Broken Wings

by Weis, Alexandrea

  Pamela shook her head, appearing doubtful. “That all sounds great in theory, Daniel, but has anyone ever done it before?”

  He shrugged and he held up the pad of paper to her. “Every idea has growing pains, Pamela. But I think if we give this a try, we just might be setting a precedent for the way communities of the future are planned. You told me once that if the human race can’t be kind to animals, then how in the hell are we going to be kind to each other? Maybe this is the first step.”

  She peered down at the diamond engagement ring on her finger. “All right, so what do we do next?”

  “Val gave me the developer’s name and number; let’s give him a call and see what he says,” Daniel said as he pulled a slip of paper from his front trouser pocket.

  Pamela’s happiness quickly returned. “Thank you, Daniel. Thank you for doing this.”

  “Don’t thank me just yet. Let’s see what happens first.”

  Pamela looked into Daniel’s dark eyes and was amazed to realize that the brooding, almost sinister quality she had first noted there only a few months before had been an illusion. What she had originally taken to be a wild nature had turned out to be a kind and caring person wanting only to be understood and not mistreated. Funny, she thought to herself, how much animals and people have in common.

  Chapter 20

  One month later, Daniel and Pamela arrived at Emeril’s Delmonico on St. Charles Avenue for their rehearsal dinner. Daniel escorted Pamela back to the private room Val had reserved for the small wedding party. When they stepped into the rectangular room, decorated with old pictures of St. Charles Avenue and streetcars, Pamela saw Carol and Ian, already seated and waiting for them. Ian was dressed in a fitted blue suit and Carol was wearing a pale pink dress with small white flowers on it. Her long, light brown hair was curled and framed her lovely face.

  “Hey there,” Carol called out as she rose from her chair and walked over to hug Pamela. “Ready to call the whole thing off yet?” she joked.

  “Very funny, Carol,” Daniel replied. “But Pamela has no intention of running out on me, right?” He glanced over at Pamela and raised his eyebrows inquisitively.

  “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, buddy,” Pamela remarked as she patted her hand against his gray suit jacket.

  Daniel laughed and walked over to Ian. “Ian, make sure Carol doesn’t get pregnant. A whole new side of them comes out when they are expecting. It’s a side you do not want to know, trust me.”

  Carol pulled Pamela to the side, away from the men. “Are you feeling all right?” She asked as she examined Pamela’s face. “You look kind of green.”

  Pamela waved off her concern “I think it’s the dress,” she said, nodding to the dark green print dress she had on. “Daniel said the same thing to me before we left his place.”

  “He still has his place? I thought he was going to move into your new house in Mandeville.”

  “In two weeks. We figured we would get the wedding out of the way first, then move in together. That will give me a month to get the nursery set up before I have to go in for my scheduled c-section.”

  “And how is my little girl?’ Carol asked and lovingly placed her hands on Pamela’s large belly.

  “Kicking up a storm! You should see me, Carol. All the planning meetings I’ve had to attend for construction of the new educational facility, and I can barely sit still for ten minutes before I have to run to the bathroom. It’s amazing we’re getting anything done.”

  “Well, thank God that developer decided to sell you the land next door. Now you can have the kind of wildlife facility you always wanted. I think the new education center for children is a great idea. I can’t wait for them to start construction.”

  Pamela nodded. “But Daniel hasn’t completely given up on his animal friendly subdivision idea. We think maybe down the road we might try to develop part of the property to see if such a concept will work.”

  Carol laughed. “It will work, Pamie. Just don’t take on too much. I think you’ll have your hands pretty full after the baby comes.”

  Pamela looked down at her belly. “I never thought I would ever be this lucky, Carol.”

  Carol patted her arm and smiled. “You deserve it, Pamie.”

  “Hey, Pamela,” Ian said as he came up and gave Pamela a kiss on the cheek. “Daniel was just tellin’ me how difficult livin’ with a pregnant woman is.”

  Pamela gave Daniel a dirty look. “Thanks,” she grumbled.

  “So are we the only ones comin’ tonight?” Ian asked as he waved his hand across the long table next to them. “I see quite a few place settin’s here. Do we even know this many people?”

  “Val and Lance are coming, along with a few of the volunteers from the facility,” Pamela announced. “Daniel’s father is flying in as we speak so he should be here shortly, and then there is Daniel’s landlord T.J.” Pamela paused and counted the places set around the table. “That leaves two extra places. Who else did Val invite?” she asked Daniel.

  Daniel cleared his throat. “I, ah, invited two extra people,” he mumbled.

  Pamela noted the glint of apprehension in his eyes. “Who?”

  “Your father and your stepmother,” he declared. “I called your father last week and told him about the baby and about us. I thought he might like to know that he was going to be a grandfather.”

  Pamela felt as if the wind had just been knocked out of her. She reached out for the back of a nearby chair. Carol instantly put a caring arm about her waist.

  “And what did he say?” Pamela asked, trying to remain calm.

  Daniel gave Pamela a heartfelt smile. “That he wanted to come. He wanted the opportunity to make things right between you two again.”

  “You should have said something. You should have warned me,” she reprimanded, her voice tinged with frustration.

  Daniel placed his hands behind his back and frowned. “I’ve learned over the past few weeks, Pamela, that warning you is as good as giving you the opportunity to change your plans. I figured it would be best if I just surprised you with this.”

  “Damn,” Carol remarked to Daniel. “You’re a brave man.”

  Pamela’s gray eyes were roasting with fury. “Daniel Phillips, I can’t believe you could do something so—”

  A shadow crossed the entrance to the private room, stopping Pamela’s rant in mid-sentence. When she turned and saw who was standing in the doorway, her heart rose to her throat.

  “What a quaint little party,” Bob sneered and then walked through the door.

  He was dressed in a dark blue suit and holding a glass in his right hand filled with ice and a dark amber liquid that Pamela knew had to be his favorite drink, bourbon. She could tell by his bloodshot eyes and the slight sway of his body that this was not his first drink of the evening.

  “Imagine my surprise when a little birdie told me about your pre-wedding party here tonight. I figured I would just come by and kiss the bride,” he asserted, slurring his words slightly as he moved further into the private dining room.

  “Oh, shit,” Carol cursed under her breath.

  “You need to leave, Bob,” Daniel growled as he went up to him.

  “No way,” Bob cried out as he tried to push Daniel aside. “I deserve a kiss. After all, she was almost my bride until you came back in the picture.” Bob took a step back from Daniel, carefully trying to keep his drink from spilling. “When you left her knocked up and alone, I thought I could make her want me again. I could get her to come back to me. I was going to be a father to her child and I was going to have the happy life I deserved. And now everyone is laughing at me behind my back. My political hopes are ruined because of her. My dreams are destroyed. She was mine first, not yours! I discovered her. I molded her into the refined ice princess she is today.”

  “Shut up, Bob.” Pamela shouted. “You didn’t mold me. You didn’t do a damn thing but make me miserable for eight years. Everything was about status and money with y
ou. What other people were thinking was always so important to you. But why in the hell did any of that matter? You could have risen above your upbringing and been a better person than your father, but instead you channeled all your anger into your fists. You intimidate and threaten everyone you meet and the only way you feel better about who you are is by hitting someone.”

  Bob snickered. “That’s right, Pamela. I’m angry because I’ve had to work real damned hard for everything in my life. I didn’t have a rich daddy. I didn’t have the world handed to me on a silver platter like you.” Bob looked over at Daniel. “She ever tell you how much she always hated me? She saw me as nothing more than a poor drunk’s son. She never respected me or feared me. She was like a wild mare,” he said, raising his voice. “I could never get the bitch to break.”

  “You bastard,” Pamela hissed. She clenched her fists and her pale face filled with color. “I was your wife, not a piece of property.”

  “But you were my property. I owned you, just like I owned that little shit hole of a zoo you love so much. I had you under my control for all of those years and I relished it. You had to come to me, to beg money from me, and I loved every minute of it.”

  “Get that sick asshole out of here,” Carol shouted as she took a protective step in front of Pamela.

  “Get out, Bob!” Daniel yelled, pointing to the door.

  “Not without my wife,” Bob cried out and threw his drink to the ground. He lunged toward Pamela, grabbing at the sleeve of her dress and pulling her to the floor.

  Daniel grabbed Bob by the back of his jacket collar and pulled him away from Pamela.

  “Pamie!” Carol screamed as she went to the floor to help Pamela.

  Daniel was struggling to get Bob to the door when two waiters arrived to see what all the commotion was about. They quickly went to Daniel’s side and helped subdue Bob. The waiters carried Bob out of the private dining room.

  When Daniel walked back into the room, Pamela was seated in a chair. Carol was frantically fanning her bright red face with a napkin.

  “Pamela,” Daniel whispered as he came to her side. He knelt down next to her chair and took her hand.

  He saw the pink color spreading from her cheeks down her neck and underneath the low collar of her dress. Her gray eyes appeared glassy and her respirations were quick and shallow.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, running his eyes over every inch of her face.

  “I don’t feel very good. Daniel, I think…” Her eyes fluttered. “I think…” She slumped over in the chair.

  “Shit!” Daniel picked her up out of the chair. “Carol, call the emergency room and tell them I’m on my way.”

  “Wait,” Carol cried out. “Maybe we shouldn’t move her. I’ll call 911,” she said as tears began welling up in her pale blue eyes.

  “No time!” Daniel yelled as he marched to the door. “Just call now! I can get her there faster than an ambulance.” He went out of the room, carrying Pamela in his arms.

  Carol grabbed a stunned Ian’s hand next to her. “Come on!” she screamed at him. “We’re going with them.”

  Chapter 21

  “We don’t have a lot of time to think here, Daniel,” Dr. Holdford said in a private family waiting room outside of the emergency room entrance. “It’s her kidneys. Her numbers have been getting steadily worse as the baby has developed. I was hoping we could get her to eight months, but we don’t have a choice anymore. She has reached a critical point where the toxins in her blood are building too rapidly now. We could put her on dialysis and try to buy the baby more time, but I’m afraid if we don’t take the baby now, we may lose Pamela and your child.”

  Daniel sat on a red couch across from Dr. Holdford’s chair, his head in his hands.

  “I can’t lose her, and if she loses the baby, Christ, I don’t know what she will do.”

  Dr. Holdford placed a reassuring hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “The best thing to do is take the baby. It’s early but the little girl is almost to the critical seven-month mark, and with today’s technology she’s got a real good shot.”

  Daniel looked up into the man’s round face. “And what about Pamela? Will everything go back to normal once you deliver the baby?”

  “I can’t say. Her body has been through a hell of a lot. We’ll just have to wait and see how she does after the baby is born,” Dr. Holdford confided with a grave face.

  Daniel said nothing and simply nodded his approval.

  “I’ll get her up to surgery right away for an emergency c-section, and you’ll need to go to the desk and sign the consents.” Dr. Holdford stood from his chair.

  “Can I see her?” Daniel asked.

  Dr. Holdford nodded. “They’ll be taking her up to surgery in the next few minutes. I’m sorry, Daniel. I wish I could give you more encouraging news, but I promise we will do everything we can to save Pamela and the baby.” He turned and slowly made his way out of the private room, limping as he went.

  When Dr. Holdford reached the doorway, he stopped and turned to Daniel. “Don’t give up on her. She’s a tough woman, Daniel.” He paused and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ve been where she is, and when you have something to live for, you fight to live.” He turned and exited the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

  Daniel sat back on the couch and for the first time since he had been shot in Iraq, he fought back tears. All the frustration, fear, anger, and hopelessness that had ricocheted throughout his body when the bullets ripped into him came clamoring back. He tried with every ounce of faith he had to hold it together. He rubbed his hands on his face and took in several deep breaths before he went to the door. As he placed his hand on the door handle, he pulled his shoulders back and willed himself to believe that everything was going to be all right.

  * * * *

  Pamela was lying on a gurney, being prepped for surgery by a petite nurse with a long ponytail of golden hair, when Daniel walked into the room. Pamela was still groggy, but she smiled when she saw him enter her little cubicle.

  “I guess this is it,” she said softly as she held her hand out to him.

  He went over to her bedside and took her hand. “I talked to Dr. Holdford,” Daniel told her, putting a reassuring smile on his face. “He says everything is going to be just fine.”

  “Daniel, I worked as an EMT for years. I know how to read laboratory results. So don’t bullshit me.” She paused and smiled for him. “I want you to do everything for our baby. I don’t care about my life, just save our little girl.”

  “Pamela, don’t talk like that,” he gently scolded. “You’re going to be just fine.”

  “Daniel, I have fought with my body for so long, I know when I’m losing the battle. You must promise me you will take care of Elizabeth.”

  He squeezed her hand. “We never agreed on the name Elizabeth.”

  “She is to be named after your mother. You’re the one with the fond memories of your mother, not me. And I want you to teach her about animals. All the things I taught you. That’s all I ask. The rest I will leave up to you.” She paused and lovingly stared into his dark eyes. “You’re going to be such a good father,” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Wells,” the nurse said as she started to unlock the gurney wheels. “We have to take you up to surgery now.” The nurse nodded to Daniel. “We’ve got to go, Mr. Phillips.”

  Two more women dressed in blue scrubs entered the room.

  Pamela sighed as she closed her eyes. “I really would have liked to have become Mrs. Phillips.”

  Daniel leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You will be Mrs. Phillips one day, Pamela. I promise.”

  Daniel watched helplessly as the nurses quickly wheeled the gurney out of the room. He looked down to the array of debris covering the floor that had been tossed there when the emergency room team had gone to work on Pamela soon after they had arrived. He ran his hands through his hair and tried to suppress the sickening feeling of fear growing inside of him
. He knew there was nothing else for him to do now, except wait and pray.

  Epilogue

  “Daddy,” a little girl cried out as she came running up to Daniel carrying a clear plastic container in her hands.

  Daniel was in the barn struggling to feed three rambunctious baby raccoons when he saw a bouncing mass of dirty blonde curls come running toward him.

  She had Pamela’s gray eyes, heart-shaped face, petite frame, and even her determined walk. But on the inside, Daniel felt she had inherited more of his impatience and boisterous temperament than her mother’s cool demeanor.

  “Bitsy,” he called out to the child. “What are you doing out here? Isn’t Uncle Ian supposed to be watching television with you?”

  “He’s no fun,” the little girl complained as she turned her big gray eyes to him. “He fell asleep on the couch, again. Why does he always do that?”

  Daniel struggled to put the baby raccoons in their cage. “I think being married to your Auntie Carol is wearing your Uncle Ian out.”

  “Huh?” Bitsy wrinkled up her face.

  Daniel frowned. “I’ll tell you about it when you’re older.”