Thankfully, Ivy didn’t have any surprise visits from Heath in her department, and Alice took pity on her by doing the coffee runs. It wasn’t until lunch approached that something tore Ivy’s attention from her struggles to work out the budget perfectly and find a way to present it reasonably.Her phone rang, which happened rarely, so the sound made her pause and wait to ensure she’d not imagined it. When it rang a second time, Ivy picked it up and looked at the screen. Kathy’s number appeared on the screen, and Ivy’s heart sank. She never called during work hours unless something very wrong happened that would directly affect Geoff.“Hello, Kathy, what’s up hon? What’s wrong?” Ivy hated phone calls like this. They always meant inconvenience and plans changing at the last minute. Which was something that was bad as a mother with a picky child. Predictability was something Geoff needed in his life to thrive.“I’m having one of those days, Ivy. I went to do a postal run to ship this week’
Ivy jumped out of her skin and dropped everything in her hands. She couldn’t help it but and cried out in dismay. “Mr. Allan.” It took her a moment to register what he’d said. Of course, he’d appear like this while she was in a hurry to deal with something she didn’t want to speak to him about. “I have a rather sudden personal matter I must deal with, and time is of the essence. So, I must leave early. I’m taking work with me, so you don’t need to worry about my department budget being late.” She silently cursed as her phone landed in one place and her mug skittered off a few feet away in another direction.Before she could bend to pick anything up, Heath was there picking up her phone along with everything else. “I didn’t ask about the budget. I asked where you’re going.”Heath, of course, looked at her phone screen as he straightened. “A cab to Mercy General? Ivy, why are you going to the hospital? Who’s there that needs you now?”Ivy must have looked guilty or something because whe
Heath entered the executive office floor where his new office was and met with Parker in the outer office.“What’s up? You just went for food and a break not even ten minutes ago. Now you’re back without food and you look upset.” Parker did like the look on Heath’s face. He couldn’t decide if Heath was furious or worried. Parker wasn’t sure why either, unless Heath encountered Dr. Smythe and spoke to her. If that happened, it hadn’t gone well.“I need you to cancel my meetings for the rest of today. I have a family emergency and need to leave now.” Parker perked up at the words ‘family emergency’. Heath never had issues with those. When his father had his latest heart attack, Heath hadn’t stopped working, but waited to go to the hospital after his workday was over. Parker knew about Heath’s son Geoffrey before Heath and his mind went instantly to something being wrong with him.“Okay, but I just received a response on that photo analysis you requested, and I sent the report to you. Yo
“When will we know the results of the x-rays?” Ivy asked the nurse, who checked in on them and delivered pain medication for Geoff.“The x-ray technician will read your son’s x-rays and send a report to the doctor. Once the doctor receives the report, he’ll return with a plan on what will happen next. Now if you follow me, I’m afraid there are some documents that must be completed. It’ll help speed things up to get you out of here more quickly once we know how to proceed.” The grey-haired paediatric nurse said with that all-knowing grandmotherly tone that many senior nurses seemed to cultivate when they liked a patient.“Do you think I’ll walk like my mom after this?” Ivy hadn’t expected Geoff to make the connection between her limp and his injury. He sounded like he was eager to limp around like her, and she realized he’d not only made the connection, but he was using it to relate to her.Ivy’s heart broke because of this. The bond he desperately tried to have with her made her heart
Heath took the elevator to the underground parking and found his car. As Heath settled into the driver’s seat, he realized how his life had changed. This car was fine to drive to work. But it wasn’t a family car. He’d need a family car. Geoff and Ivy wouldn’t fit in this car. Especially with Geoff’s injury.With that though, Heath wrote a reminder for himself to purchase a new car for them tomorrow.He knew Ivy didn’t have a parking space, because she took public transit. Heath didn’t feel it was safe for them.He found a parking space at the hospital. Heath called Parker for assistance. “Hey, Parker, I need someone to pick up my car from the hospital. I’ll send you the location.”“Why Heath?”“I can’t get my son and his mother home in this car. So, have a driver on standby with a limo. I’ll call them when we’re ready to leave. They can pick us up from the ER entrance.”“I’ll get that done, Heath, and message you when it’s done. He’s seven, right? He’ll need a car seat. I’ll make sure
“I’ll defer to you then. Joseph here is an expert at fitting and building casts. We’ll let him take care of fitting and creating the cast. Since Geoff is so young, I believe a fibreglass walking cast is best and aluminum crutches. It’ll be lighter and less bulky. Geoff, it’s your turn to talk to Joseph about what colour you want. I think he has several colours to choose from. These are his care instructions and his next checkup. He’ll probably need a new cast at that time too because by then the swelling around his ankle will have gone down and this cast will be too large.”“I’ll make sure he attends the appointment.”“May I see you outside for a moment, sir?”“Of course. Geoff, I’ll be a minute or two, but I’ll be back.” “Find Mom. she promised to help me pick a colour.” “She’s probably exhausted after everything that’s happened today. You gave her a big scare. How about you pick the colour and if she gets upset, I’ll take the heat for it?”“Okay. Anything I wan
Ivy wasn’t sure how she ended up accepting him for taking them home. But it was easier in the end. Geoff wouldn’t have been as comfortable in a cab. Heath surprised her with a car seat installed in the limo between them.Geoff seemed to accept his father as if he’d always been a part of his life. She felt horrible about this and a little betrayed. Ivy thought Geoff might not trust his father or be angry about him not being there for him before this. Now she worried he might be angry with her for not telling Heath about him or letting Heath be a part of his life.She’d handle it later. The last thing she expected was for Geoff to invite Heath up to their apartment, but he did, and she’d look like the monster if she said no after how Heath had generously gone to the hospital to take them home. So, there they were all three of them heading up to their fourth-floor apartment. They called it a condo, but it wasn’t like any of the condos Ivy ever visited. “Can I watch
Ivy watched Heath stand up and head into her apartment again. “Before I go, where do you keep this medication? I’ll bring it to you. Take it and if you can’t get an appointment with the doctor who prescribed it, then we’ll get a referral to someone who will actually do something about managing your pain.” “Heath, I didn’t ask for your help.” “How are you supposed to be at your best if you can barely get around Ivy? That’s no way to live.” “Please stop it, Heath. I’ve talked to the doctor and there’s nothing that can be done. It’s too late.” “In this modern era? I highly doubt it. It sounds like a cop out on part of the doctor. He’s either unwilling to keep up on research and technology or he’s gaslighting you. I lean towards the gaslighting. Now, if we’re going to co-parent, you need to be able to pull your weight, and you don’t do that if you’re in crippling pain.” Ivy wasn’t sure how she was supposed to argue with this. She coul