Emily laughed despite herself and leaned her head on his shoulder, and they waited. When the doctor finally came out, she was smiling. "He did great," she said. "Better than great. The procedure went perfectly."
"His rhythm's already corrected, and he's awake and asking forโ" She checked, amused. "He's asking for a hamburger and, quote, my whole family, including the big fella and the little one." Emily burst into tears of relief, and Marcus wrapped both arms around her, and Ava woke up and blinked and said, "Is Mr. Harold okay?" And when they told her yes, she cheered so loud a nurse shushed her.
They went back to see him, all three of them. And Harold was sitting up, color already returning to his face, cracking jokes with the nursing staff like he owned the place. "There's my people," he said when they came in. He looked at the three of them, Marcus, Emily, and Ava standing together at the foot of his bed, and something moved across his face. Something deep and satisfied and complete.
"Would you look at that?" he said softly. "Would you just look at that?" "Look at what, Mr. Harold?" Ava asked. "At all of you," Harold said. "Standing there together."
His eyes were wet again, but he was smiling. "You know, sweetheart, two months ago, I was a lonely old man building a house for a wife who wasn't here to see it. And I figured that garden house was going to be the last thing I ever did that mattered. Just me and some boards and a whole lot of missing your mother." He looked at Marcus.
"And then this big fella hit the brakes on a road he never even drives. And now look. Look what came of it." Ava climbed up onto the edge of the bed, careful of the wires, and Harold put an arm around her. "You did that, you know," Harold told her.
"You want to know a secret?" "What?" "Your daddy almost didn't come see me that first Saturday," Harold stage-whispered. "He told me later. He'd made up his mind not to. Too scared."
"And you know what changed his mind?" Ava shook her head. "You did," Harold said. "You called him out at the breakfast table. Told him being scared wasn't a good enough reason. He told me the whole story."
Harold squeezed her shoulder. "So this whole family, your daddy and Miss Emily and me, all being together like this, that started with a 9-year-old who told her father to be brave. What do you think about that?" Ava considered this with total seriousness. "I think I'm very smart," she concluded.
The whole room cracked up. Harold loudest of all, and this time when the monitor beeped along, it beeped strong and steady like a heart that had been given a very good reason to keep going. Later, after Harold had finally been convinced to sleep, the three of them walked out through the hospital parking lot into the evening. Ava ran ahead, jumping over the painted lines, her energy fully restored now that the fear was gone. Marcus and Emily walked slower, hand in hand.