She let the darkness overtake her, seeking the bliss that shielded her from the pain.
MAXINE slowly opened her eyes. For the first time since the accident, she felt that the rational side of her brain had a little more control over the emotional. She didn’t know how much time had transpired since the first time she woke up, but it was a haze of panic and pain, of different faces and different voices, all soothing and calm while they did whatever they did before giving her the escape of the drug. Sprinkled among all the fleeting memories was Barry. Sometimes someone else in her family, but always Barry. Someone was always there when she opened her eyes, always smiling down at her and holding her hand.
She was in a different room than she remembered. This one was brighter, more open, lacking the constant beep and surge of machines. The walls were wallpapered with a pink and green floral design on a cream background, creating a very calming pattern.
She smelled fresh flowers. Carefully, to test her ability to move at all, she turned her head, surprised that nothing screamed in protest. There was a large window looking out onto the lawn of the hospital, and on a table in front of the window – actually, on the table, under the table, and to the sides of the table – were baskets and vases and jars of flowers. Every type of flower she could think of was represented, along with stuffed animals, balloons, and potted plants. She tried to smile, but her dry lips cracked.
“We’ve eaten all the chocolate, of course.” Robin appeared from behind her. The way she adjusted her shirt as she came into Maxine’s line of sight told her that her sister had been breast feeding the infant who was now propped on a shoulder.
“Of course.” Her voice sounded like nothing more than a harsh whisper. She tried to swallow, but her mouth felt like an arid desert complete with gritty hot sand.
“You couldn’t have flowers when you were in ICU, and by the time they moved you, the florists had such a backlog of orders that they brought them in waves, new ones every few days.”
“Who?” Maxine croaked out.
“I’ve saved the cards. Old clients, business whatever’s with Tony, Barry’s clients, church.” Robin hooked her foot on a chair and pulled it close to the bed while she patted TJ’s tiny back to coax him to burp. “It’s good to see your eyes focused.”
“How long?”
“Yesterday made two weeks.” Robin grinned and leaned forward to grip her hand. “I’m so excited. So glad you’re actually lucid. I’ll have to call Tony in a sec so he can come home and see you. He left for Florida when we knew you were out of the woods. He was supposed to be back any day, but once he hears you’re awake, he’ll come home immediately, I’m sure.”
Robin propped her legs on the bottom of the bed and laid the baby’s head near her knees, forming a natural cradle out of her long legs. “Sarah gets off at three. She’s on the morning shift and hates it, so she’ll have plenty to complain to you about while she’s here. She had her lunch break at ten, so you missed her by an hour. Barry had court, and Derrick and I had to practically hold him at gunpoint to go. But I’m certain he’ll be here mere minutes after it’s done.”
Maxine lifted her right hand, surprised at the effort it took. She waved toward Robin. Her hand fell limply back onto the bed and she stared at Robin. “How are you?”
Robin’s eyes welled with tears as she smiled. “I’m strung out, emotionally spent, and physically exhausted.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “But, I’m still better off than you, and I’ve found the sure fire cure for losing all the weight you gain with pregnancy. Your timing is and always has been perfect.”
“Don’t make me laugh.” It was easier this time to lift her hand. “It will hurt.”
“I know. Of all of us to get hurt, you have, by far, the lowest pain threshold. I’m sorry.”
“Hey,” she croaked, “at least I won’t be scared to give birth now.”
For just a second, Robin’s face clouded. Maxine suddenly wondered just how extensive her injuries might be, and for the first time felt real fear start to creep up on her. She closed her eyes for a moment, tired from the effort to speak. “What happened?”
There was a pause and she opened her eyes to meet Robin’s. “You don’t remember?”
“No, not that. I remember the accident. What happened to me? How bad is it?”
“Maxi, maybe you should wait for the doctor … or Sarah. I don’t know all the details about healing and therapy and recovery time and stuff.”
“Tell me.”
Robin blew out a breath and leaned back in the chair. “Your leg is broken in several places. I guess the door crushed it. You need another surgery on it. And your left arm snapped in two when your hand got caught between the door and the steering wheel.”
Maxine looked down and stared at her hand, completely engulfed in bandages and a soft cast. Robin touched her arm. “The surgeon who worked on your arm and leg says you can heal. He says there’s a really good chance you can walk again, sooner than you think.” She squeezed Maxine’s hand harder. “There was a moment when they wondered if you would be able to keep your hand or leg at all, so that’s amazing progress. God is so good.”
Maxine tried to raise her left arm but had no strength. “My hand?”
Robin’s lips tightened and she gave a short shake of her head. “It isn’t good. It was crushed. With extensive therapy, maybe you can draw again. Maybe. It will take time.”
“How much time?” Maxine asked, trying to keep her voice calm and sound unconcerned.
“Maxi, I just don’t know. Doc Rox, the orthopedic doctor, can give you better information. But you can get better. That’s what matters. Who cares how long it takes?”
Maxine enveloped her fear of never crafting with a pencil again, never picking up a paintbrush again, and tucked it into a far corner of her mind. “My stomach hurts.”
Robin took a deep breath. “A lot of your internal organs were bruised. You bled a lot into your abdomen. They tell me you’re healing up well.”
Maxine searched her sister’s face. “What else?”
“A couple of broken ribs. They had to fix a hole in your lung.” Her voice was mild, and Maxine wondered if she even knew about the tears streaming down her face. “And your head injury is over. The bruise is even nearly gone.”
She let it all digest slowly, one thing at a time. “That all seems pretty workable.”
Surprised, Robin looked at her before she nodded. “You’re only saying that because you’re on some pretty powerful drugs right now.”
“Probably.” She smiled and felt her lips crack. “Can you find out if I can drink something? My mouth is so dry!”
“I bet it feels like it was stuffed with cotton and blow-dried.” She stood and shifted TJ to her shoulder and walked out of the room. The second she was gone, Maxine covered her eyes with her right hand, noticing how badly it shook. She squeezed her eyes shut and pushed back the tears, promising them they could come back out when she was alone. Robin put on a good front, but she looked as close as Maxine felt to a break down, and neither one of them needed that right now. Taking some very careful breaths, she realized it didn’t hurt all that much, and slowly inhaled and exhaled until she had warded off the panic. She sniffed and wiped her right palm dry on the starchy cotton blanket.
“Okay, you can have ice chips. The nurse said that’s all you get until the doctor says otherwise. But, she’s on the phone with her now, so maybe she’ll clear actual water or something.” Robin scooped a piece of ice onto Maxine’s tongue before she sat back down.
“Mmm,” Maxine said, closing her eyes and enjoying the cool wet in her parched mouth. “No, this is fine. Manna.”
“I’m going to try to get a message to Barry, but he’s in court. His secretary will wait outside of the courtroom, I’m sure, and he’ll get back here as soon as he can.”
Maxine wanted to stay awake, but her eyelids grew heavy and she felt herself drift away.
CHAPTER 23
BARRY
stole a glance at the watch he’d laid out on the table in front of him. Two minutes later than the last time he checked. Another hour and forty minutes until lunch. He didn’t have the focus he needed to be in here today. His mind was across town, lying in a hospital bed for the fifteenth day in a row. Maxine was out of ICU, which left Barry with little to no excuses to keep from showing up for work. The world didn’t stop just because his life had a massive and sudden trauma, followed by a spiritual awakening he could not even begin to explain.
One hour and thirty-eight minutes.
He wondered what the person on the witness stand was talking about. He looked down at his legal pad and realized that what was left of his rational brain was sending signals to the hand holding the pen and he was at least taking notes.
A prior downtown Boston restaurant manager threatened Mr. Tony Viscolli with a sexual harassment charge. Since the restaurant was owned and operated by Viscolli Enterprises, she thought she could extort the millionaire. Barry was still baffled as to how the case made it all the way to court. He wondered how opposing counsel, her attorney, could show such poor judgement.
He refocused on the witness, caught up with his notes, and took his turn questioning the human resources director of Viscolli Enterprises. When he finished he sat down and looked at his watch again. One hour, seven minutes.
AS the judge dismissed the court for lunch, he called counsel into his chambers to review the plaintiff’s motion to suppress the video of the accuser in Tony’s office, threatening him with a lawsuit if he didn’t give her a raise. Barry pointed out the signs throughout the hotel where Tony had his corporate offices that clearly read security cameras were in use, and showed that such a sign hung in Tony’s office. “This is a professional building, judge. It’s ridiculous to suggest that there isn’t any security.”
The plaintiff’s attorney tried to turn his nose down on Barry, but Barry had a good seven inches on him. “Your Honor, there was no reason for her to think that the office would be monitored during business hours. She had a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
“There wasn’t any sign that said that the monitoring only takes place during specific hours. No indication was given anywhere for that to be the case. Her assumption, in addition to being logically baseless, has no legal standing. Employees should have no reasonable expectation of privacy when standing in their employer’s office.”
The judge shifted some papers on his desk out of his way as his clerk brought him a sandwich. “He’s right. Motion to suppress denied. Go eat lunch. I’ll see you back in the court room in,” he looked at his watch, “forty-seven minutes.”
Barry went through the maze of courtroom hallways and went out a back door that he knew sidled next door to a deli. He ordered a roast beef on whole wheat to go, then reached into his pocket for his phone to check messages.
It wasn’t there.
He patted his jacket pockets, his briefcase, re-checked his pants pockets … nothing.
He must have left it sitting on the table in the courtroom. Mentally rushing the deli clerk, he had a $10 bill sitting on the counter before she even finished wrapping his lunch in the white paper. As soon as the sack was out of her hands, Barry grabbed it. “Keep the change,” he said, rushing out of the deli.
He had to go back through the front doors of the courthouse to clear security. Thankfully, the abnormally short line moved rather quickly and in no time he found himself in the inner sanctum of the courthouse. He took stairs instead of elevators and shimmied past groups of colleagues lining the halls until he made it back to his courtroom. As he walked to the front of the room, he recognized the back of his secretary’s head. Elizabeth turned as soon as she heard the sound of the double doors swishing shut behind him.
“There you are,” she said, holding up his phone. “I’ve been trying to reach you for an hour.”
“What happened? Is everything okay?” Barry rushed forward.
“Robin called.” Barry’s heart nearly stopped as fear gripped it. “Your wife is awake, cognizant, and asking for you.”
The air escaped his lungs in a rush. For a moment he just looked at her, then he gathered her into his arms and gave her a quick hug. “Thank God,” he said, setting Elizabeth down gently.
“Ann Morganson is coming to take over for you.”
Barry grabbed his phone and started scrolling through texts. “Good. We resume in twenty-two minutes. She needs to be here by then.”
“She’s in the building, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve talked to her myself.”
He saw the text from Robin, and another one from Sarah. “Good. Good. I’ll just go then.” Distracted, he left Elizabeth at the table, walking slowly while he scrolled through a text. “Tell her the motion to suppress the video was denied, and that it’s a cakewalk from here. She can read my notes.” He paused and turned back, holding out his briefcase. “They’re in here.”
Elizabeth took the briefcase from him and shooed him with her hand. “Go. We got it. See you whenever I see you next.”
Phone in pocket, keys in hand, he rushed out of the room. Elation, relief, joy … intense emotions battled for priority in his heart as uncharacteristic tears threatened. Awake. Cognizant. Two weeks ago, there was some doubt either one would ever happen again. A week ago, there was hope that she would wake, but uncertainty as to what her mental status would be. Cognizant was good. Asking for him was far better.
He drove her little green sports car through the lunch traffic, trying not to break any traffic laws, trying not to endanger himself in the process. While he drove, he prayed. He prayed a prayer of thanksgiving, hope, thanksgiving, joy … not even making a lot of sense to himself, but he knew God understood what he was saying.
As he entered the hospital, he nodded a hello to the volunteer behind the big circular desk. He wondered what they thought of the family members that they saw every day, week after week. Did they wonder? Did they know? Did they figure out who was visiting whom?
In the elevator, he happily bypassed the intensive care unit and made his way up to her floor. Nervous little jolts started zipping through his system. Excitement urged his feet to move faster down the hall. The wave of relief rushing through his system left his knees feeling shaky.
“MAXINE, you need the medicine.” Sarah stood next to the bed with her hands on her hips, still wearing her nursing uniform, and staring down at her sister like a mother reprimanding a child. Meanwhile, Maxine couldn’t help feeling like one. A nurse standing next to her held the syringe and an alcohol pad.
“I don’t want it. I’d rather have some aspirin or something.”
“You’re only saying that because the last shot hasn’t completely worn off yet.”
Her voice was no longer a weak whisper, but it was still very scratchy. “I don’t care, Sarah. The stupid shot hurts worse than anything on my body right now. At least let me see if I can manage the pain without it.”
Sarah glared at her until a look of understanding popped into her eyes. Then she stepped closer to the bed and leaned down. “Maxine, please don’t be stupid. You aren’t going to become a drug addict because you received managed pain medication in the hospital after being in a car accident that nearly ripped you in half.”
The only thing that kept her from rolling her eyes was the fact that they ached. She had honestly not thought about the fact that their mother had been a habitual IV drug user in years. “I’m not worried about becoming a drug addict. The shot hurts. Instead of my IV, they put it in my hip and it burned and ached forever after. I’d rather just try this without it.”
“In about forty-five minutes, I promise you will regret this.”
“I’ll decide then, in that case.”
Sarah sighed. “Listen, Maxi. I know you. You can’t handle a nick on your finger when you’re peeling potatoes. There’s a lot of pain being shielded from your senses right now. Why suffer when you don’t have to?”
“Because I don’t like pain. Right no
w, my hip hurts worse than my arm, chest, or leg.”
Sarah sneered. “You’re not making any sense at all.”
Barry stood in the doorway, so shocked he couldn’t move. Twenty-four hours ago, Maxine had either been incoherent and delirious or completely still and asleep. Now she was arguing with her sister as if the last two weeks hadn’t happened. He’d known that Doctor Roxanne had intentionally kept her heavily medicated to keep her movements to a minimum as well as combat the pain and shock of the trauma, and he’d known that they intended to change the dosage today, but he’d had no idea of the result.
Guilt immediately flooded his system, pushing away the elation and the joy. The first day he didn’t keep a diligent post by her bedside and she was cognizant enough to win an argument with Sarah. Even the preparations for the court hearing today had been done in the chair next to her bed.
He suddenly realized how selfish he was being. Instead of feeling angry that he hadn’t been present when she woke up, he should feel overjoyed. So he grinned and stepped all the way into the room.
“Welcome back,” he said, moving around Sarah and the nurse to the other side of her bed.
Maxine rolled her head on the pillow. “Barry. Thank God. Will you please tell Sarah to leave me alone?”
When she spotted him at the door, his eyes had been swirling with emotion; relief, joy, anger, too many to count, really. By the time he’d made it to her side, his expression looked pleasant, his eyes nearly blank. He lowered his head and gave her the gentlest of kisses, barely touching her lips. She wanted to ask him about it, but she still had the syringe to contend with.
“Why would I want Sarah to leave you alone?” he asked, lowering his bulk into a chair.
“Because she wants her friend to stick a needle into my rear end.”
Sarah sighed dramatically. “Barry, she’s never going to be able to handle it when the pain medication wears off entirely.”
Emerald Fire (Christian Romance) (The Jewel Series) Page 19