Unrestrained (Unrestrained 3)

"Not telling. You can ask him when you go back."

I leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I can see that you two will gang up on me when we come back to Manhattan."

"Count on it." He smiled at that and then sighed. "I need to rest my eye a bit, sweetheart."

I squeezed his hand once more. "OK. I'll come back later for that talk."

"I'm not going anywhere."

I left him, glancing back when I reached the door. He looked frail, pale against the white sheets of the bed.

I was sitting in the waiting room reading a magazine while my father slept, and heard the click of a pair of boots on the floor. I glanced up to see Dawn walking down the hallway from the elevator. A surge of adrenaline went through me. How should I handle her after what happened between us?

A strange expression crossed her face when she saw me but then it was replaced by one of grief.

"Oh, Katie," she said and came to me when I stood up, her arms open. "I'm so sorry to hear about your dad." She hugged me tightly and I let her, willing to hold my anger towards her at bay when my father was so ill. She sounded genuinely sad and I knew she was truly upset. My father had been like a parent to her for years, when her own family was living far away. "It came as such a shock," she said and pulled away, wiping her eyes. "I heard it on the news that he had to pull out of the race."

I couldn’t speak, covering my mouth with a hand. We sat on the couch and I cried quietly, the events of the past few days overcoming me once again. She put her arm around my shoulder while I told her what had happened during the past week, the stroke and the seizures. She listened and nodded, because she understood much of what I said due to nursing school. She was almost ready to graduate and had finished a surgical rotation.

"You went to Africa with Drake," she said. "I spoke with Elaine, but I swore her to secrecy," Dawn said, looking around the floor. "Where is he?"

"In Nairobi," I said.

"He went back already?"

"He had to go back," I said, feeling a bit defensive. "He had classes and a surgical slate…"

"Of course," she said and smiled, but I could see sympathy for me in her eyes. "Elaine said you were engaged and that you two were really happy. She also said that Drake was really in love with you and you were in love with him."

"We are," I said, smiling despite everything – all my anxiety, fear and my sadness about Drake fading. I held out my hand to show her my ring. She took my hand and examined it, a tight-lipped smile on her face.

"When are you getting married?"

I shook my head. "We don't have a date yet, but probably within the year."

She smiled and continued to hold my hand. "I missed you."

I smiled back, tears filling my eyes. "Me too." It was all I could say without bursting into tears. I had missed Dawn. We'd been like twins since grade school, going through everything together. Not having her to talk to and help me through all this was a hole in my life that Drake alone couldn't fill.

"When are you going back to Nairobi?" she asked.

"When my father's back at the apartment."

She made a face. "That might be a while if he needs rehab. They'll keep him on a ward while he's recovering until they feel he's well enough to go home. It could be a few weeks."

I nodded. "I know, but I can't leave him here. I wouldn't be able to sleep or be productive or enjoy anything at all if I was in Nairobi and he was here, still at risk."

We talked about my father's case, and the care he'd require. She promised to check in on him once he was back at home.

Finally, she stood up. "I have to run," she said. "My shift starts soon and I need to go home and change."

"Thank you for coming by," I said and stood up as well, honestly pleased that she had stopped by, even if only for a few moments.

"How could I not come and see how your father is? He was like my own dad for years." She stared at me, her eyes searching mine as if for forgiveness. "You were like a sister to me. Closer than my own sister."

"Sisters," I said, taking her hand, remembering how we'd pretended to be sisters when we were both geeky pre-teens in public school.

She didn't apologize for what happened between us, or for what she tried to do to Drake's career. I didn't invite her back to the hospital. Instead, she left with a smile on her face, but in her eyes, I saw regret. It was almost enough for me to forgive her, but not quite. She'd have to do a lot more to right the wrong she'd done to Drake and me, but I was glad she stopped in.