Green Stone Ring

by Staible, Karleen

  It was agreed.

  “Give me your contact information, and I’ll get back to you with the time.”

  Ric pulled a business card out of his small case in his pocket. He took a pen and underlined his cell number. Franco put out his hand, open palmed, to Ric for the pen. He took Ric’s card, and on the back, he wrote his name and cell number. Then he handed the pen back to Ric and the card to the reverend.

  “Thank you for your help, Father,” Franco said. He got up, knelt before the cross, and moved his hand to his forehead and across his chest. Then he walked to the back of the chapel to Dr. Nelson.

  Ric stood up. “We appreciate your help and thank you for the beautiful prayer, Reverend Gilbert. I think it touched both of our hearts. Please, keep Gini in your prayers. I don’t want to lose her. I love her so deeply.”

  “I’ll keep her in my prayers as I will you and Mr. Legotti.”

  Linda took Franco to the administration office.

  “I’d like to stay somewhere close,” Franco said.

  “There’s a nice hotel just across the town square,” the woman behind the desk said. “Would you like me to get you a room there?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “They’ll arrange a rental car for you as well.”

  “Do they have a restaurant? I think I need to get some food in my stomach.”

  The woman turned. “Adam, are there any restaurants open this time of night?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Not even the bar at the hotel?”

  “They close at midnight.”

  “I’ll call down to the cafeteria,” she said smiling. “They’ll bring something up.”

  Ric walked up beside Linda.

  “Ric, they’re bringing food for Franco, do you want something?”

  “No, thanks. I’m going back to Boston. I need to sleep.”

  “Okay, drive carefully.”

  He walked over to Franco. “Listen, why don’t you stay at your condo.” His voice was weary.

  “They got me a room here in town. Where will you stay?”

  “I’m going back to my house.” He patted Franco on the shoulder and then left the hospital.

  Robert walked out to the nurse’s station.

  “Are you going to be here all night, Dr. Young?” the nurse asked.

  “I’m heading home. I just wanted to make sure Mrs. O’Brien was settled for the night. My two patients seem to be holding their own for now. Please, page me if either of their conditions change.”

  “I will. I think it’s been a long day for you.”

  “Yes, I can live without days like this.”

  Ric couldn’t sleep. He was up early and out the door. He walked up to the nurse’s station in the ICU at seven-ten.

  “May I help you?” a nurse from behind the counter asked.

  Ric saw her name tag, Debbie Pierce, RN.

  “I’m Ric Santini, here to see Gini, ah, Virginia Anderson, please.”

  Debbie looked at the patient list. “We don’t have a Gini Anderson,” she said in a clipped tone.

  She leaned over and put her purse under the counter in a drawer.

  “I’m sorry, I meant Virginia Legotti.”

  “I don’t see your name either.”

  Another nurse came in and sat down. “Go tend to your patients, Debs; I’ll help him.”

  “Let’s start again,” she said with a pleasant smile. “My name is Lisa. How can I help you?”

  “I’m Ric Santini. I would like to visit Virginia Legotti.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Lisa looked at the list of visitors permitted to see the patients in the unit. She turned to face the small room behind the desk.

  “Debbie, is Dr. Young in yet?”

  Debbie walked out of the room with a handled box with medical supplies in one hand and folded towels in the other.

  “He’s in his office. He’ll be down in a minute.”

  “I’m here,” Dr. Young said, coming up to the station.

  “Good morning, Doctor,” Lisa said.

  “You’re here early, Mr. Santini.”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I’d like to be with Gini.”

  Debbie walked past, giving a disapproving look toward Ric.

  “Go ahead and sign in. Lisa, put Mr. Santini down for visitation fifteen minutes in the a.m. and fifteen minutes in the p.m. Also, add Mr. Legotti for fifteen minutes each.”

  After Ric signed in, Dr. Young led him to Gini’s room. The doctor held his badge to a sensor panel, and the door slid open. Debbie was talking to the night nurse, Bruce, in Gini’s room.

  “How can you be so cheerful after a twelve-hour shift?” Debbie asked.

  “Twelve hours? I’ve been here for sixteen. Debbie, this is the best time of the day. The sun is rising, the birds are singing, and the air is fresh and clean to start a new day. How could you not be happy? And besides, now I can have a nice hot cup of coffee, and no one will interrupt me.”

  The two continued to sign over the patient from one to the other.

  Ric walked to the side of the bed and took Gini’s hand.

  “Debbie, let’s start with Mr. O’Brien and give Mr. Santini some private minutes with our patient here.”

  “Let me finish the check-off list, and I’ll meet you in Mr. O’Brien’s room.”

  Dr. Young and Bruce left the room together.

  Ric took Gini’s hand. He leaned over and kissed her cheek and then sat down. “I hope you had a better night’s sleep than I did, Gins.” He paid no attention to Debbie. “I missed holding you in my arms sleeping.”

  Debbie took the check-off list with her and left the room. She walked to the station and exchanged the list for the check-off list for Mr. O’Brien.

  “Isn’t he the most gorgeous man you have ever seen?” Lisa asked. “In his three-piece suit, crisply ironed shirt, and beautiful tie?”

  “Oh, Lisa,” Debbie said giving her a look.

  “He can visit often and stay long,” Brian, the other nurse at the station, said. “He must be a model. He looks like he just walked off the cover of one of those Hollywood magazines.”

  “Stop,” Debbie said walking away. “Both of you.”

  Debbie walked into Mr. O’Brien’s room and started the check-off list. Dr. Young was examining his patient.

  “I’m sorry to see him in here again,” Debbie said.

  “I think you had a busy day yesterday.” Debbie laid the tablet on the rolling table. “What time did he come in?”

  “Midmorning.” Robert checked Mr. O’Brien’s eyes. “Right eye clear and reactive. Left eye widened pupil.”

  Debbie wrote the information on the electronic patient record. She picked up Mr. O’Brien’s hand.

  “And Mrs. Legotti?” Debbie asked.

  “She arrived a little before noon. We were in surgery for over six hours.”

  “Wow, I’m glad I had the day off.”

  “Lucky you.” Robert smiled.

  “When did you go home last night?”

  “I guess it was around one o’clock when I got to my place.”

  “Such dedication.”

  She wrapped Mr. O’Brien’s fingers around her hand with her palm up and then straightened his fingers. The elderly man’s knuckles were knobby and bent.

  “You are aware you could take a day off now and then.”

  “Who would take care of my patients?”

  “I can see why you are still single.”

  “I don’t see you with a family and being a stay-at-home mom.”

  “Well, at least I’m in a relationship.”

  Mr. O’Brien groaned and reached up and grabbed Dr. Young’s upper arm.

  “Good morning,” Robert said.

  The older man acted frightened and confused. The left side of his face sagged. Robert patted his hand.

  “It’s okay, Mr. O’Brien,” he said in a soothing voice. “Remember, you’re in the hospital. We are taking good care of you. Your favorite nu
rse, Debbie, is here.”

  The man slowly turned his head and looked at her.

  “Mr. O’Brien, can you give me a squeeze?” She leaned close to his face and smiled. “Just a little squeeze,” she repeated.

  The man closed his eyes.

  “It’s okay; we’ll try again later.” She looked at Robert and shook her head.

  Ric was softly running his hand over the top of Gini’s left hand. Her usually long beautiful nails were chipped and broken. Her knuckles were scraped and bruised, and her thumb was swollen, black and blue.

  “I’d give anything if we could go to Lazy Daze Spa today, anything in the world.”

  Ric heard the door swish open just as his cell phone vibrated. He reached into his pocket and took out his phone.

  “You can’t use those in the ICU,” Debbie said curtly.

  He put the phone back into his pocket.

  “Your fifteen minutes are up!”

  Ric stood up still holding Gini’s hand. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “See you this afternoon, sweet Gins.” He kissed her hand and laid it on the bed.

  “Thank you, Ms. Pierce, for taking care of Gini,” he said sincerely. “You just don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

  “That’s fine.” She didn’t look at him.

  The door swished again, and Dr. Young walked in.

  “I think this isn’t such a good time to visit,” Ric said to Robert.

  “We encourage loved ones to visit when they can. We know you must go on with your lives so we try to be as accommodating as we can. But the 7:00 a.m. shift change tends to be a little busy.”

  “I’ll come later tomorrow.”

  Dr. Young stepped into the room, and Ric left.

  “Debbie, you seem a little hostile toward him.”

  “He’s just a pretty boy.” She walked to the bed. “It took him two tries to get her name right. He won’t sway me with his charm and good looks. Who is he, anyway?”

  “We’ll talk about it later, but don’t be too quick to judge.”

  He leaned over and looked at Gini’s eyes, lifting each of her eyelids open. “No change.” He let out a breath. “I hope I can convince her husband to let her go. This will be her life from now on. Surely, he doesn’t want this for her.”

  Debbie could see the compassion in Robert’s eyes and knew what he was talking about. Machines were needed to keep her alive.

  Ric went to the nurse’s station to sign out. “Is there somewhere I can use my cell phone?”

  He was directed to the glassed-in room.

  Ric checked his messages. He saw one from Reverend Gilbert telling him the meeting at the funeral home was set later in the morning for nine o’clock. He messaged back that he would be there. He had some time to kill. He needed to make some phone calls since he had told no one what had happened.

  After Robert and Debbie had finished examining Gini, they walked out to the nurse’s station.

  “Has Mr. Legotti come in?” Dr. Young asked.

  “No, sir,” Lisa said. “Who is Mr. Santini?”

  “Just so we can nip the gossip in the bud here,” Robert said. “Virginia is married to Mr. Legotti. However, they must be separated because she’s living with Mr. Santini. I don’t know the particulars. The twins she lost were fathered by one of the two men, presumably, and the paternity test results should be in this morning. I want to make it clear to everyone Mr. Legotti is still her husband and, therefore, he’s legally her guardian at this point, and our contact. We do not discuss her condition with anyone else unless otherwise advised. We’ll treat this case with discretion and respect and provide privacy just like we do for all of our patients.”

  “That goes without saying,” Lisa said.

  “Please page me when Mr. Legotti gets here,” Robert asked.

  Dr. Young went to finish the rest of his rounds.

  Debbie went into the small room behind the station.

  “If I had to choose,” Lisa said, “I’d choose Mr. Santini.”

  “Lisa,” Debbie said coming out of the room. “You haven’t even met her husband.” She stopped at the counter. “It’s hard to believe that young woman could be a harlot. Mr. Santini’s quite charming. Probably gets whatever he wants. He won’t sway me.”

  “Oh, Debs,” Lisa said smiling. “You need to lighten up.”

  Ric’s first call was Carol.

  “Ric,” she answered with a yawn in her voice.

  “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  “Heavens no. I’m on my way to the office. Are you in this morning?”

  “Carol.” There was silence.

  “Ric, everything okay?”

  “No, it’s Gini.”

  “What about Gini? It’s too early for her to have the babies. Ric, please, tell me.”

  “Gini was badly hurt yesterday. She has a serious head wound.”

  “Oh no, Ric!”

  “We lost the babies last night.” He rubbed his head, and there was a lump in his throat. “And I think I’m going to lose her too.”

  “Ric! How did this all happen? You aren’t hurt, are you?”

  “No, no. She was involved in that accident on Atlantic Avenue.”

  “Oh, my gosh!” There was silence again. “They did say there was a pregnant lady, but they said she had—” Carol stopped. “Ric, please tell me where you are. I need to be with you.”

  “I’m okay, Carol. I won’t be in today.”

  “Of course not.”

  “I have to take care of some things. I have a meeting with the funeral home at nine for the babies’ burial.”

  She couldn’t bear it any longer. She started weeping. “Tell me what I can do? Anything, Ric, tell me what I can do.”

  “Just keep the business going. I don’t know what I’d do without you and James, all of you there really. They should be delivering the drawings today. Just put them in my office.”

  “Okay. Do you want me to call Val?”

  “No, he thinks a lot of Gini. I want to tell him myself. Will you tell everyone in the office for me?”

  “Of course. Ric, please keep in touch. I’m worried about you.”

  “Thank you, Carol, you’re a good friend, but I’m okay. I just want to stay close to Gini. I’ll call you again.”

  “Ric, we all love you. I’m so, so sorry.”

  He put his phone down on the couch and took in a deep breath as he stared out the window. Next, he called Victor.

  “Good morning, Ric. I hope it’s just as beautiful a day in Boston as it is in DC.”

  “Victor, I’m calling with bad news.”

  “Oh?” He put his phone on speaker and laid it on the table so Maria could also hear. They were eating breakfast.

  “Gini was in an accident yesterday. The babies were delivered early, and they passed away last night. She’s in critical condition with severe brain damage. I don’t think they expect her to live. It’s out of my hands. Franco, her husband, is in control of her destiny.” Ric stopped to catch his breath.

  Maria had her hand over her mouth. “Oh, honey, I’m coming to Boston, so I can be with you. I’ll catch the next train or plane.”

  “Maria, please don’t. I’m okay.”

  “You’re not okay. I can hear it in your voice. You’re devastated.”

  “I am, but please don’t come. There’s nothing you can do right now.”

  “You take care of what you need to do,” Victor said. “And you let us know how we can help.”

  “I will. I just wanted to tell you before you read it in the newspaper.”

  “Thank you for calling us,” Maria said. “We love you.”

  “I know, and I love you.”

  He had to make one more call. He had to call Val.

  “Val, this is Ric.”

  “Reek, I trrrust you meeting with the arkeytects went well.”

  “Yes, yes, it went well.” Ric stopped. Could he tell the story one more time? “Val,” he started. “Gini.” He stopped
. The words were stuck. He cleared his throat and then told Val what had happened.

  “No, mi chica. You must brrring her to Fort Lauderdale. I will hire thee best doctors in the world. Brrring her here.”

  “She can’t travel. She has a wonderful team around her here. But thank you for the offer. You might want to hire someone else to help with the project. I’m not sure if I’ll have time to work on it for a while.”

  “Eet eeays ok, Reek. We can poot it aside for now. You take care of mi chica, Geenay.”

  “Thanks, I will.”

  He put his phone down. With his face in his hands, he started to cry. Dr. Young returned to the unit and saw Ric in the room. He gently tapped on the door and walked in.

  “Rough morning!”

  He sat down and put his hand on his shoulder.

  Ric nodded his head. “I’ve been calling friends.”

  “That’s always hard. I’d be glad to help.”

  “Thank you,” Ric said taking his hanky out of his pocket. “I think I’ve called them all.”

  “Does Mrs. Legotti have other family in town?”

  “No,” Ric said, breathing deep. “They’re in Sacramento. I suppose someone should tell them.”

  Robert could see Ric was weary. “Give me their contact information. I’ll call them. I also need to have her employer’s number so I can find out her insurance coverage.”

  “Gini works with Catherine White in Washington, DC.” He took out his wallet, went through a small stack of cards, and handed the doctor Catherine’s.

  When Ric arrived at the funeral home, Reverend Gilbert came out to the parking lot to greet him. Once inside, they sat down.

  The receptionist walked to them. “Reverend.”

  “We are waiting for Mr. Legotti. This is Mr. Santini.”

  “We’re ready for you when Mr. Legotti gets here. Please, help yourselves to the coffee and donuts.” She turned around and went back to the reception desk.

  “Have you heard from Mr. Legotti this morning?” the reverend asked.

  “No. I’ve been at the hospital. I didn’t see him there.”

  The two men sat without conversation. The reverend looked at his watch at nine-fifteen. Ric was aware of the reverend’s impatience. About fifteen minutes later, Franco walked in the door talking on his cell phone.