Nephi's Courage

by Rory McFarlan

  “I guess you’re right. We’ll clean up quickly and be over.”

  The ambulance sped away, siren blaring, while Alex and Nephi ran back into the apartment. They alternated taking quick showers and changed into fresh clothes before hopping in the truck and speeding to the hospital as quickly as traffic would permit.

  They went straight to the information desk and asked about Bradley. The woman at the desk indicated that he was in ER and could not have any visitors but they were welcome to wait for news in the lobby.

  Nephi’s leg nervously bounced up and down while he sat. Alex sat next to him with his hand on Nephi’s shoulder. Nephi took the phone from his pocket and called Darla.

  “Mom,” he said, his voice agitated, “We came home early from hunting and found Bradley unconscious in my apartment. The ambulance brought him to American Fork Hospital with a weak pulse. Alex and I are waiting in the ER lobby and I’m not sure what to do. Will you can his parents and let them know what happened?”

  “Of course, I will, sweetheart. I’ll give Sister Hanson a call right now and then I’ll come to the hospital to wait with you.”

  They hung up and Darla made the call. Not knowing where else to direct his nervous energy, Nephi called the ice cream shop to let them know what happened. Gene answered the phone and Nephi explained what happened and that he was waiting at the hospital.

  “That poor, sweet boy,” cried Gene. “Those bastards did it to him. It’s all their fault!”

  “All whose fault?” asked Nephi. “What happened?”

  Gene told Nephi all about the disturbance the Hanson family caused in the shop on Wednesday and the picketing on Thursday. He explained how Bradley had collapsed to the ground after his father told him he would be better off dead and that he seemed distraught for the rest of the day. Not knowing what else to do, Gene had sent him home early. He tried calling when Bradley didn’t show up for his shift and worried that something had happened but didn’t know who else to call.

  “I’m closing the shop and coming there to wait with you,” offered Gene.

  “That’s very kind of you. I’ll see you soon.”

  Nephi’s knee resumed bouncing as he waited impatiently for any news of Bradley’s condition. Before long, Darla joined them in the waiting room, immediately followed by Gene.

  “Were you able to get in touch with Bradley’s parents?” asked Nephi.

  “They weren’t answering the phone, so I went over and knocked on the door and interrupted home school. I spoke with Sister Hanson and explained what happened and offered to drive her to the hospital. At first, she appeared upset, and I thought she would come with me but then the look on her face changed to that intense, stern expression that she always wears and she told me that God’s will would be done and to let her know of any further developments. She then closed the door. I knocked again to talk some sense into her, but there was no answer so I came straight here.”

  Gene recounted the events of the past two days to all of them. Tears filled Darla’s eyes as she listened, jaw dropped.

  “The monsters!” she exclaimed. “I knew they were strict and uppity, but I never thought them capable of that.”

  Gene hugged her tightly while her fists clinched at her side. She turned and took Nephi by the hand and looked him directly in the eye.

  “Son,” she said, “I need you to understand that I love you no matter what. I am your mother and nothing you could ever say or do could change my love for you. I accept you and love you for who you are and even in the darkest times, you can always come to me.”

  “I know, Mom.”

  He embraced her and they both stood there crying in each other’s arms. Alex and Gene were both crying as they observed the loving embrace.

  Nephi pulled back and sat back down. He dropped his head and confessed, “This is all my fault. I should have never left him to go hunting. If I had been home, I could have consoled him and helped him see things clearly.”

  “Nonsense,” said Darla. “That boy has demons that you can’t cast out. If fault lies anywhere, it’s with his parents. I will never understand how anyone could treat their own child like that. Don’t think for a second that this is on you. Bradley needs some professional help to cope with all of this.”

  “Listen to your mom,” added Alex. “None of this is your fault. You even offered Bradley a chance to come with us to the mountains. We both wish he would have come with us but hindsight is twenty-twenty. We can’t change the past. What has happened, has happened. All we can do is move forward from where we are in the best way we know how.”

  Alex leaned over and gave Nephi a hug. Nephi truly felt terrible and assigned himself blame despite the wise words of his mother and Alex.

  The moment was interrupted when Jodie joined them.

  “Thanks for calling me, Gene,” she said. “Any news?”

  “Nothing yet.”

  Gene introduced Jodie to the group. She explained how she and Bradley became fast friends and how horrified she was when his family showed up at the ice cream parlor and traumatized him.

  Nephi suggested that they pray for Bradley. They all kneeled there in the waiting room and Nephi prayed aloud, asking God to heal Bradley. The five then sat in silence and waited for news from the Emergency Room. After some time, a doctor approached them.

  “Are you Bradley’s family?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Nephi instinctively answered, “I mean, we aren’t blood relatives, but we are the closest thing to family he’s got.”

  “I’m sorry,” replied the doctor. “I’m only at liberty to discuss his condition with family. Can you find an immediate family member?”

  “Yes, I can,” replied Darla. “Wait right here, I’ll be back.”

  She rushed out of the hospital while the rest of them waited anxiously, worried about Bradley’s condition.

  Darla drove straight to the Hanson home and pounded on the door. Todd answered and Darla demanded to speak with his mother.

  “Audrey,” she said, “you need to come with me to the hospital right now. They have some news and they will only discuss it with immediate family members.”

  “I can’t,” she replied. “My husband wouldn’t like it.”

  “I don’t much care what he would like. All I know is that there is a group of people at that hospital who loves your son, people who will be there for him and support him through this and they can’t do it without you. I’m not leaving until you get in the car!”

  Sister Hanson reluctantly followed Darla to the car and got in. They sat in silence the entire way to the hospital and Sister Hanson followed Darla into the waiting room where a host of concerned faces greeted her, trying their best to suppress their anger.

  Darla let the desk know that Bradley’s mother was present and the doctor soon came out.

  “Are you Bradley’s family?” she asked.

  “I’m his mother,” she stated.

  “Would you like to speak in private?”

  She looked around at all the anxious faces waiting for news of her son.

  “No,” she replied. “You can say whatever you have to say in front of them.”

  “Your son took too many sleeping pills,” she explained. “It caused his heart rate and breathing to slow and he had a seizure. We were able to restore his heart rate, and he is now breathing with help from a machine but there isn’t any brain activity. He is essentially in a coma and there is a possibility that he won’t wake up. We need to run more tests but you are welcome to see him now.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” replied Sister Hanson. “But I don’t want to see him.”

  The doctor gave her a puzzled look.

  “But,” she continued, “I want you to let these people visit him. Lately, they have acted more like his family than I have. May the Lord’s will be done.”

  With that, she turned to Darla. “Take me home?” she asked.

  Darla nodded and the two of them left the hospital. The rest of the group was as
tonished. Maybe deep down inside, that woman had a fragment of a heart after all.

  “Bradley can only have two visitors at a time,” explained the doctor.

  “You two should go first,” said Gene, pointing to Nephi and Alex.

  They followed the doctor back through a corridor and around the corner to room 215. There, they found Bradley unconscious in bed, tubes attached everywhere, his chest rising and falling to the billowy sound of the breathing machine.

  Nephi ran his fingers through Bradley’s hair while Alex squeezed his hand.

  Nephi pleaded with him, “Wake up. Please, wake up. I’m so sorry, man. I never should have left. You needed me and I wasn’t there. I hope someday you can forgive me. Please open your eyes. I need you.”

  Leaning over, Nephi maneuvered around the tubes to kiss him gently on the forehead. Alex pulled the visitor chairs close to the bed, and they sat next to the bed, Nephi clutching Bradley with one hand, the other interlocking fingers with Alex.

  Not knowing whether he could hear them, they told Bradley all about their hunting trip. The talked of the beautiful snow flocked trees and the elk and their dance to the glow of the fire in the tent. They told him how they hoped to share many more moments like that with him after he woke up.

  After visiting for a while, they promised to be back and left the room to give Gene and Jodie a chance to visit. In the waiting room, they discovered that Darla had returned. They sat and visited with her while Gene and Jodie followed a nurse to room 215.

  They sat and talked to Bradley, telling him that they valued him as a coworker but loved him even more as a friend. Gene told him how good he was with customers and how difficult it is to find someone with his work ethic, and that he could even manage the shop someday.

  Jodie told him all about UVU and that she was confident he would excel there and could become whatever he wanted. They both squeezed his hand gently before making an exit. In the waiting room, they wished Nephi, Alex, and Darla well and excused themselves for the day.

  Darla then visited Bradley together with Nephi while Alex stayed in the waiting room. Then, Darla, too excused herself for the night. She traded keys with Nephi and drove his truck home so she and Mike could clean and put away the hunting gear, allowing Nephi to focus on Bradley.

  Alex and Nephi sat next to Bradley’s bed and talked to him and to each other.

  “Thanksgiving is less than a week away,” observed Nephi. “Are you going home to Jensen for the holiday?”

  “No, I haven’t been back in a while. I’m not much of one to celebrate holidays. I’ll most likely just hang out at home and binge watch whatever strikes my fancy.”

  “There’s not a chance I will let you spend this holiday alone. Come to Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Hopefully Bradley will be well enough to join us too. Nobody puts on a Thanksgiving like my mom. Her turkey is moist and she uses real potatoes with butter and her secret ingredient – cream cheese. Oh, and her pies, her pies are unbelievable. You have to come.”

  “Okay, honey, you can stop now. You sold me already. I’ll be there.”

  “Perfect. Come to my apartment around 11:00 and we can hang out for a bit and then head over together.”

  “It’s a date,” replied Alex.

  A date. Nephi liked the sound of that. He wasn’t sure exactly what their relationship was, but he knew that it was something more than it was at this time last week and he was happy about that.

  The pair of them stayed by Bradley’s side until visiting hours were over and the hospital made them leave. Since it was late, Alex crashed at Nephi’s place. They were physically and emotionally exhausted. Nephi gave Alex the bed while he slept on the sofa. Alex protested, suggesting that they both sleep on the bed, but Nephi wasn’t ready to take that step, even if they were just sleeping. Besides, he had grown accustomed to sleeping in the living room.

  They slept soundly through the night and woke up late in the morning. Nephi awoke to the smell of eggs and looked up from the sofa to see Alex in the kitchen making breakfast. His omelets were much better than the freeze dried variety that sustained them at camp. They enjoyed breakfast together and then returned to the hospital to visit Bradley. His condition hadn’t changed. They sat next to his comatose body and talked to him, begging him to wake up.

  They visited for several hours with no apparent change to his condition and then left to get some lunch and take Alex home because he had to work the following day. Still driving Darla’s car, Nephi drove to Alex’s Salt Lake apartment. They shared a long kiss across the center console in the front seat before Alex disappeared inside and Nephi made the long drive back to Pleasant Grove, going directly to his parents’ house. He didn’t want to be alone, and besides, he had to get his truck back.

  He pulled in the driveway to find everything put away and his truck clean, inside and out. He was thankful for that gesture of love. Darla greeted him as he walked inside. She gave him a big hug and told him how sorry she was about everything that happened with Bradley.

  Mike joined them in the living room and they chatted about Bradley and his family and about Alex and the hunt.

  “So you didn’t manage to bring me any meat?” asked Mike.

  “Nope, we saw a few cows, but I just didn’t have the right shot,” replied Nephi, not revealing the whole truth.

  “With everything that happened, it’s just as well. If you had returned any later, that Hanson boy wouldn’t have had any chance,” observed Mike.

  “I guess you’re right. We have become good friends. I really hope he wakes up and makes a full recovery,” said Nephi.

  “We hope so too,” said Darla.

  After visiting for a while, Nephi swapped keys with his mom and drove his truck over to the hospital where he sat alone in Bradley’s room, praying for a miracle.

  The same doctor from the previous day walked in the room to find Nephi on his knees, arms folded on Bradley’s bed, praying for him to wake up. She waited for him to finish the prayer before speaking.

  “Are you Nephi Willard?”

  “I am,” he said.

  “Bradley’s mother gave me permission to give you updates on his condition.”

  “She came to visit?” he asked.

  “No, you and your friend have been his only visitors today, but I spoke with her on the phone.”

  “Oh, how is Bradley doing?”

  “Pretty much the same as yesterday. We ran some additional tests. His body is healthy but there is no sign of brain activity. I’m afraid the prognosis isn’t good.”

  “Is there any chance he will wake up?”

  “There is always a chance, but less than three percent of patients in this condition ever regain consciousness and of those that do, over fifty percent suffer permanent brain damage. We will continue to observe and test Bradley’s condition but you shouldn’t get your hopes up.”

  Visibly shaken and crying, Nephi struggled to say, “Thanks, doctor.”

  “I’m sorry about your friend,” she said. “I hope I’m wrong and he makes a full recovery.”

  She turned and walked out of the room. Nephi sat at Bradley’s side and took his hand.

  “Come on, Bradley. I really need you to pull through.”

  Visiting hours ended and they again forced Nephi to leave the hospital. Sad and alone, he returned to his empty apartment. It had been nice having someone to share the place with. Reserving the bed for Bradley when he woke up, Nephi slept on the sofa.

  The following day, the ward held a special fast for Bradley, fasting and praying for his recovery. As soon as church ended, Nephi went to the hospital and visited with Bradley all day. Mike and Darla joined him for a few hours. Still no change to Bradley’s condition.

  The days were long as the week moved forward. Nephi went to work each day, spending the evenings in the hospital at Bradley’s side, holding his hand and praying for a miracle.

  Alex joined him at the hospital on Wednesday afternoon and the two of them stayed unti
l the end of visiting hours. Thanksgiving being the following day, Alex stayed at Nephi’s place to avoid making the drive home, only to return in the morning. They rented a movie from the grocery store kiosk and watched it together. Before the movie ended, they had fallen asleep on the couch in each other’s arms and found themselves in the same position when they woke up on Thanksgiving morning.

  Nephi leaned over and kissed Alex and thanked him for being there.

  “Mom will put on a king’s feast today,” he said. “We better have a light breakfast.”

  He made a batch of steel-cut oats and they ate while they watched the Thanksgiving parade on TV. The parade was one of Nephi’s favorite things about Thanksgiving. He loved seeing the large cartoon character balloons fly through the streets and the floats pass by as people on the street cheered. He especially loved the musical performances.

  After finishing their oatmeal, they cuddled together on the couch, watching the parade. Around noon, they each took a shower and got ready for the day before going to Mike and Darla’s place for Thanksgiving dinner.

  They arrived to a house already in chaos with children flying around and Darla frantically trying to put the finishing touches on dinner. The commotion was unfamiliar to Alex who hadn’t experienced a family Thanksgiving in a very long time. He was a little overwhelmed as Nephi brought him upstairs and introduced him to the family.

  “This is my friend, Alex, everyone.”

  “Welcome, Alex,” said Darla, giving him a hug.

  “I’m so sorry about what happened to Bradley Hanson,” said Tiffany before hugging both Nephi and Alex.

  “How are you holding up, bro?” asked Ammon.

  “As well as can be expected, I guess. I just keep praying that he will wake up.”

  “We’ve all been praying for him,” said Jacob. “I’m sure he will make a full recovery if it’s God’s will.”

  They caught up on each other’s lives until the turkey was ready. Darla spread everything out buffet style on the kitchen island and Mike carved the turkey and then asked Jacob to offer the blessing on the food. They all bowed their heads and folded their arms while he prayed.