25
Higher Daddy!
James looked over at Alex and smiled, despite the pain in his side and in his arm, two bullet wounds were not great news, it was not old news but it wasn’t great. She seemed to be coming down from her high, the crazy look in her eyes subsiding to weariness. Chances were she would not remember half of this when she woke up in the morning, he hoped that was so, she did not need these memories, unless it was to be a testimony. He looked over at her again; Lord let it be a testimony.
He continued to speed, feeling his strength slipping from him in the blood oozing onto Reuben’s upholstery. His head felt light but he knew it was not safe to stop yet, if he could get her right home it would be best, he couldn’t worry about himself, besides he had survived worst.
“How you feeling?” he asked, needing the distraction more than she did.
Alex nodded, “fine...” she looked over at him briefly, “I’m sorry,” she said; her voice almost inaudible.
“It’s alright...” he started to say, just as a van rounded the corner, speeding toward them, showing no intention of pulling away.
James eyes grew wide and he reached over and griped her hand with his bloody one, using his other hand to manoeuvre the car, he yanked the steering wheel to the left just before the van rammed into his side of the car, causing it to flip unto the road side. Alex’s terrified screams filled the car as it toppled over and over with James clinging to her. Time seemed to stop as he looked over at her, her eyes, big with fear looked back at him and he smiled through his prayers, preserve her Lord.
The street suddenly grew quiet, the screaming had stopped and the car laid in a heap, jammed against a pole, crumpled at the sides, the figures inside of it now still.
The perpetrator reversed and stopped. The driver’s door opened and Giant stepped out with a gun in his hand. He walked toward the car stiffly, his face set like flint.
“Giant, the police coming, boy le’ we go!” one of the guys called after him.
But Giant continued to walk toward the car, James watched him through heavy lidded eyes. Giant paused as the sirens of approaching police cars filled the air and swore. In that moment he had to decide which was more important to him, seeing James Franklin helpless at his mercy or saving his hide, he stomped angrily and hurried back to the van.
“Take the wheel Percy!” he called as he ran toward the vehicle.
“Is bad nuh” Sherry said after a long spell of silence.
Ryan looked at her questioningly, “you don’t know that” he said, he didn’t know what to say, and oh how he wished he did. He could not help feeling like part of this was his fault, if he had not been so hard on Alex, she might not have run away.
Sherry shook her head, “look at them, they don’t look like if they have good news for us,” she eyed the police men suspiciously.
“They aren’t the ones with the news we really want to hear Sherry,” he said, with a reassuring pat on her shoulder.
Behind the group of straight faced police men, they saw Michael walking toward them, stepping haltingly as he eyed the officers warily.
“Ma, what happen?” he asked, breaking into their conversation without a qualm. He was sweaty and his chest was heaving, a panicked look in his eyes.
Sherry embraced him and he looked over at Ryan with a frown, Ryan shrugged and motioned to the doctor coming toward them.
After the formal introductions and greetings Doctor Myer, started to brief them on James and Alex’s condition.
“Ms. Moore, your daughter sustained a minor head trauma, a few bruises and cuts, and a sprained ankle. From the extent of the damage to the car Miss Moore, we cannot begin to comprehend how she even survived. She’s a lucky girl.”
She referred to the chart in her hand briefly then looked up at them again.
“Angel seems to have ingested a drug known as ecstasy in addition, the alcohol levels in her blood are making things a little more difficult and this is our main concern now. So we’re going to keep her monitored until the drugs are out of her system.”
Sherry grabbed hold of Ryan, “That not right” she cried angrily, “she would never do that, Ryan she would never do that,” she looked at Ryan then at Michael, neither of them could give her the support she needed.
“Ecstasy is a drug that...”
“We know what it is...just tell us what it’s done to my sister,” Michael interjected, clearly on edge tonight.
Doctor Myer paused and looked at Sherry; she closed her chart and tucked it under her arm.
“Ecstasy affects each person differently, and it depends on the circumstances. Angel is clearly not a consistent user...”
“Please call her Alex,” Sherry interrupted.
The doctor nodded, “Alex’s body is reacting adversely to the drug, we’re trying to stabilize her heart rate and body temperature, and she is dehydrated and delusional. We don’t think she even understands where she is or what has happened to her. About five minutes ago she had a minor seizure, but she seems to be progressing, our main concern now is her heart rate and body temperature. But I assure you that your daughter is in good hands tonight.”
Sherry sat down and placed her head in her hand. Michael sat down next to her and propped his chin on his hand.
“When can we see her?” Ryan asked.
For the first time the Doctor smiled, it was a quick polite smile, “I’ll let you know.”
Ryan sat down next to Sherry and hugged her, “She’ll be alright.”
Sherry nodded, “yeah, but this is Alex, how she get herself involved in this, how I could let her?”
Mike looked up at the doctor, “what about James?” he asked, and at the same time Reuben came running through the entrance, his shirt wet with perspiration, sweat running down his forehead from his hair.
“Oh!” he gasped, fighting to catch his breath, “sorry, I got here as fast as I could. How are they doing?”
He straightened up and frowned at their solemn faces, “oh no,” he groaned.
The doctor shifted her weight uncomfortably; she was clearly not fond of her task at the moment, “James? We aren’t quite sure about James; we have no family for him, no information...”
“We his family,” Michael said adamantly, everyone else nodded in agreement.
“Okay then, well in that case... James’ lost a lot of blood from the bullet wounds, one shot to the upper arm and one to his side, but in the accident it was even worse for him, numerous cuts and bruises, two broken legs and a concussion” she sighed and shook her head, “I can encourage you to be hopeful, but the truth is there is nothing more we can do at this time, but wait and see if he pulls through.”
“If?” Reuben stepped forward, his face pale with fear, he shook his head and looked at her sharply, “what do you mean, if?”
She grimaced, “I mean realistically, there’s a great chance that James may not survive surgery.”
They all stood frozen, the doctors last few words lingering on their faces, grieving for a man they barely knew. The doctor continued to speak.
“In the meantime, speak to a nurse at the nurse’s station, she’ll tell you where and when you can collect their things.”
She nodded and walked away.
She took a big gulp of the cool December breeze and squeaked in delight, as she dropped backwards from the sky into her father’s waiting hands, he pushed her into the air again and she spread her arms, folding her legs around the old tire.
“Look at my Angel go!” Declan cheered, with a wide grin.
“Higher daddy!” she cried, holding onto the rope tightly, in preparation for the much anticipated height.
“No more Angel,” Declan said, steadying the swing.
Alex sighed and dropped her head in disappointment, “but why daddy?”
He came around to face her, still holding the ropes of the tire swing so she would not push herself too far away from
him.
“Daddy needs to talk to you, sugar plum,” he said, his voice like a gentle stream, with his thick English accent like boulders to his speech.
She looked up at him with suspicious eyes, her childish mind already reeling with ideas of what her father might want to talk about. There was not much she could come up with, but she had only turned eight about two weeks ago maybe he thought she was grown up enough to talk to her about new things.
“Angel, what I’m about to tell you, I’m telling you because I love you, because you’re the most important thing in my life...”
“What is it daddy?” she asked, her blue-grey eyes trying to hold his shifting ones, with a questioning tilt of her head.
Declan took a deep breath then exhaled deeply, looking absolutely ashen under the bright midday sun.
“You remember what Goethe said about dreams?”
She nodded, “whatever you can do or dream, you can begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it,” she recited, nodding her head rhythmically, just the way she was taught.
Declan smiled, “Good girl, now I want you to remember that. Your dreams are important, I’m telling you this because... I’m leaving.”
He looked at her throughout the silence that ensued, watching the wheels of her mind turning behind her eyes. Then she perked up and gave a quick smile, “Just me and you?” she asked excitedly.
But her smile faded as his shoulders gradually slumped.
“No Angel... I... it’s just me.”
Suddenly there was a sharp unbearable pain in her stomach, she doubled over and groaned.
“Daddy it hurts!” she cried.
“Daddy who? Your daddy ain’t coming back, suck it up.”
She looked up into her mother’s angry face, her eyes bulging out of their sockets in dreamlike exaggeration, a lit cigarette lodged between her index and middle finger, smoke circling her head like a monstrous dragon.
“Here put some ice on it,” she mumbled as she handed her a tray of ice, an uncomfortable look on her face.
Alex frowned, looking about her just in time to see the walls peeling away like ancient wall paper, as the ground beneath her feet disintegrated.
“Oh my God!” she cried.
“Alex!”
“James?”
The room enveloped itself and she shut her eyes, only to open it against the blinding pain in her head. She pressed her hand to her head, wincing at the sticky wetness beneath her fingers, and withdrew hands dripping wet with blood.
“Alex?”
James was looking over at her with a reassuring smile. They were in a car now; Alex looked about her in panic, feeling her heart thumping hard against her chest.
“Oh my God James!” she cried, “I’m dreaming.”
James smiled, “you’re gonna be okay,” he said.
Her gaze fell on his shirt and she gasped at the widening red holes, now drenching his shirt with his blood.
“You’re bleeding...” she started.
Suddenly James started to grow, pushing against the confines of the car, his face quickly contorting into a familiar, dreaded person.
“I tell you I get you back,” Antonio sneered, as he reached for her with hard hands, his fingers long and needle like.
“Don’t touch me!” she cried, jamming against the door, “don’t touch me! Help! Somebody help me!” she shrieked.
“Alex! Alex!”
Strong hands gripped her arms and shook her. Her eyes shot open and she looked up into Sherry’s terrified face.
“Mommy?” she cried, relief washing over her like cold shower.
Sherry nodded, biting her lips in an effort to hold back a sob.
“Yes... is me?”
Alex frowned, looking about the bright room then back at her mother. Where was the scowl, the bitterness, the smoke rising from her head? Where was the hatred she always saw in her eyes when she looked into them? Instead the woman looking down at her looked aged and worried, with small crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes, panicked, fearful eyes, caring eyes.
“Mom..."
Sherry smiled, feeling Alex relax in her hands, “you was dreaming Alexis,” she said, slowly releasing her arm as though she was afraid she would act up again.
Alex looked about her, at the drawn curtains, shifting and bending out of shape, just like in her dream, nothing felt connected to her body.
“Where am I?” she asked hoarsely, though the beeping heart monitor should have given that away.
“At the hospital. Yuh was in a terrible accident,” Sherry replied, as she placed a hand on her arm reassuringly.
“Accident?” she frowned trying to remember, then she lifted a hand to touch the bandage on her head feeling it throb at her touch, she winced and every bump, cut and ache seemed to respond in chorus. She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the pillows, shutting her eyes against the sudden dizziness, her mind reeling over bits and pieces of a memory she was supposed to have. Nothing connected, nothing fitted into its groove.
“Where’s....” she paused, narrowing her eyes as she tried to force the word from her lips.
“Mike?” Sherry asked, trying to help.
Alex frowned at first, wondering if that was the name she was looking for, then she glared at her, “I know my brother’s name!” she yelled, “I’m talking about James, where’s James?” she asked.
Sherry pursed her lips, “I know, am sorry,” the doctor had warned her that Alex would not be herself but hostility was not so foreign between them at all.
Alex took a deep breath, her chest heaving, her fingers raking the bed sheets frantically, her eyes wide. Sherry brushed back her hair from her face in an effort to soothe her.
“You alright, you gonna feel better by morning,” she said, ignoring the odd stirring inside her that reminded her of the connection in a mother and daughter’s touch. The realisation that it had been so long since she had actually been so close to her daughter other than to scold or punish or hurt and she could see it in Alex s crazed eyes that she felt it too.
“The whole family’s outside,” Sherry said, in that same levelled tone. She knew she had not answered her question about James and she was deliberately sidestepping it, as she had foolishly not prepared to give her an answer.
“Mom?” Alex looked up at her, “where is James?” she asked again, this time Sherry could see a semblance of clarity in her eyes.
“Ah...” she hesitated, she knew her daughter was not stable, not mentally – she glanced up at the heart monitor – not physically.
“uh...”
“Where’s James!” Alex cried, her voice almost rising to a high pitched scream.
Sherry winced, took a breath then leaned forward slowly, “he’s in intensive care.”
Sherry waited for it to sink in; her grip on her hands gradually tightening.
“He is going to be okay, right?” she asked, her eyes wide and doleful.
Sherry shook her head, “he’s in a coma Alex, right now we can just wait... and pray.”
Alex swallowed hard, “leave me alone,” she said softly, turning away from Sherry.
Sherry hesitated at first but then she reached out her hand and touched her shoulder, “you okay?”
Alex turned on her like a fiery vixen, “Leave me alone!”
Sherry slowly backed out of the curtained area, just as a nurse came in and went to Alex, who looked just as annoyed at her.
“I’ll be back,” she said to no one in particular.
Twist of Faith Page 26