Peter had been watching over Evans that night. Angie had insisted on doing so, and even though Peter insisted, Angie said she wouldn't go home.
"I will stay around in case you're tired or something. I know you will need my presence here," Angie had insisted.
"If you insist, though, I am sure I will be fine alone," Peter said.
Peter sat on the bed next to Evans'. He looked at his son and hid a sob.
He held his hand and started talking to him, telling him that his whole family loved him and could he please wake up.
Maybe it was an hour or two later on.
Beep. Beep.
Peter heard the monitor beep, but he didn't look up. The monitor continued beeping, and as if burnt from a hot sensation, Peter looked up behind him, where the noise came from.
He saw that it was the monitor, and the readings and graph had moved from zero.
"Oh my goodness!" He exclaimed, looking at Evans. He was still in the same position he had been, and Peter didn't notice at first that his left index finger was moving.
Peter rubbed his eyes, looked at the monitor again and at Evans. He saw the left middle finger move, and in excitement, he pressed the doctor's button.
A nurse came in rushing seconds later.
"He is awake. I saw his hands move. He is awake," Peter said in excitement. The nurse moved towards the monitor, looked at the readings then looked at Evans.
Evans opened one eye. It took time for him to open the other, and when both eyes were opened, he looked at the same spot for a while.
The nurse was already beside him, and Evans saw her in images of two. It took a while for his sight to be steady, and when it did, he looked around at where he was.
He saw Peter smile at him in encouragement.
"Father."
"Son," Peter said emotionally.
"Why am I here? Where is Calvin?" he asked.
"Ssh. He is fine. He will be here to see you soon. How are you feeling?" Peter asked, even though he could visibly see that Evans was still in pain.
"My head feels so heavy. It's like I am carrying two heads. I feel pain all over my body," he said, attempting to sit up, but the pain was so much that he closed his eyes and stayed put on the bed.
The nurse pressed a button that called the doctor in charge, and when the doctor got near Evans' room, Angie intercepted him, asking if everything was okay.
"I will keep you posted as soon as I can," the doctor said and walked past her. In the medical room, he asked Peter to move out, but he wasn't listening.
He wanted to be there, and the doctor had almost called the security.
"What's the new development?" the doctor asked the nurse.
"He is pretty much okay. The vitals are good, and I think he has good use of all his senses. I haven't asked him personal questions, though."
"Thank you. I will take it from here," the doctor said.
He gave Evans breathing assistance and some intravenous medication, and when the pain he felt subsided, he sat up.
He answered pretty much everything about himself but also inserted incomprehensible words in some of his responses.
The doctor didn't panic; he had seen plenty of such cases before.
The medication was beginning to take a toll on Evans, and his eyes felt heavy. He struggled to see and finally fell asleep when the doctor left him to have some rest.
He had to give some concrete information to the eager family outside.
"Doctor, how is he?" Peter asked.
"Is he okay?" Calvin asked.
"He is stabilizing. It's a good thing that he remembers all his personal details. However, he still needs rest as he has been from a near-death experience. He is sleeping. Once he wakes up, I will allow you to see him, one person at a time," the doctor said. "Do not tell him anything about the accident. Don't mention any sad moments, and it might cause a relapse. If you will excuse me."
Eric Barger looked at the old folks before him and didn't know what to say. He was doing his best in the hotels, but they were beginning to make losses.
"What do you think the problem could be?" Jael asked, looking at the financial records Eric had presented before them.
He had given out full records since he started managing the hotel, and in the first years, everything had been okay.
"Honestly, I don't know. The customers are coming in as usual. The staff is there. Nothing has changed. In fact, I haven't even increased their salaries in a while. I just don't understand it," Eric said.
"Who takes account of your finances?" Jim asked.