Page 89 of The Sister's Curse

Awake

I expected that Jeff Sumner would be at the hospital.

And he was, sitting in a car with Lister’s dealer plates, in the front row of the hospital parking lot, watching the door. He was scrunched down in his seat, sunglasses on, trying to be stealthy.

I parked next to him, taking it in: the new car; Sumner watching the entrance, not going inside. I was betting Drema had banned him from Mason’s hospital room, and he was here to follow her.

I made eye contact with him, got out of my car, and approached his.

He put his car in gear and drove away.

Interesting.

Monica was waiting for me at the hospital elevators, holding a gift bag from the gift shop. A green plush tail poked out of the top of the bag.

“Whatcha got?”

Monica lifted the bag. “Everybody loves dinosaurs.”

We headed down the hallway, and paused outside the door to Mason’s room.

Mason’s mom was sitting at his bedside, holding her son’s hand. Mason was sitting up in bed, looking pale, hooked up to wires and tubes. He held a Spider-Man action figure in his lap.

I knocked on the doorframe. “Pardon me. Mrs.Sumner?”

Drema Sumner turned to face me. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, but she smiled joyously. “He’s awake.”

“That’s such great news.”

She pushed his hair back from his eyes. “The doctors say his respiration and heart rate are normal. CT doesn’t show any brain damage.” She hiccuped a sob and pressed her fingertips to her mouth. “But he won’t speak.”

I ineffectually patted her shoulder. “I’m so glad he’s awake.”

She nodded, getting ahold of herself. Monica handed her the gift bag. Drema opened it, took a plush stegosaurus out of the bag, and gave it to Mason.

Mason stared at the toy on his lap, clutching his Spider-Man to his chest. He coughed a miserable cough that sounded like a goose’s honk.

“When do they think you might be able to take him home?” I asked.

“Not sure. They want to run more tests.” She combed his hair with her fingers. “I won’t be bringing him back to that house, though. Not ever.”

“I’m so sorry this happened,” I said.

Drema rubbed her eyes, and I noticed that her wedding rings were absent. “I can’t believe Jeff would try to deny medical care to his own son. I can’t…I can’t get past that.”

I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t my place. But I was certain that if I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t do anything different.

She exhaled. “This is gonna be hard, leaving Jeff. I know he’s going to fight me on custody, tooth and nail. He’s got money and power. He told me I wasn’t going to get away with it.

“But here’s the thing…I have my own money. I’m not from here, I get it. But I come from a family of lawyers, and I’m not going down without a fight.” Her cheeks blazed red with rage.

“Mrs.Sumner…Drema…” I began, sensing an opening. Maybe I could trust this woman, just a tiny bit, so I reached out: “How much do you know about your husband’s past? Before he met you?”

Her brows drew together. “Was…he married before or something?”

“No.” I took a deep breath, glancing at Mason. “Maybe we should take this somewhere else, though?”

Drema nodded. “We can get some coffee in the waiting area.”