James was packing up his briefcase in preparation for leaving when the phone on his desk began to ring. He stared at it, debating about whether to pick it up or not. It was already well past time he was supposed to leave, but maybe Janice wanted him to pick something up on the way home. Giving a sigh, he answered it.
“James Preston,” he said crisply.
“Mr. Preston, this is Our Lady of Mercy Hospital calling. I need to inform you that your father was admitted just a short time ago – you were listed as his emergency contact.”
“Emergency?” James sat up straight in his chair. “What kind of emergency? Is he going to be all right?”
“Your father has had a fall and suffered several injuries. We need you—”
“I’ll be right there,” James said, and hung up on her.
Throwing the rest of his things into his briefcase, he left his office at a fast clip, ignoring anyone who tried to stop him for a chat. As he sped across town to the hospital, he wondered how bad it was. He should have waited to get more details from the nurse.
His father wasn’t getting any younger, and the cabin he where he lived, the same one James had grown up in, was pretty isolated. James worried about him living all alone out there – worried that something like this would happen. How long had his father been laying injured before he was found? If it had been winter, instead of fall, Joseph might have died of exposure before anyone knew he was hurt.
Finally, James reached the hospital and hurried inside. He was directed from one desk to another, and finally handed a clipboard with several forms.
“Please take a seat fill these out,” the nurse told him.
“What about my father? How badly is he hurt, can I see him?”
“The doctor will be right out to speak to you. Meanwhile, please fill out these forms.”
“Look, just tell me—”
“Mr. Preston?”
James turned to face the tall, thin woman dressed in plain blue scrubs.
“I’m Doctor Maynard. Why don’t we have a seat over here?” She steered him towards the waiting area.
“How’s my father?”
“Your father is a lucky man. Apparently, he slipped off his front porch, and was found by a delivery man. He’s suffered several abrasions, a slight blow to the head, and a fracture to his hip.”
“You call that lucky?”
She looked at him soberly. “I was told his home is somewhat isolated. If the courier service hadn’t been scheduled to make a delivery today, who knows how long it might have been before he was found.”
“You’re right, of course,” James said. “Can I see him?”
“He’s down in x-ray right now. The x-rays will tell us how bad the hip is, whether it can be repaired or will need to be replaced.”
The doctor touched his arm in sympathy. “Mr. Preston, in either case your father’s recovery will take weeks, probably months. And he is not going to be able to go back home to do it. You’ll need to start thinking now about an extended care facility or nursing home for him.”
“Could he stay with us?”
She hesitated. “After his initial recovery and time spent in our rehab facility we can do an assessment. To be perfectly honest, he’s going to need a lot of care. You might want to give it careful consideration and speak with his occupational therapist before deciding on anything.”
James nodded. “Can I see him before he goes into surgery?”
Again, the doctor hesitated. “You can, but bear in mind he’s under sedation. He may say things he doesn’t really mean.”
Things like ranting about how even though the leaves were still on the trees it was one of winter’s children that pushed him down his steps. James waited patiently in the waiting room until an orderly took him to where his father was waiting for surgery.
James felt a chill as he looked down at his father. He had always seemed bigger than life, now he seemed old and frail, and so small laying on the gurney. For all their differences, he really did love his father.
Joseph’s eyes opened. Blearily, he looked at James. “Guess I’ve gone and done it this time,” he said in a rasping whisper.
“You’re going to be fine,” James told him. “They said it’s a fracture, not a break, and they can stick you together again with some screws.”
“Should have fixed that step when I had the chance. Had a box of my books coming and I didn’t want to miss it. You make sure to take them inside for me, would you? There’s rain coming.”
“I thought you only predicted snow,” James teased.
Joseph’s laugh was more of a bark. “Just make sure those books are safe boy.”
“I will,” James promised, as a pair of orderlies wheeled his father away.
He sighed. Winter’s children. Even now there was no getting away from them. Having been assured that, barring complication, the surgery would take at least two hours, James left the hospital to go rescue his father’s precious books.
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