11
Throughout the nail-biting two-hour wait outside the Mount Sinai ER, while interns, residents, ER docs, and Gia's obstetrician did whatever it is they do in these situations, Jack tried to keep Vicky occupied. Not necessary. Before long she found another girl her age to talk to. Jack envied her ability to strike up a friendship anywhere.
He tried to take his mind off Gia and what might be happening in that treatment room by shuffling through some leftover section of the Times. He spotted a familiar name in the Sunday Styles section: "New York's most eli-gible bachelor, Dormentalist Church guru Luther Brady, was observed in close conversation with Meryl Streep at the East Hampton Library Fund charity ball."
Not exactly an abstemious lifestyle.
He looked up as a nurse approached. She started to speak, then broke into a laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"I'm sorry. When your wife said to look for a man dressed like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, I thought she was kidding."
By now Jack had gotten used to the stares from the other people in the waiting room. He'd left the mask, gloves, and feet back at the house, but still wore the green, finned bodysuit.
"It is Halloween, you know. How is she?"
"Dr. Eagleton will tell you all about it."
They followed her to a treatment room where they found Gia propped up on a gurney. Her color was better but she still looked drawn. Vicky darted to her side and they hugged.
As Jack hung back, letting them have their moment, a tall, slim woman with salt-and-pepper hair stepped in. She wore a long white coat.
"You're the father?" she said, eyeing his costume. When Jack nodded, she held out her hand. "I'm Dr. Eagleton."
"Jack," he said. She had a firm grip. "How's she doing?"
Dr. Eagleton didn't look exactly comfortable discussing this with a man in a rubber monster suit, but she bore with it.
"She's lost a lot of blood, but the contractions have stopped."
"She's going to be okay?"
"Yes."
"And the baby?"
"Ultrasound shows no problem—good position, steady heart rate."
Jack closed his eyes and let out a relieved breath. "Thanks. Thank you very much."
"I want to keep her overnight, though."
"Really? Is there still a danger?"
"She should be fine. The further along the pregnancy, the less likely a miscarriage. Gia's in her twentieth week and it's rare after that. So I think we're in good shape. Just the same, I'd like to be sure."
Jack glanced at Gia. "What caused this?"
Dr. Eagleton shrugged. "The most common causes are a dead or grossly defective fetus." Jack's stab of alarm must have shown on his face because she quickly added, "Bui that's not the ease here. Sometimes it's trauma, and sometimes it just… happens."
Jack didn't like the sound of that. For a while now it seemed that things—bad things, at least—didn't "just happen" in his life.
Jack stepped over to the gurney and took Gia's hand. She squeezed his.
"You'll take care of Vicky until I get home tomorrow, won't you?"
Gia had no family in the city. Everyone was back in Iowa.
Jack smiled. "You don't even have to ask." He winked at Vicky. "Vicks and I are going straight home to do flaming shooters of Cuervo Gold."
As Vicky giggled, Gia said, "Jack, that's not funny."
Jack slapped his forehead. "That's right! She's got school tomorrow. Okay, Vicks: only one."
As Gia went on about Vicky's schedule, Jack wondered at the awesome responsibility of caring for a nine-year-old girl, even for a day.
He'd stepped into Family Affair—without Mr. French.
Cordova and the Dormentalists weren't half as scary.