Contents
Part Three — Chapter 5
Overview
Jesse visits his firefighter friend Gavin in New York when a call dispatches the crew to a traffic collision. Moments later, Jesse learns Eloise has been hit by a car and is in emergency brain surgery. Molly breaks down, and Jesse comforts her as they confront devastating odds and the fear of another loss.
Summary
In New York, Jesse stops by the firehouse of his friend Gavin, a former polygrapher turned firefighter-paramedic. They reminisce and swap family photos. A dispatch interrupts: a car ran a red light, hit a pedestrian, and crashed into a barrier. Gavin rushes out with the crew.
Jesse prepares to text Molly, but she calls first, sobbing that her mother has been taken to the hospital. He races to Mount Sinai West, recalling a past accident and bracing for impact. Molly, holding Adie, collapses into Jesse’s arms and recounts seeing a car blow through a stoplight and her mother thrown “like a doll.”
They learn Eloise is in surgery for a brain bleed, with poor odds. Molly admits she cannot lose her mother again after their recent reunion. Jesse comforts her, offering a promise he knows he cannot guarantee, as they wait and face the possibility of another catastrophic loss.
Who Appears
- JesseNarrator; visits firefighter friend, then rushes to hospital and comforts Molly after Eloise’s accident.
- MollyWitnesses her mother struck by a car; devastated at the hospital, fearing another loss.
- Eloise (Georgia)Hit by a car; undergoes emergency brain surgery with grim odds.
- GavinJesse’s firefighter-paramedic friend; responds to the red-light crash that injures Eloise.
- AdieInfant daughter; with Molly and Jesse at the hospital during the crisis.