by Barbara Ebel
Danny stood at the kitchen table near Mary who sat bent over a large sketch pad. “Wow, Mom said you were coming over,” he said. “Cool.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He went closer to them and realized Mary had drawn the bowl of fruit in the middle of the table.
“Danny and I don’t even know what we’re going to be when we grow up,” Casey said to Mary, “but you already have it figured out. And you’re littler than us!”
“She’ll be making people happy looking at paintings but we’ll be helping people by using our hands, too.”
“How?” Casey asked.
“Well, I don’t know. In medicine, I guess.”
Casey turned around to look down the hall again where Donna Tilson and Kelley McKinley stood close to each other, a whispered conversation in progress; they both had concerned looks on their faces. Finally, Mrs. McKinley patted Donna’s shoulder and left.
-----
For three days, Donna Tilson gave Casey some of Danny’s clothes to wear and he slept at their home. The second afternoon Danny’s father took the three children to their Downtown Italy restaurant where they sat at a back corner table and ate spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread while Greg worked.
After taking a customer’s payment at the cash register, Greg walked over. He pulled out a chair and sat down, his long legs extending under the table.
“How long am I staying with you all?” Casey asked. He didn’t know why he had been sent, especially since he hadn’t requested a sleep-over. Not that he minded; he was having a great time but now he was curious.
Greg Tilson’s thick dark eyebrows scrunched closer as he leaned over the table. “Your mom told us to tell you that Tommy’s cystic fibrosis has acted up. His lungs have made him sick and the doctor’s need to take care of him. She doesn’t want you to worry while you’re with us. You are going home tomorrow.”
Casey wiped some sauce off his mouth with a linen cloth. He stared into Greg’s eyes, his look of pleasure fading to sorrow. “Poor Tommy. He’s always getting sick. I wish I could help him.”
“I heard that you often take care of your brother, even when he’s not well. You are a young caretaker, Casey Hamilton.” Greg got up, reached over, and lightly patted the youth’s head. When he left the table, he went into the kitchen to glance at the chef’s preparations.
“I hope he gets better,” Mary said.
Casey nodded.
“And just so you both know it,” Mary added, “I’m doing stuff without you this afternoon when we get home.”
“Good,” Danny said. “You’ve been like a stray cat hanging around us.”
“Shut up, Danny.”
“I will,” he said.
-----
Late in the afternoon the next day, an unlikely breeze stirred through the neighborhood as Elizabeth Hamilton drove up and rang the Tilson’s front bell. Upon entering, she spoke with Donna for some time.
Donna went upstairs to Danny’s bedroom where Casey was sprawled on the floor and Danny lay on the bed, each with a book; Casey was reading “Anne of Green Gables” which Mary had offered from her collection.
“Casey, your mom is here to take you home,” Donna said. She sat at the edge of the bed, speaking softly in her usual pleasant way. “You may borrow the book if you’d like.”
Casey popped up. “Okay, I’d like to. Bye, Danny. See you soon.”
Danny rolled onto his back. “Okay. It was fun.”
“You are welcome any time,” Donna said as they walked out the door.
As Elizabeth drove Casey home, a silence enveloped the car. He had questions for her but she seemed more upset than normal. Perhaps she had a killer migraine in which case he would be wise to avoid talking to her. Instead, he thought about his brother and hoped that his cystic fibrosis flare-up had gotten better.
When they got to the house and went inside, Casey didn’t have time to look for his brother as his father called to him from the small living room, a surprise since his father shouldn’t have been home. His dad pointed for him to sit at the end of the couch while his mother followed and sat sideways on the coffee table.
Mr. Hamilton stoked his mustache, considering his words, and Casey prepared to get scolded for something he’d possibly done wrong. He tried to avoid his father’s gaze.
“We have some very, very sad family news,” Wendell Hamilton said.
Casey relaxed a little bit. It appeared he wasn’t in any kind of trouble.
“You know how difficult Tommy’s medical condition was. The doctors had told us he probably wouldn’t live many, many years like all of us will.” His father let that sink in for a moment before he continued.
“Your brother hasn’t done too well in the last few days and … he’s passed away, son.”
The gravity of what his father said registered slowly as if he was in a slow-motion dream. “You mean, he’s … he’s dead?”
“Yes. He’s no longer with us. God has taken him early.”
For the rest of the day, Casey clammed shut, not fully accepting it. But as the evening progressed and Tommy’s bedroom took on an eerie quiet, the emptiness of not hearing his brother’s voice set in. He must have been really sick, he thought, for his bedroom and toys looked the same as the day they were on the front porch together and he went off chasing the neighborhood cat.
-----
The next morning, the funeral parlor visitation room swelled with families familiar with the Tilson boys through school. They outnumbered friends and relatives of Tommy’s parents who were scarcer in number due to their private lifestyle.
Several times, Casey stared blankly at the wooden box that housed his brother. It was ‘closed,’ and he was glad he didn’t have to see Tommy like he had seen an old, dead relative in a coffin one time.
After most people left, a few folks remained and were part of the funeral procession to take his brother to the cemetery where a heavy humidity hung in the air. With his parents on one side, and Danny and Mary on the other, he watched the casket disappear into the earth.
There was nothing in Casey’s childhood that changed his life as much as Tommy’s death. He tucked the memory of his brother deep into his soul and had trouble with the empty void he felt in their home. And talking about his brother with his mother and father became less and less.
Although Elizabeth Hamilton had to take an occasional sick day due to her migraines, eventually she was able to take a job as a waitress, especially since Tommy’s absence and not dealing with his medical condition seemed to unburden her. Since she now wasn’t home as much, Casey spent even more time at the Tilsons. Donna didn’t seem to mind since the two boys were like close brothers and she treated him with warmth and thoughtfulness.
-----
Casey’s arm slipped off the leather chair’s armrest, causing him to wake with a start. He rubbed his eyes in the darkness and looked at his backlit wristwatch which read 1 a.m. His entire dream surfaced and he couldn’t believe it; such detail of Tommy and his most potent childhood memories. He hadn’t given it all that much thought in at least a year.
Nowadays, the most thoughts he had of his brother were when he visited his failing mother in a nursing home. She had been in a retirement facility when she attended his wedding but had since been moved to the full-care part of it.
He lingered in the chair, the quiet comforting and the blackness causing him to search his soul. After a big sigh, he whispered his brother’s name. “Tommy,” he said, “I hope you’re enjoying heaven.”
Casey took his legs off the ottoman and got up, his eyes scanning for the nightlight back by the kitchen. As he walked through the center hall, he realized Mary must be sleeping so well she didn’t miss his coming to bed. He chuckled to himself, wondering if he had ever finished the book she had lent him long ago as a child.
Chapter 14
It had been a long day in the OR. Rachel walked into her apartment, dropped the mail and her purse on the kitchen island, and leaned o
ver to acknowledge Snoopy whose tail circled like a portable fan.
“You sure are jollier than the stuffed shirts I deal with all day,” she said, although her day in the eye room hadn’t been that bad. Ophthalmologists didn’t chitchat that much about nothing because their quick, yet tedious, cases required concentration.
“I better let you relieve yourself before I pick up Julia.”
She glanced at the top piece of mail; it was from Mark Cunningham. That’s odd, she thought, as she hadn’t initiated her legal shenanigans yet. So why was she hearing from Danny’s lawyer? Normally, his attorney sent papers to her attorney first so it wasn’t usual for her to receive any legal matters directly. Maybe there had been some kind of a mistake.
She tore open the envelope. Passing over the letter, she recognized a familiar format on the legal size documents. What the …,? she thought.
Casey Hamilton vs. Rachel Hendersen.
Casey didn’t have anything to do with child support or Julia or Mark Cunningham, so what was this all about? Ignoring Snoopy who kept running back and forth to the door, she picked up the cover letter.
Dear Ms. Hendersen,
Enclosed please find notice of a legal lawsuit against you for Casey Hamilton’s medical bills. These charges were incurred due to the almost complete severance of his left middle finger due to your negligence.
In case you’ve forgotten about this matter, please refer to the specific details in the enclosed court document. I am assuming you will be contacting your attorney, Phil Beckett, about this. I look forward to hearing from him.
Yours truly,
Mark Cunningham
Rachel pursed her lips with anger. I’ve always disliked that Casey Hamilton, she thought, and wondered why he was such a loyal friend to Danny. She never could understand it. But why should she suffer any consequences for his stupidity?
Snoopy bounded back to her, stopped, and piddled by the corner of the counter.
“No! Bad dog!” she yelled. She pushed the dog gently with her foot and then picked her up. Walking over to the door, she grabbed the leash and clipped it on her collar. They headed towards the dog run as she mulled over the new legal intrusion in her life.
By the time Snoopy did her business and Rachel let her run in the fenced area for a few minutes, her indignation had subsided. She looked up at the billowy clouds and pondered that Casey was stupider than she thought. Why would he bother to bring a lawsuit if he didn’t have anything to gain, like a profit? Even if he received back the money for his medical bills, he’d have lost part of an appendage. If it were her, she’d have put a large price tag on that.
Going back to the apartment, she lightened up. If this debacle ended up with her having to chalk up cash for his bills, she could always work in some more hours at the outpatient facility, especially after her community court-appointed service was done and over with. However, she wasn’t resigned yet. Phil would have to get involved and she’d have time to come up with a good ‘defense’ and try to sidestep the whole matter.
For now, she had to get ready and pick up Julia for the more extended weekend visitation she had planned.
-----
Danny came home from the office to have dinner with Sara and also give Julia to Rachel. Luckily, he had had free time before making evening rounds for the whole group. He brought in a pizza and Sara made a salad while Nancy set the table; Julia sat and waited with more patience than Danny thought possible. He slid slices onto the plates and then cut Julia’s into manageable pieces.
“Your dad and I are going to the lake house tomorrow after work,” Sara said to Nancy. “Casey and Mary will be around.”
“Sounds like I’m not invited.”
“We could use an alone getaway,” Danny said.
Nancy reached over for the salad bowl. “That’s fine but, next time, please take me especially if you bring Dakota. He is so much fun when he gets near the water.”
Dakota bounced up from the floor and nuzzled her hand.
“My dog Snoopy is funner,” Julia said.
“You mean to say ‘is more fun,’” Nancy said. “But that can’t be because Dakota is the best.”
Julia slapped her fork on the table. “Is not,” she said.
“Yes he is.”
“Okay, girls, let’s not argue,” Sara said. “Most dogs are wonderful.”
Danny shot a glance at Sara and shook his head. “I am looking forward to the weekend.”
“No school, no medicine, and no weekend chores at the house,” Sara added.
Danny folded a slice and ate silently. He watched Julia as she ignored the salad and ate most of her pizza without the crust.
“Are you finished?” Danny asked.
Julia nodded and he wiped her hands and mouth.
“Your mom will be coming in a few minutes so let’s go outside and wait,” Danny said. He gathered her things and he held her hand as they went to the front porch. On purpose, he told Dakota to stay inside; he’d had enough comparisons made between him and Snoopy.
As Danny sat on the front step, Julia walked around in circles on the grass. After several times going fast, she fell on the lawn.
“Are you making yourself dizzy?” Danny asked.
She giggled and got up as Rachel’s car pulled into the driveway; the door opened and she yelled for her daughter. Danny walked over with her little suitcase.
“I’ll take that,” Rachel said after giving Julia a kiss. “And don’t come any farther. God forbid you touch anything over here of mine or you’ll be suing me, too. You two are a sorry lot.”
“Sorry lot,” Julia mimicked.
“Just be back at a reasonable time with her on Saturday,” Danny said. Shaking his head, he turned and walked to the house. No wonder Julia was misbehaving.
When he got back in the house, Sara and Nancy were both finishing more pizza.
“If you both are finished,” he said, “I’ll put the box in the refrigerator and have another slice later when I get home.”
He gave them both a kiss and left for the hospital. The last rays of the sun disappeared to the west as he put his headlights on and wondered if Julia would be more pleasant when she got a little older. In a few years, he hoped her conduct would change for the better and she’d become a sweet and smart five-year-old.
-----
Danny scanned the print-out of his and his partner’s patients as he stopped in the hallway. A nurse took the last chart from him and stood it upright on the rolling cart that had accompanied him. All their patients had been seen except for the two remaining in the ICU. He thanked the nurse who had been conscientious coming on the evening shift; she had helped him out a few minutes before she even needed to clock in.
When the automatic doors of the ICU shut behind him, the isolation and coldness of the unit made him shudder. A fluorescent light fixture had burned out, the central area grayer than normal, and a nervous quietude hung in the air. How many times had he walked into this large arena and yet, on each occasion, it took on a life of its own? He looked to the right at David’s open door. The young man was now sequestered from society as if quarantined from his peers and the normalcy of life; whatever that may be.
Danny stepped into the room where the light was also subdued as if David had been tucked in bed for the night. An RN was alongside his bed taping the tubing from a small infusion bag into a heplock on his hand. Across the room, Annabel sat on a chair in the corner, her face puffy and her hands clasped on her lap; she had been crying.
“Dr. Tilson,” the nurse said. “I knew you’d be making rounds this evening. David had a seizure an hour ago. We spoke with Dr. Banks and she switched one of his anti-seizure medications again.”
“Thank you,” he said and nodded to Annabel.
Danny first examined David, who looked spent and deeply tired and didn’t stir when Danny jostled his shoulder. He listened to his heart and lungs with his stethoscope, flickered his penlight into his eyes, and checked his reflexes. Af
ter scanning his vital signs again on the monitor, he stepped to the counter and leaned against it.
Annabel glanced at him with moist eyes. He realized how far she’d come from being a tomboy with a crooked tooth and a baseball cap to being a more feminine young woman with a straight, white smile and a shiny curl to her hair.
But within a few seconds, she practically gave him a scowl. “All the muscles in his body contracted,” she said, as if accusing him. “I watched him convulse and distort. And then he lost consciousness.”
“A generalized motor seizure is a frightening experience when seen for the first time,” Danny said. “Especially if it’s someone you care about.”
“I mean, he ended up looking rigid and he could hardly breathe and saliva drooled from his mouth …” She whimpered and put her head in her hands. “They had to escort me out of here,” she mumbled. “How am I going to get that image out of my head?”
Danny put his hand on her shoulder. “Come on. Let’s find a private place to talk.”
She shrugged his hand off but got up, grabbing her satchel from the floor. Walking past him, she exited the unit while making sure she kept a distance from her father.
Outside the door, he pointed to the elevators. “We’ll go to the doctor’s lounge.”
“I’m not exactly a candidate,” she said.
“It’s after hours and there won’t be many people there, plus it’s fine. You are going to be there someday yourself, aren’t you? Is med school still on your agenda or has that changed?”
“I plan on applying,” she said and didn’t offer any more information. They rode down in silence as the elevator creaked and groaned more than usual and then went straight into the lounge. There were only a handful of doctors; Danny nodded at those who looked over.