Chapter 5 : Should I Contact Stefan?

Annabelle sighed heavily. She picked up the phone and scrolled down her contact list and dialled Nathaniel Henderson's number. His phone was switched off and the call didn't go through. She didn't have Audrey Henderson's number, so she dialled Stefan's number. Even after four long lonely years she retained his number and checked his latest profile pictures regularly. It was creepy but she couldn't help herself. Stefan only uploaded pictures of himself with his daughter. She never saw any pictures of his wife, which she found strange. There was a strange melancholy, a sadness in his eyes which Annabelle noticed in all the photographs that he uploaded.

Her hand shook as the phone kept ringing and went into voicemail. She tried two more times and at last got fed up, recorded a simple message on his voicemail.

"Annabelle here. Gran had an accidental fall. I have brought her to Princeton Medical Centre."

She disconnected the phone and heaved a heavy sigh, collapsing on the nearest chair. She was thankful that she didn't have to speak to Stefan. She wouldn't have been able to utter a single sentence. She wondered how long it would be before one of gran's family members arrived. The formalities and medical expenses had to be taken care of. She picked up her phone and called Martha.

"Martha, keep calling uncle Nathaniel and Mrs. Henderson or Tristan, till you're able to speak to any one of them," she instructed Martha.

"Yes, Anna. I'll inform you when a call goes through, " she said. Annabelle updated her about the latest happenings in the hospital and disconnected the call.

Nurse Ellie came out of the emergency unit and sat down beside her. She picked up her hand and held it to give her support.

"Everything will be alright, Anna," she said as Anna nodded.

"It's my fault actually, " she said in a soft voice.

"Not at all. It's no one's fault. Don't blame yourself. Even I was busy with my work. It had to happen and so it did. Let us pray that gran recovers soon," said Ellie, squeezing her hand.

"Don't worry, the reports are out and the doctors are doing their best. Let's hope everything's alright and we can take gran home," said Ellie. She heard the doctors discussing the possibility of a fracture but she didn't have the heart to tell Annabelle. She wanted her to hear everything from the doctors.

Martha called to inform that she had informed Stefan's dad, Nathaniel Henderson. Annabelle was relieved that at least someone from the Henderson family was informed.

They sat and waited with bated breath for the doctors to summon them. They also waited for a family member to arrive and take over the situation. Annabelle didn't want to meet Stefan but under the circumstances, she had to. So she took a deep breath and waited for the family to arrive.

Annabelle approached the middle-aged, kind-looking Dr. Williams who was in charge of gran, scared of what news he would give her.

"Hello doctor, I am Annabelle Carter, granddaughter of Mrs. Ophelia Henderson. I was the one who brought her here. I have informed her other family members. How is gran?" She asked with apprehension.

"Ms. Carter, your grandmother has a hairline fracture in the femoral head of her right hip. It requires immediate surgery within the next 48 hours. Her blood pressure and thyroid and cardiac reports have arrived and we can proceed with the surgery as soon as you complete the formalities at the reception," the doctor informed her.

Annabelle widened her eyes with nervousness. She wished someone from the Henderson family would be here to support her.

"Gran was unconscious after her fall. Has she regained consciousness, doctor?" She asked.

"Yes, your grandmother has gained consciousness and has been given medications for her pain. Don't worry, this is quite common in old age and the surgery is safe and will heal her well," Dr. Williams comforted her.

"How long is she required to stay here?" Annabelle asked, fiddling with her fingers out of nervousness.

"Post operation she will be shifted to our in-house rehabilitation unit but we can discuss that later. Please complete the formalities, Ms. Carter. See you then, " saying that Dr. Williams turned and left.

Annabelle rushed to the reception and enquired about gran's surgery costs and formalities.

She had no idea why Stefan had not contacted her. She had expected at least someone from the family to appear and stand by gran at this critical time. She knew Martha had contacted Stefan's father Nathaniel Henderson and his second wife, Audrey Henderson, who was Stefan and Claire's stepmother. Their real mom Miriam had passed away when they were 3 years of age. Stefan's twin sister Claire was married, happily settled in California, and had just given birth to her first baby boy Alexander, 2 months back. So she could not possibly come even if she knew about Gran's condition. Stefan's half brothers Tristan who was 4 years younger and the twins Julian and Adrian who were 6 years younger than Stefan were too busy with their lives. She didn't have their contact numbers. She had met them a few times and had a good friendly relationship with them. Though they loved pulling her legs, yet she was comfortable in their presence.

She heaved a sigh and repeated her question to the busy receptionist.

"Excuse me", she checked her name tag, "Ms. Morgan, please can you tell me what formalities I need to complete so that my grandmother, Mrs. Ophelia Henderson, admitted to the emergency unit, gets to the surgery room on time?" She knew she sounded rude, but she had to get her attention from among the sea of eager people waiting to be attended to.

She took a look at the records on her computer asking for the necessary details and gave a form for her to fill.

"The surgery cost and other hospital charges, ambulance charges have been paid in full ma'am. You only need to fill this form with the patient details and your contact details and sign. "

Annabelle looked at her with disbelief. "Who paid for the expenses?'' she asked.

"Mr. Stefan Henderson cleared all the payments ma'am just 15 minutes back through bank transfer," she informed her.

So, Stefan wasn't here. He heard the voicemail and paid for everything. Yet he did not call or visit gran?