Page 69 of Skipping Stones
“Good morning, Dr. Fischer,” Linney said, seeing the familiar man come into her room.
“You’re looking better,” he said, matter-of-factly. She felt better. Freida had helped her wash her hair and until she could shower properly, it would do. She felt almost human. A broken human, but it was a significant improvement.
As usual, he examined her to see how things were coming along, but she noticed he had a serious look on his face the whole time. “How do things look?” she asked tentatively.
“I’m happy with how you’re healing,” he said. “Your bruises are starting to fade. The incisions look good and I like that you are walking so much.” He flipped through her chart. “This is good.”
“I hear a ‘but’ in your voice, Doctor.” Linney was nervous. An ophthalmologist had been to see her yesterday and carried out several tests. “Is it my eye?”
“I’m sorry to say, Ms. McDonnell, but it seems you have suffered some permanent damage to your optical nerve.” Dr. Fischer got straight to the point. “We will observe for another day or two, but it is possible you may not regain sight in that eye.” Linney noticed Mac in the doorway. He’d heard, and she hated the pity in his eyes. The doctor went on to explain about therapies that would help her adjust, but she didn’t hear much.
Mac talked about how enriching a career in the London newsroom would be. It was clear he didn’t want her back in the field and she was sad as she felt this phase of her career slipping away, years before it should. When he left to take a phone call from the newsroom, Linney had a little cry and then wiped her tears. She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself. She was looking forward to MJ coming in a couple of days. Mac being there was one thing, but she needed a girlfriend.
“You okay?” Mac asked when he came back. Linney’s nose looked a little pink, and he felt like something was off.
“Yep. Just thinking about all the things I have to do.”
“Like what?” he demanded. “All you should be thinking about is resting.”
“I will,” she promised, “First I need a new laptop. And something to read!” Linney knew that as she spent more hours awake, she would need something to keep her occupied. Mac helped her order a new computer, which would be delivered straight to the hospital and she sent him to buy magazines from the gift shop in the hospital lobby.
Later that day, Linney steeled herself for a different conversation with Mac. It was time. When she signed the last of the rehab paperwork she shoved away the clipboard. “Well, that’s it. So you know what that means, Mac.”
He looked pained.
“Go home, Mac. Go back to the newsroom. You can’t keep babysitting me here. It’s not good for either of us.”
“No. Not yet.”
“Yes, now.” Linney’s voice was quiet but strong. She couldn’t let him feel guilty about this. “You have a whole newsroom to run.”
“Are you sure? Maybe I should stay longer. Until you’re feeling a little better.”
Linney sighed. Just like before, it was going to be her who had to be strong. “Mac, it hasn’t been your job to take care of me for a long time, and anyway, MJ’s coming. I appreciate you being here, but you are my boss. Let’s remember that.”
Mac took her hand and squeezed it tight. “It’s because of you that I’m even here at all. Almost six years sober. I thank God for that every day but I don’t know if I ever thanked you.”
“You did all the hard work,” Linney reminded him, and then she grinned wryly. “Gemma and I just gave you a swift kick in the rear. Now go. Pack up your stuff and get back to London. It’s where you belong.”
Mac opened his mouth to object, but Linney held her ground.
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is. And it’s what we both need.”
Mac nodded slowly and with a final squeeze of her hand, he admitted defeat. “I’ll see you back in London.”
And then he was gone.
Linney sat with the silence for a while. Initially, she wondered if she’d done the right thing. The room was empty without Mac’s presence. To fill it, she called Derek.
“Do you have any more news about your eye?” he asked.
“It’s not good,” she said and Derek held his breath waiting for her to continue. “The damage is permanent. My hip and my ribs will heal, but my eye won’t.”
“I don’t know what to say. Are you sure I can’t come?”
“No,” she sniffled. “Just tell me something good. Tell me what your kids are up to.” Derek launched into the latest escapades of Leo and Ivy, keeping up cheery one-sided banter while she listened, trying not to cry.