She hurried down to the X-ray room and went inside. The room was empty. Joshua was gone. Jennifer ran back to the hallway, looking around frantically. A nurse passed by.
Jennifer clutched her arm. “Where’s my son?”
The nurse said, “I don’t know. What’s his name?”
“Joshua. Joshua Parker.”
“Where did you leave him?”
“He—he was having X rays—he—” Jennifer was beginning to be incoherent. “What have they done with him! Tell me!”
The nurse took a closer look at Jennifer and said, “Wait here, Mrs. Parker. I’ll see if I can find out.”
She came back a few minutes later. “Dr. Morris would like to see you. Come this way, please.”
Jennifer found that her legs were trembling. It was difficult to walk.
“Are you all right?” The nurse was staring at her.
Her mouth was dry with fear. “I want my son.”
They came to a room filled with strange-looking equipment. “Wait here, please.”
Dr. Morris came in a few moments later. He was a very fat man with a red face and nicotine stains on his fingers. “Mrs. Parker?”
“Where’s Joshua?”
“Step in here a moment, please.” He led Jennifer into a small office across from the room with the strange-looking equipment. “Please sit down.”
Jennifer took a seat. “Joshua is—it’s—it’s nothing serious, is it, Doctor?”
“We don’t know yet.” His voice was surprisingly soft for a man of his size. “I need some information. How old is your son?”
“He’s only seven.”
The only had slipped out, a reprimand to God.
“Was he in an accident recently?”
A vision flashed through Jennifer’s mind of Joshua turning to wave and losing his balance and hitting the pilings. “He—he had a water skiing accident. He bumped his head.”
The doctor was making notes. “How long ago was that?”
“I—a few—a few days ago. In Acapulco.” It was difficult to think straight.
“Did he seem all right after the accident?”
“Yes. He had a lump on the back of his head, but otherwise he—he seemed fine.”
“Did you notice any lapse of memory?”
“No.”
“Any personality changes?”
“No.”
“No convulsions or stiff neck or headache?”
“No.”
The doctor stopped writing and looked up at Jennifer. “I’ve had an X ray done, but it’s not enough. I want to do a CAT scan.”
“A—?”
“It’s a new computerized machine from England that takes pictures of the inside of the brain. I may want to make some additional tests afterward. Is that all right with you?”
“If-if-if”—she was stammering—“it’s necessary. It-it won’t hurt him, will it?”
“No. I may also need to do a spinal puncture.”
He was frightening her.
She forced the question out of her mouth. “What do you think it is? What’s the matter with my son?” She did not recognize the sound of her own voice.
“I’d prefer not to make any guesses, Mrs. Parker. We’ll know in an hour or two. He’s awake now, if you’d like to see him.”
“Oh, please!”
A nurse led her to Joshua’s room. He was lying in bed, a pale small figure. He looked up as Jennifer entered.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi there.” She sat at the edge of his bed. “How do you feel?”
“Kind of funny. It’s like I’m not here.”
Jennifer reached out and took his hand. “You’re here, darling. And I’m with you.”
“I can see two of everything.”
“Did—did you tell the doctor that?”
“Uh-huh. I saw two of him. I hope he doesn’t send you two bills.”
Jennifer gently put her arms around Joshua and hugged him. His body seemed frail and shrunken.
“Mom?”
“Yes, darling?”
“You won’t let me die, will you?”
Her eyes were suddenly stinging. “No, Joshua, I won’t let you die. The doctors are going to make you well and then I’m going to take you home.”
“Okay. And you promised we can go back to Acapulco sometime.”
“Yes. As soon as—”
He was asleep.
Dr. Morris came into the room with two men wearing white jackets.
“We’d like to begin the tests now, Mrs. Parker. They won’t take long. Why don’t you wait in here and make yourself comfortable?”
Jennifer watched them take Joshua out of the room. She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling as though she had been physically beaten. All the energy had drained out of her. She sat there, staring at the white wall, in a trance.