An ambulance was there, along with two police cars. The officers were talking to the ice cream truck driver while the EMTs were loading a gurney into the back of the ambulance. The little body on it wasn't moving. Michael smiled to himself.

“How does it feel?” he said out loud. “How does it feel?”

As he drove off, Michael decided he deserved a nice dinner and maybe even a glass of wine. His and Tammy's favorite wine. He was in a very good mood.

****

Katie reached Wade at the office and told him what happened. He was on his way to the hospital before he hung up. She had not given him much detail, but she'd said that Jesse was unconscious when he was loaded into the ambulance. When he arrived at the hospital, he parked as quickly as he could, and dashed for the ER doors.

Out of breath, he came through the doors to find his mother-in-law coming towards him.

“How is he?”

“They're doing a CT scan to check for brain damage. He has a broken arm and they put stitches in his knee. They're mainly worried about the blow to his head when he landed. He has a concussion, but hopefully no worse.”

He was looking past her, down the hall.

“Where are Katie and Jack?”

“In the waiting room. Wade, before we see them, is it possible that this could be connected to the “situation” we were talking about?”

“What makes you say that?”

“The officer at the scene told me they found the truck that hit Jesse.”

“And? Did they catch the guy?”

“No, in fact, he said the truck was reported stolen.”

“Stolen?!”

Wade hadn't considered the possibility that the accident wasn't an accident. The thought chilled him. He would worry about that later.

“I don't know. Right now, I just want to see Katie.”

“Okay, she's in here.”

They went into the waiting room where they found Katie, her eyes red from crying, with Jack. He was sitting on the floor in front of her and she was whispering something to him. When she saw Wade, she got up, hugged him and started to cry all over again.

“Our baby. You should have seen him, it was awful.”

“It's okay, babe. He's in good hands now.”

He looked over at Jack.

“Hey, Sport. How ya doing?”

Jack got up and came over to his dad.

“It's my fault, dad. I didn't wait for him.”

Wade picked his son up and held him.

“It's not your fault. It's the fault of the man who hit him.”

“But what if he dies?”

Jack was sobbing now.

“Jack, look at me.”

Wade put his son down and crouched so that they were eye-to-eye.

“The doctors are going to take good care of your brother. I don't want you thinking things like that, okay?”

Jack nodded. Wade walked him over to a chair and sat next to him.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Jack replayed the events for his father. Wade's heart broke when he pictured Jack bending over Jesse, screaming his brother's name.

“Did you recognize the man who drove the truck?”

Jack shook his head.

“The policeman asked me the same thing, but it was moving too fast.”

Wade saw the doctor coming into the room.

“Mr. and Mrs. Duncan?”

“Yes?”

“We have the results of the CT scan. It appears that you have a very lucky little boy. He has a concussion, but nothing worse”

At the same time, Wade, Katie, and Shirley let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Is he okay?”

It was Jack.

Shirley hugged her grandson.

“Yes, he's going to be all right.”

It was Jack's turn to smile.

“Can I see him?”

The doctor smiled down at Jack.

“Sure, room 219. He's still very groggy, but you can go up and see him.”

The doctor turned to Wade.

“We'll need to keep him for a couple days for observation.”

“A couple days?”

“Yes, with young children and this kind of trauma, we would prefer to watch him for two nights, at least.”

Wade spoke for all of them.

“Thanks, doc. Thank you very much!”

****

Jesse was starting to come around when they got to his room. There were hugs from everyone and Jack took up a position right next to his brother. Wade smiled down at his son.

“So, Sport, How ya feeling?”

“Okay, but my head hurts.”

He tried to lift his arm to touch his head and realized that he was using the cast side. Jesse looked confused, and his face made everyone break into laughter. Just then, he acted as if something important had occurred to him.

“Am I going to miss Jack's birthday party?”

Even Katie appeared surprised. The next day was Jack's tenth birthday, and they had a party planned.

“Well, I don't know.”

“Can we have it here?”

It was Jack who said it, and it only took Wade a minute to decide.

“I don't see why not, if the hospital gives the okay.”

Katie looked at her oldest son.

“Your friends won't be able to come, Jack.”

“That's okay. I'd rather celebrate with Jesse.”

Wade, Katie, and Shirley all looked at each other. It was a good idea, and they had never been prouder of Jack. Wade made the pronouncement.

“Okay, then. It's settled. I'll check with the nurses and if they're okay with it, I'm okay with it.”

“Me, too!” Jesse flinched. “Ow. My head!”

They laughed in spite of themselves.

****

Michael had missed the TV news the night before. His glass of wine turned into several glasses of Jack Daniels. He could feel every one of them this morning. He went to a local diner for breakfast and picked up the newspaper on the way in. There, on the front page of the Springfield News-Leader, was a picture of the accident with the headline:

“POLICE LOOKING FOR HIT AND RUN DRIVER”

His waitress came up to the table.

“What can I get you?”

“Coffee and scrambled eggs.”

“Toast or biscuit?”

“Toast. Grape jelly, please.”

“Okey-dokey,” she said, and was gone.

Michael read the news story for the accident.

 

“Springfield police are searching for the driver of a stolen pick-up who was responsible for a hit and run accident in southwest Springfield on Thursday. The green eighties pick-up was discovered about a mile from the scene. It had been reported stolen earlier in the day.”

“The victim was a seven Year old child whose name has not been released. A police spokesman said the child was in stable condition at a local hospital.”

Michael read the last line again. All of a sudden, he wasn't in such a good mood. It was not his intention to leave the kid alive.

The waitress arrived with his coffee.

“Food will be out in a minute.”

He ignored her.

“Police are seeking anyone who may have witnessed the accident. A source close to the investigation said that there was not a suspect at this time.”

 

Michael’s eggs arrived, but his appetite was gone. He nibbled on a piece of toast while he ran the events of the previous day through his mind. He decided not to worry that the boy had survived, he had still accomplished his purpose. The hospital or the morgue, it didn't matter. Jesse was out of the house.

The coffee had not helped his head, and he needed to kill some time, so it seemed a nap was in order. He paid and headed back to the room. Along the way, he stopped at Jiffy Mart, picking up some aspirin and a new disposable cell phone. He needed the aspirin now, but more importantly, he needed a new number. He didn't want to get sloppy, and using the same phone too many times was sloppy.