"I spoke to an attendant. Timmy is in observation. Mrs. Doberchek suffered some sort of seizure on the way to the hospital; maybe a heart attack. I have to get up there. Herb will be ready to go in twenty minutes. He was still at the airport."
I rose. "Look, I'll catch a cab and get out of your hair. You have far too much on your mind to have me under foot. Just call as soon as you know something. I'll camp by the phone."
"Come with me," he said, then abruptly changed the subject. "They won't allow cell phones in the hospital. This waiting to hear what's happening is driving me nutty." He took my hand and pulled me toward the door. "Please come."
"I can't, Paul! I don't have anything with me."
"We'll buy it." He turned with near pleading eyes. "Please. I need you there. Karen hates hospitals; they freak her out, because of her mother."
"There's no one to stay with her? There must be someone you can call?"
"There's no one I want to call. There's an attendant or nurse with her now."
Given any other circumstances, I'd have declined if only to preserve some iota of control in my life but Paul's sincerity overwhelmed me. I salvaged a promise to be returned home by Sunday night. While I disliked my job, I had made a commitment and felt an obligation. Besides, I was scheduled for a week-long training session. Instead of a night in the arms of a lover, I would be experiencing my first trip in the luxury of a private jet.
Communications from the hospital were limited but as we cabbed back to the airport we learned Timmy remained disoriented. He was being monitored and now slept. Mrs. Doberchek was in intensive care, the victim of a heart attack as Paul had suspected. Paul insisted to speak with a doctor who reported Timmy had sustained a serious concussion. He'd be hospitalized a day or two for observation but he was not in immediate danger. The boy's responses were not as yet acceptable and a neurologist was scheduled to examine him. Yes, there remained concern.
Paul and I discussed little on the flight which of itself was beyond anything I'd ever imagined. We were hardly aboard before I was pinned against my overstuffed seat with an incredible thrust upward. When we leveled out, I uncurled my fingers and looked around in awe. An attendant hovered nearby, ready to address our every need. I was supposed to relax in a seat that seemed designed for a plush living room and bore no resemblance to where we commoners usually stowed our cramped, airborne butts.