by E A Owen
As I walked out my bedroom door, I swung my backpack around my shoulder and slipped my hat on while I thought, “Kentucky, here we come.”
My dad was tapping his foot by the front door and let out a big sigh. “Finally!” he said with frustration.
I just shook my head and walked outside without saying a word. The sun was just coming up over the mountains, and a cool breeze tickled the back of my neck and sent chills down my body. I turned around as my dad was just locking the door. “Dad, I need to grab a hoodie quick before we leave.” My dad just gave me that look, like I better hurry or he was going to lose it. I grabbed the first hoodie I could find hanging in the closet behind the front door and yanked it off the hanger, which fell to the floor with a clang. I just kicked it to the back and slammed the door shut, then took off to the car, threw my backpack in the back seat, and climbed into the passenger seat. My dad was in the driver’s seat just seconds later.
It was a long drive to Kentucky, five and a half hours, and Dad and I took turns picking songs on the radio but didn't say much. It was a relaxing drive. I just gazed out the window enjoying the view. I love the outdoors and traveling to new places. I had never been to Kentucky before, and neither had Dad. I broke the silence.
“Have you thought much about how we are going to find Nicole and her parents?”
“I figured, since Olive Hill is a small town, it shouldn't be too hard. Just stop at a few businesses and ask if they know them. If I remember correctly, his name is James and his wife is Katherine, and of course there's Nicole.” My dad has always been great with names, which is a good thing because without names it was hopeless. We only met them that one time at Julia's house that first day. I just shrugged. It was worth a try. We might get lucky.
***
When we finally made it to Olive Hill, Kentucky we stopped at a small diner on the edge of town to grab a bite to eat before starting our investigation. The place was small, with just a few booths and tables. There was a young, pretty girl with long, golden blonde hair standing behind the counter. She looked up and smiled when we walked in. We seated ourselves at a booth in the corner by a window. The girl walked over to our table with two glasses of water, pulled straws out from her apron and set them on the table in front of us.
“Good afternoon! How are you fine gentleman doing on this beautiful day?” the waitress asked cheerfully.
“We're just fine. How about yourself?” my dad asked.
“I'm good! You actually came at the perfect time. We just finished up cleaning from our lunch rush.”
“Perfect! We would just like two cheeseburgers with all the fixings. I'll take fries, and Trevor here will have some onion rings. I want a Pepsi to go with my meal,” my dad said with confidence like he had been to the place a hundred times.
“And I will take a…” The waitress interrupted me.
“I'm sorry, sir, but we only have Coke products here.”
“Then I will just take a root beer.” She was jotting down our order on a pad of paper and looked up at me, waiting for my response.
“And I will take a sprite please,” I said softly, quickly looking away from her glance. She turned and walked away.
“Some of these small places seem to take forever to make your food. I just hope we don't sit here and waste half our day waiting,” my dad said impatiently as he was looking around the diner, checking the place out.
Not even ten minutes later she came over with our plates, set them down, and then walked back with our drinks and asked if we needed anything else. “Nope, everything looks just fine, thank you!” We ate in silence. It didn't take us much time to finish our meals. Once we were done, our waitress came over with our check.
My dad didn't even look at the bill. He just pulled money out of his wallet, and while he was handing her the money, he said, “Miss, by chance do you know a family here in town named James, Katherine, and Nicole?”
“I'm sorry, sir, but those names don't sound familiar.”
“Okay, thanks anyways, and keep the change,” my dad replied.
“Thank you, sir! I hope you find who you are looking for and you both have a wonderful day!” the waitress said with a smile as she turned and walked away.
“Well, it was worth a try,” Dad said. He looked deep in thought.
I broke the silence after a few minutes. “I guess we can just drive around and stop and ask at a few places, and maybe we will get lucky, Dad.” The waitress started walking back over to our table.
“I don't know if this will help you at all, but I do know a girl named Nikki. I'm not sure her last name, but she works weekends at the local ice cream shop a couple blocks from here, a place called the Cyclone. You might want to stop by there and check it out. She might be working. Maybe she is the Nicole you are looking for.”
“Thanks for your help. Which direction is the ice cream shop?” My dad stood up and grabbed the car keys off the table. The waitress pointed in the direction while I took one last swig of my soda, and we were on our way.
We pulled up to the Cyclone. It was easy to spot with the big spinning ice cream cone on the edge of the parking lot. A couple of people were standing outside the take-out window. “Feel like having an ice cream, Trevor?”
“Not really, Dad. I'm stuffed!” We got out of the car and walked up to the window. I tried peeking through the windows to see if I could spot Nicole working, but I didn't see her. Dad and I waited in line for a few minutes while the people in front of us ordered and paid for their ice cream. A young girl with wavy, strawberry blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes asked us if we knew what we wanted.
“We are actually looking for Nicole. Is she working today?” my dad asked, glancing from side-to-side.
“She actually comes in for her shift at 4:00. Can I get you some of our world-famous huckleberry ice cream? I promise you won't be disappointed,” the girl said with a reassuring smile, showing her perfectly straight, shiny white teeth that sparkled in the sunlight. She was very pretty and had a cute Kentucky accent.
“Never tried huckleberry before, but I will take your word for it. Just one scoop for me is fine. How about you, Trevor? Want to try a scoop?” My dad glanced my way.
“Sure, I think I can squeeze in one scoop!” But I knew right away I was going to regret it.
What are we going to do for the next two hours, just sit here and wait for Nicole to come in for her shift? I thought as I kicked a couple rocks out of the way. We grabbed our ice cream and sat down at the picnic tables under a big oak tree. The leaves were starting to turn: red, orange, and yellow. Fall is my favorite season. Not too hot. Not too cold. Just a beautiful time of year. I heard that the foliage in the New England states is the prettiest anywhere. I hope I can experience it for myself someday.
I took my first bite of the famous huckleberry ice cream and my taste buds burst with an intense, very unique flavor. My first choices are usually black raspberry or mint chocolate chip, but during the holidays it’s peppermint stick. You can usually only buy peppermint stick in November and December, but you best stock up because they sell out fast and only have a limited supply. My mom usually picks up about ten cartons of it and stashes it in our deep freeze in the basement.
I hadn’t really thought much about my mom lately, and now I thought how weird it would be when she came home. It had been kind of nice not having her around, and that thought made me feel awful for thinking that about my own mother. But it was exhausting taking care of her, keeping the house clean, finding time to do homework and going to school every day. I reminded myself it would be a completely different environment at home with no alcohol in the house and my mom completely sober. Maybe we would finally start doing things as a family again, like all the trips we used to take. Maybe when Julia got better, she could go on some trips with us.
“What's on your mind, son?” my dad said with a concerned expression.
“I was actually just thinking about Mom and how different things will be when she finally
comes home.”
“They will definitely be different. We can visit her tomorrow on our way home. Can you believe we haven't seen your mom in over six weeks?” my dad asked.
“I know what you mean. It's strange. I don't think I'd ever been away from Mom for an entire day since I was born until she went into rehab. But since the accident, it's like I forget anyone else exists when I'm with Julia, Mom too. I like the way she makes me feel, even when she can't hold a conversation with me. Just her presence makes my heart smile. It’s hard to explain, Dad. She's just…special!” I said, feeling my cheeks getting a little warm.
“I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way about your mother when we first met. I couldn't get enough of her. But of course, she didn't know that. I had to play it cool, hard to get.”
“But why, Dad? If you liked her so much, why didn't you just tell her?”
“Well, Trevor, your mom was popular in school. She could have any guy she wanted. I didn't want to try too hard and embarrass myself if your mother didn't like me the way I liked her. We were in the same homeroom, and we had Biology and Chemistry together, and her locker was right next to mine. So, I got to see your mom every day. I always thought she had the prettiest smile. She could light up a room when she walked in. I, on the other hand, was not popular. I was quiet and shy. I got really good grades in school and studied a lot. I wanted to get a full scholarship to college. I was the Salutatorian in our graduating class. Your mom was really impressed with how smart I was. She asked if we could do a science project together, and of course I agreed. Your mom was ecstatic that we got an A+ on our project she kissed me on the cheek. See, your mom was really bad in Science, on the brink of flunking out of the class. After that she asked if I would come over to her place and help her with homework and to study for tests and help her with projects. And that’s how it all started.”
My father and I talked about everything under the sun, and before we knew it, it was almost time for Nicole, if this Nikki was in fact Nicole, to start her shift. We never talked about what we expected to happen once we broke the news to her family. We were desperate and didn't know of any other alternative into finding relatives of the Hendricks.
A light jade Subaru pulled into the parking lot and a girl resembling Nicole stepped out, but it was hard to tell for sure if it was her since the car was parked on the other side of the parking lot.
“Dad, I think that's Nicole!” I said as I stood up. We walked quickly toward the car.
“If that's her parents in the car, we need to stop them before they leave,” Dad said as we started running now.
“Nicole!” I yelled. She turned around with a confused look on her face. As we got closer, Nicole recognized me.
“Trevor, is that you?” she asked, surprised. “Is Julia with you?” she said as she brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. My expression must have given it away because Nicole's smile turned very quickly. “What are you doing here?” she asked. Both of Nicole's parents stepped out of the car. I turned to my dad because I didn't want to be the one to break the news to her. I was at a loss for words anyway. It felt like a big lump had formed in my throat.
“James, Katherine, Nicole…,” my dad said with a shaky voice. “We have some terrible news! Julia and her parents were in a horrible car accident a week ago. Alex and Janessa…were killed!” my dad choked out. “And as for Julia….she is in a coma.” My dad dropped his head and wiped a tear. Nicole covered her face in her hands and started to cry uncontrollably. “I'm so sorry that we had to tell you this way. We don't know anything about the Hendricks and we were hoping you could help us contact their family and let them know what has happened. We didn't know who else to contact. I've only come to a bunch of dead ends.”
There was complete silence for what seemed like eternity. I could hear the wind rustling the leaves, birds chirping in a nearby tree. I walked over to Nicole and wrapped my arms around her, trying to comfort her. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with tears, and as she blinked they streamed down her cheeks like a cascading river of sadness. A few moments later, Nicole broke the silence.
“When can I see Julia?” Nicole choked out as she wiped her cheeks. She glanced at my dad, then back at me.
“You'll have to discuss that with your parents. We are heading back first thing tomorrow morning,” my dad replied. Nicole walked over to her parents, said something quietly, as her dad nodded and walked away. Just a few minutes later he returned.
“Why don't we head back to our place. We can talk this over and see if we can be of any help,” James said in a slightly shaky voice.
“That sounds good. We'll follow you,” my dad replied with a forced smile, and we turned and walked toward our car.
***
Three days later, Nicole and her parents were on their way to Virginia. The funeral was set for 4:00 at Bedford Funeral Home on Rock Castle Road. It took only three days to contact the Hendrick's family and for them to arrange travel plans to make it to the funeral. It felt kind of awkward, meeting all their family for the first time on such a sad, unfortunate day, and I was starting to get nervous. I wished Julia could be here. It was really sad that Julia can't attend her own parents’ funeral, but the doctors said she needed to be in a medically induced coma for at least two weeks due to her brain swelling after her head injury in the car crash. My dad mentioned that funerals usually take place two to three days after someone dies but can sometimes take longer depending on travel arrangements families have to make. With head injuries, the doctor informed us, it's hard to say how long it will take Julia to wake out of her drug-induced coma. The doctor mentioned it may take several weeks, months, or even the worst-case scenario, years for her to wake up.
After seeing photographs of the car crash in the local newspaper, I couldn’t believe that Julia survived at all. The car was crushed, which makes it a miracle she even survived. It sent chills to the bone just thinking about it.
***
The service was nice, and Julia's parents were buried at Blue Ridge Memorials Gardens. After the service we all went together to an upscale restaurant, Luigi's Gourmet Italian Restaurant, in Roanoke. The menu was huge, with enough choices to give anyone a headache. I swear it took a good twenty minutes for everyone to finally decide on what they wanted to eat.
After dinner Julia's family left for their hotels for the night. Everyone was leaving in the early morning hours to catch their flights back home. Nicole and her parents stayed at our place for the night. We have a guest room with a private bathroom that hadn't been used in years. We stayed up most the night, the parents in the dining room playing poker and drinking while Nicole and I sat in the living room watching a movie and eating popcorn.
The next morning Nicole and her family headed back home.
X
The Coma
I came to visit Julia every day for the last nine weeks now. The doctor just told me that, the longer she stays in a coma the better the chances of her waking up with brain damage. Dr. Harris stopped administering the medication to keep her in a coma two week after the accident, enough time to stop the swelling of the brain. Her vitals remained stable, but there had been no increase in brain activity. Dr. Harris said, the brain is so unpredictable, she could wake up in a day, a week, a month, maybe even years from now.
With both her parents’ dead, I'm not even sure, she wanted to wake up. I only met Julia a few weeks before the accident, but I felt such a close connection to her that I hated leaving her side. I knew I couldn’t do much, just sit by her bedside, hold her hand, and tell her everything was going to be okay. I talked to her as if she could hear me. I told her how school was going and how my mom was doing, just normal day to day stuff I would talk to her about if she was coherent and could respond.
Sometimes I even paused, waiting, hoping for a response, hoping for a two-sided conversation, but she just lay there with her eyes closed, unresponsive, not moving. All I heard was the machine that produced the oxygen to keep
her alive.
***
Each day I visited Julia, I fell for her even more. She was so innocent, and now her life was so tragic.
My dad had been awesome through this whole ordeal. He was busy working five days a week, and we visited Mom every Sunday; but he dropped me off at the hospital every day after school to visit Julia and picked me up. He knew how much she meant to me and that she had no one else right now, but he also had talks with me about not getting too attached because even the doctors had no clue how long she would be in this coma for. He also said he didn't want me throwing my life away on just hopes and dreams.
“There is so much you could be doing with your life right now,” he said recently. “For instance, spending more time on homework and studying so you can keep your grades up in school.”
But I couldn’t focus even if I tried. Julia was all I could think about. “Life isn't fair!” I told him. “She is so young and has her whole life ahead of her. And if she ever wakes up from this coma, her whole world will be completely turned upside down. I get deep in thought some nights, just lying in bed, trying to fall asleep and thinking about how different things will be for Julia—how she will grow up with no parents. How they won't be there for her high school graduation or to help her through college if she decides to go. They won't be there for birthdays or holidays. They won't be there for her wedding or the birth of any babies she may have or see them grow up…. This really breaks my heart into pieces, just thinking about it! I care so much for Julia that I don't want to see her hurt, and she is going to hurt a lot when she wakes up.
My dad said, “Maybe this coma is a blessing in disguise. To let her body heal from the accident, but also maybe to strengthen her heart and mind to be strong because she is in for a real whirlwind storm for the rest of her life. You are right that Julia doesn't deserve any of this. She is a great person and her parents were amazing people. All I can tell you, son, is that life can be really cruel sometimes. Your entire world can change in just a blink of an eye.”