The Miner's Girl

Chapter 37

(((February 1, 2016)))
Nicole's POV
Nothing much has happened in the past month or so. I've been helping Hannah with her schoolwork a bit, and I go to Mom's house almost everyday. I've been going to see Grandma and Grandpa a lot, helping them with various things. They've been feeling a little bad lately, so I go over there to help them feel better. There's been a couple times when I thought they needed to go to the hospital, but then they felt better, but I still think they should go get checked out. I had also been working at the doctor's office five days a week, 9:00 until 5:00, just as something to keep me busy while Parker's gone. Tomorrow is my last day, because Parker is coming home the day after tomorrow.

Hannah has been doing a great job with sticking to doing her schoolwork, and we're all proud of her. Hannah has been took in by the family, just like I was years ago. She's just like a part of the family. Hannah and Payson talk a lot on the phone, but they're not officially together yet. Payson has really helped Hannah get back to where she needs to be, doing schoolwork, and hanging with the right crowd. She hasn't said one word about Lee in weeks. It makes me happy to see her happy, along with my big brother, Payson.

Parker is coming home on Wednesday, and I couldn't be any happier about it. I've missed him so much, more than words can say. We've talked everyday, at least twice a day. We talk about his day, my day, how the family is doing, and about how much we love and miss each other. He's asked me multiple times to get on a plane and come to Australia, and I thought about it, because I have Hannah here to take care of Bear if I needed her too. But, nevertheless, I decided that I would stay here until he came home.
***
I woke up today and got ready for work, while Hannah was still asleep. She sleeps late often. I took Bear and Dozer outside for them to use the bathroom before I went to work so they wouldn't have an accident in the house before Hannah woke up.  Dozer has been staying with me since Parker's been gone. Parker called me before I went to work, before he went to sleep, and we talked for a while. I drove to work; I thought nothing very eventful would happen today.
***
It was around 2:00 when Mom called me at work. I was busy at the moment with a patient, and I couldn't answer it. It was about ten minutes later when I took a break to call her back.

"Hey, Mom." I said when she answered the phone.

"Hi, honey."

"What's up?"

"Grandma and Grandpa are at the hospital."

My heart dropped.

"What? Why? Last night they were fine."

"I know, but you know they've been having a few minor issues. This morning, they really weren't feeling so good."

"Grandpa told me that his foot wasn't feeling right."

"Yeah, that's why he's going."

"You think they'll be alright?"

"I do."

"Are you going up there with them to Anchorage?"

"We'll see what happens by the time I get home from work. I probably will, but the doctor there said that they might transfer them."

"Yeah, you don't want to go all the way up there just for them to be transferred."

"Parker doesn't know yet. Are you going to tell him?"

"Yeah, I'll tell him."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye, Mom."

Throughout the rest of the day, I was worried about Grandma and Grandpa. I was distracted, and my mind was somewhere far away most of the time. It's a good thing it was a slow day at the office.
***
I finally got home at 5:30, and the only reason I went home before going to Mom's was to tell Hannah what happened. She and I grabbed our stuff, and the dogs climbed in the truck, and we were on our way to see Mom and Dad.