It Happened at Christmas

by Christen Krumm

  “So, hey.” Murphy wasn’t sure why she was whispering, but hospitals seemed to demand that type of respect. “It’s Murphy. Murphy Cain. From school. I, uh, saw you fall on Thursday, and called for help.”

  She was answered by silence and the monitors’ steady beeps.

  Dropping his hand, Murphy found a chair and, after moving a bouquet of roses and baby's breath with a tag reading: Tripp! Hope you feel better soon. Love, Sue S. Myers and Company, to the floor, she sat down. Depositing her bag on the floor, she tucked her knees to her chin.

  “Your room smells nice.” The fact that Tripp was comatose didn’t make talking to him any easier. She picked at the raveling on her jeans not sure what to say next. Should she confess that his family thought she was his girlfriend? It wouldn’t matter, right? She wasn’t planning on seeing them anymore, and he’d be moved from the hospital soon enough. “I’m not sure if you’re all caught up on Dr. Suna’s reading.” Murphy decided to go with delaying the inevitable. He’d never find out anyway. “Probably not since he assigned it right before the break, and I think you skipped that day.” She swallowed remembering that Mrs. Wilkson had found Tripp and Claire making out in the stacks during that class period. Mostly she remembered because she couldn’t stop thinking what it would be like to skip class to make out with Tripp in the stacks.

  Stooping over she dug around in her bag producing The Great Gatsby, holding it up like a trophy. “But I brought mine. I could read out loud to you—at least you won’t get behind.” Dr. Suna had given her a secondhand copy left over from years before. The cover was missing and so many of the pages were dogeared, but still it was one of Murphy’s favorites.

  Yes, Murphy was pretty sure this was the epitome of lame. However, girlfriend or not, a coma or not, she didn’t have anything else to do, and helping a fellow student keep up with homework seemed a good use of time. She cleared her throat. “I’ve already read this one, a couple times, but I’ll start over in case you haven’t read it yet.” She held the book up a little higher. “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me ...”

  Murphy loved this book, and she loved sharing it with Tripp. There was something about reading out loud that seemed so intimate. Butterflies bloomed in her midsection. If this were a movie, it would be the part where the hero woke up to see the heroine at his side. He’d declare that he knew she had been his true love all along before —

  At a tap on the door, Murphy dropped the book.

  The nurse poked her head in the room. “Hi, hon, I just need to take his vitals, and do a quick check.”

  “Yeah, sure, I’ll just,” Murphy gathered her bag and dropped book, “wait in the hall.” Murphy finished as the door clicked shut behind her.

  Now what was she supposed to do? She stood awkwardly under the annoyingly bright fluorescent lights, shifting back and forth. Shifting her bag, she dropped her book back inside. Surely taking Tripp’s vitals and giving him a checkup wasn’t going to take all that long. She slid her eyes closed and leaned up against the wall waiting for the nurse to finish. Feelings of being somewhere she shouldn’t started to wash over her again. She really shouldn’t be here. What had she been thinking? Tripp wasn’t even a friend—no matter how much she wished he was. What if the nurse asked her something personal? Or worse, told his family that she had been coming to see him. She had promised herself she was going to stay away.

  Murphy heard Tabitha Harrington before she actually saw her. She was loudly criticizing the drab color of the walls, the basic art, and the brightness of the lights overhead. She turned the corner and stopped when she saw Murphy next to her son’s door. Hank and Eloise followed their mother, wincing.

  “Oh, hello, dear.” Tabitha pulled her gloves off a finger at a time, surprise laced her voice. “We didn’t expect to find you here.”

  Eloise gave a small wave from behind her mother.

  Murphy pushed off the wall and waved back. Something had Tabitha worked up, and Murphy wasn’t sure she should engage with the testy mama bear.

  “Hiya, Cain,” Hank said, hands in pockets, smirk on his face.

  “‘Hiya’? Seriously, Hank? You are supposed to be learning better manners at Glasgow Prep.” Tabitha clicked her tongue disapprovingly at her son, who answered her with a smile. “And referring to her by her last name like some barbarian. Honestly.”

  Hank winked at Murphy before folding into a deep bow. “My sincerest apologizes, Ms. Cain. Would you ever be able to forgive me?”

  Eloise giggled and Tabitha rolled her eyes in a silent prayer.

  “Have you been here long?” Tabitha asked on a sigh.

  Murphy looked at her watch. She had been reading for over an hour. The twins would be back within the hour to pick her up.

  “Just a bit,” Murphy shrugged a shoulder. “The nurse needed to do a checkup so I’m waiting out here.”

  “She’s doing the checkup alone? Where’s the doctor! That’s just—” Tabitha pushed into the room, letting the door close behind her, cutting off her response.

  Hank let out an audible sigh and threw an arm around Eloise. “Girls, I’m starved. What do you say we scope out the cafeteria?”

  “You’re always hungry,” Eloise bumped her brother with her hip.

  Murphy looked over her shoulder at the closed door, Tabitha’s voice giving instructions to the nurse. “What about your brother? Didn’t you guys want to visit him?”

  “He’ll be good. I think mother has everything under control.” All three turned from the door not able to make out the words Tabitha was saying but definitely hearing the raised pitch. “We’ll see him later. I don’t think he’ll miss us.” Hank turned, steering Eloise back toward the elevator.

  Murphy stared at the closed door, straining to hear what was being said on the other side. Her emotions at war. On one side she felt like she should stay and wait for the nurse to be done —visiting Tripp was why she had come. But, memories of the fun she had the day before with the other two Harringtons surfaced. No. She had made a promise to herself. She wasn’t supposed to see them again. But still….

  “Come on, Cain,” he called over his shoulder, ignoring his mother’s earlier reprimand. “My treat.”

  Murphy shifted her bag on her shoulder, decision made, and followed the siblings down the hallway. Eating lunch sounded like a much better plan then waiting around for Tabitha to finish her tirade. Her stomach was starting to growl anyway.

  “So, Murphy, have you had a good morning?” Eloise asked pushing the button for the cafeteria.

  Murphy shrugged. “Pretty good. I caught a ride this morning from some friends from school, and I’ve just been hanging out. Doing some reading.” She left out the fact that she was reading out loud. “What about you guys?”

  “Mother has been impossible this morning,” Eloise rolled her eyes. “Trying to make sure everything is just perfect.”

  “Perfect? For what?”

  Eloise exchanged a look with Hank who shrugged his shoulders, head bopping along with the boring elevator music. “Mother is convinced that she’s going to bring Tripp home for Christmas.”

  “She was serious about that?” Murphy had thought the discussion yesterday had just been an idea. A Christmas wish. Surely there were dangers involved in moving a coma patient. But then again if you had an unlimited amount of money, she supposed anything was possible.

  “Oh yes. She’s been busy with that and preparations for the ball.”

  “The ball?”

  “The annual Christmas ball mother hosts every year,” Eloise rolled on the balls of her feet.

  Tabitha wanted to bring Tripp home and throw a party? With her son in a coma? Murphy wasn’t sure if she was impressed that Tabitha could do it all or horrified at the tenacity of the woman to throw a party when she should be focusing on her family. Not like Murphy had any expertise on the matter.

  The elevator doors rolled open and Hank stepped forward to hold them. “You are coming to that, right? Tripp
must have told you about it.”

  Murphy swallowed and moved aside for an older man holding the hand of a pig-tailed toddler sporting a “Big Sister” tee.

  “No, he hadn’t mentioned it.” Not a lie. Tripp had never mentioned anything directly to Murphy about an annual Christmas Ball.

  Eloise smacked her forehead. “Our brother is the world’s biggest dud.”

  The elevator dinged letting them know they had reached their destination. Scents of overly cooked vegetables mixed with hospital cleaner and antiseptic filled the elevator when the doors opened. Murphy pushed down feelings the familiar smells sent dancing across her memory.

  “Well,” Hank chuckled. “The party is a week from Thursday, and I am formally inviting you on behalf of my brother.”

  “A week from Thursday, but that’s after Christmas …”

  “The day after. Mother decided that hosting after Christmas was easier and didn’t put her in competition with the other holiday parties or something like that, but really, you should come.”

  “Oh, yes, please!” Eloise grabbed her hand. “You will make the party so much better. Normally, it’s just a bunch of mother and father’s stuffy friends and their stuck up kids. But if you’re there it’ll be fun. Please say you’ll come!”

  Murphy was a little taken aback. She’d never had anyone beg her to come to a party. She smiled. Noting that Eloise didn’t lump herself in with the stuck up kids that would attend—Murphy loved that about her already. She knew she shouldn’t, but the party was the day before her birthday, and it would be fun to do something other than sit around and stare at the Iverson walls. But still, this was a little much. Her brain was telling her no, but looking over at Eloise practically bouncing in her fur lined Uggs she didn’t want to say no. “I’ll think about it.”

  Hank winced at Eloise’s high-pitched squeal. “Settle down, Wheezy. She said she’d think about it.” He ruffled her hair and nodded over a fridge that held drinks. “Why don’t you go grab us some drinks?”

  Hank and Murphy moved to the cafeteria line filling two trays with French fries, burritos, tater tots, and Jello. Murphy grabbed a pre-made side salad, a safe choice, which earned her a side glance from Hank.

  “What?” she asked adding it to her tray.

  “I didn’t say anything.” Hank shrugged handing a fifty to the cashier with a whispered request to pay for the older gentleman in line behind them.

  “You totally wanted to,” Murphy warmth blooming at the kind gesture. “I really like salads.”

  Hank shoved his change into his pocket, not bothering to count it. “Whatever you say, Cain. I just figured it was a vegetarian thing.”

  They joined Eloise at a table for four next to a large picture window overlooking the hospital green. The sun trying to shine through the clouds did nothing to help the dull brown foliage look beautiful. It just looked dead and cold.

  Hank held Murphy’s salad between two fingers and passed it to her.

  She laughed. “It’s not going to infect you.”

  “You never know. Here,” He handed her a plate of fried food. “Please have some balance.”

  Murphy grinned while popping a tater tot in her mouth, showing Hank she could have balance. She glanced at her watch. She couldn’t be late for the twins. She was sure they wouldn’t abandon her at the hospital, but there was no way she wanted them come in search for her.

  “Is your coach about to turn into a pumpkin?” Hank interrupted her thoughts.

  Murphy’s fork clattered to the table. “Huh?”

  Hank speared a fry and pointed it at Murphy. “That was the fifth time in ten minutes that you’ve looked at your watch. I was just wondering.”

  Murphy ducked her head. “Oh, no, it’s just, my friends are coming back to pick me up, and I didn’t want them to have to wait on me.”

  “Can’t you just call them? We’ll drop you off at Iverson on our way home.” Eloise took a swig from her Dr. Pepper.

  Murphy shrugged. “I don’t have a phone.”

  Eloise choked on her drink.

  “Say what now?” Hank asked pounded on his sister’s back. “You don’t have a phone. Like, at all?”

  Stuffing a bite of salad in her mouth, Murphy shook her head.

  “How do you function?” Eloise asked, mouth hanging open.

  “I’ve never really had a need for one.” Murphy grinned at their reactions.

  “Cain, you are full of surprises,” he turned to Eloise. “Who’d a thunk our brother would get with such an old-fashioned girl.”

  Eloise dissolved into a fit of giggles.

  Murphy ducked her head. She reached over and grabbed a fry off Hank’s plate and pelted him with it. It wasn’t her fault that she was so “old -fashioned”. Besides who said that not having a phone made you old-fashioned? She had a laptop. It was ancient, but still.

  Hank let out a low whistle “Seriously. No phone. Next you’ll be telling us that you can’t drive or know what the internet is.”

  “I know what the internet is, Genius.”

  “And driving?” Hank’s eyebrows rose with the question.

  Murphy didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say. She had arrived at Iverson four days after her eleventh birthday and had never left. There wasn’t really time in her schedule to learn how to drive a car.

  “No. Seriously?”

  “Seriously.” Murphy took a sip of her Dr. Pepper letting the fizz burn her eyes. “I don’t have a car, so there didn’t really seem like any point in learning.”

  Hank balled his napkin and tossed it on his plate. “That’s is just unacceptable. Wheezy, I think Cain needs to learn how to drive.”

  Eloise hung on her brother’s arm. “Hank, you need to teach her!” She turned to Murphy informing her, “He is the best teacher.”

  “You know how to drive?” Murphy pointed a finger at Eloise, her turn to be surprised. She couldn’t have been more than thirteen, why would she know how to drive.

  “Of course. I taught her last summer. We were bored.” Hank leaned over the table. “Don’t tell her this, but she’s a better driver than I am.”

  “You guys are crazy,” shaking her head at the duo, she checked her watch. Time to go. Murphy only slightly regretted she hadn’t thought of making time to say goodbye to Tripp. She’d been distracted again by his siblings, but at least it looked like the “learning to drive” crisis was averted. “As much fun as learning to drive sounds, my ride should be here.” Murphy gathered her trash and empty water bottle on the tray, dumping it on her way out.

  Hank and Eloise followed her to the hospital entrance. Floyd had parked Janice in the drop off area probably breaking all kind of hospital laws. The automatic doors whooshed open blasting Murphy with a burst of cold air. She turned back to see the Harrington siblings on her heels.

  “That’s my ride,” Murphy thumbed over her shoulder. Both twins were out of the car, staring Hank down like two overprotective brothers. Murphy winced praying they didn’t say something she’d regret.

  “Oy, Murph, the boyfriend wake up, yet?” Lloyd hollowed. “Or is that your new boyfriend there?”

  Murphy’s eyes slid closed. Oh, waffles and cheese. Like that. “I’ll see you two later.” She waved to Hank and Eloise, ignoring the twins.

  Before she could make her getaway, Eloise pulled Murphy into a hug. Hank dragged his eyes from the twins back to the girls. “Don’t think this means you’re getting out of those driving lessons.”

  Murphy rolled her eyes. “Right,” she gave him two thumbs up as she moved toward Janice doing her best to ignore the butterflies dancing in her stomach at the thought of just maybe seeing Hank again. Wait. No. She was not crushing on Hank. He was just being nice to her because he thought she was his brother’s girlfriend. That was all.

  She climbed into the back seat and ignored whatever the twins were saying. She leaned her forehead against the cold window watching the brown landscape flash by. Murphy had been in love with Tr
ipp for as long as she could remember, so why was her heart doing flip flops at the thought of spending more time with Hank?

  Notification Center

  Message from Emmaline Harris (02:47 PM)

  Murph? Are you there? I’ve been trying to Skype with you since yesterday!

  Message from Emmaline Harris (02:49 PM)

  How’d the brunch go? What did they say?

  Message from Emmaline Harris (07:52 PM)

  Murphy? Stop ignoring me. What happened.

  Murphy has left the conversation

  Online Chat between Eloise and Murphy

  Message from Eloise Harrington (07:53 PM)

  You know our dad owns a cell phone company right? We can totally hook you up

  Message from Murphy Cain (07:55 PM)

  Haha. Thanks, Wheezy, but that’s okay. Really. I’m totally fine without one.

  Message from Eloise Harrington (07:55 PM)

  You are so weird. If you ever change your mind…

  Chapter Seven

  Laundry day. The day Murphy gathered, washed, dried, folded and returned clothes to their owners. The day she felt most like Cinderella. Washing someone else’s clothes was right up there with scraping gum off bathroom walls. The chore seemed worse during the break since so many students opted to have it done before they returned. Everyone wore uniforms. How did they produce so much extra laundry?

  Murphy checked her list. Every order had been picked up, save for one (actually, two). The missing laundry? Floyd and Lloyd. Murphy rolled her eyes. It was a good thing they had Murphy in their life or they would never have clean clothes. Which meant they’d most likely just have a new batch delivered every week from Gap or Abercrombie until they were trapped under a mountain of dirty clothes in their bedroom.

  Murphy knocked and after hearing the okay to enter, poked her head in the twins’ room.

  “Hey, guys, I’m here to pick up your laundry.” Murphy blinked against the darkness. “You forgot to leave it in the hall.”

  The canvas laundry bags were sitting just inside the door — of course they forgot the last step.