New Joe
Joe stared into space. His muscled upper body sat forward from his torso causing his back hunched. The grease-stained mechanic overall was knotted to his waist by it's long sleeves and the black tee he wore, hugged his back and visualized his spine. Head pushed forward, hands clutched together on arms bent 90 degrees rested on his thighs, the thirty years old blue-collar worker hyperthetically murmured to himself as he was pulled out of that zone by the frequent mentions of his name by a slightly younger woman who wore a lab coat and a stethoscope round her neck.
"Joe, Joe, Joe", she shook him by the right shoulder on the third call.
Awakening to reality, he flinched. "How's my daughter?". There was a mixture of pain, deep concern, regret and fear in those eyes as the words were spoken.
"She's out of harm's way for now", replied the doctor who was more than a friend to Joe. Linda has been quite familiar with Joe and his daughter since he mentioned he was a widower.
Their first encounter was about three years ago when Joe was rushed in after a fatal accident at the garage where he started as a rookie two years earlier. He was a graduate freshly "baked out" of college where he majored as an editor but needed more experience to work with the famous Alan of Editorial World. Since his several shots at this dream of his bounced off, he decided to get something doing at the main time to provide for his love, Amelia and their unborn baby at the time.
Amelia was a freshman when she met and fell for Joe who had just a year to roundup his course of study in the college. The two young lads were so young, naïve and helplessly in love with each other that they didn't realize how quickly a child in the picture could change everything overnight. Amelia sacrificed her education and was rejected by her family, just to stand by Joe since he couldn't secure a job after graduation. She was a pregnant undergraduate who could only amount to a cleaner at a local diner that could barely afford her very minimal salary.
Still, she managed until death took her at childbirth. It all happened so fast that it left Joe shocked and shattered for weeks. He was lucky enough to get help from his boss and fellow workers at the garage who generously helped to clear the hospital bill which was like a fortune. His retired mom who was a widow was kindhearted enough to help him raise baby Chelsea. For months he grieved the heartbreaking loss of his darling wife, regretting he couldn't marry her properly like she deserved. On some days the memories made him weep while on other days, it made him really distracted and depressed.
Many months after his wife's demise, he would still dwell on her memories, leading to his distraction which caused the accident that almost cost him his hand. Doctor Linda was just checking in for her afternoon shift when he was rushed in with blood gushing out of his hand, drenching him and everything around him.
Heart monitor beeping, gentle footsteps, low toned conversation, foggy sight of bright light
Dizzy with a painful hand covered with stitches underneath and bandage overlaying his torn skin, Joe revives back to consciousness after passing out two hours ago. Scanning the room with all his senses, he knew he was in the hospital. "Thank goodness you're awake", Linda spoke after discharging the nurse she was initially talking to at the door of the ward. "I was going to come check on you if you hadn't gained consciousness in the next hour. I guess the pain really knocked you out because the use of anesthesia was unnecessary to get you stitched up". Struggling to sit at the edge of the hospital bed, he was helped by Linda who was cautious of the injured hand. "I'm sure you're well aware you can't leave right away, Mr Joe". "How do you mean, Doc?", the puzzled patient asked. "Don't worry ma'am, I'll be careful and more attentive from now on. Now, I have to get back to the garage", he concluded without letting the medical professional speak. Deep down he felt fine, although his stitched hand felt numb.
"Mr Joe, listen!", Linda's voice was a little pitched which made Joe sit back down to ear her words. "I don't care whatever it is that's so important for you to do in the garage, you are not medically fit to return to any activities requiring your hands. We ran an X-ray check on that injured hand and discovered you have all your phalanges fractured except your thumb". "With the help of prescribed medications and a specialist to help you train back your hand into full functionality, I advice you take my every word seriously". "OK Doc, what are the worst case scenarios?", Joe was immediately concerned. "There could be a case of infection leading to amputation if treated with neglegence or the case of missing scheduled training time with an assigned specialist could lead to a dead hand". "I'm an orthopedist, your assigned specialist, so you have nothing to worry", she gave off one of her assuring smiles.
"I'm not supposed to be saying this but my deepest condolences for your loss, Mr Joe but it's time to let go of that distraction, you need to put it aside for the sake of your kid especially", she said soothingly. "How did you know?", the already emotional patient asked with a shaky voice. "I did", a voice rang from the ward's door. It was Mr Mario, Joe's boss. "And I have permissioned the doctor to do whatever it takes to get you back in top shape". "Thank you sir, I really appreciate the effort and my apologies for all the trouble caused", Joe said. Mr Mario and his family have always treated Joe as a son, taking him and Chelsea in after the death of his mother when Chelsea was just about clocking a year. Mr and Mrs Mario are the parent figures in Joe's life and the grandparents to Chelsea.
During Joe's period of healing, Chelsea grew fond of Linda. They became two peas in a pod and this made Joe reconsider his stance on remarrying. Indeed, Chelsea needed a mother in her life and he, a partner to share in his sorrow and happiness. Things steadily picked up between the patient and doctor after a coffee date offered by Joe, using Chelsea as some kinda bait to get Linda to accept.
Fast-forward back to the present day, Joe received an emergency call from the nanny that was in charge of Chelsea since her grandparents were out of town. He didn't get all the gist from the nanny who was frantically speaking to him about his daughter passing out all of a sudden in her room when she was called out to have her dinner. He rushed to the hospital after asking Jay for the keys to the truck they were all allowed to use and to cover for him for an hour that he needed to get to his child.
"What do you mean by she's out of harm's way for now, Linda?", he got personal now. "Come Joe, my office", the woman led the way.
"So Chelsea passed out due to high cholesterol level in her system. It could have been worse if she had being older and it had been discovered a little later. Although her high lipoprotein (HDL) which is the good cholesterol is on a healthy level, she's still at controllable risk with the level of low lipoprotein (LDL) which is the bad one. Honestly, she hasn't been feeding healthy, Joe so in a nutshell she needs to be on a specialized diet and to ascertain that she has to be placed under eyes of supervision plus series of tests to be ran", the professional finished. "OK can I see her now?". "Yes, you can. I'll take you to her", Linda offered. Chelsea was still asleep but her nanny who sat by her bed saw Joe and Linda walk in quietly. Whispering, he thanked the nanny and asked her to retire for the night. Joe walked quietly to his daughter, ran his hand through his hair and silently vowed to do everything he could to keep her safer from now on.
After spending some time by Chelsea's bedside, he decided to go back to Jay, call it a night at the garage, freshen up and grab dinner before returning to spend the rest of the night with his sleeping daughter. "I'll see you out", Linda insisted.
Now outside, phone rings
"Excuse me Linda, I need to get this", he stretched into his pocket to get the folder phone that rang out so loudly. "Hello, Joe speaking, how. may I help. you?". This was how he always answered his calls that made Linda more attracted to him. "Hello Joe, this is from Alan's office. Upon proper review of you resumé, you have been scheduled for an interview in two days by 10:00am EST". The caller ended the call upon receiving Joe's calm reply of "OK, thank you so much. I will be there".
"What happened? Who was it, Joe? Answer me", Linda was too curious to stay calm. He jeered her up in the air while spinning her in his big arms. He puts her down and planted a really deep kiss on her that left her more confused than giddy before he explained to her.
"I just bagged an interview at Editorial World and I'm expected to be there in two days", he happily said. "But how's that possible? Have you been mailing out your resumé to them?", she asked, placing both her hands on his reached out arms for stability since she still felt dizzy from the spin and the kiss. Joe's mischievous smile and constant nod of approval were all the confirmation she needed.
"I am so happy and proud of you Joe", she cupped his face in her rather smaller hands. "You've done it. Finally, you get to live you dream". "And I gladly want to do that with you and Chelsea", he picked her up in a warm embrace.