Quiet As It's Kept

by Monique Miller

  “Okay, I gotta go if I’m going to get there a little early.” He unlocked his SUV and got in.

  “Knock ’em dead, baby,” Morgan said.

  He waved at his wife, watching her in the rearview mirror. She smiled at him, looking on as he drove away.

  Will pulled onto the interstate and figured it would take him about fifteen minutes to get to his destination. He’d then have about five minutes to go back over the information he’d researched about the company, and then that would allow him to be at least ten minutes early for the appointment. If he was early enough, he might even be able to see the candidate interviewing before him as he or she was leaving.

  He switched lanes, passing a dump truck that was going under the speed limit, and then passed another car that was also going slower than the flow of traffic. He needed to slow down when he approached another SUV that was tailing another car as it waited for its chance to pass, but when Will placed his foot on the brake, it didn’t budge. He pressed and pressed, but the brake pedal didn’t want to be depressed.

  Will panicked as he tried to swerve around the SUV. To his right was a compact car. To his left was the cement barrier separating the shoulder of the road from the three lanes of traffic going in the opposite direction on the other side of the road. He placed his hand on the emergency brake and pulled it up, but that only caused him to swerve to the right, barely missing the compact car. He then slammed into the cement barrier. Will squeezed his eyes shut as he spun out, crashing over and over again.

  Chapter 15

  Will’s eyes fluttered open as he wondered why sunlight was pouring into his bedroom so brightly. He wondered what time it was and what day it was. The ceiling wasn’t familiar. Instead of seeing the ceiling fan from his bedroom, he saw a bright light above him. His head hurt and he tried to lift his hand to rub his forehead, but it felt as if something was holding it down.

  He closed his eyes again, wondering why he had such a bad headache. The first and last time he’d had a headache this bad was when he was a freshman in college. He’d gone to a party off campus and had some alcohol for the first time. He’d always been the model son at home with his parents—always getting good grades, helping out around the house, volunteering in the community—but when he got to college he wanted to change his good-boy image. And he felt like drinking what had seemed like a keg of beer would help him do that.

  Boy, had he been wrong. After the first few cups of beer, he ended up so drunk and dizzy that he couldn’t remember what else had happened that night. But the next morning he had felt so bad that he thought he was going to die. He’d even gone to the infirmary at school, hoping the doctors there could help him. He was too embarrassed to tell the doctor that he was getting over a drinking binge from the night before. His body felt so bad that he had even hoped that he would die so that he could be put out of his misery. But God had not been so kind to him. He’d had to endure the nausea, vomiting, and the throbbing headache.

  As Will lay there trying to get out of bed, he didn’t have any nausea and didn’t feel like he had to vomit, but his head sure did hurt. He tried to sit up, but as he did his chest hurt also. He groaned and then heard Morgan.

  “Oh, baby, are you okay?”

  He opened his eyes again. He saw his wife leaning over him, blocking the bright light. Will wondered if he had overslept. Why else would Morgan be asking if he was okay?

  He tried to speak, but when he tried to open his mouth he found that it hurt too. The only sound that came out was a raspy, “Hey.” He tried to wet his lips but his throat was dry.

  Morgan placed her hand on his forehead and caressed it. “Don’t try to move, honey. Let me call the nurse.”

  Listening to what she said, Will didn’t try to move anymore, feeling that this was good advice since every time he tried to move his body hurt. He couldn’t imagine what might happen if he tried to move his legs also.

  “Yes, how can I help you?”

  Will heard someone who sounded like she was on some sort of intercom. He was confused, and tried to answer. “Huh?”

  “Shh, Will,” he heard Morgan say. “Yes, this is Mrs. Tracy in room three-eleven. My husband is waking up. Can you please send his nurse in here?”

  Nurse? Will thought. Did Morgan just say something about a nurse?

  Will turned his eyes toward Morgan and furrowed his eyebrows. She looked worriedly into his eyes as he heard someone come into the room.

  “Mr. Tracy, how are you feeling? My name is Alexis and I’m your nurse for tonight.”

  “He keeps trying to talk, but he is having a hard time,” Morgan said.

  Will tried to lick his lips. The next thing he knew, he felt a straw in his mouth. He sucked and felt cold water trickling down his throat. It was the best feeling in the world. He sucked and sucked until he could tell that he had emptied the cup.

  “Mr. Tracy, you were in a car accident. You are in the hospital, and from the tests we’ve run so far it looks as if you were pretty lucky. You’ve only got a couple of cracked ribs.” The nurse chuckled. “And from what I hear, you must have had a guardian angel watching you, because your SUV was totaled.”

  With those words from the nurse, the memory of the accident flooded back to him. The last thing he remembered was spinning around in his truck and praying that God would protect him. He closed his eyes again, thanking the Lord. When he opened them, tears welled in his eyes because God had protected him from death.

  “Thank the Lord my husband is okay,” Will heard Morgan say.

  Again Will attempted to speak. “Isaiah?”

  “Isaiah is with Phillip downstairs,” Morgan said.

  Again, Will was baffled. And as if Morgan could read his thoughts, she said, “Shelby was the one who called me and told me about your accident. She was here, working in the emergency room when you came in. She called Phillip after she called me. He came right over. We’ve been waiting for hours for you to wake up.”

  Will knew he was blessed with life, with good friends, and with his loving wife. He couldn’t help but be overcome with joy. Tears continued to well in his eyes until they finally seeped out to stream down his face.

  Will felt Morgan take his hand.

  “Oh my goodness, Alexis, he is crying. He must be in pain,” Morgan said.

  He squeezed her hand, beckoning her to look at him. When she did, he made his best attempt to smile, and figured it must have worked because Morgan smiled back at him.

  “Mr. Tracy, you are probably going to be pretty sore for the next few days. The doctor wants us to monitor you overnight and run a few more tests. If everything turns out fine, then you’ll be able to go home tomorrow. In the meantime, do you want some pain medication?”

  Will nodded.

  “I’ll get you some. I’m sure you must be pretty sore right now, and your head probably hurts too. You did hit your head, but the tests show you didn’t have any damage other than the bruises from your head hitting the air bag.” Alexis squeezed his forearm. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Thank you, Alexis,” Morgan said, then she turned her attention back to Will. “Honey, I was so scared when I heard the news. I don’t know how I drove all the way to the hospital without getting Isaiah and me into our own accident. But thanks be to the Lord for looking after us all.”

  For a second Will wondered if the pain medication was making him hallucinate, because he had never in his life heard Morgan be so spiritual and thankful to God. But then he also realized that a brush with death could bring anyone to the realization that life is precious, and a relationship with the Lord cannot be taken for granted. And God certainly had a way of getting people’s attention.

  Will heard a knock at the door.

  “Come in,” Morgan said.

  “Hey, hey. Can somebody please tell me what is wrong with this picture?” Will heard the voice of his best friend, then saw him as Phillip looked down at him.

  “Sit up,” Will did his best to whisper, and hoped Mor
gan understood what he said. The next thing he knew he felt the head of the bed being raised. His head, back, and chest hurt as the back of the bed was elevated. He moaned and urged her to continue raising his back until he was at a comfortable level. Phillip helped Morgan put pillows behind his head.

  Will chose his words carefully, as if selectively abbreviating in a text message. “Water.” There was no need to say extra words that were only going to make his throat hurt worse with each syllable. And as it turned out, his choice of word had been sufficient. Morgan poured more water into his cup, and he drank through the straw again like a man in the desert.

  Once finished, his mouth didn’t feel so dry and his throat didn’t hurt as much. “Hey, man. So what you been up to?” Will asked as if they’d just happened to see each other in the grocery store.

  “Watching my godson,” Phillip said. “And before you ask, he is fine. Shelby just got off and she’s touring him around the hospital, introducing him to all of her co-workers.”

  “Thank you,” Will said.

  “Yeah, thanks, Phillip, for watching Isaiah for us,” Morgan said.

  “No problem, I just wish it were under different circumstances,” Phillip said.

  “Me too,” Will agreed.

  The nurse returned with the pain medication. “Okay, Mr. Tracy, this pain medication might make you a little drowsy. But you should be able to sleep pretty well with it. I’ll come back to check on you in an hour or so. But if you all need anything before then, don’t hesitate to push the call button.”

  “Thanks, Alexis,” Will said.

  “Will, honey, I’m going to go to the bathroom down the hall. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Morgan turned her attention to Phillip. “Would you mind staying with him for a few minutes until I get back?”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  After Morgan left, Phillip rolled his eyes. “Is she serious? Do I mind staying with you for a few moments while she steps out?”

  “I don’t know, man, I think so.”

  “Okay, sorry, I don’t mean to roll my eyes at your wife. Let’s change the subject. You gave us a scare. Man, when Shelby called me I couldn’t move fast enough to get over here to see about you.”

  “Where are P.J. and Nyah?”

  “They are at home. Taren is here for a week and it just worked out that he was already there. He’s watched the kids a couple of times before by himself, so they should all be fine. The kids love it when their big brother comes to visit, so I am sure they are all having a ball staying up way past their bedtime,” Phillip said, talking about the son he’d had from a previous relationship in college.

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Don’t worry, Shelby is going to go home after I leave from here, and kids are resilient. One night of losing a little sleep won’t hurt them.”

  “Man, Alexis wasn’t joking when she said this medication might make me sleepy. I am getting tired already.”

  “Well, I’m not going to stay long, I just wanted to check on you and let you know we are praying for you.”

  “Thanks, P.T. It sounds like the Lord was looking out for me. I don’t know what happened. I mean, one minute I was driving, smooth sailing down the freeway on my way to a job interview, then the next moment I was coming up pretty fast on another car. I tried to slow down, but when I hit the brakes they failed. I swerved to one side and almost hit another family in their car, then I swerved to the left and hit the cement barrier. The next thing I knew I was spinning and praying to God to protect me. The rest, as they say, is history.”

  “Shelby knows a policeman who was at the accident. He said that you were lucky not only to be alive, but to have gotten away with only a few bruises and a few cracked ribs,” Phillip said.

  Will yawned. The medication was making his eyes heavy.

  “But your brakes didn’t fail, Will.”

  “Humph?” Will asked in a mumbled moan.

  “The officer said there was a baby toy lodged underneath the brake. That is probably why you were unable to brake while you were driving.”

  “A toy?” Will thought he’d heard Phillip say something about a toy being under his brake, but wasn’t sure. He just needed to rest a little, and then he’d ask him again what he’d said. It felt good to close his heavy eyes. And he drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 16

  It took almost two and a half weeks for Will to recuperate enough from his accident to be able to function on his own. Phillip and Shelby had been true friends, helping them out with meals, watching the baby and transporting Will to and from the doctor when Morgan was out of sick days and vacation days from her job.

  Morgan hadn’t wanted to accept help from Will’s friends, but she’d had no choice when she had to return to work. Will knew how uncomfortable she had been with his friends’ help. He was glad when he was able to literally stand on his own two feet again and regain control of the management of the day-to-day activities in their home.

  Ever since the accident, something Phillip had said had been bothering him. Phillip had said that the brakes hadn’t failed, but there had been a baby’s toy lodged under the brake. For the life of him, he couldn’t fathom what Phillip could have been talking about. There was no way a toy could have been in his car and could have rolled underneath his brake. He’d thoroughly cleaned out his car, detailing it.

  The police had the toy at the police station, but Will hadn’t had a chance to go by and pick it up. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t want Morgan to pick the toy up. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the toy, and he hadn’t brought it up to her either. Morgan had handled the paperwork for the car accident while he was recuperating. As soon as he could, he’d ask Phillip to take him over to the station to pick up the toy.

  A couple of other things kept nagging at the back of Will’s mind as he waited for his body to heal; things like his wife looking up information for life insurance companies, and the day he slipped on the slick floor in the kitchen. There was no way Mop & Glo alone would have made him fall that hard on the floor. Then he remembered the bottle of vegetable oil that was stuffed in the bottom of the trash can.

  It was out of character for Morgan to clean the house, and especially for her to clean and mop the floor. It was also out of character for her to go on a morning stroll with the baby. She hated the outdoors. Another thought crossed his mind: what if he had fallen and broken something that day in the kitchen? Or what if he had fallen and hit his head, becoming unconscious?

  Will shook his head, wondering why he was having such dismal thoughts about his wife, the love of his life—the woman he had prayed for and the one God had blessed him with. Was he crazy to think that his wife would try to hurt him? It was as if he was in a movie.

  It had been weeks since he’d been able to log on to the computer to check out jobs and surf the Internet. He figured that the job he was supposed to have interviewed for on the day of the accident had already long since been filled. When he searched for job openings with the company, he no longer saw it listed. He drafted a letter to send to the company explaining why he hadn’t made it to the interview. He didn’t want them to think he wasn’t a professional, and if another position opened up, he didn’t want his no-show to be the reason that they wouldn’t give him the opportunity to possibly interview again.

  Today was the first day that Will found himself alone without help. Morgan had gone back to work, and so had Phillip and Shelby. He felt assured that he could handle things, including the care of the baby, by himself. He still didn’t feel 100 percent, but he was glad that Morgan was now pitching in a little more whenever she did get home from work, especially when it came to watching Isaiah. So in the evenings he often found himself going to bed way earlier than he used to before the accident.

  He still had some pain medication, but he only took it when his pain became unbearable. His chest felt better, but there were times when he still got back spasms. It was suggested that he go to a chiropractor, but he ha
dn’t yet made the call to make an appointment, knowing that, again, he would have to find a sitter for the baby. He just couldn’t see asking Phillip and Shelby to take more time out of their busy lives and work schedules to do so, and it would be weeks before Morgan accrued more sick and vacation leave.

  Isaiah had been handling the entire ordeal pretty well. He’d been acting like his normal happy self, and today was no different. Will made sure he was as careful as possible when it came to handling the baby, especially when he walked up and down the stairs with him. This morning, Will made sure to bring anything and everything he thought he might need for Isaiah downstairs, so that he would not have to continually go from the first floor to the second floor.

  On a normal day before the accident, Will and Isaiah’s schedule had been pretty regular. Now the routine was the same, but it took a lot of energy out of him. Not to mention that Will’s sleep schedule was off. So whenever possible, when he laid the baby down to sleep, Will took the opportunity to take a nap as well. He hoped that in the coming days he would feel back to his old self.

  It bothered him that the police officers said that a toy had caused his accident. He wanted to know just what toy it was to see if he recognized it. He was tired of waiting for the right time to ask for a ride over to the station to view the actual toy.

  Will got an idea, and made a phone call to the police station. He found out which officer was the one to respond to the accident, and talked with him. He asked what the toy looked like and if there were any pictures of the toy. The officer told him that pictures of the accident had been taken, and that he could e-mail them to him.

  After giving the officer his e-mail address, Will waited for almost an hour before the officer sent them. When he opened the attachments, Will saw just how badly his SUV had been totaled, and again thanked God that his life had been spared. When he opened the attachment that showed the toy under the pedal, he couldn’t tell at first what it was, but the next attachment showed him without a shadow of a doubt what kind of toy it was. Will couldn’t believe his eyes.