by Barbara Ebel
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Clad in only long pajama bottoms, Danny emerged from the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed where Sara sat against the headboard, covers up to her waist, book in hand. The door squeaked open and Dakota pranced in; he put his muzzle on the comforter and then turned sideways to give Danny his rear end to pet while giving Sara his face.
Danny laughed as Sara put her paperback aside and Dakota swiped her hand with his tongue. “Thanks a lot, Dakota,” Danny said, “for giving me your butt.”
“But you’ve got his happy end,” Sara said, rustling his head.
“So true.” Danny dug his fingers into the dog’s haunches and massaged. Dakota extended his head with pleasure, almost as if he were eating treats from the air.
“The basketball game tonight was full of surprises,” Danny said.
“I hope David is going to be all right. He was lucky you were there and able to help out.”
“His coach, his parents, and you and Annabel were important, too.”
“In all these years,” Sara said, “from med school until today, that was a first.”
“What was?”
“To see you working in your professional role. Well, I didn’t see you performing surgery or anything like that and, although we know David quite well, I nevertheless watched you interact with a patient and his family as a neurosurgeon. For me, that’s never happened before.”
Danny leaned in closer and gazed into her eyes. “That’s interesting … I never realized that. So how did I do?”
“I don’t want your head to swell or you may need one of your colleagues to do a bur hole.”
Danny laughed. “You have learned the lingo after all these years. Will you tell me anyway?”
“Your bedside manner is artful. You had empathy, the perfect tone of voice, and explained the overall situation as well as David’s personal circumstances excellently. You made sure they understood the gravity of his head injury as well as the optimism for him getting better.”
“Wow. I’m speechless. I appreciate that.”
“No wonder you are now the doctor in charge of your neurosurgical group. Things often happen for a reason.”
“I wish someday I could see you on the job, too.”
“You’ve been in my classroom before. Maybe not that much but as much as practical.”
“What I’ve seen is that you are one heck of a teacher and the high school kids adore you.”
Sara blushed. Her teaching meant a lot to her.
“As far as David and his parents go,” Danny said, “I stopped short of giving them more sport’s related information as they had enough to deal with.”
She looked at him quizzically while bending one leg under the covers.
“Like the fact that concussions due to sports have doubled in the last ten years and the fact that ninety percent of them don’t involve a loss of consciousness. I consider David to have a Grade I concussion without a loss of consciousness but, as athletes accumulate them, about forty-percent will be catastrophic, leading to a permanent neurological disability.”
Sara shuddered. “Makes me glad I don’t have to worry about the girls since they aren’t really involved with contact sports. And if David rests on campus this week instead of going home, maybe Annabel can be influential in keeping him inactive.”
“I hope so.” Danny gave the Chesapeake one more animated massage. “Okay, that’s it, time to settle into your dog bed.” Dakota let out a loud breath as if disappointed and plopped down right next to Danny.
“I know we haven’t talked about it too much,” Danny said looking back at Sara, “but which day next week is your obstetrician’s appointment?”
Sara pulled down the covers and rubbed her abdomen. “On Monday.”
Danny put his hand down next to hers; Sara’s pregnancy was too early so he barely felt a bump.
“Even though it’s your second routine appointment, it’s going to be exciting because of the first ultrasound and baby pictures. But you know she’ll ask again if you want to schedule an amniocentesis.”
After a big sigh, Sara pulled the bedspread up to her chest. “Too bad I’m forty-eight. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“It’s only because the baby’s risk for a genetic disorder rises with age. Your doc is making sure we’re given the option to diagnose a chromosomal abnormality.”
“I know,” Sara said. “Especially for Down’s syndrome which is why you and I are shying away from talking about it. But it’s an invasive procedure putting a needle straight into my womb and she said it carries a risk for a miscarriage. But I guess it’s just another way of helping a woman’s decision to abort a baby that she finds out isn’t as perfect as society would like.” Sara frowned.
Danny kept silent, then he took her hand. “Either way, I’ll stand by your decision.”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know what I would have thought before getting more religious after last fall’s trauma in that tornado but, now, I’d prefer us not to have the amniocentesis. This surprise baby was conceived in love and deserves a right to life just like all living things.”
Dakota popped his head up, his brown eyes looking searchingly at Danny. Sara glanced at the dog and then Danny.
“Well, then, I guess we all feel the same way. No amniocentesis. And when I come home on Monday with our baby’s first ultrasound pictures, we’ll know if it’s a boy or a girl. We’ll all celebrate. And you and I, Casey and Mary, and Annabel and Nancy can make suggestions on naming her!”
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It wasn’t long before Sara was fast asleep. Danny quietly slipped out of the room and into the next bedroom. He knelt on the floor and studied Julia, her eyes closed, her small hand tucked beside her cheek. “Sleep tight, love. You’re going to be a big half-sister to a new baby girl or boy within a year. But Sara thinks she’s having a girl.”
Chapter 3
The night before, Casey had worked extra late, having transported a patient over the border to Kentucky at the end of their shift. He still wasn’t rested on Sunday morning as he headed downstairs with a big yawn. Mary sat at the counter with a mug of coffee and the weekend newspaper.
“Morning,” he said, giving her a rub on her shoulder.
He looked across the room where Nancy worked quietly on homework. In the latter half of her junior year in high school, her work load was substantial, especially since she was fanatical about grades; she had high hopes to be as smart as or more successful than her older sister.
“Yo, Nancy,” Casey said. “How about going to get Julia? Her mother is picking her up soon for the day.”
His niece closed a notebook. “I was just finishing. Do you mean that witch is coming over here?!”
Casey glanced at his wife who shrugged her shoulders. “Julia didn’t hear that,” Mary said, “so I can’t blame her for calling a spade a spade.”
Nancy quickly got up and disappeared down the steps while Casey opened the yard door. Dakota had been waiting to come in, his eyes glued on the door frame, his body quivering because he had yet to give Casey a hello.
“There you go, boy,” Casey said, rustling Dakota’s body in a double-handed greeting. “Your favorite little girl is on her way up so I better enjoy you before you leave me flat.”
The basement door opened up, Julia ran in and headed straight for the dog.
“Da-Ka!” she squealed and Dakota play-bowed as she plopped on the floor in front of him.
“Sara had her all ready,” Nancy said coming into the room, “and had packed a few things for her. She’s had breakfast, too.” She placed the small duffel bag on the counter.
As Casey poured his wife more coffee, the phone rang. “I’ll get it,” he said.
“It’s me,” Rachel said. “I just pulled into your driveway. If you could bring my daughter out, I’d appreciate it.”
“I can do that. Sit tight,” he said and hung up. He squatted to face Julia. “Okey doke
y. Your mom’s outside so say good-bye to Dakota. You’ll see him again later today.”
Mary went to the bag and pulled out Julia’s outerwear. Looking into Julia’s eyes, she tucked the little girl’s fine dark-blonde hair into a woolen hat, helped her with her jacket, and gave her a kiss.
Casey took Julia’s hand and led her down the hallway. “Bye, Julia. See you later,” Nancy yelled.
“You stay here, boy,” Casey said to Dakota as he opened the front door. In the double driveway to the left stood Rachel, leaning against her Miata.
Julia let go of Casey’s hand and skipped over. “Hi, my love,” Rachel said. She stooped down, hugged her, then walked to the passenger seat where she strapped her in. Casey followed and stood there with the bag.
“We love you, Julia,” Casey said before Rachel closed the door.
Rachel spun around and stared at him. No one would have known about her previous facial trauma, Casey thought, as the surgeon did a great job. He waited for her to speak again as it still amazed him that such a seductive voice - which could probably narrate every romance novel to be a best-selling audio book – could belong to someone that Nancy had labeled a ‘witch.’
“You just said ‘We love you,’” Rachel said to him, “but no one loves her like her mother.” She took the bag from Casey’s grip and marched in front of the car to the driver’s side. She wore a butternut-colored pullover with a matching cap and, below her velvet pants, low western-style boots which clicked against the asphalt.
As Rachel got into the car, Casey stooped low and waved to Julia.
“I’ll be back promptly at five o’clock to drop her off,” Rachel said through the open window. “I have to be somewhere after that. I’ll be in a hurry then … like I am now.”
“We look forward to it.” Casey smiled. He turned and walked briskly to the door.
Rachel turned the ignition key but, to her surprise, the car didn’t respond; she turned the key forward again and her Miata just growled. “Damn thing,” she mumbled. “Crappy timing.” She tried again but the car wouldn’t spring to life.
Casey glanced back the second time she cranked the motor. With displeasure registering on his face, he wondered if the sporty little car ever had regular maintenance.
Rachel opened the door halfway, put one leg on the ground, and leaned over the open window. “Do you think you could be a gentleman and help us out?” she asked with a more appealing tone than a minute ago.
Casey shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back to the car.
“I really have to get home,” she said with urgency.
“Okay, open the hood.”
The front end popped open. Casey propped it up and leaned to the side. “Don’t start the engine,” he shouted.
Scanning under the hood, the battery and parts looked clean and intact so nothing struck him as being amiss. He leaned in a bit closer; he especially took a closer look at the belts, what he thought of as the workhorses of a car.
As he arched further in, he moved his left hand onto the alternator belt. To his astonishment, he heard the engine crank on which made him jump with surprise. But his reaction was too late.
With a snap, his middle finger was amputated from the second knuckle.
-----
“Crap,” Casey said, his left finger gushing blood like a severed artery. When he took a fast step backwards, he yelled loudly. “I told you not to start the engine!”
Rachel turned off the switch. “What happened?”
“This is what happened,” he said, holding up his left hand. “I’ve lost most of my finger.”
“I have to get going.”
Casey heard her comment as he stepped back to look for his chopped-off finger in the bowels of the engine. Spotting it, he let go of the open wound, retrieved it and stuck it into his right palm, pressing it there with his three end fingers; he then used a pincer grip to tourniquet the blood flow on the other hand. As the pain intensified, he hurried into the house leaving Rachel with a frustrated look on her face and Julia sitting clueless in her car seat.
-----
Danny finished making morning rounds for his colleague, Matthew, hoping he would place in the top few runners of his mini-marathon.
He draped his white coat over a chair in the doctor’s lounge, grabbed a juice and a pastry, and sat down with a section of the newspaper. He finished reading the local news when his iPhone dinged with a text message from Mary.
If you’re still in the hospital, don’t leave. Meet Casey and I in the ER.
His heart thumped and he frowned; the message brought back memories of his daughter Melissa in the ER when she’d make emergency visits with Sara for asthmatic attacks. Glad that the text didn’t say anything about his other girls, he pushed back from the table and headed down the stairs to the ER. What could be the problem and was it Mary or Casey who needed help?
Passing the patients’ board over the desk, Danny immediately spotted Casey Hamilton’s name and he swallowed his worry as he rounded the corner into Room 2.
The emergency room doctor’s referral for Casey to see a hand surgeon had already been made. Standing over his stretcher, she held Casey’s left hand while placing another thick, blood soaked bandage to the side. Mary stood back, looking pale and on the verge of tears as her husband’s gaze shot to Danny. Casey titled his head and gave his best friend a slight shrug of his shoulders.
“I’m putting you on the OR schedule,” the female surgeon said, “but it may take a few hours as our service has a case on the table and two to follow. I’m glad you brought in the severed last joint but it may be too shattered to reattach. Plus, sometimes patient’s don’t want it put back on. Your finger may not end up functioning as well with it as without it and sensation may feel odd if not bothersome.”
The hand surgeon wrapped clean gauze over the top and continued. “We’ll talk about it more before we start. Either we’ll clean up what’s left of that finger and make a decent closure or see about putting the end back on if you’d like us to.” Following Casey’s gaze, she looked at Danny.
“Hi,” Danny said. “I’m Dr. Tilson. I don’t think we’ve met.”
“Dr. Parsons.”
“What happened?” Danny’s mouth turned down as he looked at all three of them.
“Rachel started her car when …,” Mary began to explain.
Casey gently interrupted. “I had an accident. Rachel was leaving with Julia and she had some car trouble. My hand was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all.”
“It’s more than ‘that’s all,’” Danny said. “What exactly did happen to your finger?”
Casey glanced at Dr. Parsons. “He’s lost the distal phalange of the left long finger,” she said. “He’s lucky it wasn’t more.”
“I’m grateful it wasn’t my thumb or index finger,” Casey said,” which could have impacted what I do as a paramedic.”
The surgeon nodded. “If there are no more questions at this time, I’ll get my notes written and I’ll see you probably this evening in the pre-op holding area.”
“Thanks,” Casey said.
“From all of us,” Danny agreed. “And, by the way, he’s probably not going to be a good patient so please also give post-op instructions to his wife or me.”
-----
While staff transported Casey to a hospital room where he’d wait until his surgery, Danny took Mary into the doctor’s lounge. They sat in the back corner as sunshine filtered through the window. It did little, however, to brighten Mary’s mood.
“I’ll stay with him until after surgery tonight,” Mary said. “But you better go home. Sara and Nancy stayed there because Rachel will be coming back with Julia.”
“And what happened with her car?”
“As we left, she was calling a tow truck. I don’t know what the outcome was.”
Mary twisted her hands in her lap. “I’ve never seen that much blood. I thought he was going to bleed to death.”
; Danny pushed back his sister’s long red hair. “He’ll be okay. He has you.”
“And you, too,” she said. “But sometimes all of us cause him the biggest troubles or worries. And he never asks for anything. He’s the best.”
“You’re right.” Danny said. “And his childhood - what happened - shaped him though he never, ever talks about it. We were already friends when his younger sibling died but, after that, I became like his brother. We’ve been his family for a long time.”
Mary nodded, finally letting a tear stream down her face. “And if it hadn’t been for you being his best friend, I would have never been able to sometimes tag along, get to know him, and then fall in love when I moved back from Alaska. Although I probably loved him going back a lot longer than that.” She dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “You know, he didn’t even tell you back there.”
“What?”
“I half-scolded him about why he put his hand in the hood of the car with the engine running. That’s when he said the engine wasn’t supposed to be on.”
Danny cocked his head with a puzzled expression.
“He looked under the hood of Rachel’s car to see why it wouldn’t start. He told her not to start it but she did and that’s why he lost his finger.”
Danny scowled and took a deep breath, pushing his fist into the leather cushion.
“I am so sorry, sis. It’s my fault. I regret every day that I ever met that woman.”
Mary took Danny’s hand. “She met you on purpose, Danny, and it was one of her great plans. Just like what happened with your patient and his bankrupt soft drink business last year. But don’t think that way because you have to forgive yourself. And don’t forget, you wouldn’t have Julia if it weren’t for Rachel and she was meant to be in your life.”
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Despite the morning’s circuitous events, Rachel made up for lost time. All she had to do was shorten a few activities and hurry like mad. A tow truck took her vehicle in to an open local car shop which was lucky for her since the Mazda dealer was closed on Sunday. With a little extra attention to the mechanic, he changed the snapped-off belt in no time.