Her Last Wish

Her Last Wish - Chapter Eighteen

Her Last Wish
Chapter Eighteen
Dr. Phil Roberts

I walk the halls of the hospital, heading towards the little old lady I've always looked to as a mother. She and her husband's took me in when I was a young lad and since then she's always been a woman I have looked up to. The way she helps people, the way she understands them within such a short period of knowing them. Her heart is so big, so caring, so kind. Let's just say you're a lucky person if you've ever crossed paths with Rose Sorenson.

I knock on the door gently. It was late, but she requested to see me before I finished my shift. My darling wife is away at a Charity Fundraiser in Columbia, and my teenage sons are most likely at home, in the den, with their mates playing on game consoles, so I have no reason to hurry home.

There's no response to my knock so I gently open the door and peak my head inside. I find the little old lady sleeping, an oxygen mask over her face, the machines beeping and showing me the numbers I like to see. I step into the room quietly and pick up her chart. I won't wake her, I just want to make sure she's had a good afternoon since I saw her at lunch time.

Just then the phone rings, making me jump. Rose stirs, opens her eyes, spots me and says, "She needs me." I reach over for the phone and hand it to her. She doesn't say hello, she just assumes that it's Sang. "What's wrong, Pretty?"

I stood at her bedside for a moment. I hear Sang's voice, but not what she's saying. I give Rose a soft smile before going back to the end of her bed and picking up her chart.

"I just know, girly. I know when you need me and right now, you need me. Tell me what's wrong."

My ears perk up, a frown dipping between my brows. Is she not with Sean and the rest of the Blackbourne team tonight for North's birthday.

There's a long pause before Rose quietly says, "I don't believe you."

I scan over her chart, once again pleased with what I'm seeing. For a lady that's getting closer to her death, she's still striving. Her medication is keeping her blood pressure at where it should be, and she's having very little pain relief. Just the oxygen mask at a constant, but at least the O2 isn't going up any higher at the moment, staying at a nice level I'm happy to see.

"Sometimes, pretty girl, we just have to let things happen and figure out our feelings along the way. Sang, you're a bright and beautiful girl, you've never given me any trouble your whole life, you have a good head on your shoulders, but your heart...you wear that on your sleeve. You worry, and you do sometimes overthink. Let fate guide you through." Rose pauses, letting out a little cough before continuing. "Sometimes the road of life takes an unexpected turn and you have no choice but to follow it to end up in the place you are supposed to be."

I put her chart away, before going over to her and reaching for the nose mask. I pop it where it needs to be, only hooking it around one of her ears with the phone being at the other. With me being so close, I hear Sang whisper, "I don't want to be alone."

My heart bleeds for that girl. I move away from Rose, taking a seat that's at her bedside.

"You won't be alone, that's something I know," Rose says, her voice lifting a note higher. "Stop fighting what's supposed to happen."

I can't hear whatever Sang says back but Rose pulls the phone away from her ear, looking at it before putting it back. "Sang?" She sighs, shaking her head. "She hung up on me. That girl."

I take the phone from her, putting it back in the cradle. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's confused. She's feeling things that are new and she doesn't understand how to deal with it all. I know my last wish is to see her fall in love, but maybe that was selfish of me."