New Beginnings Read Free Page B

her. And your prayers.”
    “She would have done the same for us. That’s what friends are for.” Smiling to himself, James watched Cesar walk down the hallway. He looked as though he wasn’t even touching the ground. A cloud of joy surrounded and buoyed him.
    James experienced the same buoyant release. He jumped up and clicked his heels together and then nearly fell over the computer.
    He laughed as he headed for the Birthing Unit to let Candace know the good news, keeping his feet securely in contact with the floor. No need to break his neck celebrating Elena’s successful surgical outcome.
    He’d let Anabelle know the good news and call Fern after that.
    After Elena rested in recovery for several hours, Dr. Drew signed her release.
    Phyllis Getty, a hospital volunteer, charged into the room with a wheelchair. A dozen service-award pins weighed down the breast pocket of her kelly-green jacket.
    “Your chariot has arrived,” she announced in a voice that resembled that of a Marine drill sergeant.
    Sitting on the side of the bed, wearing a velour jogging outfit and her navy peacoat, Elena said, “Cesar could have taken me out.”
    “Nonsense!” Phyllis whipped the chair around for Elena’s easier access. “You’re one of my favorite nurses. You get special treatment.”
    Elena smiled to herself as she eased into the chair. Knowing Phyllis, each nurse and doctor, each clerk and cafeteria worker, was her favorite. The staff felt the same way about her.
    “I’ll get her things,” Cesar offered.
    “Of course you will.” Taking hold of the handles, Phyllis pushed Elena out the door. “You’re a gentleman. You wouldn’t burden me with all that extra weight to shove around.”
    Perhaps because the anesthetic hadn’t yet entirely worn off, or more likely because a terrible weight had been lifted from her shoulders, Elena giggled. Phyllis Getty could no doubt wrestle twice her weight in chimpanzees and win, despite being well into her eighties.
    Cesar punched the elevator button. When the elevator arrived, the door swished open and two nurses stepped out. Riley Hohmann, the day-shift nurse supervisor in the Birthing Unit, stopped abruptly and gaped at Elena and then smiled. “I heard the surgery went perfectly.”
    “There are no secrets around here,” Elena said with a bounce in her voice.
    “Precious cargo.” Phyllis announced as she pushed Elena past the two nurses.
    Dr. Drew’s good news had been like a shot of adrenaline directly into Elena’s veins. Even so, she’d be glad to get home to celebrate with her family and say another prayer of thanksgiving.
    As James checked out at the end of his shift, he decided God had been working overtime at Hope Haven. Elena’s health scare had been successfully resolved; and the two accident victims had survived, if not unscathed, at least in a condition to go on with their lives. James sent up a prayer of gratitude for all of them.
    After the freezing overnight temperatures, the day had warmed and the roads were dry.
    James pulled his van into the garage. They’d lived in the new house for a little over a year and there were still some boxes stacked in the back of the garage that hadn’t been unpacked yet. Maybe he could get to them during the holiday season.
    Living in a one-story house had been a blessing for Fern. Even on her bad days—and there had been fewer of those recently—she could get around better here than in their former two-story home.
    He found Fern in the family room, a still life watercolor in progress on her easel. He bent down to kiss her.
    “Careful, honey, or you’ll get paint all over your jacket.” She didn’t care if the old cardigan sweater she wore got a little paint on it.
    He shrugged out of his parka. “How was your day?”
    “Wonderful after you let me know Elena is going to be all right. What a scare she had.”
    “Cesar too. He was pretty much a basket case this morning waiting for word on her surgery.”
    “I was