The ringing of Mrs. Cook's phone jarred Cadence awake. She hadn't even realized she had been asleep and wondered if anyone else had noticed. If they had, no one said so, and she wiped the sleep out of her eyes while listening to Alice Cook's half of the conversation she was clearly having with someone at the hospital.
"Yes, I see," Alice was saying. "All right then. We'll be by shortly. Thank you, Dr. Arnold," she said pressing the End Call button. Everyone in the room was perfectly still, their attention focused on Jack's mom as she gathered her thoughts in order to relay the message. "That was Dr. Arnold from the hospital," she explained. "He said they have some news regarding Jack, and we need to get down there as soon as we can."
"Let's go," Steve Cook replied, patting his wife on the shoulder reassuringly before standing and reaching for her coat.
The rest of the group looked around at each other for a moment before Jon asked, "Do you want all of us to come with you? Or would that be overwhelming?"
Without hesitating, Alice replied, "Yes, of course I want all of you to come with us. You were all like family to Jack. Please, come along."
As the others were gathering their coats, Hannah sent Cadence a message to let her know that Elliott was already at the hospital. Cadence found this a bit odd, but she did not ask for clarification, assuming she would figure out Elliott's purpose once they arrived at Bryan Health.
Even though it was fairly cold outside, the snow had let up, and they decided to walk the few blocks to the hospital. Steve and Alice believed the fresh air would do them all some good. Despite the fact that there was a lot weighing on their minds, the friends chatted quietly about the Christmas lights decorating the buildings around them and the forecast calling for more snow in the next few days.
Upon reaching the reception area of the hospital, they were greeted by Nurse Bailey, who ushered them into one of the smaller waiting rooms where they could all sit and wait for Dr. Arnold. The hospital was not too busy, and there were not a lot of other people around.
They had only been waiting a few moments when Dr. Arnold arrived, along with Elliott. At first, everyone seemed a bit puzzled, wondering why Cadence's work associate was already at the hospital and how he knew Dr. Arnold. No one asked, however, as they sat patiently waiting for clarification, and Cadence began to put the pieces together.
"Hello," Dr. Arnold greeted the party as he approached. "Mr. and Mrs. Cook, everyone, thank you for coming. I have met most of you. I am Dr. Jay Arnold, Chief of Staff here at Bryan Health."
Before he could say more, Elliott spoke up. "And I am Dr. Elliott Sanderson of the Center for Disease Control. You all recognize me because I work with Cadence. Her security company does work for the CDC. Of course, you already knew that I worked for the CDC, and you are not at all surprised to see me here with Dr. Arnold."
Cadence looked around her at the nodding heads. Everyone seemed to readily accept that Elliott should be standing there with the doctor, that it was completely logical that he could work for the CDC and work with Cadence. Cadence caught Hannah's eye, and they exchanged a knowing glance before she turned her attention back to Elliott.
"As Dr. Arnold explained to you this morning, the CDC had to take the remains of your beloved son so that we could investigate exactly what the illness was that claimed his life. Unfortunately, we came to the determination that Jack's body was potentially still contaminated. Therefore, we had his remains cremated. While I am certainly sorry that we had to take such drastic measures, you all understand how important it is to control potentially hazardous illnesses. You all understand that Jack's remains had to be cremated, and you accept this information unquestioningly."
Again, everyone nodded. No one looked surprised, shocked, or angry. Cadence looked at Hannah again, who gave a small shrug, and then Cadence returned her attention to Elliott. Though his ability to persuade the thoughts and reactions of others didn't work nearly as well on members of the Passels, Cadence began to believe that Jack must have had a contagious illness, and therefore, he must have been cremated, though she still was not exactly sure why Elliott was the one relaying this information.
Dr. Arnold motioned for Nurse Bailey, who stepped into the waiting area, carrying a small brown urn with gold trim. "Mr. and Mrs. Cook," Dr. Arnold said, offering the urn to Jack's parents. "Here you are. I am so very sorry for your loss."
As Mr. Cook stood to take the remains, his wife began to cry quietly. Mr. Cook shook Dr. Arnold's hand, then turned to Elliott. "Thank you both," he stated, tears in his own eyes. "I appreciate the care that was given to my son while he was here."
Dr. Arnold nodded, meekly. "If there is anything else that we can do for you, please let me know," he said. Gesturing to Nurse Bailey, he smiled empathetically at Jack's friends and followed his associate out the door. Elliott stayed, of course, because, despite being a member of the CDC, he was also Cadence's friend and colleague.
"Let's go back to the hotel," Elliott suggested. Without hesitating, every member of the Cook party stood, put their coats back on, and began to walk down the hallway toward the exit. As they approached the elevator, Elliott quietly said, "We miss Jack, and we will never forget him. But these things happen. People die and they are cremated. We will all move on and only remember the happy times with Jack, before he was sick."
Heads nodded in agreement, and Steve Cook said, "Yes, I remember the happy times with Jack. It's so sad that he died, and I will miss him. But, these things happen."
Cadence stepped onto the elevator, a questioning expression on her face. She caught Elliott's eye only briefly, but it was enough for him to know she wasn't quite buying his story.
They walked the short distance back toward the hotel where the Cooks and the rest of Cadence's friends were staying. On the sidewalk by the lobby, Cadence explained that she was extremely tired and wanted to get some rest. Hannah signaled for a cab while Cadence hugged her friends goodbye and climbed into the taxi bound for their own hotel across town.
Just as Cadence was about to ask Elliott to explain exactly what was going on, she was distracted by the ringing of her cell phone.
