Waking Up to Love Read Free Page A

Ramona and not Nessa?
    Ramona knew that Scott could sense her panic, but he wasn’t responding. In fact, he diverted his eyes and started staring at a poster on the wall. It showed a healthy blond family having a picnic. Since he wasn’t helping her out, she only had one choice. She had to tell Debra the truth. “Actually, Mrs. McInney,” she said. “I—”
    “Please call me Debra,” she corrected. “We’re family, remember?”
    Gulp.
    All their lives, Debra McInney had looked out for Ramona and her sister. She loved them like daughters. She loved them each individually, even if she could never quite tell them apart.
    “Yes,” she said. “Well, that’s the thing …”
    Before she could finish her sentence, Dr. Nguyen walked into the room. He was smiling again. He looked like the kind of doctor from a medication commercial, blandly handsome and pleasant.
    “Oh good,” he said. “Everybody’s here.”
    Everybody except my MIA sister,
Ramona thought.
    “Okay,” the doctor continued. “Can all the family members meet with me outside for a sec?” In response to Debra’s panicked expression, he quickly added, “Nothing serious.”
    No one moved.
    “Family members? Please?” Dr. Nguyen said.
    Scott and Rob both walked out into the hallway with the doctor. Rob carefully set his son on the empty chair, making sure not to wake him. Ramona stayed behind, staring once again at Debra. In the new silence, Debra’s heart monitor sounded extremely loud.
    “Well?” Debra asked.
    “Yes?”
    “Aren’t you going to join them?” she asked. “You are part of the family now, aren’t you?”
    It was now two forty-five on a Tuesday morning. She was in no condition to make any major decisions right now. If she thought about it logically, she could have easily said, “Actually, I’m Ramona, not Nessa. I’ll just wait here with you.” It was that simple. Of course, Ramona had just run out of her supply of logic for the week. Besides, it was two forty-five a.m. No one is logical at two forty-five a.m.
    So Ramona nodded, said, “I’ll be right back,” and walked out into the hallway.
    “… and there’s not much more we can do in the hospital,” Dr. Nguyen was telling the brothers. His smile was still there, but it was slowly fading.
    “So she’s going to be fine?” Scott asked.
    Dr. Nguyen nodded. “There’s no reason to think otherwise. However, it will be a long road to recovery, and her heart is extremely weak.”
    Ramona thought back to the beeping heart monitor. It sounded so faint, so quiet.
    “But I thought you put her on medications to help fix that,” Rob said.
    “We did,” the doctor answered. “But it’ll take some time for her heart to go back to full strength. She’s out of the woods for now, but any big surprises, especially in these first weeks, could be … well, they could be deadly.”
    Ramona felt herself recoil. Deadly? Any surprises?
    “You mean like a divorced son?” Scott asked blankly.
    Dr. Nguyen’s smile had completely faded. In its place was a look both calm and professional. “Would she be shocked by the news?” he asked.
    Rob and Scott nodded.
    “Our mom doesn’t believe in divorce,” Rob said. “Besides, the circumstances were a little messy.”
    “Yeah,” Scott added. “I married the girl next door and she ran away three weeks later. No one knows where she is.” He didn’t mention the fact that her identical twin sister was standing two feet away from them.
    “Yes,” Dr. Nguyen said. “That’s definitely a conversation that you’ll want to avoid.”
    Rob and Scott nodded again. Ramona waited for them to ask some follow-up questions, but neither said anything.
    “So what should we do?” Ramona blurted out. After the words came out of her mouth, she realized how presumptuous it was to use the word “we.” There was no “we.” There never was a “we.”
    “Well,” the doctor said, “she’ll be back here in two weeks for more tests. If all