The Christmas Promise

by Sean D. Young

  “We’re taking him to the University of Chicago Hospital.”

  Jennifer nodded, feeling that it was a good idea since it was one of the best research and teaching hospitals in the country, and it was located about ten minutes from her parents’ home. Knowing that it was a facility as good as UC, she felt they were making progress.

  She watched them place him on the stretcher, looking so helpless and vulnerable as they secured him with the black straps. She rushed to his side and pressed a kiss on his temple before they rolled him to the staircase. With Russell’s help, they carried him up and out to the awaiting ambulance.

  Jennifer whisked past her mother, but rushed back. “I’m going with him, Mom, please look after my babies,” she pleaded.

  “You know I will, sweetheart, go on,” Myra caught her hand, squeezing it quickly as Jennifer hurried by.

  “I’ll be in the car right behind you,” Russell said to Jennifer in passing as he came back into the house to grab his coat.

  “Okay, Daddy,” she said, rushing toward the ambulance. Her sisters were standing at the curb, waiting for her. She could hear them talking as she passed them.

  “We need to call his brother, Charlie,” Faith said to Patrice.

  “Do you have his number?” Patrice asked.

  Faith hunched her shoulders and shook her head. “We’ve got to find a way to get it because if Simeon—”

  Patrice cut her off by slapping her hand. “Girl, don’t say that. Because if he does, it would destroy our sister.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jenn climbed into the back of the ambulance and the paramedic followed, slamming the doors behind her. Soon she heard the shrill wail of the sirens and figured the red lights were probably flashing too, and then the ambulance started moving and they were on their way.

  Simeon pulled the mask from over his face. “Jenn,” he called out, his voice low and raspy.

  She scooted up to the front of the stretcher by his head. “I’m right here, baby. I’m right here,” she said, grabbing his hand. Jennifer looked down at him, surprised but happy to see his eyes open. “How are you feeling now?” she asked.

  “I’ve got a splitting headache.”

  She saw him struggling to lay his hand on top of hers. “Don’t try to move, baby. Just lie still and rest,” she instructed him, putting the oxygen back over his face.

  Simeon closed his eyes again and panic gripped Jennifer’s stomach. “Is he unconscious again?” she asked the medic.

  The female EMT checked his pulse and pupils before answering. “Yes, he is, but don’t worry, we’re almost at the hospital, ma’am.”

  Jennifer rested her head on the wall of the ambulance, taking several deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. She whispered a little prayer for Simeon, even though the words didn’t come out like she wanted them to. But she remembered her mother telling her that “you don’t need eloquent words for God to hear you”.

  When she and Simeon got up that morning, they were happy. She never thought in a million years that before the end of the day, they would be taken away in an ambulance.

  Finally, they reached the hospital. The driver eased the ambulance into the bay and Jennifer waited until they took Simeon out before running behind them. Inside, the ER nurses whisked him down the hall and disappeared through thick steel double doors.

  Weary and worried, Jennifer walked slowly, following the signs to the emergency waiting room. Wiping the tears that had slipped from her eyes, she approached a thin woman wearing a pink sweater, sitting behind a small desk.

  She looked up at Jennifer and asked, “How may I help you?”

  “My, my…” Jennifer stumbled over her words. She had no idea what to call Simeon. He wasn’t her fiancé or her husband, and she didn’t want to say, “He’s my babies’ daddy”, because it just sounded…crazy. He was much, much more than that to her.

  “They wouldn’t let me go back with him. I need to be with him,” Jennifer said, frantically, her voice shaking.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Simeon Baker,” Jennifer replied, watching the woman type his name into the computer.

  She looked up at Jennifer. “He’s in the triage unit right now, so I don’t have any information other than that. I’m so sorry.”

  Jennifer dropped her head, turned and walked away.

  “Mrs. Baker,” a woman’s voice called out to her.

  Jennifer turned around and went back to the station. An older woman with white-silver hair was standing next to the receptionist with papers in her hands. She slipped on her eyeglasses that were being held by a chain around her neck.

  “Hi, I’m Sarah Mackenzie from admitting. We need you to sign the treatment consent forms, since your husband couldn’t.”

  Throwing her hand across her chest. “Oh, no, I’m not…” Jennifer’s voice trailed off.

  “I’m sorry, I thought you were his wife. Are you related to Mr. Baker?”

  Jennifer answered. “No, I’m not but I’m a very close friend.”

  “We need someone from his family to see us as soon as possible,” the woman said before walking away.

  Expelling a heavy sigh, Jennifer took a deep cleansing breath, trying to get a hold of herself.

  Turning on her heel, she walked across the shiny floor only to see her father heading toward her in the distance. Immediately, Jennifer’s eyes filled with tears when Russell opened his arms to her. Jennifer ran into them.

  “Daddy,” she sobbed, burying her face in his chest.

  Russell kissed her temple and held her close. “It’s going to be okay, baby girl.”

  Jennifer was soothed by her father’s presence and endearing nature. “They wouldn’t let me go with him,” she cried.

  Russell led her over to the empty seats in the waiting area. “Let them do their job, Jennifer.” He offered her a seat. “Sit down, sweetie, and we’ll wait to see what happens,” he said, patting her on the shoulder. “I’ll be right here with you.”

  Jennifer dropped her body down in the chair with her head bowed and Russell right beside her. She said another silent prayer that Simeon would come back to her well.

  A couple minutes later, Patrice and Renee walked into the waiting area. Jennifer’s eyes lit up as she stood and they hugged each other tight. She could always count on her sisters to support her.

  “Where are my babies?”

  “Mom and Faith are taking care of them,” Renee said.

  “How’s Simeon?” Patrice asked.

  Jennifer’s shoulders lifted. “I don’t know. They won’t let me see him, Treecie,” she cried.

  Patrice threw her arms around Jennifer. “They have to work on him, sweetie, so that they can find out what’s going on. You don’t need to be back there.” Patrice guided her back to where their father was seated.

  They had been sitting for over an hour and still hadn’t heard a word. Jennifer paced from one end of the waiting room to the door and back again, then over to the long window, looking out at nothing in particular. She kept glancing at the doors that led to the emergency room treatment area, hoping, wishing and praying that they would open and someone would tell them something, anything. Her stomach was in knots and she didn’t know if she wanted to sit or stand. What she wanted was to see Simeon.

  “Why is it taking them so long?” she asked aloud.

  Her father got up from his seat and walked over to her. “They have to see what’s going on, so that they can help him,” he said. “His case may be more complicated than others because of that accident he had.”

  Jennifer hadn’t realized her father even knew about Simeon’s accident. “Mom told you about the accident, Daddy?”

  Russell shook his head. “No, Simeon did yesterday when he brought the kids.”

  Jennifer had forgotten that Simeon had told her
about going to talk to her parents. He was such a good guy. Tears sparkled in her eyes at the thought of him. Somebody had to know something after all this time.

  Jennifer wanted to go and talk to the woman at the reception desk, but that would be fruitless because she wouldn’t tell her anything. She just had to wait. She walked back over to the chairs and plopped down.

  “Hey, do you have his brother Charlie’s phone number?” Renee asked.

  Jennifer’s eyes widened. “Oh my goodness,” she said, throwing her hand over her mouth. “I totally forgot to call Charlie. I don’t think I have a number for him.” She started looking around. “Where’s my purse? Did I even bring it with me?” She couldn’t remember.

  Renee reached around and handed it to her. “You left it at the house, so I picked it up on my way out.”

  “Thank you so much,” Jennifer said, immediately searching inside her purse.

  “What are you looking for?” Patrice asked.

  “I thought I had Simeon’s wallet and cell phone.”

  “Do you know the code to get in his phone?” Renee asked.

  Jennifer closed her handbag. “No. I don’t have a clue,” she said.

  “Well, it won’t do you any good then,” Renee said.

  “Can you call the office?” Patrice asked.

  “I forgot it’s Sunday,” Renee said.

  Jennifer patted her sister’s hand. “Oh my goodness, there’s nobody there today.”

  She opened her purse again and pulled out her cell phone. “It’s got to be in here somewhere.”

  Scrolling through her contacts, she found Simeon’s office number and handed the phone to Renee.

  “All I have is the office number.”

  Maybe the answering service has an emergency number for Simeon?” Renee said. “I’ll go over here and make the call,” she said, getting up from her seat.

  Jennifer looked up and saw Charlie and Faith walking toward them. She was so relieved that someone got in touch with Simeon’s brother.

  “Once I settled down, I remembered that Charlie had given me a business card at the skating rink,” Faith explained.

  Jennifer got up out of her chair and hugged her sister. She didn’t know what she’d do without her family. “Thank you so much, Faith. I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if we didn’t get in touch with Charlie and…”

  Charlie stepped forward and squeezed Jennifer’s shoulders. “Now, don’t you worry, I’m here now. That’s all that matters.”

  Jennifer nodded and looked at him. She could see the worry and sadness in his eyes.

  “Have they told you anything?” Charlie wanted to know.

  Jennifer shook her head. “Not a word. It seems like it’s been forever that they’ve had him back there.”

  “Wow,” Faith replied.

  “They won’t tell me anything anyway because I’m not his next of kin,” Jennifer stated.

  Charlie patted her on the back. “Well, let me see if I can get some answers.” He walked over to the desk.

  “I hope they’ll give him some information,” Jennifer said to Faith.

  Suddenly, Jennifer saw the huge steel doors opening abruptly and two men in blue and green scrubs coming their way. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, her hands shaking so hard she ended up wringing them together in order to try to stop the jitters.

  She assumed they were the doctors who were taking care of Simeon. She hoped they had good news for them. The closer they came, the more her heart raced, but she needed to brace herself for whatever they had to tell them.

  Charlie must have seen them as well because he came back over, and stood next to Jennifer. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it to help relieve some of her nervousness. He reached around her waist, pulling her close.

  “I’m looking for the family of Simeon Baker.”

  Jennifer and Charlie stepped forward. “We’re Simeon’s family,” Charlie answered.

  “I’m Dr. Lee, the attending physician, and this is Dr. Collins, the neurologist,” he said, extending his hand.

  Charlie accepted the handshake from both men with Jennifer following his lead.

  “How is he?” she asked, anxious to know Simeon’s condition.

  Dr. Lee was of Oriental descent with a clean-shaven face and thin build. He stood in front of them with his hands clasped together.

  “It looks like Mr. Baker had a previous brain injury.” He was void of expression, so Jennifer couldn’t tell if what he was about to say was going to be detrimental or not.

  “Yes, he was in a near-fatal collision about three years ago,” Charlie told them.

  “It looks like he sustained an injury that is just manifesting itself now.”

  “After all this time?” Charlie asked, releasing Jennifer, folding his arms over his chest.

  Dr. Collins, the taller of the two, had dark hair and wire-framed glasses. He stepped closer to them. “Yes, we see these types of injuries a lot with people who have had severe concussions.”

  “But what does this mean? Why didn’t they see this before?” Charlie asked.

  “It’s hard to say,” Dr. Collins answered.

  “His condition is critical and we’ve moved him to our Critical Care Unit. It looks like there is some bleeding on the brain. It is very difficult to spot this type of brain bleed.”

  “A brain bleed?” Jennifer’s eyes widened. Hearing that from the doctor confirmed her fear that something was really wrong. She knew it. She could feel it.

  “Yes, Simeon has a brain bleed and we don’t know the severity of it yet. We’ve been working on it. Right now he is stable and that’s all we can ask for at the moment. These things can be tricky.”

  Charlie bit his bottom lip, but didn’t say anything. Jennifer wanted to scream, but needed to keep it together.

  “Five to seven percent of people who are hospitalized with a concussion will have a post-traumatic seizure.”

  “Is he having seizures now?” Charlie wanted to know.

  Dr. Collins nodded. “I’m afraid he’s had several.”

  Jennifer didn’t think she could take much more. Her baby was having a hard time back there and he was alone. She wanted to be with him so badly that her heart ached.

  “A seizure is very common in these cases. In some, it can even lead to epilepsy, but we don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves,” Dr. Collins said.

  “Is he able to speak?” Jennifer asked. She was ready to see Simeon’s handsome face, to hear his deep, rich voice and hearty laugh. She wanted him to look at her lovingly once again like he had the night before.

  “No, he isn’t conscious. We’re trying to keep things quiet and finish all of our testing in order to come up with a definite treatment plan,” Dr. Lee said.

  Dr. Collins reached out to Jennifer. “Ma’am, please know that we are doing everything we can for Mr. Baker. He is stable, but not conscious.”

  “Can we see him?” Charlie asked.

  “I promise I’ll only stay five minutes,” Jennifer said, right after.

  Dr. Collins nodded. “Very well then. But, only one person at a time, please. He’s in CCU Room 3.”

  Dr. Collins looked at Jennifer. “Go through these doors and take the elevator up to the third floor. Go to the nurse’s station and they will point you in the right direction.”

  “We will update you on any changes in his condition,” Dr. Lee said before he and the other physician walked away.

  Jennifer looked at Charlie who she could tell was in as much pain as she and made up her mind that he should go in to see his brother first.

  “Charlie, why don’t you go and check on Simeon.”

  Charlie wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “No, Jennifer, you go on ahead. I need to call my parents. I haven’t told them or my sister anything. They need to know r
ight away,” he paused, then continued, “just in case.”

  Jennifer swallowed hard. “I understand.”

  “I had to have all my facts straight or my mom will freak out.”

  “I don’t blame you for waiting, Charlie. You want to give your parents as much information as you can to keep them from worrying so much.” Jennifer admired Charlie’s strong will to get through this. He would have to be strong to deliver this kind of news to his parents.

  “Simeon had just talked Mom into going home after Thanksgiving. Ever since he had that accident, she didn’t want to let him out of her sight.”

  “I would probably be the same way.”

  “Yes, me too,” he said, pulling out his cell phone from his pocket. “You go on and I’ll call them. I’ll come in after that.”

  “Thanks for this,” Jennifer said before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

  Jennifer turned to blow her father and sisters a kiss before she disappeared through the doors.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Inside the steel-gray elevator, Jennifer found herself humming an old tune that she and her sisters used to sing in church all the time. She hadn’t thought about the song in a long time, but it just popped into her head at that moment. “Everything will be all right.”

  She hummed that little tune and watched the numbers in the bar over the top of the door light up each time she made it to another floor. Once it got to three, she heard the chime and the doors slid open.

  Jennifer stepped off and suddenly couldn’t move. She stared at the plastic Merry Christmas sign posted on the wall across from the elevators. She didn’t know what she was going to say or how she was going to react once she saw Simeon lying in that bed. The whisper from the elevator doors closing brought her mind back to her task.

  Slowly, she walked to the nurse’s station and spotted a woman with her hair in tiny micro-braids sitting behind the desk working on a computer. They had strung multi-colored lights across the expanse of the desktop and a pink-colored miniature Christmas tree sat on the end.