience never was one of your virtues, son. I’m afraid you inherited that from your father. Let me go up to the desk and see what I can find out.”
Keith shook his head. “They won’t tell her anything.”
His father walked up behind them. Dean Nash was a big man, his body strong and fit from the long hours spent building up his construction company. Now semi-retired, Dean kept fit by helping his son Wayne with his own contracting jobs. Dean patted Keith on the arm and put his other hand on the small of Brandon’s back. “Never underestimate your mother, boys. She’s a force to be reckoned with.” He turned Brandon around so he could see his eyes. “You okay, son?”
“No, sir, but if he makes it, I will be.”
Keith went to watch his mother do her magic, while Brandon’s sisters and sisters-in-law left to get snacks and coffee. Wayne stepped outside to smoke, giving them some privacy. Dean led Bran over to a couple of empty chairs, all but pushing Bran down into one, and taking the other for himself.
“Have you called his folks?”
Brandon’s face hardened. “No, and I’m not going to, either. His friend Amy and her husband Mike are coming as soon as Amy finishes up an emergency call, but I have no intention of contacting his parents. As far as I’m concerned, they gave up all rights to know about Nate’s welfare when they threw him out six years ago.”
“Your mother said Nathan’s brother came to visit him a few days back. Don’t you think he’d want to know?”
“Last time we talked about it, Nate still hadn’t made up his mind about whether or not he even wanted to see Seth again. The last thing I’m going to do is call him so he can summon the rest of the family up here to cry crocodile tears all over Nate’s bedside.”
“Speaking of family, you know your mother’s adopted that boy, don’t you? She thinks Nathan Morris is two steps away from sainthood.”
Brandon smiled for the first time since arriving at the accident scene. “He says the same thing about her.”
“He has good taste, then. I can’t wait to meet this young man who has my wife and my son so captivated.”
“He’s amazing, Dad. He’s funny and loving . . . God, he
has the biggest heart. Did you know they call him ‘Magic Touch Morris’ because he spent his residency taking care of premature babies born with addictions to heroin and cocaine? He and Amy don’t even charge the patients who can’t afford to pay. And he does other things, too. Every night when I come home, he’s there waiting for me. Usually has dinner on the table, too. I tease him about making someone a good little wife someday, but he’s one of the least feminine men I know. He is gentle, though. He lets me vent and rave about my day without ever saying a word. Sasha’s totally in love with him. Hell, he’s even taught her to shake. She won’t even sit for me, but Nate’s got her doing tricks after only two weeks.”
“Sounds like Sasha’s not the only one in love with him.”
“No, she’s not. Does it bother you, Daddy?”
Dean was genuinely confused. “Why should it bother me? By all accounts, Nate’s a great guy. Keith called your mother right after the two of you left the hospital that first night, and he was absolutely giddy. Seems he thinks Nate is the next Jonas Salk because of his work with those babies. Why wouldn’t I want to see you settled down with a man like that?”
“It’s not that, Daddy. I just . . . why didn’t you hate me when you found out I was gay?”
“You mean, why didn’t I throw you out like Nate’s parents did?”
“Yeah.”
