Searching inside his bag, she located his car keys. Although she didn’t feel she was in any condition to drive, she wasn’t willing to wait for an Uber to get her to the hospital. She’d chance it, also knowing Heath wouldn’t want his vehicle to remain in the parking lot at the tennis court, unattended.
Shaken as she was, Julia was grateful to make it to the hospital without an accident. She was fortunate enough to find parking and literally ran into the emergency entrance, arriving breathless at the information desk.
“I’m Julia Jones. My…friend”—she didn’t know how else to explain their relationship—“was brought in by an ambulance…I believe he’s had a heart attack…We were playing tennis. Can you please tell me his condition?” she pleaded.
“Name?”
“Oh yes, sorry. Heath. Heath Wilson.”
“You’re not a relative?”
“No.” She knew what that meant. The medical facility would update only a family member.
Stumbling into the waiting area, Julia was sure the receptionist must think she’d been drinking. Her knees had yet to recover and the shaking continued.
Collapsing into a chair, she reached inside Heath’s tennis bag and retrieved his phone. Guessing his passcode was his birthday, she tried that, and sighed with relief when it worked.
Searching his contact list, she quickly located Michael’s name and called him first.
Heath’s son answered on the fourth of what seemed to be endless rings. “Hey, Dad, what’s up? I’m a little busy now. Can we connect later?”
“This isn’t Heath,” Julia said, forcing herself to sound calm, although she wasn’t sure she succeeded.
“Julia? Why do you have my dad’s phone?” he demanded, sounding none too pleased to hear from her.
“I’m at Seattle General. Your father’s here…I believe he’s had a heart attack.”
Stunned silence followed before Michael raised his voice, nearly shouting at her. Not knowing what else to do, she started to explain what had happened as best she could.
“Is he okay?”
“Oh dear God, I…I don’t know,” she said on the tail end of a sob. “The staff will only talk to family, so I don’t have any information.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, and then added, “Do you want me to call Adam, or will you?”
“I’ll let my brother know,” he said, and abruptly ended the call.
Because Julia was barely holding herself together, she texted Hillary, who thankfully happened to work at Seattle General. Within minutes, her daughter joined Julia in the waiting area.
“Mom, what happened?” she asked, sitting down next to Julia and reaching for her hands, taking them both in her own.
Not until she felt her daughter’s warm hands did she realize how cold she was.
“Talk to me,” Hillary said encouragingly, when Julia found no words. Once more, she was on the verge of breaking down, her heart pounding as if looking for a way to break out of her chest. When she was able, she explained watching Heath collapse on the tennis court. Once again, the panic and fear of seeing him go down was almost more than she could endure, and she broke into sobs.
“Oh Mom. I’m so sorry.” Hillary hugged her, and Julia let her, soaking in her strength and calm, desperately needing it.
When she found her voice again, she whispered, “I’m afraid, Hill, so afraid he isn’t going to make it.”
Her daughter tenderly rubbed Julia’s back as she remained with her. “Weren’t you the one who told me to not cross a bridge until I get there?”
Julia sniffled and nodded. With tears streaking her face, she bit into her lower lip and whispered, “I love him. I didn’t believe I would ever love anyone as much as I once did your father. Heath proved me wrong. Falling in love at my age wasn’t anything I expected to happen…I thought that part of my life was over and…and I accepted it and…and then I met Heath.”
Hillary hugged her tighter. “I’m going to call Aunt Amanda. She can sit with you.”
Julia nodded, aware that Hillary had to return to work. Amanda would come right away. Julia would need her sister, especially if the news about Heath was bad.
Hillary left her, and no sooner was she gone from the room than Heath’s two sons arrived. Ignoring her, they stormed into the emergency room and went directly to the receptionist to ask about their father.