- Albert Einstein
Chapter 21
The Coincidence
Nick and Max sat in the car, looking across the parking lot at the looming hospital beyond. Nick's stomach was in more turmoil than Max's was. "You're sure you want to do this?" Nick asked for what seemed like the hundreth time since they'd left Mimi's house an hour before.
Max nodded.
Nick climbed out of the car and Max took the bag with Nick's camera in it. He'd asked to be allowed to bring it along incase he wanted to take a picture. Nick had been okay with that. Max took Nick's hand and Nick squeezed tight as they moved across the parking lot, both of their red Converse smacking the pavement with gently clop clop sounds.
When they went through the front doors, Max felt dizzy from the hospital smell inside. Nick guided him along through a brightly lit foyer to a desk, where a secretary sat, and Max looked around while Nick explained who they were and gave the secretary the note from Mr. Williams with the information about Max's father on it. Max saw a big tank of fish with bright fins. One of them was yellow. Max clung tighter to Nick's hand.
They climbed a huge flight of stairs that led to the second floor and took an elevator up. It felt like they were going up forever, Max thought, watching the numbers tick and count to 11. At number 11, they climbed off and walked down a hall to another desk where another secretary told them what room they were looking for, and Max followed Nick down a long corridor painted pink and beige and came to a stop by a half-closed door with a small plastic sign that said 'Room 2831' next to it.
Nick crouched down. He ran his hand over Max's hair, smoothing it down as best he could, and looked at Max's face. He smiled. "Max," he said, "You're a great kid, you know that?"
Max did not answer. He was feeling very quiet today, even with Nick, and he didn't know what to say to answer anyway.
Nick's eyes were gentle. "You're very brave," he said, "For doing this."
Max shook his head, and glanced at the 2831 sign. "I'm scared," he croaked quietly.
"It's okay, Max," Nick said softly, "It's not brave if you aren't scared, right?" He straightened Max's shirt. "We can still leave if you don't want to go in there," he added.
Max's little chest heaved with a great breathy sigh. "No," he said, "Everyone should be allowed to say they're sorry if they want," he explained.
Nick smiled and stood up.
"Okay, then," Nick said, taking Max's hand again. They turned to the door, standing side-by-side, and Nick knocked strongly on the hard oak door, which creaked a little further open. Inside, the foot of a bed was just visible.
"Come in," called a feeble man's voice.
Nick looked down at Max, and Max nodded, and the two of them stepped into the room together, and came around the corner so that the man laying in the hospital bed came into view. "Max..." the man whispered. Then his eyes met Nick's.
Nick dropped Max's hand.
The world had seemed to seize in that instant, when the man came into view. Nick's heart felt like it had stopped beating in his chest and he clutched at the stitch, where it felt his soul was being sucked into a black hole. He felt like he'd been sucker punched and he backed away, back into the hall, so fast and so vehmently that he struck the far wall of the hallway before he stopped and he slid to the tile floor, his eyes wide with shock.
Max stood, alone, in a pool of light from the window, staring at the man in the bed, transfixed for a moment. Then, as though it had taken that time to notice Nick had pulled away so violently, Max turned and ran to Nick in the hallway.
Nick was gasping for breath, his eyes swimming with the image of the man in the bed, his heart racing. He had tears streaming from his eyes, though he was unaware of it. Max crawled onto Nick's lap and stared up at him, "Nick?" he asked, his voice pinched with worry. "Nick?"
"Oh God," Nick cried and drew his hands to his face.
"What is it, Nick?" Max begged, trying to pry Nick's hands away.
Nick shook his head.
How could he possibly wrap words around the fact that it was his father in the hospital bed, too... not just Max's?
