Chapter 54: A Familiar Rhythm

After the boys went into Diana’s room with Clancy to see her, Selen stayed behind to speak with Sarah. She needed to know how the boys were doing.

"They are fine, ma’am. If there is ever an issue, I will call you first," she assured Selen as she reached into her shoulder bag and took out a pile of envelopes.

"Here Miss Selen, your mail for the week," she said as she handed them over to her.

"Thank you so much, Sarah," she said as she smiled at her.

Sarah did not have to do all the extra work she did, but she did them anyway.

Selen had always been good to her, and for the first time, Selen needed her help. And she was going to make sure to help as much as she could.

Sarah gave Selen’s hand a quick squeeze, told her to stay strong, and then walked down the hallway toward the exit.

As Selen scanned through the mails, her fingers sorting through utility bills and grocery flyers, Clancy’s voice broke the quiet. "Selen, she is awake," he called out from the doorway.

She ended up leaving the mail on the waiting room table without checking them all.

Amongst the discarded mail sat a rather large, heavy envelope postmarked from Kent, England, addressed to her.

Newton walked into the hospital yet again just as he had done for weeks now. The familiar smell of bleach and medicine hit him, a reminder of how much time they had spent waiting here.

Except that evening when he had the argument with Clancy over Selen, he had not spoken more than two words to Clancy ever since. They simply avoided each other.

But this was not about Clancy; none of it was. Newton cared about Selen too much to stay away just because of a part of her past.

He walked into the ward, expecting to see Clancy standing or sitting on the bench across Diana ’s door. And for the first time, he was surprised to see that it was just Selen sitting on the bench alone. She looked incredibly tired under the bright lights.

"Hey," he said quietly as he walked up to her.

"Hey, Newton," she responded back, her voice sounding flat and drained. "How are you doing?" He asked her.

She knew that he cared for her, but she was genuinely getting tired of being asked that question over and over again by everyone. It felt like a constant reminder of how bad things were.

When she looked up at him and saw his genuinely concerned expression, she could not say what was really on her mind. She did not want to complain or break down in front of him. Instead, she just gave a small nod and looked at the floor.

"I am managing, Newton," she whispered, adjusting herself a bit on the bench. "Just taking it one hour at a time." she answered.

Newton sat down, leaving some space between them. "Where is Clancy? I thought he would be here as usual." he asked her.

He did not like Clancy because of what he knew about him. But even he could not deny that Clancy’s presence was helpful to Selen.

"He went to the cafeteria to get some coffee, and to take the boys to the courtyard," Selen answered, rubbing her forehead.

Newton nodded, looking toward Diana ’s door. "And Diana ? How has she been doing since she woke up?" he asked with concern for the little girl who was fighting hard to stay with her family.

"She is still weak," Selen said, her eyes tearing up before she wiped them away. Then she began to speak again, "you know, every time she goes back to sleep, I worry she won’t wake up again." she said truthfully.

It was a scary thought and also a valid one. Being in the hospital for so long, seeing different people go in and out, and only a few coming back out made the thoughts fill her head.

The doctors said she was out of danger, but she could not help but wonder for how long it would be. Would her child be fine forever, or was she dreaming too high?

Newton reached out and placed a brief, comforting hand on her shoulder. "She is tough, Selen. She will make it. But you need to take care of yourself too. You look like you have not been sleeping for long" he said.

"I have. Clancy and I take turns to watch her at night" she claimed. "Every time I close my eyes, I start worrying about everything. There are just too many things to handle right now."

As she said that, she suddenly remembered the mail she had left on the table. "What’s wrong? You look like you just remembered something bad." he asked her.

Selen shook her head, forcing herself to focus. "Nothing. Just some chores I forgot about. Sarah brought the mail, and I left it sitting there. It can wait. Diana is the only thing that matters right now." she said.

"No, check your mail. You have time to check your mail, Selen. Nothing is going to happen to Diana . Plus, you have been away from work for a while, there could be something important in there" he said and handed them to her.

As Selen went through then, with Newton silently beside her, Clancy walked in.

"I will leave you to get some rest, Selen. I will be back to check in on you tomorrow morning," Newton said. Selen nodded and said a small thank you for the basket of fruits he gave her and he got up to leave.

Newton gave Clancy a brief, serious look, like he was warning him silently to keep the peace, then turned around and walked toward the elevators.

Clancy watched him until the elevator doors closed. Once Newton was gone, he sat down next to Selen. "Sarah is with them now," he said to Selen concerning the boys and they fell into a silence that was slowly becoming comfortable for them.