by Barbara Ebel
“Sara?” Danny peered into the dark bedroom. Although he couldn’t see her face, she had the covers wrapped around her and she didn’t stir. It’s early to go to bed, he thought, and it was unlike her. He wondered if she was truly asleep … perhaps she was having an evening episode of nausea.
He quietly went alongside her pillow and crouched down.
“Sara?” he said softly as her eyes opened. “What’s the matter?” he asked, gently moving a strand of hair away from her cheek.
She took a deep breath, the bedspread rising and falling with her effort.
“Our baby didn’t make it.”
Danny’s breath froze. His heart stopped; he wasn’t sure when it started to beat again, or if it did. Did she really say and mean what he just heard? As the silence continued and he grappled with the truth, he realized this is where a doctor would normally tell a patient the usual rhetoric under the circumstances. They would tell the patient that the fetus’s demise was for a good reason: it may have been malformed; it probably had a genetic problem and its death was necessary; and the patient could always have another.
But he didn’t verbalize any of that. Their ‘fetus’ would have gone on to be another child and member of the Tilson family. To love and to be loved by them all. Their unique baby could not be replaced by any other and it deserved their mourning.
He slipped off his shoes, pulled back the covers and slipped into bed. He held Sara for what seemed like an eternity until she fell fast asleep.
-----
The chocolate ice cream must have given Julia extra energy so Danny read her two books before her arms and legs stopped squirming. He finally kissed her and left her to fall asleep. He ambled up the cellar stairs, knocked on the upstairs door, and cracked it open.
“Hey,” Casey said from the couch while turning the television volume to mute. “Come on in.”
Danny unbuttoned his top shirt button and went around to the front of the couch where he found Mary lying down, her head on her husband’s lap.
“I don’t mean to disturb you two so late,” he said.
“You look tired,” Casey said, “but you also look like you’ve lost your best friend.”
“I haven’t lost him but I did come to check on him,” Danny said while sitting across from them.
Mary turned sideways, adjusting her robe over her hips, and faced her brother. “He has a hand surgeon’s appointment in a week,” she said, “and then they’ll decide when he can go back to work.”
Casey stroked Mary’s thick red hair. “I talked with Mark again and he’s worked out a plan. The new medic who will be replacing him starts tomorrow in my place. When I go back, Mark is going to take the opportunity to leave and the new person will work with me. Mark will enjoy the break before med school. He said he’ll train his replacement so that whoever it is can drive me crazy.”
Danny nodded.
“You’re not laughing,” Casey said. “That’s not like you.”
“After you were discharged today … well, you weren’t the only casualty.”
Casey squinted his eyes as Dakota came from the stairwell and sat in front of Mary.
“David decided to play ball with some buddies and had a second blow to the head. He’s in the ICU in a coma.”
“Oh, no,” Mary said, raising up on an elbow.
Casey swallowed hard and shook his head. “Why did he go against your orders?”
“I don’t’ have a clue. Maybe peer pressure.”
“And Annabel?” Mary asked.
“Practically in shock. She’s even placing some blame on me.”
“She’ll see clearly in a few days,” Mary said, rubbing Dakota’s neck. “Give her time.”
“We’re all fond of David,” Casey said. “This is terrible news.”
“That’s not all. There’s something else, too.”
“Uh-oh.” Mary bent her knees and sat up. “What else went wrong? We were wondering why Sara didn’t come upstairs to see us after she came home today. We were expecting to see ultrasound pictures. Is everything okay?”
“No. She didn’t go into details, but there must have been no signs of life. The ultrasound news must have been like handing her a death certificate; it had to be awful.”
“Oh, Danny. I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry to hear it,” Casey said. Shielding his eyes, he stroked his eyebrows with his good hand. “You two must be disappointed. We are, too.”
“What happens now?” Mary asked. “I don’t understand.”
“It means that she just happened to have the ultrasound within this awful timeframe. In the next few days, she would have aborted. She’s probably scheduled for a D&C.”
“It could have been worse,” Mary said. “If you had both gotten pictures last week with a living fetus, it would have been sadder had she aborted in the next few days.”
Danny squinted his eyes and bowed his head.
“But in any case,” she asked, “why is the man upstairs you’ve been talking to so annoyed with the Tilson family? Even after you brought God back into your life?”
“I wish I knew,” Danny responded. “But I’ll still keep my faith. Prayer can’t hurt a thing.”
Casey nodded. “Put in an extra prayer for me. I’m going to talk to your attorney about this.” He wiggled his bandaged finger.
“Mark already knows about Rachel,” Danny said, “so it shouldn’t take long. But he’ll tell you that legal proceedings involving morally-bankrupt people are never easy.”
Chapter 8
Danny woke extra early, hoping to see David in the hospital before going to the office.
But he still didn’t know what Sara’s plans were for the day and he wanted to give her the support she may need after yesterday’s tragedy. He contemplated calling Bruce Garner, the previous head of the group, to fill in for his appointments. Bruce worked there a few hours each week, so he may be willing to help Danny out.
As he pulled on a pair of trousers, Sara stirred. He zipped up and sat on the edge of the bed as she rubbed her eyes.
“Can you bring me into the hospital this morning with you?” she asked. “My obstetrician wants to fit me into her schedule since I need a D&C and it’s a quick procedure. I can’t eat or drink before going in.”
“Yes. We’ll go together. I’ll stay with you as much as I can. I’m going to call Bruce and ask him to fill in the entire day for me.”
“I have to call school, too,” she said, sitting up.
Putting his arm around her back, Danny pulled her in close. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I was looking forward to another child, too.”
“I know you were. We both were.”
-----
When Danny called Bruce, he was happy to help out. Sara contacted the principal to request a sick day and then they both headed to the hospital. By mid-morning, Sara donned a surgical gown and was soon groggy with sedation. Danny kissed her good-bye as they wheeled her back to the OR and then he went upstairs to the ICU to check on David.
Danny brought the chart inside the room where the respiratory therapist was fine-tuning ventilator settings. “The morning’s blood gas is back, Dr. Tilson,” he said, handing him the sheet.
“Thank you,” Danny said as he scanned the lab values. “You can keep the present settings. His CO2 is as low as I want it.”
After looking at all the nurses’ notes from overnight, Danny scrutinized every aspect of David’s care. The youth’s lab values were decent and the early morning’s CT scan on the computer looked no worse than the day before. David’s physique was still robust, his arms nicely toned, and his legs muscular from playing sports. He felt rather sad because he knew the longer David stayed bedridden in his present condition, the more likely he would look more aged and sickly.
When Danny finished his exam, he stood against the sink and called Annabel on her cell phone. At least he hadn’t found her in David’s room; perhaps she’d gone back to class today. There was no answer so he left her a message … the se
cond one of the morning.
-----
“Sara did fine and she’s ready to go home,” a nurse told Danny when she exited the recovery room. He followed her back where he found Sara failing miserably at getting dressed behind the curtain.
“Let me help you,” he said. “You’re probably still groggy.” She sat in a plastic chair; Danny crouched down, gathered her pants at her ankles and slipped them up. She held onto him as he pulled them over her high-cut underwear. “Let’s go home,” he whispered in her ear.
A volunteer wheeled Sara to the lobby entrance and Danny helped her into the car. The clouds hung like soggy cotton balls and a misty rain washed the car as they pulled away from the front door.
After they rode in silence for half the trip, Danny finally spoke. “Are you okay?”
Extending her left arm, she looked at him. “I didn’t tell you but I had names picked out.”
“Would you like to tell me what they were?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter now. I think I’ll keep them to myself.”
“Okay.”
“By the way,” Danny said, “Mary and Casey give you their love and condolences; they said for you to come home to them. Mary can keep her eye on you this afternoon. I’d like to go with Casey to see Mark Cunningham about his accident.”
“I couldn’t ask for a better sister-in-law, could I?”
“Maybe since we’re not married, she’s not technically your sister-in-law but we could change that.”
“I do consider her as good as a sister-in-law. She was before and she still is. That’s a sneaky way for you to try and have us remarry.” She gave him a small smile.
Danny took her left hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m sorry. You know I love you, don’t you?”
“I think so,” she said, pressing back. “Yes. I’m sure of it.” Her smile grew wider. “And yes, let’s visit with Mary and Casey when we get home,” she added.
-----
Danny left Dakota and Julia downstairs with the babysitter while Sara rested on the upstairs couch. To be close to her, Mary sat on the floor and quietly sketched on a canvas propped against the coffee table.
By mid-afternoon, Danny and Casey left for Mark Cunningham’s office. The rain had let up but the roads were still wet. They dodged a puddle of water outside of Mark’s building and went upstairs.
As usual in his attorney’s waiting room, Danny glanced at his watch every five minutes. “It’s better to meet Mark over a meal,” Danny said. “He shows up on time.”
“In all these years,” Casey said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met your attorney except in a restaurant as he left.”
“And you’ve never accompanied me to any of my voluminous court appearances. From a malpractice case, to divorce proceedings, to child support issues, to being accused of going against visitation rules and keeping Julia, to who knows what else. I’ve put Mark’s kids through college.”
Casey ran his hand over his crew cut and laughed. “And this is the first time I’m ever seeing a lawyer. I guess the more powerful you are, the bigger target you make so that’s why you need to keep an attorney employed.”
The door opened and a woman hurried through the room, the man behind her trying to keep up. “I don’t know why you need a pre-nup anyway,” she said.
“A guy can’t be too careful these days,” he said as they exited.
Danny laughed. “They’re starting off on a slippery slide.”
“Well, there you go,” Casey said. “They’re not even married yet, he hasn’t had an affair yet like you, and they already have a lawyer.” He poked Danny in the arm.
“Exactly. Mark gets business no matter what. I bet the bad economy didn’t even put a dent in his cash flow.”
“It probably made it better,” Casey said.
“You can go in now,” the receptionist said, looking over the counter.
With quick baby steps, Mark came around his desk when they entered his office. Over sixty years old, his full head of hair was now showing its first sprinkling of gray.
“Any friend of Danny’s is a client of mine,” Mark said, taking Casey’s outstretched hand. “I hear you’re a paramedic and the brother-in-law.”
Casey nodded as Mark pointed to the two leather chairs.
“I was just telling Casey how busy you are,” Danny said.
“No different than the both of you. We’re all in the business of putting people’s lives back together, no matter how you look at it. And the worse they’ve fallen, the bigger our jobs.”
“But Mark,” Danny said, “most of my patients have a definitive end point in their care and I don’t see them again. Divorce court and custody issues, depending on the nastiness of one of the parties, can go until a child turns eighteen or twenty-one. If a child is two when the parent’s divorce, it can be upwards to eighteen years that one of them will be paying your bills.”
Mark smiled as he lowered into his chair. “You’re correct. And to be candid about it, most people don’t know that when they file for divorce. Not only that, but look at your situation. Rachel is a noose around your neck and you never exchanged vows. Like I said a long time ago, men should keep their dicks in their pants and not be putting them where they don’t belong.”
“But never mind,” Mark added. “You can always go to law school if you want. I’ll write either of you a letter of recommendation.”
Danny laughed. “That’s generous of you but I think I’ll stick with a surgical drill.”
“Suit yourself. Now, I understand you need my services,” Mark said, looking at Casey.
Casey raised his bandaged left hand. “I lost part of a finger under a hood of a car. The driver who started the car and caused this showed no empathy. It was but an inconvenient moment in her charade of a life. I’d like to recover my medical bills.”
“I’m glad to hear it wasn’t your fault.” He slipped a legal pad in front of him. “Let me get a few basics. What’s your full name?”
“Casey Hamilton.”
“And what’s the finger-chopper-offer’s name, the respondent?”
“Rachel Hendersen.”
Mark sat tall. “Oh. I take that back. It was your fault. Any man who sticks one of their appendages into anything of hers is asking for trouble.”
Casey frowned and Danny put his hands over his eyes.
-----
“You never told me,” Casey said when they left Mark’s office, “what an interesting character your lawyer is.”
“But his humor and bluntness can be painful.”
“He says what others dare not say, like an echo of your subconscious.”
They both took the staircase and, at the bottom, Casey turned on his cell phone and listened to his voicemail while they walked to the car.
“That’s too bad,” Casey said after deleting the message. “It was my partner. I won’t see him before he leaves. He wanted to tell me that my new partner’s name is Tony Dixon and everyone is looking forward to my return.”
“That means the health-care females who have anything to do with you.”
Casey shrugged his shoulders.
“Have you ever noticed,” Danny asked, “that there is just a fraction of a percent of men who reach fifty and age to be more handsome than they previously were?”
“Like a few movie stars.”
“Well, ask Mary or Sara and they’ll tell you that that’s what’s going to happen to you.”
-----
Rachel left the medical center’s children’s hospital at 4:00 p.m. When she got to her Mazda, the first thing she did inside the car was to pull out the small calendar in her purse and crossed off the day’s eight hours of community service as sentenced by the judge. It was the most pleasure she had derived from this Saturday so far.
After all, she thought, I’m not a fan of helping disabled kids reach out for their toys in the playroom or assist the physical therapists in teaching those with genetic disorders how to wal
k or wipe slobber off of youngsters with mental problems. Her skills were as an operating room tech making a salary in an outpatient surgical center and this mandate they gave her was just a bunch of b.s.
Yet she’d grin and bear it for three months as it beat going to trial for the offenses she’d been charged with. Phil Beckett had done a good job getting that prosecutor off her back but she had done as good a job in getting the judge to see her point of view so that he had gone soft on her.
She put on her sunglasses and drove away from the medical complex, the sun warming the inside of her car. Tomorrow’s visitation with Julia was all set except for the last and most important detail. She wasn’t happy about doing it because she’d already gotten rid of one dog – Dakota - in the past few years. However, now the importance of getting another was paramount.
Not very far from her apartment complex was the county shelter. Dogs get recycled, she thought, no sense in finding an expensive purebred this time. If she got a dog that had an unstable history already, the happier it’ll be just to sit in her apartment during her long working days; it will be there mainly to enamor Julia anyway.
Rachel pulled into the small parking area in front of the building. For a community shelter, it wasn’t too shabby. Some rich person had probably screwed their bratty kids, she thought, and dumped their trust money inheritance right into the pet facility.
That’s the kind of thing that she should do. Find some terminally-ill guy dreaming of a woman – one who stupidly believes she would want to help him into his chair and think he’s magnificent. She would be as good a charity for some man’s will as any.
All she did was open the front door but it created a cacophony of barking in the room behind the front lobby.
“Hi,” a booted man said as he restocked pamphlets on a table. “We’re closing in an hour. Are you here to look at cats or dogs? Or donate supplies?”
“I’d like to see your dogs. If you have something that a cat didn’t just drag in here, I want to surprise my little girl tomorrow.”
“A dog’s for life, though.” He gave her a questioning look.