I had been working on my project car when the phone rang, and had a bad feeling when I heard my sister's voice on the line. Cindy seldom called, and never during the workday. Yup, something was wrong, our dad had been mowing his grass and working outdoors when the neighbor found him unconscious.
The ambulance had taken him to the local hospital where he was diagnosed as having had a heart attack, and a helicopter was on it's way to pick him up and take him to a heart hospital a hundred and fifty miles away. They weren't sure he was going to make it, things looked very serious. Cindy was crying and could hardly tell me what was happening, but I was finally able to understand her, and told her I would pick her up on my way to the heart hospital.
It was about a 3 hour drive for me, but she lived that direction and I could be at her place in less than two hours. I called my boss and told him I would need the next few days off, and would be in touch. It took me less than 10 minutes to clean the grime off my hands and face, pack an overnight bag, and hit the road. Traffic was light, and Cindy was waiting in the driveway having a cigarette when I pulled up. She had a small bag which we threw in the backseat of my mustang and were off.
The drive seemed like it took forever, even at 80 miles an hour. Cindy never let go of my hand or arm the entire trip, and cried on my shoulder for a good part of it. She had always been a daddy's girl, and even now at the age of 45 she still was, and the thought of losing our Dad so suddenly was really tough on both of us. Cindy is 4 years my senior, and always was the center of attention. Boys were always coming around when we were younger, calling on my cute as hell, athletic sister, and I couldn't blame them. I couldn't stop them either, even though I was jealous she got all the attention. She still worked hard to stay in shape, and had a great ass from all the racquetball she played. I was proud I had taught her how to play, so she often gave me credit for having such a nice body yet, since that was her main source of exercise.
When we arrived at the hospital the doctors were busy running tests on our dad and trying to keep him stable, and we weren't allowed to see him at all. They told us since it was early evening, we should get a room across the street at the hospital hotel, and check back early in the morning. Hopefully we could see him then. I wasn't about to leave him there alone, but since they wouldn't let us in to see him, Cindy figured we might as well get the room, we would need our rest for the long days ahead.
The hotel was at capacity, and we got the last room available. It was a suite with one queen size bed, a small kitchen, a small sitting area with a couch, and of course a bathroom with shower. Neither one of us could eat, so we sat on the sofa and talked about the events taking place, and what would be needed to take care of Dad if they were able to make him better, and tried not to think of the duties we would have it they couldn't. We laughed a little remembering silly stories growing up, cried a little about the situation, and confided in each about our marriages, work, etc. Cindy had been married right out of high school, and I for only 5 years. Her kids were in college, and my 6 year old girl was at home with her mom, they would come down over the weekend to visit if it was OK to do so then.