Bachelor Father

“She’s still pretty sleepy, but she’s doing much better, aren’t you, Megan?” the nurse said, walking over to write some numbers on a white board hanging on the wall.

Adam moved closer to the bed. Although Megan still looked tiny and frail, her face wasn’t as pasty as it had been when he’d first seen her. The medical equipment surrounding her reminded him, however, that she was one very sick little girl.

“How do you feel?” he asked her, wishing he could do something to make her more comfortable. She reminded him of how she’d looked the first time he’d seen her. It had been in the attorney’s office and she’d stood perfectly still next to the lawyer, as if she were afraid to move a muscle for fear of something horrible happening to her.

“It still hurts,” she replied in a voice that begged for his sympathy. “Lori told me the operation would make me feel better.”

The nurse came back to her bedside. “It doesn’t hurt as badly today as it did yesterday, does it?”

“No.” The response was barely audible.

“Each day it will hurt a little less,” the nurse told her. “Once your tummy heals you’re going to feel as good as new. Now I’m going to leave you so you can get some more sleep.” She checked the IV unit next to the bed, then said, “If you need anything, you know what to do, right?”

“I push the button,” Megan said weakly.

“That’s right.” On her way out, the nurse said to Adam, “I’ll just be down the hall if you need me.”

He nodded. “Is there someplace where I can get a cup of coffee?”

“There’s a lounge near the elevators with vending machines, but at this time of night, the coffee’s pretty strong. You might want to go across the street. There’s a small diner that’s open twenty-four hours.”

Adam thanked her then took the place she’d vacated next to the bed.

Megan glanced at him through half-closed eyes. “Where’s Lori?”

“She’s at home.”

“She said she was going to stay,” Megan said in a voice that was on the verge of tears.

“She wanted to, but she was tired so she went home to get some sleep. She’ll be back in the morning. I’m here if you need anything.” He noticed a cup with a straw in it on the tray table next to her bed. “Would you like a sip of water?”

She shook her head. “Did you come home on an airplane?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you like the boat show?”

“Yes, I did, but I wanted to be here with you.” It was the truth. The moment Lori had called with the news that she’d taken Megan to the hospital his first thought was to get home as quickly as possible so he could be with her.

She scrunched up her face. “I feel funny.”

“Funny how?” he wanted to know.

“Like my head’s fuzzy,” she murmured.

“That’s from the medicine. The more you sleep, the less fuzzy you’ll feel.”

“But I don’t want to go to sleep,” she whined. “I want to find her.”

He leaned closer to her. “Who do you want to find?”

“Mommy. She’s here in the hospital, you know. I saw her. When the man was pushing me in my bed.” Megan yawned, her eyelids fluttering as she fought to stay awake.

So that was the reason for her confusion. While she’d been sedated she had seen someone who resembled Christie and mistaken her for her mother. Adam knew he needed to correct her. He couldn’t let her go on believing that she’d really seen her mother, yet he wondered if she would even remember such a conversation tomorrow morning? What she needed was sleep. There would be plenty of time to talk about what she did or didn’t see tomorrow.

“Shhh. Don’t talk now,” he told her. “You need to rest.”

Megan’s voice trembled as she said, “I wish she’d take me home with her.”

Adam felt as if two hands reached right into his chest and squeezed his heart. “You’ll get to go home when you’re feeling better,” he said gently. He took her small hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing the knuckles ever so gently.

“Will Mommy be there?” The question came out on a pathetic little whimper, then before Adam could answer, she had closed her eyes and succumbed to sleep.

It was obvious Megan was still not over the death of her mother. He supposed it shouldn’t have surprised him. She was so young and innocent—too young to have to cope with the loss of a parent. Now the trauma of surgery had been added to her already-confused emotional state. He could only hope that once she recovered from the effects of the anesthetics, she wouldn’t be asking about her mother.

As he watched her sleep, he stared at her face, trying to see why his relatives thought she looked like him. All he saw was a younger version of Christie. With her blond hair, blue eyes and small rounded nose, Megan definitely looked more like an Anderson than a Novak. Lori insisted that she had his smile, but he was reserving an opinion on that one until the space where her tooth was missing had been filled.

His brother, Greg, had pointed out that Megan had several of Adam’s mannerisms, like biting down on her lower lip when she concentrated and wiggling her feet while she slept. He glanced to the end of the bed, knowing that if he watched it long enough, he’d see the blanket twitch. After only a few seconds it did wiggle and he smiled.

Adam thought it was strange that she should have any of his traits considering they’d spent so many years apart. Again he looked at her face, so peaceful in slumber. She had so much potential, so many possibilities ahead of her. From the day he’d first seen her he’d promised himself that he would make up for the years he’d missed in her young life.

And he would. He was going to do his best to protect her from getting hurt again. And he would spend more time with her. Ever since she’d come to live with him he’d been working like a fiend getting ready for the debut of the newest Novak yacht. He’d had little free time to do the fun things that fathers and daughters were supposed to do. But that was going to change. As the sun’s first morning rays slowly appeared through the slits in the window blinds, he pulled out his Palm Pilot to see where he could schedule her in.

AFTER SPENDING THE NIGHT in a chair, Adam needed a shower and a change of clothes. While his sister-in-law kept his daughter company, he took his laptop and went home where he was tempted to grab a few hours of sleep, but chose instead to call his brother in Miami to get a report on the boat show and to take care of several other business matters.

It was after noon when he returned to the hospital. Before going up to see Megan, he stopped at the gift shop in the lobby and bought a bouquet of balloons and a small white bear that had Get Well Soon embroidered inside a pink heart on its chest.

When he walked into Megan’s room, he saw Lori was sitting next to the bed reading her a story. The blinds were open, allowing a stream of sunshine in and Megan’s bed had been raised so that she was no longer lying flat on her back.

“Oooh, what pretty balloons,” Lori cooed when she saw what was in Adam’s hands. “What do you think, Megan?”

“Are they for me?” she asked, a gleam of interest in her eyes.

“They certainly are.” Adam set the bear down next to her on the bed. “Along with this guy, they’re supposed to help you feel better,” he told her, giving her a smile.

As he glanced around for a place to put the balloons, Lori said, “You can probably tie them to the foot rail. That way Megan can see them even if the curtain is drawn around her bed.” She reached for the bear and moved it closer to her niece, tucking it under the covers so that it was beside her. “Isn’t he soft?”

Megan nodded, her small hand closing around the bear and bringing it to her face. “He’s very soft. Thank you,” she said politely.

“You’re welcome. How are you feeling?” he asked, taking the chair on the opposite side of the bed from Lori.

“Okay,” she answered without much enthusiasm.

“Dr. Lindgren was here earlier and said that she should start feeling much better once she’s able to eat,” Lori told him. “She’s going to try some Jell-O for lunch.”

“Yes, I heard. That’s good news,” Adam said.

“And the other good news is that while you were gone, she got up and went to the bathroom,” Lori told him.