What Happens on the Cruise

76. If I Had You

"Thanks, man," Tim said to Adam as he got out of the van, followed by Adam Chance, his mom, and Austin's mom. "When are you going to be there in the morning?"

"Early. They're talking about taking Ericha out of the medical coma at seven, so I want to be there."

"We'll be praying for you, hon," Tim's mother said.

"Thanks," Adam said.

"We'll check in on you when we get there," Tim promised. "Good night."

"Good night."

"So am I staying with you or your mom?" Chance asked as they headed for the check-in desk to get a second room.

"I'll have you know my mother is a single woman. I'm not sure I can trust such a good kisser with her," Tim teased.

"But you can trust yourself with him?" his mother shot back.

"Oh, I'm hurt. I'm getting married in... a day and a half and you think I'd cheat on Austin now?" Tim pretended offense.

"You never know!" Betsy joined in.

Tim froze suddenly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Chance asked.

"I'm getting married in less than two days. Holy hell!"

"Yeah, he's got you completely at his beck and call."

"Yup," Tim replied. "And I'm not even mad about it."

***

"It's going to take some time for her to come out of it," the doctor explained. "But there may be brief moments of lucidity before then." The doctor met his eyes. "She may not maintain memory from one lucid period to the next, so if there is loss of sensation or function due to the head trauma or spinal injury, she may react to it multiple times."

"You're telling me if she's paralyzed, God forbid, that she may wake up, freak out about it, fall asleep, and not remember the next time she wakes up?"

"Yes. You are going to have to help your wife through possible distress multiple times today. Depending on her condition, this may prove to be a very rough day, Mr. Rupp. But nursing staff will be on hand, and counselors and the chaplain's office will also be available to help."

"It sounds like what I'm going to need is a hell of a lot of drinks."

"Is your family going to be here?"

"In a couple hours."

"You can always take a break for a bit and let them stay with her a while."

Adam shook his head. "I married her for better or worse. I'm not skipping out on the 'worse'."

***

"I have a question to ask you," Dena said to Betsy as they were getting dressed.

"Mmm?" Betsy acknowledged.

"Do you ever... wake up in the middle of the night and worry you're wrong and all those lessons about abominations and sin and wrath are right?"

Betsy sat down facing the woman who would be her son's mother-in-law. "Once in a while. But Austin's always wore his heart on his sleeve. I've watched him have crushes on boys -- and girls as well -- since he was little. He just couldn't help but love. And I knew in my heart that all that stuff that focused on sex was wrong because they were starting at the wrong place. A little boy who loves another little boy isn't thinking about sex. It's pure love. That was his heart."

Dena nodded, thinking. "It was a surprise for me when Tim came out, but I've had time to think back and I can see it now. He guarded his heart a lot more than Austin. He hid a lot with humor."