Learning to Love

Chapter 38

“May I speak with Mrs. Verma, please?” A female voice asked once Priya answered the phone.  

“This is she.” Priya answered.  

“Ma’am your husband was in a car accident this afternoon.  I’m Nurse Jones.  Could you come down to the hospital?” The nurse said.  

“What?” Priya couldn’t comprehend the words.  

“You husband, Aman Verma, was in an accident.” The nurse repeated.  

“Is he alright?” Priya felt tears forming in her eyes.  

“He’s in critical condition.” The nurse answered.  “It would really be best if you came down.”

“Okay,” Priya said quietly before hanging up.  

Priya suddenly paled as she tried to steady herself.  Aman was hurt. He was in the hospital in critical condition.  She tightly clutched the countertop, trying to regain her composure.  Her hand hit a nearby vase, and it came crashing to the floor breaking into many tiny pieces.  

“Ma’am, are you alright?” Kamla said, urgently coming to Priya’s side.  She led Priya to a chair and sat her down.  

“I-I’m fine. I need to go to the hospital.” Priya stammered.  

“The hospital? Why?” Kamla asked, concerned.  

“Aman...he was in a car accident. I need to go.” Priya said.  

“I’ll call for the driver straight away.” Kamla hurried away.  

 

Once at the hospital, Priya requested to speak with Nurse Jones, who immediately took her to Aman’s room.  Priya entered slowly, afraid of what she’d see.  Aman’s body laid limp on a hospital bed.  He was attached to several different machines, monitoring different parts of his body.  Priya stepped closer.  There were several scratches and bruises all over him.  His arm was in a cast, and one of his legs was wrapped in bandages.  He’s looked so weak.  

“Please, be okay.” Priya heard herself whisper to no one in particular.  She and Aman were the only ones in the room, and Aman was unconscious.  

“Please,” Priya said again as she stepped closer.  She bit her lip as she tried to control her tears from falling.  She sat down beside Aman’s mangled form.  She placed a hand on his cheek.  She heard a low grunt come from Aman and quickly retracted her hand. He moved  a little but didn’t open his eyes.  

“Bhabhi,” Hiten stood in the doorway, looking like he was holding back tears himself.  

“Will he be okay?” Priya asked him.  

“The doctors won’t say.” Hiten answered sadly.  “They said I’m not family.”

Priya looked at Hiten, whose eyes were  glued to the floor.  

“You should’ve told them that you were his brother.  You know Aman thinks of you as one.” Priya said, letting some tears fall.   

Hiten looked up at her with a goofy grin that still showed traces of sadness.  It was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to him.  Priya stood to go find out what the doctors had to say.  

“He’s in very critical condition.  He’ll have to stay hospitalized for a while.  Outpatient care, afterwards is very tricky.  He’ll have to be monitors 24/7.  As of now, he’s suffering from a few broken ribs and a broken arm.  There was some internal bleeding, but we took care of that.  His ankle is sprained pretty badly.  He’ll have some difficulty walking, and he’s suffering from a concussion.  We’ll have to wake him up in a few minutes, so nothing more serious happens.  I’m confident he’ll make a full albeit slow recovery.”  The doctor explained.