Convictions: Kelly and Stephen

by Dewick, Delinda

  ***

  Somewhere over British Columbia she drifted off to sleep. The next thing she heard was the overhead instructions to prepare the cabin for landing. She stowed her laptop bag, once again disgusted with herself for her lack of motivation. She had planned to do some work on the plane.

  The plane landed smoothly and taxied to the gate. A few uneventful moments later she was off and headed to baggage claim. With bag in hand she exited the terminal, hailed a cab, and gave the driver the address to Northwestern Hospital. She would be with mother soon.

  Checking in with the nurse’s station Kelly asked for Mr. Connell’s room. The nurse helped her to temporarily stash her bags in a storage closet and then showed her to her father’s room, which was an ICU bed in the Stroke Unit. He looked so pale and small lying in bed and there appeared to be at least fifty different devices hooked up to him, some making regular noises, others hopefully not. As she looked down at him he seemed at least twenty years older to her.

  Her mother was dozing off in a chair on the far side of his bed. Kelly didn’t want to startle her so she softly cleared her throat and said “mom, it’s me Kelly, I’m here now.” Kelly’s mom slowly became aware of her surroundings, and that Kelly was in the room. Kelly crossed over to her, knelt down, and hugged her gently. Her mom began to cry, a cry of relief that someone was finally there to help. She had always been a petite woman but now she looked frail and very old. Where has the time gone and when had they gotten so old, Kelly thought.

  They talked quietly for a while. The doctor came in and gave them another update. Things didn’t look quite as bad as they might have. One of the instruments was measuring brain activity and the doctors were very encouraged by the data that they were receiving. Still they couldn’t give any definitive prognosis until he came out of the coma at which time they would be able to perform more tests. A prognosis of whether he would ever go home or instead would he spend the rest of his days in a nursing home.

  Kelly convinced her mother to let her take them both back to the house. Kelly wanted a shower and change of clothes, and they both needed something to eat. Her father would probably not wake up before they got back and if he did the nurse would call them right away on Kelly’s cell phone. Kelly retrieved her bags and they made their way to her mother’s car in the parking garage where she loaded her bags and drove them both home.

  With a shower and dinner completed, Kelly excused herself to her old room and made two phone calls. The first was to Charlie to let him know she was in town and about his grandpa. Charlie wanted to visit that night but Kelly convinced him to wait until grandpa was awake. She told him she loved him and assured him she would bring him to the hospital the minute grandpa was strong enough for visitors.

  The second call was to Stephen. He answered on the second ring so she asked him if he had gotten any work done at all that day. He said no, that the only thing he had been successful at all day was missing her. She filled him in on her father’s condition, their plans for the night and next day, and before hanging up she reminded him how much she loved him.

  Finishing with the dishes they locked up the house and made the trek back to the hospital. The evening was spent near his bedside, though with no change in his consciousness. They talked about Kelly’s childhood, and reminisced about family memories. When she was young Kelly thought that she had had the most boring of childhoods, but looking back now, and remembering the family situations that some of her friends endured, she could see how lucky she had really been.

  At nine the nurse indicated that visiting hours were over and promised to call if there were any problems overnight. Kelly and her mom went back to the house where they both fell asleep with thirty minutes.

  When they arrived at the hospital Monday morning, Kelly’s dad was sitting up slightly in his bed. He still had most of the devices attached but the when Kelly and her mother walked into the room they could see instant recognition on his face as he showed as much of a smile as his lack of strength would allow. Her mother cried tears of happiness. With great relief they greeted the doctor who arrived shortly thereafter proclaiming a road to complete recovery. There would be strenuous physical therapy. Mr. Connell would have to work hard to re-strengthen some nerves that had been damaged and it wouldn’t be easy. He would have good days and bad days but with commitment and hard work he should be able to achieve a ninety-five percent recovery within a few months.

  After spending some time with her dad she went out into the hall to use her cell phone. She called Charlie and they set a time for her to come pick him up. He would come and have lunch with his grandpa and Kelly would have back home in time for soccer practice at three.

  Kelly rang the doorbell promptly at eleven. Candace answered the door, greeting Kelly warmly and invited her in. “Hello Kelly, so good to see you, Charlie will be right down.” Kelly noticed that Candace, though just as pretty as ever, looked somehow different, tired maybe. She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly but there was something about her that had changed.

  “Come on back to the kitchen, would you like coffee?”

  “No thank-you, I have already had too much coffee at the hospital this morning.” Kelly replied following her. “How have you been Candace? You look wonderful as usual.”

  “Oh yea right, well, I’m just living the dream.”

  “That doesn’t sound good?”

  “Well Kelly, you know how it is, you’ve been here before.”

  Kelly quickly realized that this was about Scott. “Yes, Candace, you are right. I have been here, and I’m sorry to say but I’m glad I’m out.”

  “You know, I really can’t complain. I have a beautiful house; I don’t have to work; I have two great kids and one wonderful step-son. I guess I just thought though that it would be different.”

  “Well Candace, if it’s any consolation I had hoped when you two got married that he would have change. I really wanted the best for you. So what are you going to do now?” Kelly asked, thinking of Charlie.

  “Oh I’m not going anywhere. I have two much invested here. And with the kids, I just don’t want to disrupt their lives. They still love him and they have every right to have two parents at home. It’s my cross to bear and I’ll bear it alone. Maybe someday when the kids are grown and gone I’ll make a change.”

  Charlie came bounding into the kitchen ended their conversation. He gave Candace a peck on the cheek, hugged his mom and said “OK, I’m ready, let’s roll.”

  “Don’t worry Candace; I’ll have him back by three.”

  Kelly and Charlie picked up subs on the way back to the hospital. Kelly’s dad was thrilled to see his only grandson but was envious over the subs. Unfortunately the nursing staff said that subs were not an approved menu item for him yet. Charlie promised he’d come by the house and bring subs for grandpa after he got out of the hospital. Kelly returned Charlie home and got back to the hospital just in time to meet with the care manager and her mom.

  Kelly and her mom met with her dad and his care manager, to review the list of tasks that would need to be completed before his doctor would even entertain the idea of him going home. He would go to a rehab center for one week, maybe longer, where he would get started with therapy under the watchful eyes of round the clock nurses. They would not release him to home until they were sure that he and Kelly's mom could handle his care alone. Once strong enough to go home there would be a visiting nurses service that would check in a few times a week but the rest of the time Kelly’s mom would have to be able to handle it by herself and be responsible making sure that he continues his therapy on an outpatient basis.

  They received for review several brochures for possible rehab centers and, after speaking with several references, selected a center with a very good reputation that was located within a few blocks of their home so that Kelly’s mom could easily visit each day whenever she wanted. All of the plans for his continued care and recovery were well underway by the time they left the hospital that night
. Kelly and her mom ate a quick dinner and went right to sleep.

  The next morning after breakfast they went back to the hospital to collect his personal belongings. An ambulance would transfer him to the rehab center. Kelly and her mom would meet him there after lunch giving time for his new caregivers to get him settled in and get to know him. On the way to his new temporary home they stopped at a CVS and selected a pile of magazines and a few books that he might like to keep his mind busy. Kelly also purchased a word scramble puzzle book and a bag of hard candy to keep next to his bed. The care manager had told them that the more things he had to keep his mind busy, the better and quicker his recovery would be.

  It was one-thirty when they were directed to his new room. It was bright and cheery, nicely furnished and outfitted with a new flat screen TV. Kelly’s mom set to work unpacking the suitcase she had brought with PJs, lounging wear, a robe, undergarments, socks, and slippers. She would take his dirty clothes with her home to wash each day rather than bother the housekeeping staff with that chore. It was her job after all and she needed to keep busy with her regular routine as much as possible.

  ***

  It was Wednesday, and Kelly’s fourth day in Seattle before she was able to make time for Dale. When she called Dale’s office and found her in, they arranged to meet for lunch at a local downtown hotspot at one o’clock. Kelly was on time; Dale was thirty minutes late, as usual. When she did arrive Dale had her cell phone pressed to one ear and her free hand was busy pointing the maître d’ in the direction of Kelly’s table. As she approached the table Kelly overheard her say into the phone “I have to go now dear but please don’t forget our arrangement. If it doesn’t happen that way there will be hell to pay for all of us. My best to Joanne” and with that she hit the end button.

  “My dear Kelly, how are you?” as she leaned over to kiss the air near Kelly’s cheek. She took the seat across from Kelly “You look wonderful. Alaska must be treating you well. I was so excited to get your message that you were in town. I trust you are here to hand over the next four chapters? And early at that, good girl.” Dale crooked her finger in the direction of a waiter and instantly had the harried young man at her side. “Cosmopolitan, please. And hurry, I’m parched.”

  Kelly let out a sigh, and took a deep breath “actually, Dale, that’s not why I am in town. My father has had a stroke. I came home for him, and my mother.”

  “Oh dear, I am so sorry; how completely insensitive of me.” The waiter returned with her drink which she took two sips of before continuing “please, tell me how he is?”

  “The good news is that, with a lot of work, his prognosis for a nearly full recovery is great. The bad news is that every day I am in Seattle, helping my dad to get settled and my mother to cope, I am not writing. At this point, I don’t know how I can possible make the first delivery date of the revised contract.”

  Before Dale could react to Kelly’s confession, the waiter returned for their order. When he had left Dale asked “how much longer will you be here?”

  “I honestly don’t know. We’ve just moved him into a rehab center near their home. He is expected to be there for a week or two but I hate to just blow them off and go back to Alaska until I know for sure that he’s responding to the therapy, and that my mother will be able to care for him once he’s been released. I still need to make arrangements with a visiting nurse and home health aide service for people to be available to help my mother after he is home. In addition we need to get some specialized medical equipment delivered to the house and setup; a hospital bed, bath chair, and miscellaneous other things. I can’t even think of returning until all of this has been arranged for.”

  “Well Kelly, I don’t know what to say. You’ve put me into an awkward situation. Obviously family comes first; I think we’d all agree to that. But Brighton’s been so patient with you; I just can’t say how much longer their patience is going to hold out. You know that they’ve already put a fortune into the pre-publicity planning for this book? You’re hot and your fans are beating down the doors looking for a publication date. If they learn that they will have to push it back again I’m afraid I just don’t know what they’ll do.”

  “I know. And I’m sorry. I don’t want to have to put them in this position. I certainly don’t want to have to put you in this position, after everything you’ve done for me. You are the one who believed in me first and I do appreciate that.”

  “Listen Kelly, let’s just leave it as is for now. No since ruffling feathers over a ‘might not make it’. If you truly don’t make the dates, well, we’ll cross that river when we get to it.”

  Their lunch arrived. After the waiter left Kelly said “Thank you Dale. Please know that I will do my best.”

  “I do. So tell me, what’s new?”

  They continued with lighter conversation over lunch. Dale could be as pushy as they get but she really had been a very good friend and confidant over the years. Kelly spilled the beans to her about Stephen, though leaving out most of the juicier details. Dale eyed her closely “now I know what’s different about you, and why you’ve been so damn hard to get a hold of. You’re in love! Yes, I see it now. Wow, you’re in deep. I would love to meet this man who has captured your heart so completely. He must be something special. Well, don’t worry, once you’ve gotten your fill of him it will get boring and then maybe you can get back to writing, especially about the good stuff!”

  “Dale, you’re terrible.”

  They finished their lunch and Dale picked up the check as usual. She was making a pretty good life on the commissions she received from Kelly’s royalties, and she knew it. They hugged and parted ways at the street. That’s one less issue to cloud Kelly’s mind, for now at least, and she was more than a little bit relieved to have it over.

  ***

  Kelly returned to her parents to find the house empty. Her mother must have left for the rehab center already. Kelly decided to take the quiet time to call Stephen and fill him in on the progress. His first question was about her father’s condition; his second was to ask when she’d be coming home. Since her father was out of the woods so to speak, and out of the hospital, he expected that she’d be on the next plane. As she had done with Dale, Kelly gave him a list of things that she needed to take care of before she could leave. His voice was disappointed but understanding. He said that everything there was going well. Max had not eaten him yet and he actually thought they had made some progress. Work was keeping him busy but that was good, less time to miss her. They exchanged declarations of love and hung up.

  On the dining room table were several brochures that Kelly and her mother had been given by the rehab center. Some were advertising medical equipment companies, other home health care services. She shuffled through the pile, picking one out at random, and took the phone off the hook to call. By the time her mother returned it was five thirty and Kelly had a scratch pad full of notes.

  They ate dinner, put away the dishes and then sat down to review what Kelly had uncovered, with regards to price as well as customer reviews. By bedtime her mother had put a star next to each company she preferred and Kelly promised to make the final arrangements with them the next day.

  ***

  Thursday came and went with more preparations being made for the day that her father would come home. She had signed a contract with the medical equipment company that her mother had decided on and with the deposit in hand they agreed to deliver and setup on Friday. At first they had given her Monday but if there was even the slightest chance that her father would be release from rehab Monday morning, her mother wanted the equipment already in place. With a little arm twisted Friday was agreed to.

  The visiting nurse would be by rotation so they wouldn’t necessarily get the same person each time but for the first two weeks anyway a nurse would come in every three days. In addition, they would have an aid every other day, and also available on call should there be any problems. As for grocery shopping and housekeeping, her mo
ther insisted on continuing to do those chores herself. Kelly would leave the name and number of a highly recommended housekeeping service on the refrigerator just in case it was needed.

  On Friday Charlie’s father dropped him off at the rehab center for a visit. He was on his way to go camping with friends for the weekend but wanted to make sure grandpa was good before he left. Charlie repeated his promise to bring subs for lunch after grandpa was home.

  Kelly and her mother were at home cleaning up the dishes from lunch when her mother said “it’s ok for you to go now you know.”

  “What do you mean mom, I’m here as long as you need me.”

  “I know, and I appreciate it. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that you dropped everything and came down so fast. But you have a life too and I’ve kept you from it long enough.”

  “Don’t you want me to stay until he comes home?”

  “We don’t know how much longer that’s going to be. With all of the arrangements made, thanks to you, I can’t see you hanging around here doing nothing for what might be another three days or another week and three days. You have a life now that you need to return to. Please don’t worry about us; I’ll call you if I need you.”

  “What do you mean that I have a ‘life now’?”

  Her mother smiled “Oh Kelly, I can see it, the changes in you. You haven’t said anything and I don’t like to pry into my children’s personal life but it’s very obvious to me that you have found love.”

  Kelly blushed “you don’t miss a trick mom; you never have. With everything going on with dad, this just wasn’t the right time to say anything, but yes, you’re instincts are good. To be truthful however, it’s a new relationship and at this point I have no idea where it’s going. I’ll let you know when and if it gets to a serious stage.”

  “Please do. I just hope he realizes what a lucky man he has to have captured my daughter’s heart. And let me know when it’s time to go dress shopping.”