“Shannon!” Chuck called, “we have to go to the hospital! Brad’s been shot!”
“Wait!” Bobbi grabbed his arm, and pulled him around to face her. “What did you say?”
He looked in her eyes, and spoke with patronizing clarity. “Brad ... has been shot.”
“What?”
“Shot. With a gun. We have to get to University Hospital.”
“That’s impossible.” He was just there with them a few hours ago. The aroma of the roast and homemade bread from his birthday dinner still hung in the kitchen. He couldn’t be ...
“Bobbi, we need to go.” He pushed her toward the front door, flipping off lights as he went. She could hear Chuck talking, but his words weren’t registering with her.
“Mom?” Shannon met them in the entry hall, terror in her eyes. “What happened?”
Bobbi shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“But he’s gonna be okay, right?”
“Of course.” Of course, he’d be okay. He was young and strong. And shot. That had to be a misunderstanding. Shot at, maybe. That she could believe. That had to be what happened. In the car, she reached her right hand back between the seat and the door, and Shannon immediately seized it.
Chuck drove like a maniac, but she knew better than to say anything to him. At every red light, he made another phone call. Their son, Joel. Her sister, Rita. Their pastor. He kept saying “Brad’s been shot. I don’t know any details.” It was so bizarre, so unreal to hear her son’s name and “shot” in the same sentence. People she knew didn’t get shot. Shootings were for the eleven o’clock news.
Jack ran to them as soon as they bustled through the automatic doors to the emergency room. Bobbi immediately noticed his shirt was inside out. Why ...? He threw his arms around her neck and sobbed. “I’m sorry ... Mom, I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? For what?” Bobbi asked gently.
“We thought it was ... Brad thought so too ...”
“Thought what?”
Jack took a deep breath. “An old man came in the mission ... Just ... some of the things he said. We ... We both thought he could’ve been my mom’s dad ...”
“Reynolds?” Chuck asked. “Edward Reynolds was in the mission? Did he threaten you?”
Jack shook his head. “No, it wasn’t like that. He just asked a bunch of questions, like if I’d ever been to Baltimore.”
“Your mom was from Baltimore.”
“I know. That’s what Brad said. So we tried to catch up with him. We weren’t three blocks away before ...” He blinked back tears. “There were these guys on a street corner. And this big, black SUV cruised in. Brad said something was wrong. He threw me down, and that’s when he ...”
Bobbi hugged him tightly, and smoothed his hair, the way she did when he was a little boy. “It will be okay,” she whispered.
Jack sniffled, and took the tissue she offered him. “He’s in surgery, now. I haven’t heard anything else.”
“Where was he hit?” Chuck asked.
“Once in the chest,” Jack said, “but he was conscious and everything when the paramedics took him.”
“That’s good, right?” Shannon asked. “Conscious is a positive thing.”
Bobbi squeezed her hand. “Of course, it’s good, baby.” Brad. Once in the chest. Your heart was in your chest. But if he was conscious, he couldn’t have been shot through the heart. So he’s okay. He’d be okay.
Moments later, Rita and her husband, Gavin arrived. Chuck got directions to the surgery waiting rooms and the six of them headed for the elevator. Chuck filled the silence with details for Rita and Gavin. How many more times did she have to hear it?
“I called Danny,” Rita said. “He’s gonna drive straight through so he can get here.”
“I hate for him to do that,” Bobbi said. “His little ones ...”
“They were gonna get here tomorrow anyway. There was no arguing with him.”
“Sounds like someone else I know.”
Rita managed a smile. “He’s not due in Norfolk until July first, so they should have a good visit.”
“Brad’s looking forward to seeing him. Joel’s not on call this weekend, so it’ll be like old times. Joel’s ... where is Joel, Chuck?”
“He’s waiting on a delivery.”
“A delivery?”
“A baby. He’s doing the newborn exam. He’s got a call out for another pediatrician, so I’m sure he’ll get here as soon as he can.”
Good. She’d feel better with Joel here. But if Danny was driving through the night ... Was it that bad? She felt Shannon slip an arm around hers, and when the elevator doors opened, she felt the teenager’s grip tighten. Bobbi took Shannon’s hand, and followed Chuck and Jack to the waiting room.
“You had Brad’s birthday tonight?” Rita asked.
Bobbi turned her head slowly toward her sister. That was this evening, wasn’t it? “Yeah, Shannon teased him about being middle-aged now.”
“At thirty-five? I don’t want to know what that makes me.” Rita smiled, and patted Shannon’s arm.
“We laughed because Joel got called out, so that meant Brad had a fair shot at the pie. Then he and Chuck talked about the mission’s board meeting next week ...”
A man in scrubs. He slowly pulled his scrub cap off, and smoothed his hair. His face was drawn, his eyes weary. He had bad news. “Are you Brad’s family?” he asked, quietly.
Chuck extended a hand. “I’m his father and this is my wife.” Bobbi slipped her hand into Chuck’s, and she felt Shannon’s hand fall away from hers.
The surgeon surveyed the room, all the anxious eyes on him. “Mr. Molinsky, Mrs. Molinsky, I’m very sorry.”
A dark heaviness enveloped Bobbi. She knew the surgeon was talking, explaining to them what efforts his team made to save Brad’s life, but he sounded distant, as if she were hearing him from underwater. As her heart and mind reeled, trying to comprehend the reality that her son was dead, she caught random words - aorta, bleeding, rare. She was vaguely aware that Chuck and maybe Jack were trying to steady her, and then everything went black.
About The Author
After working several years as research chemist, Paula Wiseman was blessed with the opportunity to stay home with her children and follow the writer’s path. She has been published in several Cup of Comfort devotional books and in Life Savors for Women. Contingency: Book One: Covenant of Trust Series, her debut novel, spent time on the Amazon.com Christian Fiction bestsellers list, and was also the #1 Hot New Release in Christian Fiction. Indemnity is her second novel. Paula blogs on matters of life and faith at www.paulawiseman.com.
Indemnity: Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series Page 33