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Ray sat by the hospital bed with his head resting on it. His Dad’s hand rubbed soothing circles between his shoulder blades, as the tears that fell racked through his son’s body.
Ray's fathers voice was gentle as he spoke to his very distraught son, “Raymond, son, let your mother sit with Ben for a while, so I can take you for some food and coffee. I know it’s hard but you need to keep your strength up for him.”
A pain filled face looked up to meet his father’s. Ray's voice shook as he spoke, “Dad, what if something happens while I am gone?”
Crouching so he could be level with his son Damien wiped a tear that fell from his little boy’s eye. It hurt to see his son in so much pain. He replied in as calm a sounding voice as possible, “Son your mother will call if anything happens and you know she will sit here and tell Ben endless stories, embarrassing baby stories with the promise of photos for when he gets out”
That got a tiny laugh from the very upset young man. Ray stood up and bent down to place a kiss on Ben's cheek, whispering, “Just going to get something to eat with Dad. Mum is going to stay with you, OK, won't be long.”
The only response he got from the man in the bed was the sound of the machines as they beeped and buzzed in the background.
Mrs Kowalski sat in Ray's place, taking Ben's hand in hers and speaking softly, “Now Benton, I have so many stories about Stanley, where do I start? How about the time he was two and mooned his church by accident...”
Ray had to be dragged away by his Dad before he could stop his mother.
Finally Damien had his son sitting and eating, the guilt over what had happened played over his son's face. Sighing, the older man leaned forward and spoke. “Raymond, you have to stop blaming yourself. It was an accident, it wasn't your fault.”
With fierce, angry eyes Ray replied, “It is my fault Dad! If I hadn't picked that restaurant for lunch it never would have happened and Ben wouldn't be lying in that hospital bed.”
Covering his son's hand with his own Damien continued, “Raymond, hindsight is twenty twenty vision. If you hadn't gone to that restaurant then Ben wouldn’t have saved that little boy by getting him out of the way of that bus. The boy would have been killed if not for Ben's quick thinking.”
Tears started to spill again from the blonde’s eyes, “Ya, hindsight is twenty twenty Dad, that’s well enough, but Ben is hurt and it might take him up to a year before he can get back to work because of a choice I made.”
Coming around the table to hug his son, Damien spoke reassuringly, “We will get through this as a family and I know we will kick that nonsense out of your head, OK.”
Laughing lightly against his father’s chest, Ray replied, “Gonna kick me in the head, huh?”
Holding his son tighter and chuckling, he responded, “Damned straight.”
The End.