by Cher Etan
She picked up her phone again and dialed Max’ number to apologize. His phone went directly to voice mail and she left a message telling him she would see him later and she was sorry about the whole rude thing the night before. She took a cup of coffee to her grandmother hoping to get the 411 on why she was calling her at midnight. The smell of the coffee seemed to have woken her and she was sitting up in bed, reading her morning verse. Every morning she read a verse from the bible and said her morning prayers before getting up. It had been her habit to do so as a family but then as Christine became an adult and got her own schedule which didn’t necessarily gel with Martha’s, she’d been leaving it to Christine to find her own time to say her prayers. She looked up now at the rattle of the coffee cup on its saucer as Christine came in the door. Martha smiled at her and motioned for her to come in. Christine put the cup down on the bedside table and sat on the bed as Martha began to read out loud from the chapter.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,” Martha read.
“What chapter is that?” Christine asked.
“1 Corinthians chapter 13:4-7,” Martha said.
Christine nodded her head looking at Martha.
“Let us pray,” Martha said and Christine bowed her head.
“Dear Lord, thank you so much for another day of life on Earth. Thank you for another beautiful sunrise to enjoy. Thank you for the wonderful sounds of nature, from the cool breeze brushing through the trees to the birds singing melodies. You are a wonderful God, full of grace and mercy. I praise you for allowing me another day to spend with my family. I love you Father! Amen,” Martha prayed and then opened the bible to another page and intoned “The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”
“That’s a beautiful way to start the day gra. Thank you,” Christine said.
Martha nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Max needs you; he’s in the hospital,” she said.
“What?!?” Christine exclaimed dropping the cup of coffee she’d picked up to drink. Martha watched the coffee spread all over her lovely rug and Christine jumped up quickly.
“I’ll clean it right up,” she said rushing out to get a cloth to mop it up. She brought lots of paper towels to absorb the stains and then wiped it down with a wet towel. She then got a bucket with some soapy water and wiped up any remnants of the stain, really putting her back into it. By the time she was through, she felt better able to continue the interrupted conversation. Her grandmother had gone to the bathroom to clean up for the day so she had to wait for her to come back.
“Gra, what happened?” she asked trying to still the rapid beating of her heart.
“I don’t know. It’s the sickness. They were doing tests when I left; wouldn’t let me see him. They’ll let you see him – you’re his fiancé.”
“Did he pass out? What happened?”
“Same thing as last time. Just collapsed on the floor but he managed to hit the call button before he blacked out and Craddock heard him. He was still up luckily, doing the menu for the dinner party Max was planning to have this weekend. He called me; I had just retired – Max asked me to stay over since we stayed late talking. He was worried about you.”
“Why was he worried about me?” Christine asked in disbelief and then held up her hand. “Never mind that; we should go to the hospital.”
“Yes,” Martha agreed. “So leave the room so I can dress.”
Christine left the room digging out her phone to redial Max' number again. She was surprised at how hard her heart was beating; how her hands were cold and clammy and sweaty and she had this dizziness in her head. She was worried sick…about Max! Fuck, she absolutely did not need this.
The call went straight to voicemail and she left a long agitated message about how pissed off she was that he was sick again and would he not do this to her and his baby; he needed to have more consideration and just not get sick…
Then she tried to call back and erase the message but of course she couldn’t. So she called Andrea to maybe get her to do it; she probably had his phone anyway; but she wasn’t picking up either. Nobody was answering her! How inconsiderate could they all be anyway? Bloody bitches; Christine could feel herself getting more and more nauseous by the minute. She ran to the bathroom to get rid of the toast and coffee she’d just eaten. By the time she’d cleaned herself up and left the bathroom her grandmother was ready and they left for the hospital.
The nurses claimed that visiting hours weren’t for at least an hour but in her status as closest kin got them a face to face with the doctor at least. She let them know what had happened was a relapse situation and that the inflammation was back. Its progress had been insidious and that’s why Max had not felt any symptoms before collapsing last night. He would have to be on intravenous antibiotics as well as other intravenous drugs and dialysis to ensure that his kidneys were properly detoxified. He would be out of commission for at least two weeks and sedated for much of that time. With all that said, the doctors were of the opinion that there was no need to hang about the hospital. Christine and Martha insisted anyway. They wanted to be around because Max had asked specifically for Christine last night. The doctor had no choice but to give her permission because stress was bad for the patient.
Max was awake when they walked into his room and smiled faintly as he saw them.
“Hey,” he said very hoarsely and Christine hurried forward and picked up his hand.
“Don’t talk,” she said.
Max opened his mouth to reply and Christine promptly put her hand atop it to stop him.
“I said don’t talk,” she repeated.
Max closed his mouth.
“The doctor gave us a run down of everything that’s wrong with you. Please tell me you haven’t been in pain and covering it up all this time.”
Max shook his head, his eyes on hers.
“Okay good. So how about you rest, for today, without talking. I’m just going to sit right in this chair and read. We both won’t talk. Okay?” Christine said matching actions to words and flopping down into the chair. Martha smiled at them both.
“I’ll get you some food. You didn’t eat this morning,” she said to Christine prompting Max to glare and Christine to look at her with a betrayed look on her face and a shake of her head.
“Always with the big mouth gra,” she said chidingly.
Martha just laughed and left the room. Max turned his head to glare at her more intently and she stuck out her tongue at him.
“Oh don’t act all high and mighty like you’ve never done anything wrong in your life. Besides I tried to have breakfast; it didn’t take,” she said. Max held his hand out to her and she moved her chair nearer to the bed so she could take it.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he croaked.
“Don’t talk,” Christine replied.
*****
Andrea took the opportunity to call Claire Lestrange now that there was technically no close kin around. She could justify it perfectly well to Max if he asked by the fact that he’d be out of commission for two weeks and someone needed to be around who could make the decisions if something happened. Someone who was known to all the key players and not some interloper that was claiming to be his fiancé. Not that she would tell him the latter part; she could just keep that to herself. She might also just drop the titbit that there was an interloper in case Claire was interested in that little bit of news.
She was on the first flight out of Paris.
*****
Christine’s back was killing her. These hospital chairs were really not made for pregnant women to sit on for long periods of time. The wood was hard and the cushion was thin and the back didn’t quite bend in a way that accommod
ated her spine. She wasn’t even that pregnant; she wasn’t sure she should ache this much but she’d hardly moved from her position all day and that could be why. Max slept fitfully all day; when he was awake he tried to talk to her but then she’d threaten to leave if he did so he shut up. But he stared at her with expressive eyes that seemed to really want to make sure she stayed. So she did. Martha came by bearing food at lunch time and stinted Christine for a while as she went to sit in the hospital garden and get some fresh air. She wondered how many more family emergencies she had before she ate up all her days off. Thankfully maternity leave was not affected by other types of days off. But Max really had to stop getting sick; she didn’t think she could stand the worry on top of the hyper-acidity of being pregnant. She checked her messages as she strolled about but no one had texted her to protest or to tell her about how the supervisor was complaining. That was always a plus. She really could eat some burritos right about now though. She looked around for a food kiosk where she might get some but couldn’t really see any.
She picked up her phone to call her grandmother. “Gra I’m just off to get some burritos, I’ll be back later.”
“Cravings?” Martha asked.
“Yeah. You want anything from Walmart?”
“I’m good thanks,” Martha said in amusement.
When Christine came back to the hospital she found her way to Max’ room barred by a huge burly gentleman who claimed to be his body guard. Seeing as she’d never seen him in her life before she highly doubted that.
“I’m sorry but if you don’t move right this instant I’ll have you thrown out of the hospital for being an impostor,” she growled at him. He hesitated a moment but then stood his ground.
“I am commanded not to let anyone through to this room that is not authorized,” he said.
“Authorized by whom?” Christine asked trying to walk around him.
“Ms. Claire,” the bodyguard said and Christine froze.
“Max’ mother is here,” she said like a question but more of a statement.
“Yes,” the bodyguard replied.
Christine looked up at him. “Where is she?” she asked.
The bodyguard inclined his head to indicate the room. Christine turned her head and saw Martha hurrying toward her shaking her head.
“What?” she asked her grandmother.
“Let’s go. I’ll tell you on the way,” Martha said hooking her arm and dragging her off.
“But…I wanted to see Max-“ Christine began to protest.
“Let’s not cause a scene in the hospital okay?” Martha said. Christine sighed in an annoyed way and followed her.
They had left the building before Martha opened her mouth again. “Claire is here; she has asked the hospital to ban anyone she does not authorize from seeing Max. She’s trying to get Clarence to get him to sign power of attorney over to her. You saw the condition Max was in last night – we don’t want to add to that. So we’re going home.”
“Who the fuck does that woman think she is?” Christine exclaimed.
“His mother. And his closest kin. We’re not going to put up a fuss.”
“Okay then,” Christine said as Stevens drew up. He got out and opened the back door for them and then drove them to Max’ place.
“I thought we were going home,” Christine said.
“This is your home,” Martha replied alighting from the vehicle and walking into the building. Christine shrugged inwardly and followed her wondering where this whole mess was going to end up. Max despised his mother; he was going to be so pissed she was trying to take over like this. And that could just not be good for his health.
She followed her grandmother upstairs and went to her room, slumping on the bed and luxuriating at the softness. Her back was profoundly grateful. She could hear her grandmother pottering about in the kitchen, talking to Craddock and the day maid; her name escaped Christine for a minute; she was relatively new to the establishment. She figured she’d have to get to know all the staff’s names and what not but not yet…gawd, not yet.
Martha padded into the room holding a steaming mug of something.
“I brought you some hot chocolate,” she said.
“Oh, thank you gra, that is very considerate of you.”
“Are you having any other cravings?” Martha asked.
Christine thought about it. “No, I think I’m good,” she said. “I’ll just have a wash and go to bed if you don’t mind. It's been a long two days.”
“Yes of course, I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll be in the guest room down the hall if you need me.”
“Okay gra, thanks,” Christine said already divesting herself of her clothes in preparation for her shower.
*****
Christine started awake in the middle of the night leaning over to the bedside table to check the time and seeing that it was three am.
“Wonderful,” she grumbled wondering what she was going to do till morning. She was so wide awake there was no way that she could go back to sleep. She padded to the kitchen to make herself some hot milk and then decided to call the hospital to see how Max was doing.
“Beth Israel Hospital,” the voice said on the line.
“Hello, I’d like to check on a patient?”
“What is the patient’s name and what is your relationship to the patient?”
“The patient is named Max Lestrange and I’m his fiancé Christine.”
There was silence on the other end for a bit.
“Oh, Max Lestrange. He’s in a private room and currently awake. Would you like to speak with him?”
“Yes please,” Christine said in utter relief. She was supremely surprised that Max was awake at 3am and the nurse was willing to let her talk to him but she wasn’t sweating the details.
“Hello,” his croaky voice came on the line.
“Max! Gawd I’ve been worried. How you doing?”
“Great. You didn’t come back,” he said.
“Your mother kind of banned us from seeing you,” Christine said.
“What?” Max croaked. Christine could tell he wanted to shout but had no voice.
“Your mother. She has you on lockdown. She’s trying to get power of attorney.”
“And you just rolled over and let her?” Max asked in disbelief.
“Well…no. But I wasn’t about to get in a street brawl with the burly bodyguard she’d placed outside your door. I didn’t think you’d appreciate it.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have. The baby might have been hurt. Will you be by later? I’ll take care of the tool at the door.”
“Yeah of course we will.”
“Why are you awake in the middle of the night? Worried about me?” Christine could hear the smugness seeping down the line.
“Nope. I just slept really early. Could you ask them to let me in to see you around 7am? I have to go to work tomorrow. I mean…today.”
“Okay if you say so. Now go get a little more rest if you’re working today.”
“Yes master.”
“Oh, I love when you talk dirty.”
“You get some sleep too.”
“Yeah, I’ll try. The pain is a pain in the arse.”
“Can’t you ask for more painkillers?”
“I could but I’m tired of being asleep. And groggy. And apparently missing things.”
“Nothing really important.”
“Yeah, just my mother trying to take over my life before I’m even dead.”
“Don’t. Don’t even say it.”
“Say what? Dead?”
Christine’s silence was eloquent.
“Okay okay, I’m sorry. How are you feeling by the way?”
“I’m great. The nausea is kicking my ass but other than that…”
“And did you get to the bottom of who’s trying to blackmail me?”
“I think so. I got my cousins to work on getting a confirmation that it's really who we think it is.”
“And who do you think it
is?”
Christine debated with herself, wondering whether to tell him or not.
“Chris…? Come on are we family or not?”
“I don’t know about family…when did we become that?”
“When we mixed our blood and bone together and made a new human being?”
“Very evocative imagery. We think it's my mother and her boyfriend husband.”
“Hmm.”
“Is that all you have to say? Hmm?”
“What do you want to do about it?”
“I don’t know. Hit her over the head with Mjolnir?”
“I don’t really know where we can get Thor’s hammer.”
“Warner Bros?”
Max croaked a laugh.
“Yeah I’ll make a phone call,” he said fondly amused.
“Great. I’m gonna let you sleep now.”
“Okay, I’m gonna let you sleep too.”
“Goodnight.”
“See you at 7am?”
“Yes.”
“Okay Goodnight.”
Christine hung up smiling at nothing and then padded off to bed, forgetting her milk on the kitchen counter. She started awake at six am and that was how she knew she’d fallen asleep again. She showered, puked and dressed as fast as she could, resolving to get a coffee and a donut from Starbucks on her way to the hospital and thus kill two birds with one stone. She made it to the hospital by seven and the body guard was gone from Max’ door. He was awake and sitting up in bed, reading the day’s paper.