"Later!" said Maggie as she pushed through the same
door into the same room where she'd been with her mother
just a couple of months earlier.
"Hey, Mom," called Spencer from a bed not far from the
door as a nurse read his blood pressure.
"Spence!" she cried as tears of thankfulness began to
stream down her cheeks. "Are you okay? I was so worried!"
"I think I'm okay, except that my foot might be broken."
Then he gingerly touched what looked like a good-sized knot
in the center of his forehead. "Oh, and maybe a concussion,
the paramedic said." His expression suddenly grew serious.
"I think Daniel's in pretty bad shape."
"What happened?"
"Some jerk with no taillights stopped right in the middle
of the road for no reason. Daniel hit the brakes, but he still
slammed right into him. I guess we were going pretty fast.
Daniel got a bunch of cuts on his face from when the wind-
shield broke. And both his legs are hurt, maybe pretty bad.
The front of his Bug just smashed right up into the front
seat-you know, 'cause there's no engine or anything to stop
it. The paramedic said we both could've been killed."
Maggie took in a sharp breath. "Thank God you're okay.
Are Daniel's grandparents here yet?"
44 ~ Melody Carison
"I don't think so."
The nurse placed a cold pack on Spencer's swollen left
foot, then stuck an electronic thermometer in his mouth.
"Daniel's being examined by the doctor right now," she said.
"I think the cuts on his face may appear worse than they
really are. Most importantly, we need to make certain he suf-
fered no internal injuries where he hit the steering wheel.
Spencer seems to be okay in that regard, but we'll run some
tests just to be certain. Then we'll get him up to x-ray to see
what's wrong with that foot."
Maggie glanced down at Spencer's foot, now puffed up
to almost the size of a melon. All things considered, it sud-
denly didn't seem so bad, although she felt horribly sorry for
Daniel and sent up a silent prayer on his behalf. Before long
the doctor continued his examination of Spencer, and
Maggie apologized to the irritated ER receptionist and sat
next to Spencer's bed as she obediently filled in the numerous
and repetitive questions on the insurance forms.
Just after the nurse wheeled Spencer up to x-ray, Daniel's
grandparents arrived, their faces pale and strained with
worry. No medical staff was around to greet them, so
Maggie began to explain, trying to gently relay what little
information the nurse had given her. "All in all," she fin-
ished, trying to sound positive, "it could've been so much
worse than it was."
Just then another nurse stepped out and ushered the