by J. B. Hawker
Asleep, again, Bunny was dreaming. She was surrounded by water on all sides, even above and below, yet she remained dry, as though she were in an air bubble. There were people floating in the water. As each face came into focus, Bunny felt a sense of excited anticipation, only to be plunged into gloom as it drifted away.
When Max’s face floated near, Bunny awoke with a start, “Max!” and tried to sit up.
Her headache and various tubes reasserted themselves and she eased back against the pillow.
Where was Max? Here she was in this strange hospital, didn’t know how she got here, and Max just goes off and leaves her alone.
The next time she saw that man, she would give him a piece of her mind…if she had any left to spare, she thought with a wry smile.
As she drifted back to sleep, Bunny was reminded of the lovely, peaceful feeling she’d had back on the Mers Comtesse while sliding in and out of consciousness waiting to die. She had not been frightened. There had been a brief pang at leaving Max and the rest of her family, but when she’d felt a comforting presence and been reassured they would all be taken care of, her anxiety dissolved.
She didn’t seem to be dying right away, after all, but the feeling of peace still held her while she slept.
In the morning Max dawdled as long as he could over a mostly tasteless breakfast in the temporary housing cafeteria.
He walked the longest way around to the hospital and was reluctant to get into the elevator and confront whatever was waiting for him.
He couldn’t shake the chill which filled him when he had seen that blank look on Bunny’s face the day before.
Pausing outside her door, he forced his mouth into a semblance of a smile before entering the room.
“Where have you been, Max Banks? What’s the big idea leaving me here all alone?”
“Bunny! You know me!”
“Oh, yes, I know you, all right, and I want to know exactly what you’ve been up to while I’m stuck in this bed plugged into tubes like a member of the Borg and with my head wrapped in a turban.”
Max crossed the room in two steps and, carefully avoiding the IV line, wrapped his wife in his arms, holding her until she began to squirm.
“Hey! Let me breathe, okay?”
“When did you get your memory back? I was afraid I’d lost you.”
“I don’t remember when I didn’t remember, so I can’t answer that. Was I out of it very long?”
“Too long. You were unconscious for a few days, but yesterday when you came around you didn’t even know who I was.”
“Poor Max. I’m so sorry. That must have been awful for you. How bad am I hurt, anyway? When they unwrap the bandages will my head fall off?”
Max stayed with Bunny, catching her up on all the recent events, until the orderly came with her dinner.
“Don’t go, Sweetie! Can’t they bring you a tray, too?” Bunny suggested when Max stood to leave.
“I want to go check in with the doctor and find out when you will be fit to travel, so, tempting as the offer is, I think I’ll pass on the hospital food, this time. I’ll be back before you go to sleep, though.”
“Promise?”
“You bet.”
Max kissed her and left Bunny to eat her dinner.
Bunny was never a picky eater, but when she was finished with her dinner there was almost as much food on the tray as when she’d started. It occurred to her she might actually lose those pesky extra pounds she’d been wrestling with for so long. Not significant in the grand scheme of things, but a silver lining, nonetheless.
When Max returned later, he was pleased to see Bunny’s IV line was gone. That was a very good sign.
“Hi, Sweetie. Did you have a good dinner?”
“What did the doctor tell you, Max? When can we get back to our honeymoon?”
“Whoa, there. While I hope our honeymoon lasts forever, that trip is over. When you can leave here, we are going home where you can rest and recuperate. Doctor’s orders.”
“Oh, Sweetie, I’m sorry. I know how much you wanted to dive the Great Barrier Reef.”
“The reef will be there, if I ever feel the urge, don’t worry about that.”
“So, what else did the doctor say? When can we leave?”
“As soon as you are able to get up and around and don’t need any of these wires and tubes, we will be free to go home. But you will need to take it easy for a few weeks, at least. No more adventures for you, okay?”
“They removed the IV this evening and the nurse said they will get me out of bed tomorrow morning. Maybe we can leave tomorrow?”
“Not that soon, I’m afraid. The doctor thought you might be ready to go by the end of the week, though.”
“But, I’ll be bored to tears if I must stay here so long!”
“Maybe not,” Max replied, reaching for the bag he’d brought with him and pulling something out.
“My laptop! Oh, Max, thank you. How did you get it?”
“The Navy recovered the sloop and brought it here. I went aboard and got our personal stuff. I thought you might be able to work on your novel while your pirate experience is still fresh.”
“The pirates in my book are gentlemen! Not like those creatures we encountered. I won’t be writing about them in my book.”
“Well, that’s up to you. You can spend your time catching up on emails and social media, or just playing Solitaire, but it should help pass the time.”
“You are so thoughtful, Honey, and just the best husband in the world.”
Max rolled his eyes at that, but was happy to have pleased Bunny, at least this time.
Ellery shut down her computer and reached for the phone.
“Gilles, it’s me. I just got an email from Bunny! She’s in a Navy hospital somewhere, but she’s going to be all right.”
“Hospital? What happened to her?” Gilles, who had been semi-reclined in his desk chair in his university office, sat up straighter as he spoke.
“She hurt her head during an escape attempt. Isn’t that just like her?”
“But, she’s okay? Even with a head injury?”
“You know how hard-headed my aunt is. Anyway, I wanted to let you know they expect to be returning to Max’s condo in Houston this weekend. Isn’t that great?”
“Sure is. When did you want to go to Texas?”
“How did you know I was going to ask you that?”
“I know you, El. I can’t get away next week, too many obligations here. Do you want to go alone, or wait until I can join you?”
“Can I do both? I want to see Bunny as soon as she feels up to it, but I’d love for us to go together for a nice long visit later, too.”
“Whatever you want. Just let me know when you are planning to leave me, so I can arrange for some wild bachelor carousing while you’re away.”
“Silly! You can’t scare me. I know you too well, already, Professor. You will mooch around in old sweats and eat nothing but potato chips and cold cereal while I’m gone, that’s the only ‘bachelor carousing’ you’ll be up to. But, I’ll only be away a couple of days, unless Bunny needs my help longer. You seriously don’t mind, do you?”
“Not a bit. Stay as long as you’re needed. I’ll miss you, but I’ll be fine.”
“Thanks. Say, I’ve been thinking…I’m going to call my grandmother and see if she wants to come, too, and maybe great-aunt Jean…”
“Hey, remember Bunny’s recovering from a head injury, you don’t want to overwhelm her.”
“I know, I know, but Bunny will want to see her sisters after an ordeal like that…I’m calling Grandma Linda right now. Loveyoubye!”
In her hospital bed, Bunny closed her laptop and leaned back, exhausted.
She’d been up to walk twice that day, and once to shower, and her head was throbbing. Most of her tubes were out now, but that meant she needed to get out of bed for the trek to the lavatory, clear across the room. Her nurse said s
he was doing very well, but Bunny was frustrated by her own weakness. Even sitting up to write on the laptop tired her out more than she could ever have imagined.
Max, not one to sit still for long, was in and out of her room making business calls trying to catch up on work he’d missed during the past week.
He had tried to contact his daughter, too. Max was dissatisfied with the way she left and wanted another chance to clear up the misunderstanding. He was trying to understand her attitude and supposed that the chip on her shoulder was natural, under the circumstances. He badly wanted to make it up to her, somehow. So far, his attempts to reach her or her mother were unsuccessful.
In New York City, Marki was climbing the stairs to her mother’s third floor apartment burdened with a bag of groceries. She averted her face when another tenant passed by, not wanting anyone to look at her with her face still mottled by bruises. She had given up smiling at anyone because of her missing and broken teeth.
Marki was angry at herself for getting so impatient and walking out on Max. If she’d played her cards right, he would have paid for the best cosmetic dentistry in Texas.
When she told her mother about running into Max and what had happened, she’d called Marki a fool for walking away like she did before getting everything Max owed her.
Marki still had Max’s phone numbers, somewhere. Maybe it wasn’t too late.
Chapter Twenty-Six
I will save the lame, and gather those who were driven out ─ Zephaniah 3:19
Bunny felt awkward and conspicuous sitting in a wheelchair at the passenger loading area waiting for Max to retrieve their car from long-term parking. She wasn’t a cripple, after all.
Max insisted she use the wheelchair in each of the airports they’d traveled through. The one time she rebelled and attempted to walk, she’d given in after only about ten yards. Still, the wheelchair made her feel less of a person, somehow. People who passed by failed to make eye contact. They just glanced at the chair and looked quickly away. The experience was an eye-opener. Bunny hoped she would remember this feeling. Maybe the next time she encountered a person in a wheelchair she might be more sensitive.
Bunny firmly believed that every life experience is filtered through God’s perfect will and each one has both a blessing and a lesson. Perhaps this was the lesson meant for her from all that happened.
Max pulled his dark green Cadillac Escalade SUV up to the curb, hopped out and helped Bunny inside before returning the wheelchair to the airport lobby.
As they headed away from the airport he squeezed Bunny’s hand.
“Almost home, Sweetie. Are ya’ll plumb tuckered out?”
“I’m pretty well knackered, Cowboy. What’s with the ‘you all’, anyway? There’s only one of me.”
“You are in Texas now, ma’am. ‘Ya’ll’ is singular. ‘All ya’ll’ is for more than one…up to a whole passel, in fact.”
“Silly,” Bunny responded then leaned back and closed her eyes. It would be good to climb into bed for a nice, quiet nap. Plumb tuckered out, indeed.
When they reached the condo, Max was surprised to see his daughter sitting in the lobby surrounded by suitcases. He escorted Bunny to the elevator and handed her the keys to let herself into their apartment, then walked over to Marki.
“How did you get her?”
“I called your office and they gave me the address as soon as I explained that I am your long-lost daughter. You did say I could come and stay with you, remember? You don’t look too happy to see me.”
“It’s not that. I’m just surprised. You seemed pretty angry the last time we spoke.”
“Well, I’d just been through a pretty stressful time. I’m still wearing the scars, as you can plainly see.”
“Well sure. We’ve all been through an ordeal. It’s good to see your swelling has gone down and the bruises are almost gone.”
“Maybe so, but look…” and she grimaced for her father to observe her shattered teeth.
“You did say you’d get these fixed for me,” she reminded her father.
“That’s right. I’ll be happy to. I guess we’d better get your things upstairs and get you and Bunny settled in. She’s pretty worn out from the flight home and needs to get to bed.”
“Oh, right. How’s she doing?”
“Better every day, thanks. But she still needs a lot of rest and some physical therapy to get her strength back.”
Upstairs, Bunny had sunk into the first chair she encountered. She couldn’t imagine what Marki was doing downstairs, but she hoped Max would get rid of her quickly. Bunny was in no condition to cope with a prickly half-grown step-daughter.
The phone in the purse she still held on her lap rang.
“Hello?”
“Bunny, hi! It’s me, Linda. We caught an earlier flight out of Portland and we’re here in Houston, already. Surprise!”
“In Houston?”
“At the airport. Can you and Max come get us? We’re about worn out from that four-hour flight. Isn’t flying awful these days? Imagine, we didn’t even have a meal…only some sort of marinated hundred-year-old crackers. I hope you’ve got a well-stocked refrigerator. We’re all starved.”
“Linda, we only this minute got home from the airport. Can you please just get a cab? We’ll be happy to pay; only I can’t ask Max to turn around and drive straight back out there, now. He’s much too tired. You have our address don’t you?”
“Oh. Okay. Yes, I have the address. How long a drive is it?”
“If you catch a cab right away you should be here in about forty-five minutes. I’ll try to fix a snack to tide you over until we have dinner sorted. See you soon.”
Max and Marki entered carrying her suitcases.
“Marki decided to take us up on our offer of hospitality while she gets her teeth fixed, Sweetie. Isn’t that a nice surprise?”
He looked up pleadingly.
It took a couple of beats for Bunny to collect her thoughts and respond.
“Of course. And we have another happy surprise…my sister, Linda, just called. She and Jean and Ellery are at the airport. They got an earlier flight so they can stay with us a couple of extra days. I suggested they catch a cab, on us. They will be here in about half an hour.”
“Well. We will be quite a house party. Let me show Marki to the guestroom while you get tucked into bed, Sweetie. You look like you need to lie down.”
For once, Bunny did exactly as she was told without a word of complaint.
“This little room off the kitchen, here, was designed for a maid or housekeeper, back in the day when folks indulged in that sort of thing. You should be real cozy, Marki.”
“Cozy. Right,” she replied, flopping onto the single bed.
“I’ll leave you to get settled while I go check on Bunny. I don’t think we have anything in the fridge, since we’ve been away, but there may be something in the cupboards. Help yourself to anything you find. I’ll go shopping later.”
Max dropped the bags and hurried to the master bedroom.
“Sweetie, I am so sorry! I had no idea she would just show up like this without warning,” he began before realizing Bunny was asleep.
She was lying on top of the covers with all her clothes on and hadn’t even removed her shoes.
Max gently removed her outer garments and tucked her under the comforter before turning out the lights and shutting the door.
Now, what was he supposed to do? Putting his executive brain into action, he called his assistant at the office and explained the situation. When she stopped laughing, she agreed to order a family dinner from one of Houston’s nicest Chinese restaurants to be delivered in two hours and to bring by a week’s worth of groceries for a family of six. After promising her a bonus of a week’s wages, Max hung up and went to check out accommodations for their other three houseguests.
The condo was large, maybe too large when he was single, although it was perfect for entertaining large gatherings o
f business contacts. Today, he was especially grateful for all the extra space.
The main guest room had two double beds; these would do for Bunny’s sisters. His den had a comfortable sofa bed Ellery wouldn’t mind using.
He pulled fresh linens out of the cupboard and dropped them onto the beds. His guests could make their own beds as punishment for arriving two days early.
He took a quick shower and changed out of his traveling clothes just as the phone rang.
The cab with Bunny’s relatives had arrived.
“Hey, Max!” Marki called from the kitchen, “Where’s your corkscrew? All I can find is wine.”
“I’ve got to go down and pay the cab. I’ll help you find it when I come back up. Why don’t you come down and help me carry the ladies’ bags?”
“Nah, that’s okay. I’ll just wait here.”
Max paid the cabby and grabbed as many of the sisters’ bags as he could carry. Ellery took her own and two others, leaving Jean and Linda with only their carry-on bags to deal with. The elevator seemed crowded with all the baggage as they rode up.
After the initial greetings and hugs, the group lapsed into silence. Everyone was weary from their various travels and eager to eat and rest before beginning any serious visiting.
Marki heard them in the hall and flung wide the door like a hostess.
“Well, hello there! Max, introduce me to our guests.”
It was easy to see their family resemblance as Linda, Jean and Ellery stood motionless, wearing identical expressions: eyes wide, eyebrows raised and jaws dropping to the floor.
“Ladies, this is my daughter, Marki. Marki’s visiting us, too. Marki, this is Mrs. Brackett and Mrs. Spagnoli, Bunny’s sisters, and her niece, Ellery Argyle.”
“Hiya!” Marki turned and sprawled on the center of the living room sofa.
“How do you do,” Linda responded.
Jean was too stunned to speak, only managing to nod a greeting.
“It’s nice to meet you, Marki,” Ellery said, “We didn’t know Max had a grown daughter.”
“Neither did Bunny,” Marki sneered.