Mangino had a tough day at work. As she pulled into a parking spot at the hospital, she hoped she had a Tylenol in her purse. She pulled the car’s gear into park and began fumbling around in her purse. “Oh good, here it is.” She swigged down a couple of Tylenol with a bottled water she had brought from work. After taking one more drink of water, she closed her eyes for a couple of minutes.
As she got out of her car, she felt the sun’s rays get quickly covered up by a cloud. “Great,” she thought. She took off her sunglasses and walked into the hospital.
She walked into Wesley’s room. He got lucky because he didn’t have to share a room with anyone. Wesley had an eye patch on. He spoke quietly.
“Hi mom.”
“Hi, how are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. How was work?”
“Fine dear.” Wesley sounded happy to her. She knew he was on strong pain meds. “I talked to the doctor. He said you’ll get out of here in 2 to 3 days. Then it will take another week or two to heal. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
“Yeah.” He tried to sound positive, though weak. “Mom, will Granddad come and see me while I’m here?” Kate had told him stories about her father, but not the whole truth.
“I don’t think so, honey.”
“Ok. Can we at least go see him when I get out of here?”
“We’ll see, honey. Remember I haven’t talked to him in a long time. I have to initiate contact first and redevelop our relationship again. I can’t just invite him to a hospital the first time I talk to him. But, we’ll see him soon, I promise.”
“Alright. I want to meet him.”
“I know you do, and when the time is right, you will.”
Kate comforted Wesley until he fell asleep. Afterwards she left the hospital. As she pulled into her driveway, she grabbed the pizza she had picked up on the way home. After eating, she was exhausted. She sat on the couch and was watching television. The show she was watching made her cry. She picked up the phone and dialed.
“Dad…..” “Dad, stop yelling at me…..” Tears were flowing. “Dad, my son Wesley is in the hospital. It would mean a lot to him if you would pay him a visit.” All she heard was yelling on the other end of the line. “Dad, I know you’ve never met him. He is my son. I’ve adopted him. Will you calm down?” Kate was yelling and crying at the same time. “Just forget it.” She clicked the button and slammed the phone down on the kitchen table. Why can’t fathers let their daughters grow up and become independent women. You would think he would be more understanding since she had been through so much. The loss of her husband. She and Wesley all alone here in California. This was exactly how she felt growing up. When her father came home after work each day, she just felt all alone.
The Dr. walked in Wesley’s room. After checking on his eye he said, "I brought you a surprise.”