Seymore's Interlude

by Franci Neale

  Chapter 27

  Home Making

  Geralty found Fred out on the dock at the pond swiping at the little gold fish that were always just beyond his reach. It was a game to Fred and Geralty wondered if the fish just played along to humor him or liked the game as well. He sat down on the dock for a little while and thought about Jesmond’s affection for The Watcher. He wondered why he didn’t feel the same way. Then he remembered that he needed to see if the Mercury band reply message had come in yet. He also wanted to send a message to Celic to say that the hologram system was in place and they could now run the experiments. He figured there were probably some small problems with the system so he wanted to make sure Celic was available.

  Then he had an idea. Maybe Mesa could assign a wave length of her band to be in the Beach House. It would save a lot of running back and forth during the experiments and probably be helpful when the system was accepting and sending holograms. It would also give all of them a way to communicate between the Beach House and the cottage.

  He liked his new idea very much. He picked up Fred and turned toward the cottage to go talk to Mesa. He found her in the turret room reclining on her fainting couch. She seemed to be resting, something he couldn’t remember her doing before. He was very quiet and sat down in one of the magic chairs and put Fred on the floor. He enjoyed the view out the big window in the front of the turret and thought about his communications idea and how to make it happen. Fred was less considerate and simply jumped up on the couch and walked all over Mesa. She sat up, startled, grabbed Fred and set him on the floor. She laughed and turned to Geralty and said, “Next time, you wake me up don’t let Fred do it.”

  She motioned for him to sit across from her in the winged back chair. When he was comfortable she asked, “What’s on your mind? You look like you’re up to something.” He was and he explained about having an extension of the Mercury band at the Beach House so that managing the hologram transport system would be easier and faster. “I can fly back and forth, but I don’t think that’s the best solution. ”Mesa had almost forgotten that Geralty could fly. She also remembered that he is very adept at imaging and remembered the winged elf that was tossed around by the great light. When she thought about it she hadn’t been changing images much either. She needed to think about why that was.

  She said, “A band extension is an excellent idea and that if you set up the receiver I’ll give it key code that will both send and receive from the Beach House to either the cottage or Middle Mind.” He thanks Mesa with a big smile and immediately left for his room, turned back and captured Fred, and said he’d let her know when he was finished.

  Mesa returned to her fainting couch, leaned back and closed her eyes. She felt the need for some distance from all the uncertainty about the light and greeters and hoped for some restful quiet, maybe a nap. Her mind drifted back to wonder why flying and imaging were happening less and less at Seymore Place. There must be a reason.

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  While Mesa was enjoying a restful nap, Sarah gently awoke from her first normal sleep. Jake was sitting near her bed reading. She turned her head, still an uncomfortable effort, and called his name. He immediately stood and came to her bedside. He sat of the edge of the bed and asked, “How are you feeling? ”She slowly answered, “I’m oddly tired and ache, but otherwise she much better than when I was in the coma. ”He smiled and said. “Sarah, I’m so glad you’re awake.

  He took her hand and softly held it. He had to tell her about David before she learned about his death some other way. He gathered courage and said, “Sarah, David is gone. He died instantly when the truck went over the guard rail and into the ravine. His parents have been to see you several times, but they are grieving for their son and couldn’t continue to come and be reminded of their loss. He is buried on the other side of town and I’ll take you to the grave if you want when you’re out of the hospital.”

  Sarah’s face gradually turned as white as the sheet and she slowly turned on her side away from Jake and curled into a tight ball as Jake was telling her about David’s death. She wrapped her arms around her unborn baby and cried, great heaving sobs as he finished breaking the awful news. Her body began to shake with grief and Jake was afraid she was having a seizure. He ran to the nurses’ station to get help. Two nurses came with him as he told them about telling Sarah the awful news of David’s passing.

  They leaned down on either side of her, wrapped themselves around her and held her tight until she subsided. When she was calm, they raised the bed so they could check her over and make sure she and the baby were OK. She let them do whatever they needed to do and remained stoic and silent bearing a look of tragic loss and limp submission. She was devastated.

  Jake stayed with her the entire night and the nurses checked on her more often than usual. By morning she had slept for nearly 12 hours and Jake was worried that she had returned to her coma. She hadn’t. But it was some time before she began to show signs of returning to the Sarah he knew and loved. She did return, however, and eventually was much better and stronger than even she expected.

  More than a week had passed since she first heard the news that David was dead. Since she remembered nothing of the accident or even where it was, all she had was the certain knowledge that he was gone. She could only imagine how it had happened. Jake told her that no one knew what happened but that it was on an icy road and he probably just lost control of the truck on the curve. Over the next few days she decided the best way to handle David’s death was to live well for their baby. So she turned her mind to becoming the best mother in the history of the human race.

  After two weeks out of her coma, Sarah woke and knew for certain that she was very rested, strong and totally ready to be leave the hospital, and soon. Since she escaped from her coma she had been poked, prodded and therapied about everything from her mental state and bowel regularity to how far she could lift her legs and the distance she could walk before she was tired. Doctors of every kind seemed inordinately interested in her and she was glad to accommodate them, but their time was up and she wanted to go home.

  She knew that her baby was perfect and wanted what time was left of her pregnancy to be the pleasure it was supposed to be. She wanted to go home to her house, but her brother had terminated her rental and moved all of her possessions to his place; going home meant going to his house. She was grateful for all the things about her life that Jake had taken care of. He’d kept her car and paid the insurance besides making a room for her weeks before she awoke from her long coma. She knew that her wreck and coma had been a burden to him both financially and emotionally. Fortunately, her medical insurance was going to pay for the majority of her time in the hospital and all the doctor bills. It would also cover about the same for her ongoing care and the birth of her baby. She had no idea when she could go back to work, but she would look for ways to make Jake’s life easier and start paying back some of her debt to him. A great chunk of it could never be repaid and was given without expectation.

  She was grateful to Jake for loving her and doing everything he could think of to bring her back. Without him and the great light she was sure she would not be here today very much alive and renewed. She had strong memories of the great light that took her away and how it had protected her from terrible pain. She often wondered if the light was part of the coma or the other way around. It was a long time before she realized that the coma and the light were two separate events.

  Every now and then she would experiences snatches of memory about the light and its power, but she could never hold on to the fragments long enough to make any sense of them. Mostly she just remembered the enormous sense of wellbeing and protection that pour over and around her as she moved through the nurturing warmth of the big bright envelope that cared for her when she was in the most danger. It had transformed her life in many ways. She was very sure that her everyday experiences, which were
taken for granted before the accident, were couched in a rich and loving atmosphere that she could just barely imagine and certainly failed to acknowledge until now. The reassurance and safety lavished on her in the light were imprinted permanently on her soul and she knew she would forever be supported and encouraged in ways she never dreamed were possible.

  Each day she thanked her brother and the light. Each day she hoped it would be the last one in the hospital. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t do for herself now, though it took longer than usual because of the baby’s size. She salivated for a big dose of fast food, a large bed, and lots of fresh air. As this day wore on she was losing hope that this would be her last in the hospital. But it was.

  Late in the day Jake arrived with a small satchel and announced that he was taking her home. He said that the doctor would arrive in a few minutes with her discharge papers, some instructions, a prescription for vitamins for her and the baby and a wheelchair for her to ride out to the car. He said they should gather up her meager belongings, cards and trinkets and be ready to leave.

  She smiled broadly at Jake and admired how prepared he always was. He had brought a new pair of maternity pants, a big T-shirt, coat, shoes and a stocking cap. Not pretty, but functional. There was no underwear, but she didn’t care. It was actually early spring he announced, but still cold, as he took a pair of gloves out of the bag. Then he excused himself while she changed out of her hospital gown into clothes for the first time in a very long time. Jake had taken everything away she had with her from the wreck. What was left was a pair of slippers and a soft cotton robe, both provided by her good brother. There was the vase that he had always filled with flowers every Sunday; but she left the small dish of peppermint candy he always brought for the nurses. There was a stack of greeting cards and a few small stuffed animals, an unused bottle of lotion and the thick book of baby names.

  Jake returned shortly with the doctor right behind him. There were papers to be signed and some last instructions about resting, taking care for the baby and eating well. The vitamins were for daily use and her doctor wanted to see her at his office every week through the birth and for some time afterwards. He guessed that she was about ten to twelve weeks from delivery and he wanted to be prepared as she would probably have a cesarean birth. He said he knew for certain that her baby was in great health and growing rapidly. His eyes twinkled and he spoke with affection and care. Sarah had a picture flash in her mind of him holding her hand while she was in her coma. She smiled in gratitude.

  Then he said, “I have been very proud to be a part of your return to health. In fact, I have kept a detailed diary of your entire time with us. It is going to be published in a medical journal dedicated to the treatment of head injuries and I’m going to give you half of the money. It’s only about $15,000.00 but it should tide you over until you are back on your feet. There may be some people who will want to interview you as well, and they expect pay you for that.

  “You are a very rare case. Most patients who come in as physically damaged as you were and already in a coma don’t wake up and those who do wake up are usually so impaired that they cannot live normally. You are the first case we have ever seen at this hospital where our patient is going home to a normal life and will only return to have her baby which grew remarkably well during the coma. It’s amazing and miraculous. You are astonishing.” Most of the doctor’s review of her case was exactly right, but Sarah’s life would never again be normal by any standard. It would forever be extraordinary. Sarah hardly knew what do say. What a stroke of luck that she had been in the care of this doctor and that he had kept a record of her condition good enough for publishing. And then to give half the money to her was astounding. She threw her arms around him and gave him a hug filled with appreciation. She had big tears in her eyes and thanked him over and over. He beamed under her appreciation and said that it was his honor to be a part of such an amazing event.

  An orderly arrived with the wheelchair. Jake carefully guided Sarah into it and set the satchel so she could hold it on her lap. He and the doctor escorted her as the orderly pushed her out of the room down the long hall (which always seemed ever so familiar to Sarah) and down to the lobby in the elevator. All along the way nurses and hospital staff waved goodbye and wished her well. They stopped on the outside of the entrance while Jake went for his car.

  The doctor handed her his card and said, “Be sure to call me instantly if you have questions or there is anything you don’t understand. ”And then he added. “I’d be glad to hear from you even if you just wanted to have cup of coffee. ”She looked at the doctor and smiled and said she would as she put the card into the bag. She was touched by his generosity and surprised at his gesture of friendship. She knew for sure she’d take him up on his offer.

  Jake arrived with his car and came around to open the passenger door. He and the orderly helped Sarah out of the wheelchair and into the front passenger seat and closed the door. Jake set the satchel in the back seat. The orderly and the doctor both waved as they returned to the hospital lobby and Jake went around the car and got in. He turned and with joy in his eyes he asked, “Are you ready, Sarah? ”She nodded that she was; Jake put the car in gear and they were on their way home.

  When they arrived at his small rambler he hurried around to open the door for Sarah. She said, “You know Jake, I think I want to get out by myself. I’m really quite strong and healthy. You can take the bag though. ”She put her legs out first and then stood, walked a few steps toward the house and threw up her arms to breathe deeply from the outside air. She had not been out of her room for a long time and the hospital air was always so clean. The fresh spring air was filled with richness and Sarah went up to the bench on the porch and sat down. Jake hurried behind her and asked if she was tired. She said no, she wasn’t, just enjoying doing something that was as ordinary as sitting on a bench in fresh air in a nice neighborhood in the company of her loving brother.

  Jake smiled and sat down on the bench with her. He took her hand and wanted to cry. He was so relieved that what the doctor had said was right. Sarah was back, all of her, and he was overjoyed. He stood and walked to the door before Sarah could notice his emotions and said, “I’ll leave the door unlocked for you. ”She smiled and continued to enjoy sitting on the bench in the refreshing spring air.