by T. K. Chapin
Taking a deep breath, I got out of my car and headed to the back door of Sportsman’s. As I walked inside, Joe called out to me straight away from over at the shipping computer nearby. The back door of Sportsman’s fed directly into the warehouse portion of the store where we kept all of our inventory.
Walking over to him, I kept thinking about how I needed this to be a very short meeting. I needed to get to the recital.
“Help explain this to me,” he said, his voice level and his finger pointing at the screen. I already knew this wasn’t really a question but an accusation.
Leaning forward, I looked at the screen. “Looks like the counts are off on the canoes.”
“How do you lose three canoes?”
I shrugged. “It was probably a shipping mistake.”
“Yeah, sure. Blame it on someone else. It’s coming out of your final check.”
My jaw dropped. “Final check?”
“You heard me. I gave you to the end of the week for Robin and Drew, but I hoped you would’ve done it today. Now this? I can’t have subordinates who cannot follow orders and only blame others. Pack your things. You’re done.”
“On what grounds are you firing me?”
“Um, I just told you. Insubordination.”
“Unbelievable. You called me in to fire me? I’m running late for my daughter’s recital for this? You’re a jerk, man. Wish you the best.”
Turning around, I headed for the door.
“Mark.”
Stopping, I turned back to Joe.
“Leave your keys.”
Pulling my keys out of my pocket, my fingers were trembling as I took my work keys off and dropped them on the floor. Pushing open the back door, I headed out to my car. Stopping alongside his Cadillac, I looked at the perfect paint job and thought about keying it. Don’t lower yourself, a quiet voice whispered into my thoughts. Anger coursed through my veins as I saw red thinking of Joe. I got in my car and turned the key over right away. Putting the car in reverse, I barely missed a honking car as it was passing by. Wheels squealing as I peeled out of the parking lot, I headed to the recital, running a stop sign in the process.
Chapter 27-Bethany
STEALING A GLANCE OUT INTO the auditorium, I saw people filling up the seats, but still no sign of Mark or my parents. My sister and her fiancé were sitting down in our seats already. At least somebody cared. Trying to keep my composure, I turned back to check on Easton who was busy with a coloring page. Catching Ester from the corner of my eyes eyeballing me from the group of girls, I knew she was wondering about her father and her grandparents. Peering over at her, I saw a mixture of emotion on my child. She looked frightened but also excited. She told me on the way that she was scared about going out in front of all those people. I encouraged her to not think of them. Peeling away from her group of the other dancers, she came over to me.
“Is Daddy here yet?” she asked, her eyes hopeful.
“Not yet, honey. He’ll be here. Don’t worry.”
“Ester! Come look at this awesome bracelet Emma’s stepfather got her!” said one of her little friends over in the group. She hurried back to her friends and I took another peek out into the auditorium. Where are you, Mark? Pulling out my cellphone, I checked the time. There were only a few more minutes until six.
Soon, the lights in the building blinked, indicating the show was about to begin. My anger waxed hot as I called Mark when the lights dimmed and music began to play.
No answer.
I left a voice mail and whispered loudly as the music of the recital played in the background. “Where are you? It’s starting and you’re not here!”
Hanging up the phone, I turned my gaze to the stage and watched the dozen or so little girls dance to the music.
My phone suddenly rang.
It was an unknown number, but local.
“Hello?”
“This is Carla, a nurse at Providence Hospital in the emergency room. There has been a car accident. Can I please speak with Bethany Thompson?”
My heart stood still and the music of the recital faded away in my mind.
I was speechless.
“Hello?” the nurse said.
Swallowing hard as my eyes welled, I said, “This is her.”
Chapter 28-Bethany
TEARS RUNNING DOWN MY CHEEKS, a kid’s hand in each of mine, we rushed down the hallway to the surgery waiting room where the nurse told me to go and wait. Grace and Owen were not far behind us, having been caught by a red light. As I entered the waiting room, I saw my father and lost all control over my emotions. My throat tightened and more tears flowed from my eyes.
He had an arm in a sling and a bandage on his eyebrow and had tears running down his cheek.
He stood up and met me in the otherwise empty waiting room.
We embraced in a hug.
Just then, Mark came into the waiting room and rushed over to us.
“Any word yet on Melanie?”
We released from our embrace and my dad wiped his eyes. “No, not yet. They are in surgery right now. Will be for a couple of hours. Her leg was opened up with a broken bone in the crash, so they had to go in and place a metal rod into her femur to help secure it while the bone heals.” My dad started crying again. “This is all my fault. I should’ve gone slower on that road. I shouldn’t have taken that corner so fast.”
“That wouldn’t have stopped the drunk driver from crossing over and into your lane.” Mark patted his shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself for this. It was an accident.”
“But I came out walking! My poor sweet wife!” Leaving us, he went over and sat down in a chair positioned toward the operating room television that showed the progress of all ongoing surgeries. All my mother’s surgery said was In Operation.
Grace and Owen arrived a few minutes later. Seeing Grace with bloodshot eyes tore my insides to pieces. She must’ve been crying all the way here. I wanted to be strong for her right now, but I couldn’t be. I was too scared.
Meeting her with tears running down my cheeks, I hugged her.
Mark’s phone rang, and he left the waiting room to go answer it out in the hallway. Residue of our exchange earlier in the evening still lingered with me. How could he take a phone call at a time like this?
Seeing that Ester was upset over all the adults crying, I decided to leave Easton with Grace and take her for a walk. I needed to clear my head anyway and it’d be another couple of hours before my mom’s surgery would be over.
“Come on, Ester. Let’s go for a walk.” Taking her by the hand, we went out into the hallway and turned opposite of Mark and went for a stroll.
“Can we go outside?” she asked, looking up at me as we crossed through the lobby on the main level.
“It’s dark, honey.”
“I know, but I need to cool off. It’s hot in here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh and nod. “Sure, let’s go outside.”
Walking out the revolving doors, we journeyed down the sidewalk.
“Mom?” Ester asked, her eyes on the cement path below her feet.
“Yeah?”
“Is Elly going to be okay?”
Stopping, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Of course she is going to be okay. Why do you ask?”
She shrugged, then I heard a sniffle.
Dropping to a knee, I lifted her chin with my index finger, bringing her gaze to mine. Her eyes were watering and held a look of fear.
“What brought this on? Is it Grandma?”
She nodded but stayed quiet.
“You have to have faith that everything is going to be okay.” Smoothing my hand across her hair, I stood up. “I know that’s a lot to ask of you, but you and I have a Rock we can rely on—God. No matter what, God is good. We have to believe He is in control even if we don’t like what’s going on around us.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
We continued our walk.
Coming to a light post in the parking lot, she releas
ed my hand and went over to the rocks that were filled in around the post. Picking a handful up into her hand, she counted five out and then pocketed them in her red pea coat pocket. As she returned to me on the sidewalk, I had to ask.
“Why’d you pick those up?”
“I want to paint them for Elly. That way, she knows that God is her rock too.”
Chapter 29-Mark
HANGING UP THE PHONE, I stood in the dimly lit hospital hallway and smoothed a hand over my face. I had just gotten off the phone with Elly’s father, Christopher. He had tried to call Beth first, but she hadn’t answered. They had found a donor for Elly. There was a girl close in age and her blood type who had been in a car accident in Seattle. They had seven hours to get the liver to Deaconess and into Elly before it’d be no good. Time was ticking. Glancing back into the waiting room full of people, I didn’t see my wife.
I knew I had to tell Bethany first.
Walking into the waiting room, I asked, “Where’s Bethany?”
Grace furrowed her eyebrows. “You’re crying, Mark. You don’t cry. What’s wrong?”
Letting out a sarcastic laugh, I said, “Nothing is wrong. It’s good tears. Where is she?”
Grace’s eyes lit up, but she didn’t try to get it out of me. “She went for a walk with Ester.”
Leaving the waiting room, I went down to the main floor to check the gift shop. Glancing inside, I didn’t spot them so I pulled my cellphone out to call her but then caught sight of her walking back in through the revolving doors. I ran over to her and said, “They found a liver!”
“What?” Bethany’s eyes watered and she stood with a look of shock on her face. “Now?”
Nodding, I grabbed her hands and we jumped up and down frantically.
“What are you guys doing?” Ester’s cute but curious voice asked.
“Sissy’s going to wake up!” Bethany exclaimed.
My wife’s smile fell away as she looked past me toward the bank of elevators. “My mom. We can’t leave.”
“You stay here then. I’ll go.”
“But I have to go, Mark. There’s only a 70% chance it’ll take, and that means there is a 30% chance it . . .” Her words trailed off and I immediately took a step closer to her. Grabbing her arms firmly but softly, I looked her in the eyes.
“You have to believe everything is going to work out. You have to have hope like you’ve had for the past year.”
“Daddy, look at these rocks I’m going to paint for Elly.” Ester pulled the rocks out from her pocket and opened her hand. “Aren’t they pretty?”
“Those are gorgeous, honey.” Turning back to Bethany, I said, “I’m going now.”
“Me too. Let me grab Easton and my purse and say ‘bye to my dad and sister. Take Ester and get her into the car. I’ll meet you up there.” Scooping Ester up into my arms, I was about to leave for the parking lot when I remembered Grace, Ed, and Owen. Turning to Bethany, I caught her before she made it to the elevators.
“Bethany.”
She turned.
“You sure you want to leave your dad and sister and Owen? Your mom is still in surgery.”
She walked back over to me. “They’ll understand. Mom would even understand. It’s not a crazy surgery with high complications. I want all of our family to be with Elly before the surgery.”
“Okay.”
We parted ways, her toward the elevators, Ester and me toward the revolving doors to go out to the parking lot. As I walked with Ester in my arms toward the exit, I rubbed her back in a circular motion. Whispering truth into her heart, I said, “I’m proud of you for not throwing a fit at the recital when you had to leave. That was very selfless of you, sweetie.”
Lifting her head from my shoulder, she looked me in the eyes. “Grandma and Grandpa got hurt. We have to think about others first.”
It startled me to hear my young daughter speak so wisely, but in a way, it made sense. We had worked a lot with all the girls on Bible scriptures back before Elly was hospitalized. Each day when they’d get home from school, Bethany would sit them at the table and have them write out Scripture, then afterward, they’d talk about it. I didn’t know the impact had much of an effect on the girls until now when I caught a glimpse of the reaping.
As I walked out the revolving doors and out toward my car, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew my job was gone, which didn’t make me happy in the slightest, but my insurance would last through the next thirty days, just enough time for Elly. I couldn’t help but feel that God was watching out for me, for my family. And now, He was bringing my princess back to life. He was doing a work of good in the midst of so much bad.
Chapter 30-Bethany
“MOM WILL BE FINE, BETH,” my sister insisted as we finished hugging. She was crying tears of joy along with me for Elly. Wiping her eyes, she said, “I’ll call you the second she’s in recovery. Promise.”
“Thank you.” I hugged Owen goodbye also.
Tilting my head, I looked over at my father, who was sitting as he skimmed an issue of Sports Illustrated. Leaving Grace, I approached him slowly.
“You should go,” he said, shutting the magazine in his hands. He stood up. Placing his good hand on my shoulder, he looked at me with sincerity as he smiled. “Your little girl needs you. Don’t worry about Mom. She’ll be fine. Elly’s finally receiving a liver. It’s a reason to be happy right now, and you should be happy.”
“What about you?”
He laughed lightly and grinned. “I’ll be fine, daughter. Go be with your baby girl. Wish we could come celebrate with you.” Glancing toward the operating board, he continued, “Hopefully, soon, we all can celebrate with you.”
We hugged.
As I left the waiting room with Easton in my arms, I set my heart and prayers ahead on Elly’s surgery. She was going to be back with us, awake and finally able to live again. With her new liver, she’d be able to enjoy life as if this nightmare had never happened, a joyous thought to my exhausted heart. All I had ever wanted for Elly and all of my kids was the chance to live a normal and stable life with decent parents who loved them. Things were about to go back to normal and I couldn’t be more excited.
As I stepped out into the parking lot, I was surprised to spot Mark near his car. He was holding Ester and waving me over.
I came over to him.
“What are you doing? I thought we were meeting up there?”
“We could all ride together, as a family.”
Smiling, I nodded. “I’d like that.”
He put Elly in her booster in the back seat of the car and I put Easton in his. Then we got into the car. Before he turned the key over, he placed his hand on mine and looked at me.
“Remember how we said we’d be honest moving forward?”
“Yeah . . .”
“Well, I lost my job today.”
Air caught in my throat and my eyes widened.
He laughed.
Confusion filled me to the brim. Furrowing my eyebrows, I asked, “What’s so funny about that?”
He shrugged. “It’s not really funny, but I am looking forward to what God has in store for us. God’s in control, Bethany. He’s in control of everything and He’s up to something right now. I don’t know what it is, but I know I have to trust Him.”
He had not an ounce of fear in his expression as he spoke. It served as encouragement to me. My husband wasn’t just a guy who went to church with his family weekly anymore. He was becoming more. He was becoming a man of God that our children needed, that I needed. My heart swelled with thankfulness. As we made the journey over to Deaconess and to Elly, I thought more about how Ester would’ve been in the car with my parents if I hadn’t come around like I had. They were planning on taking her. The thought sent ripples of terror through me so much I didn’t even voice it to Mark. It dawned on me that Mark was right. God was in control. There’s no such thing as a surprise when it comes to Him.
Chapter 31-Bethany
TRADING O
NE HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM for another, Mark and I found ourselves with two passed out kids in chairs beside us in an otherwise empty waiting room. Christopher had gone to grab some late-night dinner.
Laying my head inside Mark’s arm as we watched a subtitled rerun of Seinfeld, I thought about how things were before everything with Elly happened.
“Remember watching this when we were younger?”
He laughed. “I was just thinking that.”
We smiled at each other.
Cozying up closer to him, I placed a hand on his chest as I remembered his old guilty habit of Oreos and mine of chocolate milk. He’d always make sure to bring me my chocolate milk before pulling out his cookies.
“Your Oreos . . .”
“Hey, now. That’s private information.”
We both laughed.
“I can’t wait for things to go back to normal.” My tone was laced with longing, my heart pounding with anticipation.
“Me too.” He rubbed my shoulder and brought me a measure of comfort as I felt connected with him more than I had in a long time. This was it. Our little girl was going to get better and come back home to us. Things were going to go back to normal—finally.
“Look.” Mark’s gaze was locked on the nearby but passed out Ester. She had both of her legs tucked up with her on the seat, then her head lying atop her arm that was slung over the chair.
“Oh, wow! If I laid like that, I’d wake up in a world of hurt.”
“Right?” Mark smiled, then let out a sigh. “We sure made some beautiful children.” His eyes went to the door that led into the O.R. area as he continued. “It’s obviously all of your genes that make them beautiful.”
He took my hand, and I threaded my fingers between his as I smiled at him. “I like this. I like us.”
“I like us too. You’re the only hand I need to hold in this life. No matter good or bad, I know it’s the hand for me.” Lifting my hand up that he was holding, he kissed the top. “I love you.”