Who is Mackie Spence?

by Lin Kaymer

  George pulls a white blanket from an overhead cabinet and sets it next to the gown on the exam table. “The bag on the floor is for your clothes. A doctor will be in to see you, very soon,” he says and leaves, pulling the drape closed behind him.

  I peel off my clothes and slide into a light-green hospital gown that doesn’t really close in the back. After dumping my damp clothes in the hospital bag, I wrap the white blanket with a large tag marked ‘thermal’ around me, sit on a chair next to the exam table, and wait for the doctor.

  I hear Mom and Dad’s voices before I see them. When they draw the curtain back to walk in, I notice that Officers Dade and Kale are stationed outside. Do they really think I had something to do with Brody and Mackie’s being hurt?

  I stand up. Mom hugs me with tears in her eyes, and Dad puts his hand on my shoulder.

  “Has a doctor been in?” Dad asks.

  “Not yet. A guy took my temperature and blood pressure. I’m fine. Really.”

  Dad nods. His eyes blink a lot, like they do when he’s stressed.

  The orderly brings in two chairs. Mom thanks him, and my parents sit down on either side of me. I notice Dad has brought a bag with dry clothes in it.

  “Did you run to Brody’s house?” Mom asks.

  “Yeah. Brody looked really messed up when I found him on the boat. There was a lot of blood. I was trying to find Mackie when I saw her in the water. I thought she was dead.” I hope the cops are paying attention.

  A man pushes the curtain open, steps inside, and closes the drape behind him. He’s about my dad’s age, wears glasses low on his nose, and a white lab coat over his clothes.

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Sullivan. And you must be Jeremy. I understand you were in the Sound tonight. How long were you in the water and how do you feel now?”

  “I feel okay. I think I was in about ten minutes, maybe.”

  He listens to my heartbeat, asks me to follow a small bright light with my eyes, checks my reflexes, and notes my temperature on the chart.

  “Do you have a headache or dizziness?”

  “No.”

  “Since you got out of the water, have you shivered a lot?”

  “Yes.

  “That’s normal. How do your muscles feel?”

  “They ache a little.”

  “Like you could cramp?”

  “Yeah.”

  He makes a note on his tablet.

  “Okay. I don’t find anything unusual. That’s good. But you’re going to feel muscle stress from the shivering. Let’s get you something to relax. You should feel fine in about twelve hours.”

  He turns to my parents.

  “If he gets a light headache, that’s normal. If he’s dizzy, that’s not. Keep an eye on him.”

  Dr. Sullivan turns to me. “Okay, Jeremy, you can get dressed now. On your way out, stop by the desk and the nurse will give you a few anti-inflammatory pills. Take one right away and then one every eight hours until they’re gone. You’re good to go.” He heads for the draped doorway, but stops and looks back at me with a grin. “Stay out of the water. Okay?”

  Everyone steps outside while I dig into the bag Dad brought. My clean, dry clothes are a reminder of something normal in an otherwise crazy day. When I finish and open the curtain, the police stand talking with my parents at the doorway.

  Officer Dade, who sat with me in the ambulance, still doesn’t seem friendly. The other cop, Officer Kale, ignores me and speaks with Dad.

  “We’re taking him to the First Hill Station to make a statement. Maybe he’ll be released. Maybe he’ll stay. Not our decision.”

  I look at them in shock. Why would they even think about keeping me? I saved Mackie and Brody!

  After stopping at the intake desk and taking my pill, I walk out of the hospital between the police. It’s a quick drive to the police station. But sitting in the back of their police car, I feel like a criminal. I see my reflection in the passenger side window. It doesn’t even look like me. The face I see belongs to some other guy.

  At the station, I sit with my parents in a small waiting area until the cops are ready to talk with me. When we’re told that my parents can’t come with me, my dad insists that an attorney be present before they start any questioning. That is my right, he says. We wait another forty-five minutes until a public defender can be roused from sleep, get dressed, and drive to the station.

  That public defender is Ms. Lexa McCarthy. She meets with my parents and me in a small room with one desk and some chairs.

  “Jeremy, you won’t be able to leave until you make a statement. The police want to know, in detail, what you did tonight. Any information you know that’s relevant to Ms. Spence and Mr. Cameron’s situation will be helpful. They can’t, however, demand answers to questions that you can’t answer. If that happens, just say you don’t know.”

  “What if I remember something else later, or get things confused?” I ask.

  “You’ll get a transcript of the statement to review. You can always make a correction later. Just move at your own pace. Don’t let them push you. And I’ll be there if you have any questions.”

  So, while a recorder rests on the table between us, I tell the police about Mackie’s lost phone, the search for her, Jilly’s call to me, and what I did at Brody’s house and on the boat. I leave out a few details, including:

  The eagle that circled over the boat

  The sea otters that formed a floating pillow

  How much Brody’s wounds reminded me of an eagle attack

  Over an hour later, when I’m ready to drop from exhaustion, the police release me. Just like some words in a crime story, they caution me not to leave the area.

  In the parking lot, I ask my parents if we can stop by the hospital to check on Mackie. My dad looks gray-tired. But he says yes.

  It doesn’t take long to return to Harborview Medical Center. We learn that Mackie is in the Critical Care Unit, and we have arrived after visiting hours. Mom asks if someone will get word to Mackie’s parents that we’re in the lobby. In a few minutes, Caitlin Spence approaches us, and throws her arms around me. Tears are in her eyes and running down her cheeks. She thanks me for rescuing Mackie and says I should go up to Room 331; she’s cleared it with the nurses.

  In the elevator, I feel dizzy. I stumble out and, to steady myself, press my back against the hallway wall. The dizziness stops, and it takes a minute before I find Mackie’s room. When I step in the room, Nick Spence grabs me in a bear hug saying “thank you” over and over. At least Mackie’s parents don’t see me as the bad guy.

  Mackie has a room to herself. Her skin color looks healthy again, and she seems comfortable, even with an IV hooked into her arm and an oxygen monitor clipped to her finger. Her dad motions for me to sit in a chair on the other side of the bed, and the two of us watch her.

  “Any change?” I ask.

  “None. Doesn’t mean anything, though. Mac’s a little peach pit. She’s tough. Four months ago she came out of a coma after a week and was just fine. Jeremy, I’ll never in my life be able to thank you enough for going over to Brody’s house. She’d be gone. What happened between those two?”

  “I don’t know. Brody was passed out, so I couldn’t ask him anything. He was cut up pretty bad, but it didn’t look like something Mackie could have done. Did you get her phone back from the police?”

  “No. They’re keeping it for evidence. I have my doubts about how much we’ll find out through them. You sure gave your daddy a start when you called. He’d been thinking you were asleep in your bed.” Nick grins at me.

  “Yeah, well, Jilly called and told me that she took Mackie’s phone at Kyle’s party. Brody took it from her. It didn’t sound like Jilly knew Mackie was missing,” I explain.

  “It wasn’t a kindly thing to have done, but this isn’t Jilly’s fault. Brody’s always seemed one shot shy of a full load. Never understood what Mackie saw in him. He’s good looking, don’t get me wrong there, but he’s just so one-dimensi
onal. I was glad when she asked you to the dance. And I sure am happy to be sitting across from you now.”

  For a few minutes we watch Mackie and listen to the gentle beeping of her vital signs monitor.

  I break the silence. “How long do the doctors think she was in the water?”

  “That’s the odd thing, Bud. Said they had contradictory evidence. Her core temperature was pretty good and so were her vitals, but her skin looked and felt like she’d been in the water for hours. Hours.” He shakes his head. “By most counts, she’d be long gone.”

  “The last time, when she was in the water this summer, did it seem like it was the same?” I pose the question carefully, not wanting to stir up bad memories of their boat capsizing.

  “Uh-huh. Very similar. That’s why I have so much hope right now. Look at her. She looks good. No damage to anything, not really.”

  I have one more burning question. “How did she come out of the coma this summer?”

  “There’s a question you, me, and every doctor would like an answer to. She just woke up one day and could talk and move around almost like it never happened. Other than not remembering the accident, she seemed fine.”

  That’s what I desperately want. For Mackie to come out of the coma like nothing bad has happened. For her to be just fine.

  “Ah, the nurse said since this isn’t visiting time, I should only stay a few minutes. Guess I’d better be going.”

  I lay my hand on a part of Mackie’s arm that doesn’t have needles or tubes. I pat her and silently beg her to wake up. Nick watches and nods.

  “You come back, Bud. You’re good for her,” he says, and there is no doubt in my mind that I’ve just been given the highest parental stamp of approval that I could ever hope to attain. I only wish Mackie was awake to hear it.

  CHAPTER 12

  Sunday morning. I sit at the kitchen table with Mom and call Olivia to explain why I won’t be in for my afternoon shift at the shelter. She tells me not to worry. She’s glad nothing happened to me, and she’ll pray for Mackie. I don’t argue, but figure that good medicine and rest, not prayer, are what Mackie needs.

  My phone doesn’t stop ringing. All of our friends want to hear how Mackie is and what happened. Jen tells me that our principal posted a missing child report on the school website after Mr. Spence called him yesterday afternoon. Since then, Mackie’s picture has been on all of the social media message boards that parents and kids use. Mackie grew up on the island, so it was scary for everyone to read that she went missing.

  Then a call comes through on my mom’s phone. Mom hands it to me, saying it’s Brody’s mother.

  “Jeremy, this is Natalie Cameron. Brody’s father and I want to thank you. We’re waiting for a flight back to Seattle, but I want you to hear this now, from us. We appreciate everything you did. I’m sure Brody will want to thank you when he can.”

  “Is Brody better?” I ask.

  “The doctors tell us he’s stable, but he will be in the hospital for a while.”

  So he came through blacking out from the gin okay. She tells me the police will take his statement at the hospital, and then we say goodbye. Lucky Brody. How much does he remember about the eagle? I’d like to be in the room when he explains that one to Officers Dade and Kale.

  Early in the afternoon, Wes borrows his parents’ SUV and drives Jen, Jon, Erica, and me to the hospital. Just like during the summer when she nearly drowned, it seems weird for us to be together without Mackie.

  Wes and I are the first to walk into Mackie’s room. His eyes bug out when he sees the tubes hooked into her arms and fingers.

  “Oh man, will she get through this?” he whispers to me.

  “I think so. She did it once before.” If Mackie doesn’t come out of the coma, well, I’m not letting myself go there. “I looked ‘coma’ up. She can hear us, but won’t be able to talk or do anything,” I say, as we approach her bed.

  “Hey, Mackie. We need you to come back from wherever you are. Without you, it’s just Ty and me who will have to keep young Jeremy out of trouble. You know how good we are at that.” Wes laughs.

  I can always count on Wes for humor.

  Wes continues. “So, Mackie, you know, you’re our alpha survivor. Remember when our tree fort collapsed? You walked away without a scratch. And when Diggy Howard let go of his tennis racket, and it hit your head? Not even a bruise. This coma thing should be nothing for you. And hey, you might miss my latest dance bust-out at Jen’s. I know that will be a real disappointment for you, so you’d better come home. Like right now.”

  I chuckle.

  I hold Mackie’s hand. There isn’t any response, but I want her to know how much I miss her. It’s the kind of scene that I would have dismissed as sappy in a movie. That was before seeing her lying in a hospital bed. Now the feelings are so real that it hurts in my bones.

  When Wes and I return to the lobby, Jennifer goes up next, by herself, which is fine because Jen has so much energy that she could suck the air out of a room. But not in a bad way. She just has a really big personality. And Jen will focus on Mackie, not all the medical equipment. What most people find uncomfortable is no problem for Jen.

  After Jen returns, it’s Jon and Erica’s turn to go up. They don’t stay long and rejoin us surprisingly fast.

  “Mackie’s doctor came in to check on her. Did Mackie move or do anything when you guys were in her room?” Erica asks.

  We shake our heads no.

  On the way back to the ferry dock, Jen suggests we stop for something to eat. It sounds good because my appetite has returned. It’s like I haven’t been able to replace the energy I lost in the cold water fast enough. At least my muscles feel better. Wes tells us it’s his treat, and then everyone raises their glass in a salute to me for saving Mackie. I look down in embarrassment. Did I save her, really? She isn’t all right.

  At home, Mom and Dad talk about how well Justin handled things when they took the ferry to the hospital. He stayed at the Spences’ with Noelle so neither of them would be alone that night. Justin woke, climbed in the car, and then fell asleep immediately on the Spences’ couch with Noelle on the facing sofa. It’s good to have friends.

  At home after visiting Mackie, I think about the eagle and the otters. They were there for her. Why? How? What is the connection she has with them?

  But these questions don’t really matter. What matters is that I need to be with her. That’s all I want now. Not to analyze, know, or understand. Just to be with her.

  Now, as I crawl into bed at eight o’clock, a full hour and a half earlier than usual, I feel a slight tugging at my skin like something tweaking me, but sleep rolls in like thick fog. I’m gone until my alarm goes off at six thirty.

  Monday morning, Ben sizes me up with eyes more serious than usual when I climb in his car to ride to school.

  “Is it true what I heard about Brody and Mackie?” he asks.

  “Depends what you heard,” I reply.

  “That Brody was cut up bad, and Mackie’s in a coma at Harborview. You found them and called it in.”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” I say, watching his face while he drives.

  “Well, someone ought to pin a medal on you. Mackie didn’t deserve to go through another drowning. Brody, well, life has a way of making a circle.”

  This is a profound statement for Ben in the morning.

  “Yeah, she’s still in a coma. Brody, ah, I talked with his mother a little yesterday and he’s awake. I’m guessing they have him loaded up on pain meds.”

  “Oh yeah. I bet he’s lovin’ that,” Ben says.

  I’m the object of way too much attention at school today. Everyone wants to ask about Mackie, a few about Brody, and people stare at me wherever I am. It’s all too much. I want to go back to being part of the background.

  Jen sits with me at lunch and fields most of the questions. At one point even she gets peeved with all the chatter. She throws me a look that begs, ‘What next?’

&nbs
p; Wes and Ty act goofy like always, and joke about my many newly acquired best friends. At least I can laugh with them about something.

  At practice, Coach treats me as if nothing unusual has happened. He reminds me to ease up on the first fifteen minutes of my practice run and push the last five. He mentions Brody indirectly, noting the likelihood that one of our JV runners will move up to run varsity for our next meet.

  But in the locker room, the guys have questions.

  “Jeremy,” Cole calls out. “Word is that you had it out with Brody because of Mackie.”

  I give him my best you-are-a-dickhead stare.

  “Word is wrong. And for the record, Brody would be still sitting on his boat, rotting, if I hadn’t gone to his house to find Mackie’s phone that he took. So maybe Word should start making corrections about what you just said.” I pull my towel out to take a shower. Cole is full of it.

  He gives me a shrug.

  “That’s real nice, Cole,” I hear Ben growl as Cole moves past us.

  Oh crap, this needs to stop.

  “Okay, I have something to say,” I announce, loudly.

  It gets quiet. Fast.

  “I didn’t and don’t have it out for Brody. I just happened to be the one who found him and called emergency. I don’t know what went down for either Brody or Mackie because neither of them could talk when I found them. Sorry that it’s not more juicy, but that’s it.”

  I head to the showers. No one bothers me there.

  As I leave the gym, Coach waves me over.

  “Mr. Tarleton, you might be wondering whether I reported that little fight you and Mr. Cameron had last week. I did not. Do not make me regret my decision,” he says, holding my eyes with an unblinking gaze.

  “No problem, Coach,” I say, feeling relief.

  He nods and says, “There’s a saying for what just happened back there, in the locker room. ‘No good deed goes unpunished.’”