Elliott was sweating. Whoever had beaten Karin Myers had been foolish, very foolish. He had let the powers that be know that Cassie Summers was not to be touched, that the threat to them all was too great, everyone had agreed, or so he had thought. Karin Myers wasn’t willing to play anymore; she had them by the theoretical balls and had so for years. Someone though was greedy; someone wanted the monies that someone of Cassie Summers stature and the others that would come with her could generate. He wondered what the recourse would be, his superiors were furious as well, someone had screwed up big time, already there was a ‘leak’ and he knew how those things went. Somewhere, Karin Myers had a network of people who would release well placed ‘secrets’ in retaliation. If she died something monumental would be released, if her family, her sons, her fiancée or someone within her inner circle was touched, little tidbits would be released if not the whole torrent of information that would ruin many many lives, important and influential lives. He didn’t doubt for a moment that somewhere there was an expose written out in detail of what had happened all those years ago as well as secrets that she had kept over the years at Kreske’s. Fortunes would be lost, people imprisoned. He hadn’t missed that insinuation about her death that had been a thinly veiled threat. He and the powers that be were all in a jam, they were frantically trying to find out who had ordered the beating, if Karin Myers died they were all screwed.
“Cassie?” Alex and Caleb came into the room. The security guard at the door recognized them as two of the few allowed into this high security room. Karin Myers had round the clock security. Two guards at all times on four hours shifts that every two hours was alternately changed with a new guard from the same company so that no two were on the same four hour shift but rather two different every two hours.
Cassie looked up; she looked awful, nothing like the glamorous pictures in the tabloids or now on the television. Millions of people worldwide now knew who Cassie Summers was and that she was engaged to Karin Myers who was in critical conditions in a Nashville hospital. People were debating on same-sex marriage flocking to give their opinion on social media, reverends chiming in on national television to get their five moments of fame, politicians weighing in on the controversial subject, everyone had an opinion. The fact that Karin had been beaten had some saying she ‘deserved’ it, others were horrified and sympathetic, a lot of people who may have never heard of Cassie Summers or would normally have ignored the tabloids and media were having discussions about the GLBT community, country music, and checking out Cassie’s Southern Rock style. Good or bad the television had a million angles to wring every possible drop of information from this horrific event and Don would keep releasing tidbits of tantalizing information to keep them coming back for more.
“How’s she doing Cassie?” Alex asked quietly. They had been horrified when she called them to tell them of what had happened to their mother. Since Tennessee did not recognize same-sex relationships they had at first barred Cassie despite her fame from seeing Karin. Both boys had disabused them of that notion and raged at the hospital administration over their excluding Cassie from their mother’s room and care.
“She woke today, she tried to talk” she glanced back at Karin; her breathing had altered for a moment, the beeps of the incessant machines altering slightly as well. Her ears were already well trained to their sounds and meanings as she sat there day after day to watch over Karin.
“That’s good isn’t it?” Caleb asked.
Cassie looked back him marveling at the similarities in these two young men and their brave mother. The physical characteristics they shared and yet they were distinctive in their own good looks. “I don’t know, she’s passed out again, all we can do is wait.”
They could see how exhausted Cassie was and had insisted on taking turns watching their mother breath as the merciless machines beeped on keeping her hydrated and alive. They knew without even discussing it that their mother would want them to watch out for Cassie as well. They had taken her down to the coffee shop to get her out of the room but it was obvious she was happiest right here waiting to see if and when Karin woke up.
“Ms. Summers?” the doctor had learned to address Cassie as both boys insisted she was their mother’s partner and demanded that they respect that.
Both boys looked up from where they were vegetating in chairs on the far side. Cassie woke from the stupor she was in and looked up.
“Ms. Summers we need to have Ms. Myers moved to another facility. We can’t handle her security here; there are better facilities that can handle her care much better than our own here.” He didn’t tell her that the board of directors had decided that they didn’t want or need the hordes of people that flocked to the hospital trying to see the famous couple, to get the first word about them, the reports, the crowds of look-e-loos. “I’ve arranged to have her transported by air on a helicopter to the airport and then by private plane to New York.”
Cassie exchanged a look with the boys and then looked again at the doctor; she stayed quiet just long enough to make him uncomfortable. As he shifted on his feet she realized he was lying. She didn’t care that they didn’t want her or Karin here at this provincial hospital. She agreed that Karin needed the best care possible though and in New York she would have a lot more resources than in this burg. She was already annoyed with several of the doctors who had seen Karin and her injuries. The morbidly curious and the actual caring doctors were hard to distinguish. Karin was going to need a lot of therapy both physical and mental; she might need reconstructive surgery, if she survived. “Is it safe to move her?” she asked as her eyes pinned him to the spot.
“Not right now, we will determine in the next few days but the arrangements are made, if you would like to find doctors in New York…” he trailed off as she made him distinctly uncomfortable with her expression alone.
Cassie dismissed him with a wave her hand, she was disgusted by his attitude. She didn’t know if it was because of the notoriety, the fact that they were a same-sex couple in this provincial hospital, or what their problem was but she wasn’t going to let this go by unnoticed. She went out to call Don to make a few ‘statements’ on the family’s behalf and by nightfall everyone in Nashville and beyond knew a new point of view.
Cassie was astonished at the outpouring of love from not only the GLBT community but several singers from Nashville who had treated her like a pariah in the past couple of years sent cards, flowers, and even showed up to offer her their support. She didn’t know if they wanted to be seen coming or going from the hospital, it was a publicity game for many but she accepted their respects at face value and remembered that Karin was an expert at this game and would understand it better than she. Some that showed up though had in the past gotten favors from Karin, they showed up to show their appreciation and support to Cassie, for that she was grateful, feeling as though she was accepted despite her controversial coming out years before.
It took two weeks before Karin was strong enough for the transfer. By then Cassie had arranged for all the boxes that hadn’t been touched out in the garage to be moved to New York. Few of her own things hadn’t been destroyed in the house. A cleaning crew had been hired but still the stains of blood on the walls, the floor, and the smell never seemed to go away. Another crew was coming in to paint, strip, and redo parts of the damaged house as Cassie was putting it up for sale. She was moving to New York to stay in Karin’s apartment until Karin was well enough to make decisions for herself. Already she had woken several times, mumbled what could be considered words, and squeezed Cassie’s hands. Her progress was going to be painfully slow.
As Cassie sat on the balcony in New York with D.O.G. by her side looking up at her adoringly she wondered where she was at, this point in her life, it was frightening and her father had already visited once and couldn’t stand to stay in the room at the hospital where Karin was slowly healing. The good thing was she did have some of the best doctors in the world working on her. Her bandages had
lessened but by removing them it exposed the extent of her bruises and abrasions that were so incredibly slow to heal. It had been a horrible beating. Apparently she was doing well despite the extent of her injuries.
C.A.T. came out and Cassie eyed him suspiciously. He seemed to enjoy frightening her but she realized he was just a big pussy cat and D.O.G. perhaps sensing her unease had kept the cat occupied with playing when his stalking unnerved Cassie. She had woken up just that morning and realized the cat was stretched out next to her full body length. She knew both animals missed Karin and she was only a substitute until she came home.
The months in the hospital were painful for Karin. Her brain was functioning much better than they had thought it would considering the damage. Her attitude though was one of anger. She admitted to herself and the psychiatrist who visited her that she was angry. She was very angry. She wasn’t angry that she was in this position, she was angry to realize that they could have done this to Cassie. This mixed up logic defied explanation. The small plates that were discretely inserted into her scalp hid the damage that bat had caused, in fact one of the doctors was certain some bone regrowth was possible. Karin was a living experiment to several excited doctors. The bones in her cheeks while slightly altered gave her a look as though she were perpetually about to wink at the viewer, to Karin it made her feel as though she had had a stroke when they finally allowed her to see herself in a mirror. Her smile was different with the new teeth that had been drilled into her dental plates. Her nose had healed fairly well and with the inserts its modification was barely noticeable. Most of the change in Karin though was mental. She still had her amazing whip sharp mind most of the time but the anger inside her had altered more than they all knew. She sometimes frightened Cassie.
“She isn’t that ‘gay Southern Rock singer’” Karin said exasperatedly “She is that Southern Rock Singer who happens to be gay!”
The four of them were taking a meeting in Karin’s hospital room since she hadn’t been allowed to leave yet. The hospital wanted her to go to a rehabilitation home but Cassie and Karin both had put enough pressure to keep her in the hospital until she could walk on her own, something that had been in doubt briefly. Karin adjusted the strap on the sling holding her arm up and tried to sit up to be more comfortable in the bed. She leaned forward to emphasize her point to Don who was trying to explain his position.
Don was exasperated. Karin wasn’t very diplomatic these days. In the months since her accident she had become short and once her speech had come back in full force, demanding. She felt she had to help with Cassie’s career. Cassie allowed it since it gave Karin something to brood on besides being stuck in the hospital for months on end.
It also allowed that wonderful brain of hers to remain active. There were spots of her memory missing, possibly forever; the doctors were amazed how much she did have considering the damage that had been done to her. The F.B.I. had come in and she remembered nothing of the attack and couldn’t tell them anything, this concerned Cassie since it meant that whoever had done this was still out there. There were times though that she wondered if Karin’s memory was fragmented on purpose, selective memory and all that. There was a slyness that was there now and occasionally Cassie wondered what Karin was thinking.
Since the accident as they called it, Karin called it an attack, Cassie hadn’t performed or appeared anywhere. She had refused to record any songs, perform, or even appear anywhere. She had stayed devotedly by Karin’s side. Don was playing the PR as much as he could but the public and media were sick of the ‘devoted fiancée’ kick and he wanted Cassie performing and singing. The guys in the band were becoming restless too. Several of them had come to New York to see Cassie and were astonished by how wan she had become, no tan, no makeup, she looked almost skeletal as she stayed by Karin’s side. Karin had tried to get her to go out but Cassie refused, she was afraid to go anywhere without being a short taxi ride from Karin’s side. She went home daily but rarely went anywhere else. Groceries were delivered but the deliveryman was not allowed into the apartment. She had basically become a hermit.
Now they were arguing about semantics and Cassie smiled at the color that returned to Karin’s face as she argued her point. It didn’t really matter. The PR bandwagon had rocketed sales for Cassie’s latest songs into the stratosphere. Despite being ostracized years ago for breaking the code of lesbian silence in Nashville and the entertainment industry she was now a reluctantly accepted part of it all. Public opinion had swayed many people. Unfortunately she wasn’t capitalizing on it due to Karin’s recovery which was painfully slow.
“I’ll go when Karin can be by my side” she kept saying. She believed it too. They wouldn’t be apart if she could help it. She told no one of the thinly veiled threats she had gotten from time to time since Karin had been attacked. She was certain it was the same person but she didn’t know what to do. The F.B.I. had turned up little in the house and they were certain her attacker or attackers had worn gloves. Karin’s lack of memory on the subject didn’t help things. Meanwhile they lived in this kind of limbo as Karin pulled out of the death sentence they had nearly given her. Slowly, painfully she made progress and began to return to a semblance of normalcy. Her bruises faded, her scratches and abrasions healed to nice little white scars and some would fade away, but others would be there forever. Her bones healed very slowly, but it was her mind that wouldn’t heal as the easy anger showed. She wasn’t quite the Karin they had all known and in Cassie’s case loved.
“Ms. Myers, I believe you can go home. I’d like you to start out-patient therapy. Living at home you will feel better and we can arrange an in home nurse.” The doctor attempted to look happy for her but Karin looked at him blankly. Her eyes haunted many of the doctors, they had discussed it. Those dark green pools penetrated in an odd way. Her jaw, one of the few bones not crushed was stubbornly set on her new teeth. He couldn’t read her, the psychiatrist said it might take years for her to heal mentally, if ever.
“That’s terrific news!” Cassie chirped by her side where they sat side by side. “We will start interviewing for a nurse right away!”
“When will I walk without a walker?” Karin asked for the millionth time, she hated the restrictions on her personal freedom, having others take care of her. She was used to bustling activity, freedom of movement, she was now stiff and awkward, feel frequently without assistance and she wanted answers. The ones they gave her never satisfied her and she barked her anger at any in range. She only refrained where Cassie was concerned but seeing her anger at others frightened Cassie. She could see that fear and it bothered her.
As Cassie locked herself in the fortress that was their apartment she realized that here she felt safe. The hidden room she knew was her ultimate line of defense if intruders invaded. Although the apartment had always been cold with its clean lines she had become used to it. All of Karin’s things that had been moved from Wisconsin to Nashville and now here to New York were stored in one of the spare bedrooms waiting for Karin to unpack them. Her own things that she had salvaged from the house in Nashville were here as well. Fortunately most of her show wardrobe had been on the bus, in the plane, or in suitcases in between. What had been in the house had been pictures, trophies, and mementos. Some could be replaced and had been but the feeling of discomfort that the house now radiated she could not shake, it was why she wanted it gone, sold, and out of their lives.
She had been happy in this clean and cold apartment, with Karin. She wondered what her being home would mean. Karin was so cold, the anger was lying right below the surface these days. It was frightening to see as she verbally flayed people alive with it. Only to Cassie had she never lashed out. Her fear though was that she would. They only talked of superficial things or Cassie’s career. She wanted Cassie to go out, to perform, to sing, to record but Cassie adamantly refused. She could be as stubborn as Karin.
The apartment didn’t look much different. The walker and the wheelchair were unwelcome
additions as Karin looked around, she had never been this gone for so long from her apartment. The animals let her know it too. D.O.G. wagged himself sick at her return. C.A.T. insisted on sitting on her lap finding the novelty of the wheelchair an interesting idea as she rolled them both about.
Brock the male nurse that had been thoroughly vetted for Karin to help her would stay in the guest room. He would be relieved three days a week by Sylvia another nurse that had been recommended and passed their stringent guidelines. Both nurses were also bodyguards but only Karin knew this. She didn’t want to worry Cassie who appeared very nervous.
Cassie seemed to enjoy wheeling Karin around the apartment, always there to help her which began to annoy the independent Karin. She couldn’t fit comfortably on the small balcony and her attempts to get out there with the walker nearly had it flying over the side. Only Cassie’s timely interference kept it from sailing. “You can’t do that, imagine who it would hit?” she said exasperated at Karin’s temper tantrum.
Karin pleaded exhaustion and Cassie ended up bringing her dinner in bed because she ‘had to keep her strength up.’ Karin picked at the food, feeling on display and at Cassie’s mercy.
That night after Brock took her vitals and dispensed the meds she still had to take to alleviate the pain in her bones that were mended as well as the aches and pains of the joints affected by the attack, Karin waited until he went to his room and then she pretended to fall asleep until Cassie was sound asleep in the bed beside her. She then cautiously made her way to the office and settled with a sigh into the luxurious chair she kept there. D.O.G. settled with a sigh at her feet, happy to have her home at last. C.A.T. settled into ‘his’ chair as he watched with sleepy eyes as ‘his’ human worked her way onto the computer.
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