The Fortune Cafe (32 page)

Stella had laughed at Amelia, reminding her it had only been one date, and the guy was too caught up in his status as a divorced man with a horrible ex-wife that he didn’t have time to realize life could be good again.

Not that Stella’s life was all that great, but she was okay. Her mom was doing as well as could be expected. The business was busier than ever, especially with the tourist season now in full swing. And she might even do to one of David’s barbeques where she could reconnect with her former friends. She was still debating that.

When Evan had texted her an apology, she’d ignored it. When he’d texted her again, apologizing
again
, in the form of:
I didn’t intend the conversation to go that way, but after thinking about it, I believe you’re right. I need to figure out myself before combining my past with the present.

She finally wrote back:
I only wish the best for you.
The sooner Stella forgot about him, the better.

It was clear that he was not ready to include another woman in his life other than the two who were already in it. Stella’s first fear had resurfaced ten-fold. Andrew had taught her that relationships were complicated enough without all the extra history.

Stella’s phone rang, and she flinched, thinking it might be Evan. But of course it wasn’t. She didn’t recognize the number, but she answered it anyway in case it was a new vendor who happened to have her cell number instead of the shop number.

The recorded message made her blood run cold.

An emergency alert has been issued for Leslie Novak. An emergency alert has been issued for…

Stella rushed out of the shop into the office, and threw open the back door. She ran the short distance to the house, hoping that her mother had pressed her emergency responder by mistake.

The sound of sirens made her heart sink, although she told herself that it could have still been a mistake or maybe an electronic malfunction. Stella unlocked the door with trembling hands and shouted into the house, “Mom?”

Without waiting for a reply, she ran into the living room, frantically looking for her mother, hoping she’d be watching TV in her chair. The TV was on— but the chair was empty. “Mom!”

Stella checked the bedroom next, but her mom wasn’t in there either. The sirens were growing louder, and panic set in full force. She moved into the hall, and saw that the bathroom light was on. Her heart nearly stopped… she could see the edge of her mom’s slipper.

“Mom,” she whispered, rushing to open the door. Her mother’s body was blocking it, so Stella had to slip in sideways.

Her mom was on the bathroom floor, and blood seeped from a wound on her forehead. Stella knelt down, grabbed her mom’s hand, and with her other hand, felt for the pulse in her neck. Her mother’s pulse was throbbing, and Stella felt like crying with relief.

“Mom, wake up.”

She’s alive… but what happened?

A loud pounding came from the front door, and Stella called out, “Come in! We’re in the bathroom.”

When two paramedics appeared, taking over transporting her mother to the living room, then checking all of her vitals, only then did Stella realize she’d been crying. “She’s diabetic,” she told them as they worked.

Her mother moaned, and her eyes fluttered open, then shut again.

But to Stella, that was a good sign. “Is she going to be all right?” she asked in a shaky voice.

One of the men looked up. “We need to take her to the hospital.”
Stella nodded, feeling numb. She followed the stretcher out of the house, and somehow got into her car and followed the ambulance. They didn’t use their sirens or lights driving to the hospital, so Stella hoped that was a good thing.

By the time she parked and made it into the ER, she had collected her thoughts. She had to call someone to close the shop down. Amelia was too far away. Who knew what the customers thought when she ran out on them?

The nurse at the ER desk said that her mother was in the exam room, that she was awake, but they were going to run some tests.

“Do you know what happened?” the nurse at the front desk asked.

Stella’s eyes filled with tears again as she explained to the nurse that she’d been a couple of minutes away, but it looked like her mom had passed out.

After writing down some notes, the nurse said, “Have a seat in the waiting room, and I’ll come and get you when we know more.”

Stella couldn’t sit, couldn’t join the couple of people there who stared at their phones with miserable expressions on their faces. She paced the lobby, went outside a couple times, then walked around the waiting room. The ER was a hub of activity, and Stella’s stomach continued to knot tighter and tighter.

She texted Amelia, who responded that her car was in the shop, but to keep her posted. She could most likely come up the next day to help out with anything. But for now, the shop was abandoned.

Do the thing you fear…

Stella scrolled to Evan’s number. He was the closest person she knew to the shop. It would take him only twenty minutes total to get there, close it up, then drive back to his job.

With a deep breath, she sent him a text.

She’d started pacing again, waiting for Evan’s reply when her phone rang.

“Evan?” she answered.

“Is your mom okay?”

For some reason, hearing his concerned voice made her start to unravel. She took a steadying breath before replying. “I’m not exactly sure yet. They said she’s awake, and they’re doing tests.”

“I’m really sorry,” he said.

Stella nodded even though he couldn’t see her. Tears burned in her eyes, and she blinked them back, taking slow breaths. She didn’t need to break down now. The doctor could be coming out any moment with a report.

“I’m leaving the hotel now,” Evan was saying, “and I’ll close down the shop. Should I leave the back door unlocked?”

Stella tried to focus and think beyond the emotions swirling inside of her. “Yes, I have the keys with me, so you can turn off all the lights. Put out the
closed
sign, and lock both doors.”

“Miss Novak?” a woman’s voice said behind her.

She turned to see a nurse wearing scrubs. “Thanks, Evan, I need to go.” Stella hung up, and her heart rate doubled as she waited for the nurse to speak.

“I’m Jennie,” the nurse said. “Come with me; the doctor would like to meet with you.”

“How is my mother doing?”

“She’s alert and doing fine, but there are some things to discuss.” The nurse pushed through a door, leading the way down a glossy hallway. “Dr. Anderson will go over everything with you.”

Jennie led Stella into an empty exam room where a doctor stood, reading a chart. He looked up, his thick eyebrows drawing together as he saw Stella. “Miss Novak?”

“Yes,” she said, clasping her hands together tightly.

“Your mother’s nerve damage has grown worse. She says her legs gave out, and that’s how she fell and hit her head.” He looked down at his chart and flipped a page over. “The tests have indicated that the damage is irreversible, which you probably already know.”

Stella nodded, trying to process the information.

He looked up at her, lowering the chart. “She’ll need a wheelchair. It will prevent future falls, and to be frank, the damage will continue to progress.”

Stella felt as if she’d swallowed a huge rock and it was sitting in her chest, pushing pain throughout her body. She’d read about all of the side effects of diabetes and studied them in depth after her mother’s stroke the year before
.
But a wheelchair?

Tears burned behind her eyes, though she refused to let them fall.

“Jennie will set you up with what you need. Do you have any questions?”

Stella exhaled. She glanced over at the nurse, then back to the doctor. “Does my mom know yet?”

“We’ll go in and talk to her together,” Dr. Anderson said.

The walk to her mother’s room was much too short, not giving Stella much time to pull her thoughts together. On one hand, Stella knew that her mother’s health would continue to decline, but to actually see it happening tore at her heart.

“There you are,” her mom said as Stella walked in with the doctor and nurse. A tech was adjusting the oxygen flow on the machine her mom was hooked up to. “I got stitches!”

Stella smiled. “Your first, ever.” She crossed to her mom’s bed and grasped her hand. There were about four to five stitches on her mother’s temple, along with an ugly bruise.

“Looks like this will be serious,” her mom said, eyeing Dr. Anderson.

Stella squeezed her mom’s hand. “You’re going to get more spoiled.”

Dr. Anderson started talking about the nerve damage that had progressed, and Stella watched as her mom put on an incredibly brave face. Stella had never been more glad that she left her master’s program and Andrew. Being here with her mom at this moment and holding her hand as the doctor told her how her life was about to change yet again was the most important thing to her.

Stella was exhausted by the time she left her mom resting in the hospital room. They’d moved her to the recovery wing and would keep her overnight for observation, then she’d be outfitted with a wheelchair in the morning.

Stella had forgotten about the shop when she walked into the waiting area and found Evan sitting in a chair. She almost did a double-take. “Evan?”

He looked up, his expression curious, his eyes searching hers. He stood as she crossed to him.

Stella wasn’t sure exactly how it happened, but she was suddenly in his arms, and he was holding her. The tears came hot and fast, and thankfully Evan didn’t say anything, didn’t press for information.

After a few minutes, when Stella had felt like she could talk without breaking down again, she pulled away.

“Sorry about that.”

Evan smiled. “Can you leave for a little while?”

Stella glanced toward the entrance. It was dark outside. “What time is it?”

“About nine,” he said, grasping her hand. “Come on. I can bring you back later.”

Stella nodded, then followed him outside and climbed into his truck. She closed her eyes as he walked around and got in on the driver’s side. He said nothing as he started the engine. He reached for her hand.

She let him hold it, if nothing else, to not feel like she had to handle everything on her own. Keeping her eyes closed, she relaxed in the seat as the truck moved, turning corners, accelerating, decelerating.

When the truck stopped, she opened her eyes. A fluorescent sign flickered above them, and Evan had pulled up to a glowing menu.

“We’re at a
drive-through
?”

Evan smiled. “What do you want?”

She looked past him and peered at the menu. “A chicken sandwich and a lemonade.” She didn’t really care what she ate, but she was starving.

Evan ordered for her, then added his own sandwich. As they pulled forward to pay, Stella said, “This must be painful for you. Fast food?”

He laughed. “I’m not that much of a food snob. But still, I’ll try to keep any complaints to myself.”

They were silent as Evan drove away from the restaurant, then turned into a parking lot that connected to Pismo Beach. He started unwrapping his sandwich, so Stella did the same.

After a couple of bites, Stella said, “She needs a wheelchair now.”

Evan nodded, waiting for her to continue.

So she did. She told him everything the doctor had said. Then she told him how she’d found her mother on the bathroom floor, bleeding, and unconscious. She told him that Amelia should be coming up the next day, although she didn’t know about the wheelchair part yet.

“Your mom is a lucky woman to have you,” Evan said.

“I don’t know about that,” Stella said. “A better daughter would have known the signs of nerve damage before it ended in a serious fall. I mean, she hit her head pretty good.”

Evan looked over at her. “My mom’s not sick, but I understand how you feel. I mean, anything that ever happens to Katie, I feel like I should have done something more. Even now, it’s tough not to be with her all of the time. And I keep blaming myself for it.”

“Guilt.”

“Yeah,” he said.

“We make a great pair.”

Evan smiled, and the numbness of Stella’s day started to slip away.

“Want to go for a walk on the beach?” Evan asked.

Stella’s eyes pricked with tears. This was a man she could fall in love with. Too bad his heart wasn’t available. But a walk would still be nice. “I’d love to.”

“You’re a barefoot kind of girl?” Evan asked as Stella slipped her shoes off.

“Yep.” Her tone sounded lighter than it had in the past hour.

He thought the sand might be a little cold, but then he decided,
Why not
. He slipped off the loafers he’d thrown on after his work shift. After closing up the jewelry shop, he’d gone back to the hotel until after the dinner rush. But he was having a hard time focusing, so he finally told the assistant chef that he had to leave.

And he was more than glad he did. Seeing Stella in the hospital had made him realize how selfish he was. Everyone in his family was healthy, his daughter was healthy, and knowing only a fraction of what Stella had been dealing with for a year made him feel like a jerk.