Feelin' the Vibe by Candice Dow Read Free Book Online Page B

had less
     than twenty-four hours to announce to the public my intentions.
    When I walked in the hospital, I frantically called Taylor on her phone and it jumped to voice mail. Finally, I went to the
     information desk. Wouldn’t you know? He wasn’t in any damn room. He was in intensive care. I rushed up to the ICU.
    Mrs. Jabowski stood when she saw me step off the elevator. She looked as if she’d rushed out of the house. Her short hair
     was on top of her head, and she wore a sweater that appeared a size too small and her slacks looked like she was in the middle
     of preparing dinner. It was shocking to see her without a face full of makeup, but surprisingly her brown skin looked smooth
     and even. In fact, I could see how much Taylor resembled her at that moment. Even as a plus-sized woman, Mrs. Jabowski had
     an hourglass figure. I rushed over to them, gave Mrs. Jabowski a hug. “What are they saying?”
    Tears filled her eyes. My heart dropped. It was selfish, but I was thinking:
Not now, Bishop. Not now.
She took a deep breath, and it seemed several minutes passed before she spoke. “He had a stroke and it appears that his voice
     is gone.”
    That news was like loud cymbals clapping in my ears. That was probably worse than death for him. Words evaded me as I looked
     for the right thing to say to console her. I hugged her again. Taylor looked at me as if she needed me to say something, to
     do something, but I felt weak at the moment.
    I said, “Where’s the doctor? Is that what the doctor’s saying? Is it temporary?”
    Taylor’s oldest sister, Toni, looked at me and shrugged. Taylor hung her head, and Mrs. Jabowski said, “Why don’t you talk
     to him, Devin? Please.”
    I looked at Toni’s husband, Walter, who sat there useless and wondered why hadn’t they designated
him
to do the talking. Rather than entertain that, I took on the challenge. My wife, her mother, and her sister needed me. I
     headed to the nurses’ station to investigate. Just as I stepped up to the desk, one of the nurses looked up at me like she’d
     worked all day without a break and I was the last thing she needed to exert her energy on. Her face scrunched up, but I greeted
     her with a smile.
    “I’m so sorry to bother you. I would like to know if I could speak to the doctor taking care of Jacob Jabowski.”
    She took a deep, irritated breath. I spoke before she could: “I know that my family has probably been worrying you, but have
     you ever heard of Zion Baptist Church?”
    Her frown lifted slightly. “Why?”
    “That’s the pastor, Bishop Jacob Jabowski, in there, and we just want to know what’s going on.”
    I smiled at her again. Somebody had to care about the man of God. She sighed and scooted back from the desk. “I’ll have him
     come right out. You can stand here or have a seat and I’ll tell him to come over.”
    Something told me my chances were greater if I simply stood patiently in front of her, than if I went away. I nodded. “I’ll
     just wait here, sweetheart. Thank you so much.”
    She sucked her teeth, but said, “No problem.”
    After five minutes or so, a young doctor emerged and before he talked to the nurse, I reached my hand out and shook his hand.
     “Good evening, Doctor…” I said, squinting as if I was attempting to read his name tag.
    He said, “Fisher. I’m Dr. Fisher.”
    “Dr. Fisher, I’m with the Jabowski family and we want to know about Bishop Jabowski’s prognosis.”
    He flipped through his clipboard and flicked his pen. “I’ve spoken to the family several times. At this moment, everything
     is still the same. He suffered a chronic stroke, and right now his speech is gone.”
    “I mean, do you foresee it returning anytime soon?”
    “Maybe. Maybe not. You can never really tell with strokes.”
    I shook my head. “Nah, this can’t be.”
    “Sir, I wish I had better news, but right now that’s the way it is.”
    “Are you a specialist?”
    “No, but I have in my