Parents and families and friends of the two local girls’ softball teams had spread across Fort Connor’s City Park grounds, heading for parking lots or picnic tables where other friends had cookouts going. Kelly could detect the scent of cooking hamburgers floating on the twilight air.
“Okay, guys, Kelly and I are heading back to our place. We’ve got chips and beer and I think I saw a pastry box from the bakery on our kitchen counter,” Steve said as he draped his arm around Kelly’s shoulders.
“Okay, Cassie, let’s move it. The sooner we get you to our house, the sooner Megan and I can find out what’s in that pastry box,” Marty said with a big grin as he beckoned Cassie away from the bleachers.
“See you later, guys,” Cassie said with a wave as she caught up with Marty’s long-legged stride. Her own long legs were getting longer, growing.
“What’s in the box, Kelly? Inquiring minds want to know,” Jennifer teased.
“It’s that bakery’s specialty. German chocolate cake with a to-die-for frosting. And believe me, they slather it on thick between every layer. And on top, of course.”
“Really?” Steve said, eyebrows shooting up. “Well, let’s get a move on, then. I want to get home before Marty arrives. That way, I can snitch some frosting.” Steve headed away from the bleachers, jingling the car keys in front of Kelly.
“Oh, brother. I’m in big trouble,” Jennifer said as she and Pete strolled across the grass.
“We all will be. I’ll be running five miles farther tomorrow morning,” Kelly said with a laugh, joining her friends as they walked across the grassy sections beside the fields.
• • •
“When’s Greg coming?” Megan asked after she licked some frosting from her fork. A half-eaten slice of German chocolate cake sat on her plate. Not for long.
“I texted him when we were leaving the ball field and told him about Kelly’s dessert. I figured that would bring him back right away.” Lisa scraped the last of the cake frosting from her plate as she sank back into the sofa cushions.
“Where is he again?” Pete asked, taking another bite of the rich cake.
“He’s at a thesis acceptance party for one of his graduate student friends at the university,” Lisa replied.
Kelly glanced around the great room. Her friends were sitting or sprawled on the comfy chairs, sofa, and love seat that she and Steve had combined from her cottage and his Denver apartment. She and Steve had moved into one of the last houses in Steve’s housing development on the northeast side of Fort Connor. The same development where Lisa and Greg had bought a home several years ago. Megan and Marty had followed suit a couple of years later, as had Kelly and Steve. Jennifer and Pete had joined them the following year. Now, whenever the gang wanted to get together, all they had to do was walk around a few corners.
Kelly checked her watch. “Yeah. I’m surprised Greg isn’t here already. He’s usually the first one to line up whenever food is mentioned.”
“Don’t worry. Greg will show up any minute and immediately accuse Marty of having two slices and leaving him only one,” Steve joked, his plate already scraped clean. Not a fleck of cake or frosting visible.
“Well, then, I should get another slice now. I don’t want to make a liar out of him,” Marty said with a grin and jumped up from the love seat he was sharing with Megan.
“Mar-teeeeee! Take a teeny slice. Everyone else will want another taste,” Megan warned her husband.
“I’ll text Greg and tell him what kind of cake it is. Better yet, I’ll send a photo,” Pete said, slipping his cell phone from his pocket as he rose from his chair beside Jennifer’s.
“And tell him that Marty’s circling it right now,” Jennifer added with a laugh.
Pete walked over to the kitchen counter and snapped a photo with his phone. He scrolled through different phone screens, then clicked. “Okay. There it goes. Now, Marty, come over here and lean over the cake.” Pete beckoned.
“Absolutely,” Marty said obligingly. He leaned over the cake, holding his plate in one hand and his fork hovering directly over the scrumptious dessert.
“Perfect,” Pete said with a grin as he clicked his mail program again. Electronic messages traveling through the ether faster than a single breath.
The chorus of an old bluesy jazz song sounded. “That’s mine,” Lisa said as she reached beside the sofa for her purse.
“Did Molly go to sleep okay?” Kelly asked Megan as she perched on the edge of Steve’s favorite overstuffed armchair.
“Pretty much. She plays so hard during the day that she usually falls right to sleep at night,” Megan said, sinking back into the love seat.
“Most of the time,” Marty added as he returned to the love seat with only a small slice of cake. “Other times, she cries. It’s hard to figure out.”
Kelly glanced over at Lisa, who was talking on the phone.
“I’m Greg Carruthers’s wife. Who is this again?” Lisa was sitting up straight now.
“I’ve heard that babies do that—” Jennifer started to say until Kelly waved her quiet.
Kelly was watching Lisa, whose face had gone white in seconds. All color drained away.
“What? But . . . but how—” Lisa blurted out, her voice higher.
“Something’s up,” Steve whispered to Kelly as he put his plate on a nearby end table.
Kelly just nodded as she and all her friends had their attention riveted on Lisa.
“Oh, my God . . .” Lisa said, her voice breaking. “Where is he?”
Kelly and Steve both stood up at the same time, as did their friends, one by one. Standing silently.
“I’ll be right there. Fifth floor. I’m coming.” She snapped her phone closed and looked up at her friends with a blank expression. “Greg’s been in an accident. A car hit him while he was cycling home,” she said, voice wavering. “I’ve gotta go now. They’re getting ready to take him in for surgery at the hospital.” Her hand clutched at her chest. “Oh, God.”
“Come with us, Lisa.” Pete went to her immediately, lifting her up from the chair by the arms. “Jen, take Lisa in the backseat with you.”
“We’ll follow you,” Steve said, striding toward the front door. He held it open for Pete and Jen and Lisa as they passed through.
Kelly grabbed her shoulder bag and snapped off a couple of lights. “We’ll all be right behind you, Lisa,” she called out as she watched the rest of her friends file silently out the door.
• • •
Kelly moved her folding chair closer to Lisa, who was sitting in the midst of her friends who had clustered around her in a semicircle. Kelly reached out and placed her hand on Lisa’s arm. It felt cold. The hospital air-conditioning was quite efficient, and cold air was pouring out of a nearby vent in the ceiling above.
“It’s going to be all right, Lisa,” Kelly reassured her friend, repeating the same words others in the group had said. She had nothing else to offer. Simply words.
“They’ve got fantastic doctors and surgeons here, Lisa,” Megan offered. “Marty’s cousin in Loveland was in an awful car wreck last year, and these doctors were able to repair everything. Even facial surgery. They’re wonderful.”
Lisa didn’t answer. She just sat hunched, her arms clasped around herself, staring at the door from the waiting room into the hospital. She gave a little shiver.
Kelly looked over at Steve. “Steve, why don’t you bring that old jacket in from your truck. Lisa’s cold as ice. She needs to warm up.”
“You got it. Be right back.” Steve turned from his pacing the floor and headed for the waiting room door.
“They sure have their air-conditioning cranked up,” Jennifer said, rubbing her arms. “I know it’s August, but temperatures drop at night. Don’t they adjust those thermostats?”
“I think part of it is we’re all worrying,�
� Pete said beside her.
Marty popped up from the folding chair for the fourth time in fifteen minutes. Seemingly unable to sit still. He started to pace. “I’m going to call Cassie. See if everything’s okay and Molly’s still asleep. Then I can tell her we’ll be back later tonight.”
“Good idea,” Megan said. “Don’t tell her anything else. We don’t want to worry her.”
“Yeah.” Pete nodded. “Jen and I will explain everything to her when we pick her up tonight.”
“Be back in a minute,” Marty said, pulling his cell phone from his pocket as he hurried toward the door.
“You guys don’t have to stay,” Lisa said in a quiet voice.
“We want to,” Kelly said, giving her friend’s arm a Mother-Mimi-reassuring squeeze before withdrawing her hand.
Lisa looked around anxiously. “It’s been an hour already. The doctor said it would be an hour. How come they’re not finished?”
This time Jennifer reached over and placed her hand on Lisa’s arm. “The doctor said about an hour, Lisa. Don’t worry. You don’t want them to hurry.”
Kelly decided a little humor couldn’t hurt. “You don’t want them to leave anything undone. That would be like leaving dangling yarn tails on a scarf. They’ve got to tie off everything. Make sure everything looks pretty.”
“Dangling yarn tails,” Megan repeated with a smile. “Yeah, Lisa. We want Greg looking good when they finish.”
Jennifer kept her hand on Lisa’s arm. “It’ll be all right, Lisa. Like Megan said. These are wonderful doctors and surgeons. They’ll take care of Greg.”
Lisa’s face puckered. “He looked awful when they took him in. I didn’t even recognize him. He was all beat up. His face was black and blue . . .” Her voice choked.
Marty walked back into the waiting room. He glanced at the far end of the room, where an older man sat in a chair reading a magazine. Clearly waiting to hear on some other patient’s progress. He leaned over toward the group and spoke in a lowered voice. “I told Cassie we’d be home a little later than usual. She said everything was fine. Molly hasn’t made a peep. She’s checked on her a couple of times already, and Molly’s just snoozing away.” Marty glanced above. “Thank gawd.”
“Amen,” Megan said, nodding. “Some nights, Molly will wake up and start to scream. I think it’s indigestion or something. Mimi told me they used to call that ‘colic’ when babies did that. They’d cry and cry and all you could do was to walk them back and forth. Then after a while, they’d just simply stop crying and fall asleep again.”
“We’ve worn a path through the living room carpet,” Marty said with a rueful smile.
Steve strode into the waiting room then, a Colorado State University jacket in his hand. “Here you go, Lisa,” he said, walking up behind her chair. He draped the jacket around Lisa’s shoulders.
“Thanks, Steve,” Lisa mumbled, pulling the jacket around herself.
“No problem,” Steve said, settling among his friends again.
Just then the waiting room doors swung open and an older man in green hospital scrubs walked into the room, glanced around, then headed toward the group.
Lisa sprang from her chair. “Doctor! Did you operate on Greg Carruthers?”
“Yes. I’m Dr. Manchion. Are you his wife?” the doctor replied as he approached.
“Yes. Well, we’ve been together for years,” she blurted out. “I’m the family contact.”
The doctor glanced down at the paper-filled clipboard in his hand. “Yes, you’re Lisa Gerrard, then?”
“Yes, yes!” Lisa bobbed her head. “How is he? How’s Greg?”
“He came through surgery just fine. He’s a healthy man in really good shape.” Dr. Manchion shoved the clipboard under his arm. “His left leg was broken, but it was a clean break and was easily set. The same is true for his left arm. No problems there. Of course, he was bruised all over. It looks like he was first hit by the car on the left side, and the force of that threw him on top of the car. Then when the car braked suddenly, he slid off onto the ground.”
Kelly cringed inwardly hearing the doctor’s description. Steve came up beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
“It was lucky he was wearing one of those high-impact helmets. Otherwise there would have been brain injury as well. Because of the helmet, he’ll probably only have a slight concussion, if that.”
“Oh, thank God,” Lisa breathed, eyes closed. “How will we know if he has a concussion?”
“He’ll complain of headaches, of course, but Greg will be under a doctor’s care. So you won’t have to worry about it. With these injuries, a broken left leg and a broken left arm, he will need skilled care for at least four weeks or more before he can go home.”
“Really?” Lisa’s eyes blinked wide.
“Yes, definitely. Unless, of course, you are home all day and could help him move around and take care of basic needs, then you could have in-home nursing care come in regularly to check on him. And physical therapists, too. And occupational therapists.” Dr. Manchion looked at Lisa.
“Oh, goodness, no,” Lisa admitted. “I work all morning Monday through Friday at the sports clinic. I’m a physical therapist. And I’m at the university every afternoon taking classes or monitoring graduate students in psychology.”
Dr. Manchion gave a wry smile. “That’s why I suggested skilled care. We have two excellent rehabilitation centers in town where most of my patients go immediately upon being discharged from the hospital. Their stays vary from two weeks to two months, depending on the injuries.”
“That makes a lot of sense, Lisa,” Steve said in a quiet voice. “I’ve had a lot of friends tell me the rehab center over on Centre Avenue is excellent. They recommend it highly.”
“Of course, you’ll have to see how much your health insurance would pay for that level of care. If it pays anything at all,” Dr. Manchion said, raising an eyebrow. “Everyone’s situation is different.”
Kelly considered what the doctor just said, and she wondered again at how much her health insurance paid for rehabilitation from serious injuries and surgery. She made a mental note to check into it.
“Wow, that’s another thing. Neither of us has ever had a serious injury before, so I have no idea how much my university health insurance pays for grad students. Greg is with a private technology company here in town and supposedly they have good insurance. At least, that’s what Greg told me.” Lisa shrugged. “But I admit, I am clueless as to the details.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Dr. Manchion said. “Most people are in exactly the same situation as you two. Only after a serious injury occurs do people realize they need to check into the details.” He glanced again at his clipboard. “Oh, yes, Greg was lightly sedated when he was being prepped for surgery, so the staff couldn’t ask him any questions about choice of doctors. Do you know who Greg’s orthopedic doctor is? Or if he has one?”
“Yes, I do know that,” Lisa said with a half smile. “Dr. Madan. He’s with the orthopedic center out east on Prospect Drive.”
Dr. Manchion scribbled on the pages on his clipboard. “Excellent. I’ll make sure copies of all x-rays and hospital records are sent to him. And you’ll want to contact the orthopedic center and find out what their procedures are for postsurgical care. I imagine Dr. Madan will want to visit Greg either tomorrow or the next day. By that time, the anesthesia will be out of Greg’s system so Dr. Madan can discuss with him the level of postoperative care and procedures.”
Lisa nodded. “I’ll make sure to call their office tomorrow.”
Dr. Manchion clicked his pen closed and slipped it into the chest pocket of his green scrubs. “Don’t forget to let their office know where Greg will be located. Either your home or one of the rehab centers in town.” He smiled at Lisa. “You’re going to have a lot of phone calls tomorrow.”
“Oh, yes,” Lisa said with a firm nod. “I certainly will. And thank you, Dr. Manchion, for going through all those different procedures and protocols for me. I appreciate it.”
Dr. Manchion smiled. “You’re welcome, Lisa. Rehab is a challenge, but I imagine you’re well aware of that, considering you are in the business yourself.”
“Thanks again, Doctor,” Lisa said as he turned to walk away. More patients to see. More patients to put back together again.
“Wow,” Kelly said softly, catching her friends’ gaze.
The rest of Lisa’s friends echoed similar sentiments as the realization of what Greg’s rehabilitation would be like settled in. A lot of work for Greg and for Lisa.
Seven
Cassie raced over to Kelly the moment Kelly stepped into the Lambspun foyer. “I’ve been waiting for you ever since we got in early this morning,” Cassie declared, her blue eyes wide with worry. “Jennifer and Pete told me what happened to Greg last night. That’s awful!”
Kelly could feel Cassie’s anxiety radiating off her. Not unlike Kelly’s own. Neither she nor Steve had slept well last night because of their worry for Greg. She’d touched base with Megan when Steve drove off for Denver, and Megan shared that she and Marty had been awake a lot during the night, too. And, of course, Molly was awake at 6 A.M. Early morning feeding.
“Well, I don’t know anything more than Jennifer and Pete,” Kelly said as she walked toward the main knitting room. “No one’s been able to see Greg except Lisa. She saw him as he was being wheeled into surgery and briefly when he was in the recovery room. But Greg was still under anesthesia and wasn’t fully awake. So Lisa’s camped out at the hospital.” Kelly plopped her briefcase bag onto the table and pulled out her empty coffee mug.
Cassie followed Kelly into the central yarn room. “Does Lisa need any help? I’d be glad to go over to the hospital this afternoon and sit with her.”
Kelly smiled at the young teenager. “Don’t you have batting practice with me and the other girls early this afternoon? This is tournament weekend, remember? You’ve got games this afternoon and evening.”
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